Greetings Curry Lovers!

Phew! At last some sunshine has arrived....well I say arrived....it is presently raining, but I live in hope that the season's strawberries and cream will actually taste of strawberries and that Wimbledon will be won by a British player. Optimistic? Well my tea cup is indeed "half full". Other optimists might like to hear about the forthcoming outdoor events. The London Mayor's 'Respect' anti-racism festival week starts on 12th July and culminates in a finale at the Greenwich Dome on Saturday 19 July. Mela mania continues right through July and August in Leicester, Slough, Croydon, Leeds and Edinburgh....no major city is left "unraved".

In Birmingham, South Asian Arts group 'Sampad' presents a new adaptation of classic Persian love tale 'Layla Majnun' on 17-20 and 24-27 July at the Midlands Arts Centre (MAC). Akademi, another South Asian Arts group presents 'Escapade' on 1st & 2nd August at London's South Bank Centre. This free event, inspired by popular South Asian culture (oh...oh....that can only mean Bollywood!) promises to be a 360º degree experience of music, film, dance and club culture.

'RESPECT' ANTI-RACISM FESTIVAL, JULY	ASIAN MELA MANIA, JUNE-AUGUST 2003
London's 'Respect', anti-racism festival will be the Capital's biggest event this summer and will round off 'Respect' week which runs from July 12-19. read more	Celebrate the best of South Asian culture this summer. Melas will be taking place countrywide in Bradford, Leicester, Slough, Croydon, Leeds & Edinburgh. Each Mela has a distinctive theme with a wide variety of acts. At the Leicester Mela on 12-13 July, the Carnvialesque theme will allow you to live it up Rio style! read more
LAYLA MAJNUN, 17 - 20 JULY	'ESCAPADE' , 1-2 AUGUST 2003
Layla Majnun is an entrancing tale of love, passion, madness, duty, honour, sadness and joy. This intriguing Persian legend is often likened to the classic love story 'Romeo & Juliet'. Sampad presents this classic in a new adaptation on 17-20 & 24-27 July in B'ham. read more	Inspired by popular South Asian culture, 'Escapade' will be a spectacular free outdoor performance with dance, film, and music on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd August 2003. The event is a 360º degree experience that is a kaleidoscope of sights and sounds! read more

Yet another look at South Asian culture, this time from the 1970's to present day is the Changing Faces exhibition at London's Elms Lester painting rooms. The exhibition runs from 25th July - 8th August 2003 and invites British Asians to submit their photos - from Bhangra raves in flares and loud shirts to sedate parties with boob tubes and bad perms. Well OK, this may only be a reflection of my own photo album! A face that we will all have to get used to seeing even more is that of Bollywood actress, Aishwarya Rai. She has just been signed up by cosmetics giant L'Oreal Paris to represent its hair colour range and cosmetics. Salvation at last for all those of us who think that the only colour for hair dye is henna orange!

CHANGING FACES EXHIBITION, 25 JULY	AISHWARYA JOINS L'ORÉAL'S DREAM TEAM
'Changing Faces' is an exhibition documenting 2nd and 3rd Generation British Asian youth, spanning over three decades, from 1970 to present day. This is a unique body of work, pulling together fresh and unseen images. read more	Cosmetics Giant, L'Oréal, has woken up to the value of the South Asian beauty market and has signed up Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai to join its "dream team" of the world's most beautiful women. She will represent hair colours & cosmetics. read more

Talking of Aishwarya, interestingly the crop of book reviews we bring you this time are all by women. Monica Ali's hugely acclaimed book 'Brick Lane' has appeared in shops, six months after she was voted as one of the twenty most promising British writers by Granta. Quite a feat given that Brick Lane is her debut novel! Almost in the same week, Reshma Ruia's 'Something Black in the Lentil Soup' was launched. This delightful tale set in 1970's London makes great summer time reading. Another must for the beach bag is 'One Hundred Shades of White' by Preethi Nair. This is her second book, although she still draws upon the mysticism of Isabel Allende with a dash of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Bharati Mukerjee thrown into the "masala mix". Those who like romance.....well I wouldn't mind some....romance that is, might like to read Indu Sundaresan's romantic novel 'The Twentieth Wife', set in the seventeenth century Moghul Court of Emperor Jahangir.

BRICK LANE BY MONICA ALI	SOMETHING BLACK IN THE LENTIL SOUP
Brick Lane' is an intimate novel set in the Asian community in London's East End. Still a teenager, Nazneen finds herself in an arranged marriage with a man twenty years her senior. She doesn't speak English and is forced to depend on her husband. read more	Reshma Ruia's delightful novel is set in the 1970's and explores the life of aspiring poet Kavi Naidu. Pompous Kavi is cosseted by his ambitious mother and lives in relative comfort in a Delhi suburb. His literary musings fall into "rhyming-schmyming'" cadence so beloved by Indians! read more
ONE HUNDRED SHADES OF WHITE	THE TWENTIETH WIFE BY INDU SUNDARESAN
'One Hundred Shades of White', Preethi Nair's second novel, is a combination of "Isabel Allende meets Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni". Still drawing upon the mysticism of Allende's style, Nair interweaves a classic tale of Asian women heroically triumphing over adversity. read more	Indu Sundaresan's debut novel, based in the 17th century, is an epic saga of love and war under Mogul rule. It affords a unique insight into the politics and hierarchy of women in the Emperor's Zenana (harem). Sundaresan has envisioned life at a great Mogul court. read more

To quote Shakespeare "if music be the food of love, play on" with the Asian Music Summer School from 28 July - 1 August 2003. Brought to you by the Asian Music Circuit, this event is for children between the ages of 3-12. Don't forget that they also run the Indian Music Summer School for adults which this year features a seminar on making your own sitar! For those of us who are less adventurous and prefer to just listen to music rather than trying to make it, Bikram Ghose brings you 'Rhythmscape'. Best known as Ravi Shankar's accompanist, Bikram is a pioneer in improvising on different kinds of percussion instruments.

ASIAN MUSIC SUMMER SCHOOL	'RHYTHMSCAPE' FEATURING BIKRAM GHOSH
An Asian Music Summer School open to young musicians from both within and outside London. The Summer School in Southall runs from 28th July - 1st August 2003. read more	Bikram's new dimensions in rhythm and melody - RHYTHMSCAPE- stretches beyond rhythm and embraces soulful melodies creating a most intriguing fusion quite different from others in this field. Tours 24 - 28 July. read more

So from Brick Lane to the court of Jahangir and from Bollywood faces to the Changing Faces of Asian culture in the UK, I hope that you get some sunshine to enjoy events this month.

Until next time,
Lopa Patel (Editor - redhotcurry.com)

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