Without the soggy fireworks and Sivakasi atom bombs I would have clean forgotten the festival of lights was upon us had Stephano Celesti not called to invite me to a pre-Diwali party at his friend Radhika Puri's. White New York is abounding with South Asians -- you wouldn't know they celebrated anything, unless you ventured into Jackson Heights in Queens or in Edison in New Jersey. Even at 6th Street in the East Village, which is reluctantly called Curry Road as it houses over 20 restaurants boasting cuisine of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and India, it was business as usual. Anyway, Radhika Puri (not to be mistaken for actor-danseuse Rajika Puri) threw a fabulous party at her home way up in the clouds on the 35th floor of her upper east side skyscraper. All round the room diyas jalaoed and kebabs and tangdees were wolfed down with flowing Dom Perignon. My friend Stephano revealed that he has carved a niche for himself in New York as the Bollywood expert. He recentlyline produced the New York sequences of Rishi Kapoor's directorial debut under the RK Banner. The film starring Aishwarya and Akshaye Khanna with support from the beautiful Suman Mulgaonkar as a trashy vamp created quite a stir on Manhattan streets. What with every desi taxi driver grinding to a halt to see their asli stars gyrating in front of the Statue of Liberty there were several near collisions along the Great White Way. Radhika also regaled me with stories of her fun-filled days in Mumbai when her father was the chairman of the State Bank of India. She misses the city and her friends. After the dinner I went to a 24-hour supermarket to pick up some toilet rolls and barf bags when I bumped into the sari-clad Mehra's of New Delhi. Obviously missing their beloved country this mother-daughter team looked like two misery Mary's as they were at the supermarket buying Christmas candles and a tub of Haagen Das chocolate chip ice-cream -- a far cry from their earthen diya's and gulabjamuns.

Fire on earth

The Indo-American Arts Council organised the New York preview of Deepa Mehta's latest film Earth at the Manhattan Twin Cinema. It was a swell affair with many diasporics turning up in their Diwali-day finery. In the audience were ex-Mumbai faces like singer-socialite Asha Puthli, actor Ismail Bashi and soundman Kaizad Bhabha. Ad film-maker Ashish Sawhny, sporting a trendy jacket and sassy spats, sat next to me during the film and was moved to tears by the film's powerful telling of the Partition story as seen through the eyes of a Parsi girl. Sawhny, currently in NY to attend a short symposium on `Design in Advertising Film', has just directed a series of glossy and high-end ad films and returns to Mumbai next week to celebrate the second anniversary of his company Box Office Productions. Interestingly, Mehta's first film Fire (due to release in India in mid-November) was based on a short novel by Sawhny's grandmother, the legendary Urdu author Ismat Chugtai. Thestars of the evening were no doubt Deepa Mehta, author Bapsi Sidhwa and star Rahul Khanna. All three received standing ovations for their efforts from a warm and generous audience. Rahul's scintillating love scene with the voluptuous and crackingly-talented Nandita Das was a sensitively-handled sequence in the film. Don't be surprised if next year at the MTV Awards this ex-veejay gets the Moonie for `Best Sexy Shoulders and Chest'.

Final spark

To round off the Diwali festivities there was a `Bollywood Beats Night' organised at the Gallery 678 just north of Soho. This gallery plays host to several Asian performers and artistes. Before the `Dum Maro Dum' remixes reverberated across the room, thanks to the stubby fingers of one DJ Rekha, Mumbai author Vikram Chandra was felicitated for the recent release of his two books in paperback editions. Chandra read a wickedly funny excerpt from his new novel which he is currently writing in Washington DC. On hand to encourage this prodigious talent weresome of New York's literary world giants as well as some friends from Mumbai like poet-eccentric Jeet Thayil and the brother-sister team of restauranteurs Rekha and Ajay Sharma. I had visited the same Gallery a fortnight before to attend the birthday of Gitu Ramani, youngest daughter of agony aunt Bina Ramani and sister to the multi-talented and flake-like nymph Malini Ramani. The Ramani name is quite hip amongst New York desi's and very soon after landing here I realised that there are two evenly divided camps -- those that love Bina R and those who virulently loath the lady. I still have to find out why the latter feel as they do but I firmly affirm that I sycophantically belong to the former group. Alas for all her social graces and air kisses dear Gitu's party was a flaccid affair. Much like Diwali in New York.

Riyad Wadia, avant garde film-maker, is currently at home in New York.