Midnight's child and lifetime fatwee (sic) Salman Rushdie was in New York last weekend to promote his new novel The Ground Beneath Her Feet. News of his appearance sent the now-expected buzz through the literati who were keen to participate in the round of hype that is standard with a new work by this century's most infamous writer. Until the day before the event the exact location of his reading was unknown -- making several bounty hunters naturally upset -- and in turn creating havoc as to what the exact dress code should be (bullet proof pea coats or metallic lined cashmere sweaters --either option in black, of course). Finally a flurry of telephonic messages revealed that the venue would be a hall at the Cooper Union, a traditional place for such gatherings. After all the excitement the event itself was lacklustre. The review in the New York Times panned the book for being too verbose and said Rushdie seems to indulge in too many words without thescintillating prose of his earlier masterpieces.

The premise however seems interesting -- two Bombay born individuals (Ormus Cama -- no relation to Mehli Cama of Bombay Samachar! and Vani Apsara) become rock n' glamour stars internationally and their lives end in misery but not before enacting a modern day Orphean parable (or Kama & Rati mythology). In an interview this week Rushdie talks of growing up in Bombay in a time when there was no television and a state-controlled radio. He, like so many other million silent individuals, spent most moments of their youthful adolescence listening to the more liberal airwaves of Radio Ceylon and hearing the mesmerising sounds of the then-new singers like Elvis Presley. Based on this memory of his childhood, Rushdie's pen takes a magic carpet flight and creates scenarios where the central characters know the words to famous songs 1,001 days before those very songs are penned! Rushdie will soon join the pantheon of these famous singers when in September thefamed band U2 will perform his lyrics to "Ground Beneath Her Feet" on their upcoming album.

Feminine glory

Dancer, painter and multi-media artist Sukhanya Rehman may be relatively unknown in the land of her birth but here in New York she is one of the brightest representatives of India's international culture. Daughter of the legendary Odissi dancer Indrani (who died this January); and grand-daughter of the near-mythic name of Indo-ballet fusion Ragini Devi (the famed writer of Nritanjali, the first ever modern treatise on Indian dance); Sukhanya recently held an exhibition of her creative expression at the prestigious Nancy Margolis Gallery in the heart of art, SoHo. Her art merges the magic of her theatrical background (she studied under, amongst others, Martha Graham and Devaprasad Das) with her love for architecture and form (her father's influence) and what emerges are boxed dioramas that are part documentary, part collage, part political thought, and part Indo-western culturalconfluence. With prices ranging from $ 1,000 to $ 10,000, her work is the toast of New York's elite and discerning culturatti. Not one to waste time preening her feathers and basking in media glory she retreats for months on end in her sprawling home in Maine Island, where with her husband Frank Wicks, she spends her time on her creative pursuits. Passionate about the need to contribute to a better understanding between the East and the West, this former Sonarian, has toured the world, from Paris to London to New Delhi, with several projects, notably her year-long tour titled `Feminine Images in the Myth, Art and Dance of India: 4,000 years of Hindu Expression of the Woman'.

Sukhanya's Indian counterpart is undoubtedly the maverick and vivacious Mallika Sarabhai, who under the auspices of the Indo-American Arts Council, recently wowed the worms in the big apple, with her stellar performance of `Devi: The Mother Goddess'. Held at the imposing Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, thisdefinitive Draupadi disrobed the myriad myths surrounding the stereotypes of Indian femininity and through her grace and command exposed the patriarchal clutches of Indian story-telling. Methinks the two, Sukhanya and Mallika, should team up and create the first multi-media performance piece on the subjects close to their heart, a fitting start to the next millenium.

Indi-shop

Hindi music fans the world over can now purchase CD's and more from a new internet site scheduled to unveil itself in early May. The site www.zibamusic.com will feature only genuine stuff -- no pirated materials, Polygram India's Vijay Lazarus can breathe easy. Brainchild of Los Angeles- based Punjabi lad and enterprising events promoter Sanjay Sabarwal and his dhokla buddy partner Rajesh Patel. Between them they run a henna boutique (with Madonna as one of the reported clients), a gujju snack store, an Indian beer company (!), and several other ventures from beauty pageant promotions to running their ownrecord label. A future planned project is to start a toll-free telephone listing service for Indian entertainment- related businesses. As Sanjay exuberantly understates, "the concept is simple: we want to become the leading experts in South Asian entertainment for North America". Wow.

Cheap shot

Overheard at Spice Cafe, a trendy desi eatery in the West Village:

Question: What happens when a lesbian gets jealous of the power of a gay man?

Answer: A government falls.

Hmmm. Now that's what's called playing with Fire.

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