A story he heard while in 11th grade has given student filmmaker Shubhashish Bhutiani his first taste of stardom. “Kush,” Bhutiani’s film for his graduation project at New York’s School of Visual Arts, won him the Outstanding Film at the school’s annual Dusty Film & Animation Festival and Awards held May 8.

New York-based musician Falguni Shah, better known as Falu, is set to release her upcoming album “Foras Road,” May 28. Produced by Grammy-award winning producer Danny Blume, “Foras Road,” refers to the Mumbai’s oldest red-light district and traverses the musical traditions and cultural history of India's centuries-old brothels, according to a press release.

What is curry? Today, the word describes a bewildering number of spicy vegetable and meat stews from places as far-flung as the Indian subcontinent, the South Pacific, and the Caribbean Islands. There is little agreement about what actually constitutes a curry. And, until recently, how and when curry first appeared was a culinary mystery as well. The term likely derives from kari, the word for sauce in Tamil, a South-Indian language.

– CHICAGO, Ill. Top local restaurants united on May 2 at the Chicago Cultural Center to support survivors of domestic violence in immigrant communities at the fifth annual Taste for Life hosted by Apna Ghar.  More than 400 people attended the gala, which raised over $100,000 to fund critical services provided by the group, according to a press release from the organizers. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Rep.

– AURORA, Ill. Renowned dancer-choreographer Leela Samson led a troupe of eight in a Bharata Natyam performance at the Metea Valley High School here May 4. “Spanda” was hosted by Natya Dance Theatre. According to a press release from the organizers, "Spanda" refers not only to external movement but also to the inner vibration (naada) that animates all the rhythms of our universe.

Simply put, Indian cuisine presents some of the most satisfying meatless dishes of any in the world, which is why in my relatively short time as a vegetarian I've become something of a regular at Rasika West End in Washington.  But I want to be just as comfortable making Indian dishes at home as I am ordering them out, so I've been studying up.

A review of William Dalrymple's, Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan, 1839-42. This is a book that we should have had ten years ago, and which will still be read in fifty years' time. It is a history of the first war fought by Westerners in Afghanistan in modern times, and is clearly designed to cast a light on our present conflict there.