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Shakira Baksh is Much More Than “Michael Caine’s Wife”

The Indo-Guyanese model broke barriers in British film and fashion, yet the media too often reduces her to a particular actor’s spouse.

Celebrating Women’s History Month: 2023

This March, read some of our best stories on female South Asian icons across film, music, food, business, comedy, and more.

Doja Cat is Not Indian. Here’s Why We Love Her Anyway.

Amala Ratna grew up in an ashram learning Bharatanatyam and bhajans, but has no Indian roots. This hasn’t deterred South Asian fans from claiming her.

Caring for South Asian Elders in the U.S., Miles from Home

While enrolling aging parents in nursing homes is common practice in the West, for South Asian American families, it’s more complicated.

Saffron, the Hue of the Gods Enmeshed in Scandal

How the color that once conveyed divinity, piety, and national pride became weaponized.

Hot Tamale Louie: The Pakistani, Tamale-Slinging Cowboy

How Zarif Khan changed a Wyoming town and redefined what it means to be American.

Merle Oberon, the Actor Who Passed for White

The first Asian to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar maintained a lie she would take to her grave. Who was she really?

Trinidadian Doubles, the Unlikely Street Food Hit

How the national dish lifted families out of poverty, led to a family feud, and changed Caribbean cuisine forever.

‘The Romantics’ Evokes Nostalgia, But Lacks Nuance

The documentary celebrating 50 years of Bollywood studio Yash Raj Films has touching moments, but avoids deeper conversations.

Our Top 15 Stories on Love: 2023

From the love story of Princess Diana and Hasnat Khan to the queer legacy of ‘Bend It Like Beckham,’ dive into our favorite stories on love in all its forms.

‘Seinfeld’ Failed South Asians. We Watched Anyway.

The popular sitcom’s depictions of “poor immigrants,” India, and Pakistan were grossly racist. So why can’t we quit the show?

The Lost Ritual of Soi Patano

How the close friendships between Bengali women inspired literature and poetry, expanded women’s rights, and made men jealous.

How Indo-Fijians Found a Home in California

Centuries of colonial abuse and decades of discrimination fueled an exodus to a state where about 75% of Fijian Americans live today.

The Black Rulers of South Asia

Former slaves from Africa ascended to power during a time when the subcontinent had far greater social mobility and, perhaps, meritocracy.

Ethiopian and Indian Food: An Interconnected History

Sambusa and samosa. Injera and appam. Misir wot and dal. How over 2,000 years of trade shaped the cuisines of the two ancient cultures.

How the World Lost Dhaka Muslin

Once Bengal’s pride, the translucent fabric vanished under the British. Centuries later, can Bangladesh now resurrect it?

Celebrating Black History Month: 2023

Revisit the often-overlooked and intertwined histories of Black and South Asian communities.

Kalpana Chawla, First Indian American Woman in Space

On the 20th anniversary of the Columbia space shuttle disaster, we revisit the legacy of the unlikely astronaut, who has inspired generations.

Why South Asians Love Jane Austen

Family, marriage, and class collisions. The British writer’s novels seem like the perfect subcontinental literary canon. But not for the reasons you might think.

Madhur Jaffrey, Always the Perfectionist

The chef, actor, and writer showed the West that Indian cooking was worthwhile and Indian women had bite. And she still has several projects up her sleeve.