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May 31, 2005
The End of APA Heritage Month

Egads! It's the last day of Asian Heritage Month. Well, i rather resent that designation because to me, every month is Asian heritage month. Just like every day is My Day, a Woman's Day (take that, Peter Gabriel!). I mean, isn't ownership implied --when a white man tells us it's our month, it means the months are his to give, right? and it means the rest of of the months are white man's months. unless it's secretary's day, or collect flyswatters week, or bike to work day.

Yes, I get it. We have our special month so that documentaries will get aired on PBS and we have some special time to schedule AA arts festivals and such. And it's obviously necessary to get attention at some time of the year, so why not May?

Wait! I just looked up the Census Bureau website and it turns out that May is also "Older Americans" Month. What's up with that? We have to share our month? What if you're both older AND Asian? that's like having your birthday on Christmas -you're kind of dissed.

Is that saying something about Asians, that we're the same month as "Older Americans"? (Older than whom, anyway? Older than me? the president? their children? I guess that's supposed to be a nice way of saying "old". Old Americans Month. Elderly? Senior? I don't know anyone above the age of 16 who appreciates being called "older" or who ran around saying, "this is my month! I'm older!)

I also didn't notice any public celebration of Older Americans Month. It was subsumed by APA Month. So are we unwittingly oppressing Older Americans? Or is every month Older American Month --I mean, look at Congress, the president, the heads of corporations, most rich people. They're older. So they don't need to have special Older Americans Festivals, Street faires, and little public service announcements on TV.

I didn't actually set out to write a big gripe about APA heritage month --i meant to share that if you have a kid in your life, you can get them to write an essay for "Growing Up Asian in America" essay contest. Click the link to read past winners.

Anyway, the month is almost over, so everyone can go back to living their regular, non Asian Heritage Month lives. You can ignore us again, starting tomorrow.

Posted by jennifer at May 31, 2005 11:15 AM


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Comments

Hahaha. The ignorance starts today!!! Or...erm...something like that.

Posted by: Alex at June 1, 2005 5:33 PM

Well, this isn't exactly where this goes, but I don't think I am authorized to start a post, so...

Nirvana Woman Debuts: Glossy, High-End Fashion and Lifestyle Magazine for Indian

Nirvana Woman, the first national fashion and lifestyle magazine targeting one of the fastest growing reader segments — affluent, dynamic and upscale college and professional Indian-American women, is now available nationally in major bookstores including Barnes & Noble and Borders, and many metro airports.

It’s unusual for a relatively new magazine to be picked up for national distribution. But the year-old publication has attracted significant attention in the marketplace since it launched last year. The magazine illuminates the unique heritage and the fusion of Indian and American style, music, and culture with cutting edge fashion spreads, insightful articles on everything from healthy living to heartache, and engaging profiles of movers and shakers in the worlds of fashion, media, entertainment, the arts and business.

Nirvana Woman captures the dynamic lifestyle of today’s Indian-American woman with a perfect fusion of East-meets-West. Our college-age and young professional readers don’t care only about where to find chic saris and the best dal—they also want to know the hottest styles in boots and blue jeans, where to head for a night out on the town, and the ideal restaurant for a first date. The magazine showcases top American and Indian fashion designs and designers, and the latest hair styles, makeup, home décor, restaurants and travel destinations. Colorful layouts and images by some of the country’s top fashion photographers on location in Paris and New York render a magazine that looks as classy on the living room coffee table as it does in a high-end salon and spa.

Achieving NIRVANA Nirvana Woman fills a gaping void in the American print media by serving the most affluent immigrant community in America. With almost two million Indian-Americas living in the United States, including more than 400,000 women, the fusion of Indian culture is becoming increasingly visible in American society, bolstered by the success of Indian-American authors such as Jhumpa Lahiri and Arundhati Roy and films like Bend It Like Beckham, Monsoon Wedding and Lagaan.

Nirvana Woman’s crisp, imaginative cutting edge layout and expert artistic direction make it not only hard to put down but the talk of the town. Appeal is the keyword. Captivation is the goal.

Part Vogue, part Vanity Fair, Nirvana Woman is a sophisticated, glossy quarterly Indian-American magazine with a difference. It’s about vision and visionaries, art and artists, dreams and dreamers, and doers—from all walks of life.

The skilled creative team behind Nirvana Woman brings together mesmerizing photography from top New York professionals and the latest in beauty, fashion, spirituality, health, fitness, dining, travel, entertainment and careers from seasoned writers. Each issue also feature a newsy story on controversial issues like interracial dating, plus profiles of fascinating people, from celebrities to young professionals making a difference around the world. Our covers have been graced with well-known models Padma Lakshmi and Saira Mohan. The spring issue features singer Tina Sugandh, a summer preview of sensationally sexy swimsuits, interviews with Bride & Prejudice director Gurinder Chadha and the movie’s star, Aishwarya Rai, and two of Hollywood’s hottest actors Ajay Mehta and Naveen Andrews, and literary star Suketu Mehta, author of Maximum City: Bombay Lost & Found.

Nirvana Woman readers represent one of the wealthiest immigrant groups in the United States and boast proven high-purchasing power. Many of our readers are MBAs, doctors, engineers, and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. The rest are working in every other imaginable field from banking to non-profits to publishing. All have one thing in common: they want a magazine geared toward their interests.

Given this large community of affluent, educated young women, the handful of existing publications leave a disappointing void for these readers longing for a magazine that speaks to their unique experience as Indian-Americans.

Advertisers, too, have been forced to settle for less-than-ideal outlets by which to reach potential buyers. Nirvana Woman provides advertisers with an elegant, classy, dynamic and entertaining magazine that will showcase products and services to an affluent community that is hungry for a quality publication.
http://www.broadcastindia.com/article435528.html

Posted by: a questioner... at June 6, 2005 7:30 PM

We mentioned this mag on my post way back when about all the Asian women's mags on the market now. (We also wrote about it in issue 5). I hear the magazine was actually founded by a white J-school instructor who saw a niche that needed to be filled.

Posted by: Melissa at June 7, 2005 10:30 AM

"J-school"?????
did he or she have a 'fetish'?

Posted by: a questioner... at June 8, 2005 8:32 PM

J School. Journalism School.

Posted by: Melissa at June 10, 2005 9:52 AM

thanks!

Posted by: a questioner... at June 10, 2005 8:25 PM

I am the founder and publisher of Nirvana Woman along with my co-founder M/S Jaya Patil. So if you have any questions regarding this magazine please ask me.
http://www.nirvanawoman.net/html/fnd_invite_friends.php
here is our online version of nirvana woman

Posted by: deepak srivastava at February 28, 2006 11:58 AM

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