Set the identity politics aside, please. For tonight, at least. Desilicious is all about the party, being yourself, and having fun, fun, fun. Desilicious is a monthly phenomenon featuring the frenetic gyrations and contortions of the dark and the beautiful. Orientation (sexual, political, vertical) be damned! In a city long past “firsts”, Desilicious is New York’s first social space for queer desis to party amongst their own. In doing so,

Tribeca nightclub serves up festive and very queer twist on Bollywood Last Friday night, two nights before Halloween, Pepper, a lounge bar and club in Tribeca, saw exaggerated emotions, extravagant costumes and dramatic dance sequence—vital ingredients to any successful Bollywood film. Bollywood, the colloquial name for the Indian musical film industry, provided inspiration to “Bombay Screams,” a Halloween party organized by Sholay, a South Asian gay and lesbian event production

The fabulous folks from Sholay Productions celebrate two years of Desilicious funIn the Hindi and Urdu tongues, “Sholay” connotes “flame” or “spark.” There’s certainly something ablaze within New York’s Sholay Productions, an events company behind the popular monthly gay South Asian dance party Desilicious. The extravaganzas boast Saree-draped drag queens, dazzling visuals and revelers of all ethnicities gyrating to Bollywood (India’s musical movies) and Bhangra beats. It’s all a spectacular

“Hello, my name’s Shazia Mirza — at least that’s what it says on my pilot’s license!” The young Muslim woman who says these words is dressed in a hijab and in this post 9/11 world, where every Muslim is viewed a terrorist, she manages to elicit laughter from the audience, rather than horrified stares. Shazia, you see, is a stand up comic and like a handful of South Asian comics,

They could not have chosen a worse time to start promoting a party. After Sept. 11, it seemed, house music, dancing and celebrating was the furthest from most people’s priority. On top of it all, their party — one designed for South Asians, many of them Muslim, was eyed by many with suspicion since American propaganda targeted people of Middle Eastern or South Asian backgrounds. Despite initial apprehension and cursory

Subcultures and the subcontinent: That’s the intersection where Ashu Rai lives and thrives. The Indian-born, California-bred party promoter and DJ has been a lightning rod for a cultural scene that might, at first, seem thoroughly under the radar – a niche within a niche within a niche. Yet, it’s becoming one of those rare happenings whose appeal reaches beyond a core audience and becomes something of a sensation. As one