(Correspondents Continued)

Lavina Melwani, who is from New Delhi, writes for publications in the US, India and the Far East. Her family is originally from Sindh. She resides in New York with her husband and two children. Lavina is active in Children's Hope, a charity to assist children in India. Her sensitive touch features social issues and the arts, including New York Loves Ganesha (11-93), Mixed Marriages (3-94), Afghanistan Hindus (6-94), Famous Vegetarians (1-95), The Grand Dame of Kathak (3-95), Women Film Directors (2-95), The Veggie Revolution (12-95), the UN after 50 years (2-96), Sky Is Not the Limit (4-97), 35mm Mega-Memoir (12-97) and Hear Krishna's Flute (11-97). In sharing her vision, Lavina tells us, "I have always loved the way Hinduism allows one to have a close, one-on-one relationship with a very personal God. It is a very loving, elastic and all-embracing religion, and I hope in the years to come these will be the features the world will get to see, rather than the fundamentalism or rigidity espoused by a few." You can read her musings on culture, the arts, cuisine and faith at her blog www.lassiwithlavina.com

                                  ;                                 & nbsp;                                 ;Continued on the next page.