over of the December 1999–January 2000 issue of India Currents (Vol. 13, No. 9), titled “Indian-Americans of the Century.” This special edition highlights key Indian American figures whose contributions shaped U.S. cultural, artistic, scientific, political, and intellectual life during the 20th century.
The cover features a collage of influential Indian Americans — representing fields such as classical music, literature, computer science, performing arts, medicine, activism, and public service. The issue reflects both the growing visibility of Indian Americans at the turn of the millennium and India Currents’ editorial commitment to chronicling their stories for the broader diaspora.
Packaged at the dawn of a new century, this issue stands as a landmark in ethnic media, capturing a moment of reflection on the community’s progress, identity formation, and evolving presence in American society
over of the December 1999–January 2000 issue of India Currents (Vol. 13, No. 9), titled “Indian-Americans of the Century.” This special edition highlights key Indian American figures whose contributions shaped U.S. cultural, artistic, scientific, political, and intellectual life during the 20th century.
The cover features a collage of influential Indian Americans — representing fields such as classical music, literature, computer science, performing arts, medicine, activism, and public service. The issue reflects both the growing visibility of Indian Americans at the turn of the millennium and India Currents’ editorial commitment to chronicling their stories for the broader diaspora.
Packaged at the dawn of a new century, this issue stands as a landmark in ethnic media, capturing a moment of reflection on the community’s progress, identity formation, and evolving presence in American society
Cover of the November 2015 issue of India Currents (Vol. 29, No. 8), featuring the story “Jinnah’s Daughter: The Turbulence of Politics and Romance” by Ritu Marwah. The cover highlights a historical narrative centered on Dina Wadia, daughter of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, exploring how personal relationships intersected with the political upheavals of South Asian history.
The issue reflects India Currents’ longstanding commitment to publishing in-depth cultural and historical features that resonate with the Indian and Pakistani diaspora. Additional cover features include:
“Hello, 911? Someone’s Using 409!” by Gayatri Subramaniam
India’s Sports Leagues by Roshni Marwah
“Levitating Yogini in Krakow” by Nagaraja Rao
Published as part of the magazine’s 29th anniversary year, this issue blends contemporary diaspora topics with historical storytelling, bridging South Asian past and present.
Cover of the November 2015 issue of India Currents (Vol. 29, No. 8), featuring the story “Jinnah’s Daughter: The Turbulence of Politics and Romance” by Ritu Marwah. The cover highlights a historical narrative centered on Dina Wadia, daughter of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, exploring how personal relationships intersected with the political upheavals of South Asian history.
The issue reflects India Currents’ longstanding commitment to publishing in-depth cultural and historical features that resonate with the Indian and Pakistani diaspora. Additional cover features include:
“Hello, 911? Someone’s Using 409!” by Gayatri Subramaniam
India’s Sports Leagues by Roshni Marwah
“Levitating Yogini in Krakow” by Nagaraja Rao
Published as part of the magazine’s 29th anniversary year, this issue blends contemporary diaspora topics with historical storytelling, bridging South Asian past and present.
Cover of the November 2015 issue of India Currents (Vol. 29, No. 8), featuring the story “Jinnah’s Daughter: The Turbulence of Politics and Romance” by Ritu Marwah. The cover highlights a historical narrative centered on Dina Wadia, daughter of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, exploring how personal relationships intersected with the political upheavals of South Asian history.
The issue reflects India Currents’ longstanding commitment to publishing in-depth cultural and historical features that resonate with the Indian and Pakistani diaspora. Additional cover features include:
“Hello, 911? Someone’s Using 409!” by Gayatri Subramaniam
India’s Sports Leagues by Roshni Marwah
“Levitating Yogini in Krakow” by Nagaraja Rao
Published as part of the magazine’s 29th anniversary year, this issue blends contemporary diaspora topics with historical storytelling, bridging South Asian past and present.
Cover of the October 1988 issue of India Currents (Vol. 2, No. 7), historically notable as one of the magazine’s first issues to introduce color printing on its cover. This technological shift marked an early stage in the publication’s expansion and growing visual sophistication.
The issue highlights Mira Nair’s award-winning film Salaam Bombay! at the Mill Valley Film Festival, featuring a still image of actor Shafiq Syed as Chaipau. It also previews articles on:
M.S. Gopalakrishnan at Stanford (“Genius of the Violin”)
Kartik Trivedi in a unique piano recital
Hariprasad Chaurasia’s bansuri performance (“Full Moon Concert”)
As the magazine entered its second year, this issue reflects India Currents’ strong emphasis on Indian arts, classical music, and diaspora cultural events — while showcasing the publication’s early experimentation with color and cinematic themes.
Cover of the April 1994 issue of India Currents (Vol. 8, No. 1), featuring the major story “The Evolution of the Sari.” The cover showcases three models in diverse sari drapes and styles, illustrating the garment’s transformation across regions, generations, and diasporic contexts.
The issue explores how the sari, one of South Asia’s most iconic cultural symbols, has adapted through modernization, migration, and artistic reinterpretation. By spotlighting sari fashion in 1994, India Currents captured a moment when Indian American women were renegotiating tradition and modernity in public and private life.
The cover also references the political climate of the era with the teaser: “Clinton: Good for India?”, demonstrating the magazine’s dual focus on cultural heritage and U.S.–India political relations as experienced by the diaspora community.
Cover of the July 2017 issue of India Currents (Vol. 31, No. 4), featuring the theme “The Fair and the Unfair”, a visual and literary exploration of colorism within South Asian culture. The abstract split-face artwork highlights the contrast between fairness ideals and darker skin tones, prompting readers to consider how color bias shapes identity, beauty standards, and cultural narratives.
The issue includes essays such as:
“A Brown Culture and Its Light Canvases: Does Art Reveal Color Bias?” by Pavani Kaushik
“Will Sambar Die With Me?” by Praba Iyer
“Waking Up to Midlife” by Ranjani Rao
“Paris Climate Accord and You” by Monal Pathak
Published shortly before India Currents ended its print era, this issue reflects the magazine’s commitment to addressing difficult social topics across the diaspora while showcasing emerging South Asian writers and artists.
Cover of the June 2017 issue of India Currents (Vol. 31, No. 3), featuring the theme “Ties That Bind” with a focus on why women don’t walk away from abusive marriages, written by Rasana Atreya. The cover artwork depicts wedding jewelry and mangalsutra motifs contrasted with wedding rings engraved “Always” and “Forever,” symbolizing both cultural expectation and emotional confinement.
The issue also highlights essays including:
“An Alternate Indian-American” by Kalpana Mohan
“My Father: A Daughter Remembers” by Ravibala Shenoy
“Eating Spaghetti With My Hands” by Jaya Padmanabhan
Published just months before India Currents transitioned away from print, this issue demonstrates the magazine’s commitment to addressing urgent social issues affecting South Asian women in diaspora communities, while elevating writers exploring identity, memory, and cultural hybridity.
Cover of the November 2016 issue of India Currents (Vol. 30, No. 8), published during the contentious U.S. presidential election. Featuring Hillary Clinton with a prominent red checkmark, the issue explores campaign rhetoric, political polarization, and the ways South Asian Americans engaged with the election narrative.
The lead story, “Looking at the Rhetoric of the 2016 Election Season” by Arpit Mehta, analyzes how language, messaging, and identity politics shaped public perception and voter behavior.
The cover also references additional articles with cultural and social themes:
“New Zealand Beckons” by Kalpana Sunder
“On Feminism” by Chandra Ganguly
“Savory Stuffed Pumpkin” by Shanta Sacharoff
As part of India Currents’ ongoing civic journalism during its 30th anniversary year, this issue demonstrates the magazine’s commitment to informing, mobilizing, and reflecting the political consciousness of the South Asian diaspora in Silicon Valley and across the United States.
Photograph of the “What’s Current!” section from the May 1998 issue of India Currents (Vol. 12, No. 2). Edited by Vandana Kumar, this cultural calendar documents Indian arts, music, dance, spiritual events, film screenings, theater performances, and community gatherings across the Bay Area.
Highlighted listings include:
Odissi dance performances
Tabla and sitar concerts
The South Asian Film Festival
Family cultural events
Music and bhavageete performances
Religious and spiritual lectures
The facing page features “Tablists in Residence,” an article by Teed Rockwell discussing the rising presence of Indian percussion in the American music landscape, with emphasis on tabla pedagogy, diaspora artists, and cross-cultural collaborations.
This spread illustrates India Currents’ role as a central cultural connector for South Asian communities in the Bay Area during the 1990s, providing one of the most comprehensive calendars of Indian arts and events in North America.
Photograph of the 2024 Leadership & Civic Engagement Award presented to India Currents by the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA). The award recognizes India Currents for its “outstanding continuing coverage on Asian American and Pacific Islander topics, issues and subjects.”
Displayed at the home of publisher Vandana Kumar, the award reflects India Currents’ evolving role as a major voice in AAPI journalism and its continued impact decades after its founding in 1987. This recognition marks the magazine’s contribution to community storytelling, advocacy, and journalistic leadership in the Bay Area and nationwide.
A two-page editorial spread from the April 2017 30th Anniversary Issue of India Currents, reflecting on the magazine’s evolution from its founding in 1987 through 2017. Written by Managing Editor Nirupama Vaidhyanathan, the spread traces three decades of storytelling, community service, cultural coverage, and the magazine’s role in defining and documenting South Asian American life in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The spread highlights:
Key editorial milestones and landmark stories from 1987 onward
Historical turning points such as immigration law changes, post-9/11 community coverage, and the rise of South Asian political and cultural influence
Recurring themes including identity, arts, civil rights, gender, family, religion, politics, and diaspora creativity
The magazine’s transition from early volunteer-driven production to a nationally recognized ethnic media institution
Selected past covers showing India Currents’ changing visual style and its responsiveness to community issues
The spread functions as a mini-timeline, showing how India Currents mirrored the growth, challenges, and aspirations of the South Asian diaspora across thirty years.
Cover of the April 2017 issue of India Currents (Vol. 31, No. 1), marking the magazine’s 30th anniversary (1987–2017). Titled “Our Anniversary Issue,” it reflects on three decades of capturing the “heartbeat of our community.”
The cover features an anniversary design symbolizing continuity and evolution, along with featured stories such as:
“Capturing the Heartbeat of Our Community (1987–2017)” by Nirupama Vaidhyanathan
“Grad Student Decor 101” by Alakananda Mookerjee
“A Music School Turns 50!” by Madina Khan
“My Arranged Marriage with Engineering” by Mariappan Jawaharlal
This milestone issue celebrates India Currents’ long-standing role as a central platform for South Asian arts, culture, commentary, and community news in the San Francisco Bay Area. Serving a multigenerational diaspora, the magazine chronicled cultural identity, immigration, civic engagement, and social transformation over three decades of print publication.
This classified advertisements page from the August 1996 issue of India Currents provides a vivid snapshot of South Asian American community life in the mid-1990s. The ads document the everyday needs, aspirations, and social structures of the Bay Area’s growing Indian and South Asian immigrant population.
The page includes:
Help wanted ads for anti-rape activists, receptionists, and South Indian cooks
Travel, education, and service listings catered specifically to immigrant families
Matrimonial ads, reflecting cultural expectations and identity markers within the community
Early digital services, such as web design and “Internet classifieds,” capturing the rise of tech in the 1990s
Real estate and loan ads by South Asian mortgage brokers and realtors
Marketing targeted to immigrants seeking stability, home ownership, and professional advancement
This page illustrates how India Currents functioned not just as a magazine, but as a community hub, connecting readers to employment, cultural needs, business services, and social opportunities. It serves as an important artifact of the social and economic networks that shaped the South Asian diaspora during a period of rapid growth in Silicon Valley.
Photograph of the Events Calendar from the May 1987 issue of India Currents (Vol. 1, No. 2), documenting the vibrant cultural life of the Bay Area’s early South Asian community. Listings include performances by Pandit Ravi Shankar, Himalayan trekking clubs, South Indian classical dance workshops, spiritual lectures, film screenings, cultural festivals, and community gatherings across Berkeley, Fremont, Hayward, San Jose, and San Francisco.
This calendar section reflects India Currents’ original mission as a comprehensive guide to Indian arts, entertainment, and community engagement in Northern California, illustrating how the magazine connected and informed a growing diaspora long before digital platforms existed.
Photograph of the final print issue of India Currents, published December 2017–January 2018 (Vol. 31, No. 9). This issue marked the magazine’s last physical edition before its transition to a fully digital format after 30 years of print publication.
The cover story, “The Audacity of a Joke: Comics That Make You Laugh, Cry and Think,” written by Geetika Pathania-Jain, explores the emotional and political power of South Asian and diasporic comic art. The issue also features essays including “A Year of Transgressions” by Kalpana Mohan, “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” by Jeanne Fredriksen, and “Top 10 Hindi Films of 2017” by Aniruddh Chawda.
This cover symbolizes the end of an era: three decades of India Currents’ printed presence in the Bay Area, during which the magazine became one of the most important platforms for South Asian voices, arts, and community stories.
Photograph taken at San Jose City Hall celebrating the 25th anniversary of India Currents, one of the Bay Area’s longest-running South Asian community magazines. The image features (left to right):
Chuck Reed, Mayor of San Jose
Cindy Chavez, Vice Mayor
Vandana Kumar, Publisher of India Currents, holding the anniversary proclamation
Vijay Rajvaidya, Vandana's husband
Ash Kalra, California State Assembly Member
Kansen Chu, California State Assembly Member
The event recognized India Currents’ decades-long contributions to Indian American arts, journalism, and civic life in Northern California. The handwritten “Thank You India Currents!!” at the top of the photograph symbolizes the magazine’s long-standing relationship with the communities it serves and the public officials who have supported its work.
A large photographic collage displayed in Vandana Kumar’s living room, featuring iconic South Asian musicians, dancers, vocalists, and performing artists who have appeared in India Currents magazine over the decades. The collage includes images of world-renowned cultural figures such as Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Zakir Hussain, A. R. Rahman, and leading exponents of Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Kathak, Carnatic music, Hindustani music, and other classical and contemporary forms.
The artwork symbolizes India Currents’ foundational mission since 1987: to highlight South Asian arts and bring the richness of the subcontinent’s cultural traditions to Bay Area audiences. The collage also reflects the personal archives and curatorial sensibility of Vandana Kumar, who helped shape the magazine into one of the most influential South Asian cultural voices in the United States.
This visual artifact documents the deep relationship between the magazine and the artistic communities it served, celebrating decades of coverage, performance reviews, artist interviews, and cultural storytelling across print and digital platforms.
A framed collage from Vandana Kumar’s living room, featuring renowned South Asian and global figures who have inspired, shaped, or been featured in India Currents across its 30+ years of publication.
The collage includes portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Paramahansa Yogananda, Amrita Pritam, Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth, Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi), Satyajit Ray, and other writers, activists, scientists, and spiritual leaders.
Together, these images represent the intellectual and cultural backbone of India Currents’ editorial mission, documenting South Asian creativity, global activism, spiritual traditions, political movements, literary achievements, and the personal stories that connect these legacies to diasporic life in the United States.
This collage also reflects the magazine’s role as a bridge between continents, bringing South Asian thought, art, and public life into conversation with the lived experiences of immigrants in Silicon Valley and beyond.
Black-and-white photograph of the early India Currents editorial and production team, taken around 1987–1988, during the magazine’s formative years. This portrait captures some of the publication’s earliest contributors and staff members who helped build what would become the longest-running Indian American magazine on the West Coast.
This period marks the magazine’s transition from a small, volunteer-driven publication, beginning with an eight-page first issue in April 1987 to a rapidly growing community resource covering arts, culture, politics, and immigrant life. The image reflects both the grassroots origins and collaborative spirit that defined India Currents’ early editorial identity.
Photographs like this one provide rare documentation of the people behind the magazine’s founding: a multicultural team representing the diverse experiences, skills, and ambitions of South Asian immigrants in Silicon Valley at the end of the 1980s.
A collection of India Currents holiday team greeting cards spanning more than two decades, showing the evolution of the magazine’s staff, visual identity, and community presence from the late 1990s through the mid-2010s.
These cards—sent annually to readers, advertisers, and community partners—feature team photos, artistic illustrations, and thematic designs. Together, they document:
The growth and changing composition of the India Currents editorial and production team
Shifts in branding, design, and messaging
Milestone celebrations such as 25 years of Excellence (2012) and 28 years of Excellence (2015)
The magazine’s playful, creative engagement with readers and advertisers
Its transition from print-centric formats toward digital editions
The cards underscore India Currents' longstanding role as a culturally rooted, community-oriented publication serving South Asian audiences across the Bay Area and beyond.
Cover of the May 1998 issue of India Currents (Vol. 12, No. 2), featuring astronaut Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-born woman in space. The headline, “Pioneers Don’t Have Role Models,” highlights Chawla’s journey from Karnal, India, to NASA’s astronaut corps, symbolizing the expanding visibility of South Asians in global scientific fields.
This issue also includes features on designer Prakash Bhalerao (“High Ambition”) and an inset segment on Mother Teresa, reflecting the magazine’s broad coverage of Indian arts, culture, and influential South Asian figures. The cover illustrates India Currents’ role in documenting South Asian achievements during the 1990s and inspiring a new generation of diaspora readers.
