March 2025 – Issue No. XII
Welcome to the March edition of SHOR, a curation of South Asian experiences in New York City.
In this issue we highlight March events, spotlight the founders of the Bungalow Collective, and debut our newest issue section — restaurant reviews! — covering Bungalow in East Village (yes, March is a “Bungalow” double feature!).
Events
A list of upcoming events in March.
Veer Munshi: Healing Wounds — February 1 - March 8
Veer Munshi’s first NYC solo exhibit, displaying Kashmiri art and motifs of displacement from home and separation from one’s culture.
Aicon (NoHo) | Community and Culture | Details
Kolkata Chai x Deli Boys Block Party — Friday, March 7th
Kolkata Chai hosts a block party for the Deli Boys launch.
60 Kenmare St (NoLita) | Community | Tickets
Remastered — Friday, March 7th
AGAMI, Adhiv + Mad Swami, and standard take on Eris.
Eris Evolution (Williamsburg) | Dance and Music | Tickets
Dalya x Cafe Aroma — Saturday, Sunday — March 8th, 9th
Dalya collabs with Cafe Aroma to celebrate women’s history month..
107 Sullivan St (SoHo) | Fashion and Community | Details
Manasi Arya Presents: Chai & Paint — Monday, March 10th
Manasi Arya hosts a Chai and Paint at BG Clubhouse.
BG Clubhouse (NoMad) | Art and Community | Tickets
Celebrating 50 Years at Kapoor Galleries — Tnursday, March 13th
Kapoor Galleries 50th anniversary opening reception on the UES.
Kapoor Galleries (UES) | Art and Community | Tickets
Jimmy Khan — Friday, March 14th
Jimmy Khan performs a catalog of Pakistani indie-pop in EV.
DROM (East Village) | Dance and Music | Tickets
Holi Hai — Saturday, March 15th
An outdoor, all-day Holi celebration.
3DB Yard (East Williamsburg) | Community | Tickets
The Tata Bazaar — Saturday, Sunday March 15th - 16th
A pop-up tea bazaar featuring local brands.
27 Allen Street (LES) | Community | Details
EMEL, Rasha Nahas — Tuesday, March 18th
Jimmy Khan performs a catalog of Pakistani indie-pop in EV.
Pioneer Works (Red Hook) | Dance and Music | Tickets
PRANA Presents Amapiano Warriors — Saturday, March 22nd
This newly launched collective takes on The Sultan Room.
The Sultan Room (Bushwick) | Dance and Music | Tickets
Nowruz: Celebrating Renewal and Community Resilience — Saturday, March 22nd
An Iftar benefit dinner, with proceeds given to newly arrived Afghan asylum seekers.
Midtown | Community | Tickets
Ravi Gupta presents: Garbage Town— Thursday, March 27th
Ravi Gupta in conversation with former NY congressman Max Rose.
P&T Knitwear (LES) | Literature and Community | Tickets
Habibi— Thursday, March 27th
Hypnotic grooves and lush melodies at Xanadu.
Xanadu (Bushwick) | Dance and Music | Tickets
Saree About It — Friday, March 28th
A comedy show with Lady Bushra.
Don’t Tell Mama (Hell’s Kitchen) | Comedy | Tickets
Mirari — Friday, March 28th
DJ Halla performs at the Public Hotel.
ArtSpace @ PUBLIC Hotel (LES) | Dance and Music | Tickets
Bollywood DHAMAKA— Saturday, March 29th
A night of bollywood beats at the Sultan Room.
Sultan Room (Bushwick) | Dance and Music | Tickets
ZEEMUFFIN — Saturday, March 29th
ZEEMUFFIN takes on Elsewhere.
Elsewhere (Bushwick) | Dance and Music | Tickets
Kiran Deol — Saturday, March 29th
Kiran Deol takes on NoHo with her comedy show, curated by Margaret Cho.
The Public Theater (NoHo) | Comedy| Tickets
COMING SOON
Habibeats — Saturday, April 19th
Habibeats stops by NYC on his North America tour.
Brooklyn Paramount (Downtown Brooklyn) | Dance & Music | Tickets
Four Tet & Friends— Saturday-Sunday | May 17th-18th
Four Tet and Friends return to Under the K Bridge in May.
Under the K Bridge (Greenpoint) | Dance & Music | Tickets
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Know an event we should add to our next list? Shoot us a message at shor.newyork@gmail.com or DM us on Instagram!
March Spotlight: Bungalow Collective
A micro-profile of South Asian change makers.
If the blank walls of my apartment and long walks through Manhattan inspire anything, it’s a hunger for art. And yet, in a city overflowing with talent, knowing where to begin can feel overwhelming.
Smriti Vaidya and Riya Gilja felt this too. New York natives and college best friends, they spent years immersed in the city’s creative circles, meeting artists, musicians, and filmmakers from the South Asian diaspora. But something was missing: a central space where these voices could converge. In 2023, they decided to build it themselves, co-founding Bungalow Collective, a NYC-based art ecosystem that showcases the vast and varied talents of South Asian artists.
Today, their platform spans disciplines—paintings, prints, digital art, film, music, textiles—and extends beyond the virtual, into real-life spaces. In just over a year, Bungalow has hosted everything from gallery shows to film screenings and fundraisers, creating a much-needed space for South Asian artists to not just be seen, but to thrive.
"It’s truly been a labor of love," Smriti tells me. Both she and Riya juggle full-time jobs outside of Bungalow, yet their commitment to amplifying artists keeps them going. Their mission is simple: to amplify South Asian artists and to build a space where creatives don’t have to fit into a preordained mold.
“The art or stories that we hear often feel extractive in nature,” Riya shares. “In the West, South Asian art is often expected to look a certain way.” At Bungalow, she and Smriti want to push against that notion, offering a platform that embraces the full breadth of South Asian artistry.
Bungalow’s Artist Spotlight series gives emerging and established artists alike a platform to share their work and creative philosophies. Their website also serves as a hub for artists to sell original pieces and prints—though Smriti and Riya are quick to clarify that Bungalow isn’t about commercialization, but visibility, giving artists a chance to reach a broader audience.
Their impact is already tangible. In December 2023, Bungalow’s launch event, "Roots & Routes," transformed a three-story space into an immersive art installation featuring over 100 artists and live DJ sets. In the past year, they’ve also collaborated with the Rickshaw Film Foundation to co-host "Frames in Focus"—a short film showcase at the Angelika Film Center—and teamed up with Brown Girl Magazine for a pop-up print collaboration at the Slashie Summit.
So far, Bungalow’s growth has been largely organic—spreading through word of mouth, open calls, and a growing network of artists hungry for a space of their own. Over the next year, Smriti and Riya have big plans to keep building on this momentum, expanding their slate of community events, from workshops and exhibitions to new creative collaborations.
At SHOR, Archit and I are eager to follow along—keeping you in the loop for what’s next.
— Urooba
March Food Corner: Bungalow
A monthly review of a Desi food spot in NYC.
Trying something new here—not only because we’re running out of chai spots to visit, but also because I eat a lot of food and figured my unsolicited opinions may as well extend beyond chai to full-on restaurant reviews. I’m already a fiend for long-winded Beli reviews, so why not?
There’s no better way to start this new chapter than with Bungalow in East Village, the latest flagship restaurant of Michelin Chef Vikas Khanna. This spot opened back in 2024 and became an instant, impossible-to-get-a-reservation hit. Fortunately, I live super close by and have had the chance to eat and grab drinks here a few times over the last few months.
This is the South Asian spot that influencers across all backgrounds have been reviewing. Oddly, some of them have been super negative, which feels a bit like overcorrecting. In my opinion? They’re doing too much.
Ironically, I’m not the type of person who enjoys taking 1,000 photos of my food (in my influencer era, though). But it must be done for the fans—all four of you who read past Urooba’s far more interesting interviews to get to my stream of consciousness. That said, it’s good to try new things, and if nothing else, I’m learning how to take better photos—or at least outsourcing to my friends.
The Experience: From the moment you walk in, Bungalow transports you from the chaotic oasis that is the nexus of the universe to a high-end speakeasy-meets-gymkhana. The layout is beautiful, the ceilings are high (a rare find in NYC), and the ambiance sets the perfect mood for an indulgent evening.
The Cocktails: After a few visits, I think I’ve had just about every drink on the menu, and they are uniformly excellent. Personal favorites: Vimaan, Paan Sour, Lucky Cheng, Bangalore Club, Kaali Peeli Taxi, and Holi Moly. If you’re feeling a desi uncle moment, they have plenty of whiskey options, too.
The Food: We tried the Banarasi puri, chaat, yogurt kebab, five-cheese kulcha, Anarkali chicken, Ammi’s lamb chops, dal, and pulled lamb. Everything was delicious—some dishes more memorable more than others—but nothing dipped below the “very good” standard. The Anarkali chicken and the dal specifically stood out to me, and I still think about them longingly.
One thing Bungalow guarantees: extremely high quality dishes, a well-curated menu, and and flavors you won’t find at 95%+ of restaurants in North America. If you ever go to a restaurant thinking it’ll change your life, you might leave underwhelmed—so my advice is to come with an open mind, know you’re in good hands, and just enjoy the crafted cocktails, transportive atmosphere, and thoughtfully executed entrees.
Even if you don’t score a reservation, Bungalow is a great for a pre-dinner drink or a nightcap in the East Village or LES. Who knows? Maybe by the time you arrive, a table will have magically opened up.
— Archit
Thank you!
If you read this far, thank you for checking out the March issue of SHOR! We will keep updating our events calendar throughout the month, but feel free to follow our instagram for event reminders and more frequent updates.
We’ll see you in April for our next edition!