a boy named suvir

So who was my tour guide as I wondered around India with Gary? Let me tell you a little bit about Suvir... Born in New Delhi to a diplomatic Dad and academic historian Mom, I don't think he's ever done a stitch of housework, driven a car or mailed a letter in his life. He's lived with servants his whole life. Suvir is gay, so outwardly gay that he's accepted in India. As he puts it, "In India, if you are honest, you are accepted. One's choices are accepted as one's destiny in a country where karma reigns supreme." There is always their next life, he says with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. He is extremely bright, very quick and extraordinarily funny. You know me, I've always loved gay men so it's an easy wing to be under. Suvir Saran came to America in 1991 to study. While in college, his parents made him get a job 3 days a week to learn "American ways." He worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a clerk in the MET Shop. On the third day of his new job and life in America, he waited on Bill Clinton. To Suvir, Bill Clinton represented everything he aspired to. They got along famously and as soon as Bill left the store, Suvir was promoted to buyer. Already he was living the American dream! Today, he is is the owner of Devi, a top Indian restaurant in Manhattan and a fantastic cookbook writer. Definitely one of the "boys club of chefs" in NY along with Jean Georges, Mario, Eric, Cesare, Daniel... Suvir is the Indian version. And I'm lucky to be seeing India through those Indian eyes.