E. NINA ROTHE

I was born in Florence, Italy where I also spent my early childhood. At age 11 I moved with my parents to Los Angeles. When they decided to separate a year later - and not a moment too soon in my opinion! - I followed my mom and came to NYC, the city I still call home today. I have explored living elsewhere - six months working in Florence, then three months in Jamaica, six months in London, right after 9/11 and recently two more years in L.A.- but New York always lures me back. With all its grunge and noise, the city has endless possibilities around every corner. And it is probably the only city on earth where it is more difficult to be married than to be single.

Upon my return from London, I met a man on the NYC subway. I believed him to be my prince charming, my “knight in shining armor”. I would have followed him to the ends of the earth (ended up following him to Los Angeles instead!) because of the way I felt around him. When I later discovered that he was not so much a prince as much as a court jester and that the bright light I was seeing in his eyes was my own image reflected back at me, I had to end the relationship. On a sad September day, I kicked him out of the apartment we shared in South Hollywood. But on that same day, the journey - towards this website, my book and being a strong, fun loving woman - began.

Cocktail parties introductions are always very complicated for me. I love to socialize, don’t get me wrong, but explaining what I do for a living is a long and arduous task. Let me see… I own and run a real estate rental business which is my main source of income. I was a shoe model with Nine West for 15 years, since summers in high school. “Shoe model” you ask? It is the enviable job of trying on hundreds of fabulous shoes for long periods of time and getting paid while doing that. And then, I write. I write, because I cannot imagine NOT writing. It is in my blood - my grandfather Hans was a famous writer and translated Shakespeare into German, before he was chased out of Germany by Hitler and his goons. I write, because it is what I love to do every morning when I email all my friends and receive their thoughts of the day. And I write, because when something falls apart in my life it is the only way to chase away the blues. My first professional writing assignment was a piece on Chic Today about being single and happy about it on Valentine’s Day. Talk about coming around full circle!

These days, my writing can be found from the Gulf, to India, to the US and back. I freelance with Bespoke Luxury Magazine, the AVS TV blog and have been published in Tehelka Magazine. I won’t be petty and mention by name several other publications which didn’t consider it right for them to publish my articles, but ended up stealing excerpts of them anyway. Ah, but the power of Karma is on my side though…

“Happily Unmarried Ever After - a Fairy Tale for the Modern Woman” is my book. In it I ask the question: “Just who is the Modern Woman?” The quick answer: “She is definitely her mother’s daughter, still dreaming of a fairy tale wedding with the man of her dreams, who falls in love with her at first sight and sweeps her off her feet. She also wants to somehow follow the traditional women’s roles and likes showing off her cooking skills and well groomed home. On the other hand, she knows that if her prince charming does not come along before her biological clock ends its constant ticking sound booming through her head, she can always adopt a child. She is aware that even if she does not make as much money as her male counterparts, her apartment is always bigger and filled with prettier things than those of her single male colleagues. She also definitely does not wait around for the right guy to drop into her life. Instead, she enjoys living a full life and trying it all, either on her own or with her circle of dear friends and family around her.” That’s the short answer. For the long answer… you will have to read the book.

I am often asked why the name The Ajnabee? Well, because to quote the Kinks we all are “Strangers on this road we are on, We are not two we are one…” and anyway, there is no more beautiful word to describe a stranger than the Hindi/Urdu version ‘Ajnabee’. There is a mystical quality to it which is simply inexplainable. So, join me on this journey and discover all there to life through the eyes of a stranger, one who manages to view those seldom seen places and become part of those coveted inner circles but never forgets just how to explain it all to other outsiders like her… Become my Ajnabee friend.

KANWAL ULLAH

My name is Kanwal Ullah. I am a 27 year old IT Professional living in good old Jersey City, NJ. As some of you may know, I have a deep passion for healthy living. Most importantly, healthy living starts with what you put in your body. Therefore, my passion also exists in healthy cooking. When I’m not in the kitchen working on healthy recipes, you can find me at the gym or roaming the streets of NYC for great food finds.

Born as the daughter of two wonderful Pakistani parents, I particularly crave the culture and food from my ancestors. However, I do not like the fat and calories that have crossed continents to get to me! My passion has developed into revamping our South Asian Cuisine to make it more heart healthy and figure friendly! I run the ‘Kanwal’s Healthy Corner’ column here on The Ajnabee. Connect with me on my blog Ask Kanwal. Bon Appetit!

ZENOBIA SHROFF

Zenobia Shroff has been an actress for over ten years. In new York she has trained at the Circle in the Square Theatre School. She honed her craft at the off Broadway theatre Castillo where she played roles as diverse as Nora in ‘A Doll’s House’ to German avant-gardist Heiner Muller. She has also performed in Mario Frattis ‘Erotic Adventures in Venice’ at the famed La Mama etc. and Milan Kunderas ‘Jacques and his Master’ and well as at the New York Comedy Club.

She has taught drama and performance extensively in the New York City area.

Most recently she was in Sooni Taraporevala’s ‘Little Zizou’ presented by Mira Nair. For that role she was nominated as Best Actress at the Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival in 2008. Look for her in ‘When Harry Tries to Marry’, an independent film, out in September 2010.

Zenobia is an accomplished Bharat natyam dancer and writes and performs sketch comedy. She runs the ‘Zen and the Art of…’ column on The Ajnabee. Say hello on Facebook.