Ask Anjali Pathak Young who Aishwarya Rai is, and her face might draw a blank. But question her about Hema Malini, Parveen Bobby or Zeena Taman and she can prattle on for hours. That's because Pathak Young was bred on those 80s Bollywood beauties, when she watched Hindi movies every weekend as a child. And she was probably watching those flicks while munching on hot samosas or spicy sashimi, given her obsession with all foods Asian. So it's not a surprise that she's channeled her love for Asian food and old Bollywood vixens into Happy Lucky Us, a kitschy-cool line of handmade totes, camis, tees and more featuring cheeky phrases like "I heart mango lassi," "Bollywood is for lovers" and "Desilicious."

The family way
The daughter of a Gujarati father and a Maharashtrian mother, California-bred Pathak Young didn't face the cultural confusion that many second-generation South Asians confront growing up. "There wasn't a lot of compromising in my life," she explains. "The minute you walked through the door of my house, everything was Indian. When I was outside the house, it was OK to be non-Indian—Until I was old enough to know better, I thought hamburgers and hotdogs were vegetarian, because though we were vegetarians at home, my parents wanted me to acclimate and never stopped me from eating that stuff outside of the house—I never did Indian things outside the home." She adds, though, that she never felt any identity conflicts and has always been very proud of her heritage.

But Pathak Young's upbringing did fit the typical desi stereotype in one way: When she was 10 years old, her parents ingrained in her the idea that she would become a lawyer. So even though Pathak Young spent her childhood in creative pursuits like posing stuffed animals for portrait sessions or replicating newspaper comics onto large sheets of paper, there was no doubt about what profession she'd pursue. "When parents start at such a young age, you don't even grow to question it. It's like, my hair is black. I will be a lawyer," she recalls.

Dutifully, Pathak Young enrolled at UC-Berkeley, double-majoring in history and political science. But her itch for art never died—she spent her free time taking printmaking classes and painting pottery. Still, Pathak Young enrolled in law school a year after graduating from college and was on her way to fulfilling her parents' dream.

Fan of fusion
It wasn't until she had practiced law for four years that Pathak Young realized her heart simply wasn't in it. Living in Los Angeles and married to James Young, her longtime Korean-American beau, she was relieved that her parents had come to accept and love her husband despite the fact that he wasn't Indian. But something still didn't seem right—Pathak Young was feeling an urge to abandon law and turn her creative talents into a career. So she decided to take the plunge, and her relationship with Young played a big part in the direction her new business would undertake: "I'm not the kind of person who is going to stay committed to something unless it has some meaning to me. That's when I decided to do fusion or Asian American centered clothing and styles. That's been my politics this whole time. My lifestyle has been Asian American. It's Indian, it's Korean, it's Japanese. Everyone says, 'Why should Indians be a part of Asians? Why should they be South Asian? Why not Indian?' But that's not our life experience. There's power in numbers. Growing up Asian American, you come home, you eat different things, your parents speak something else, you're not white, you're not black, so we have a bond," she declares passionately.

And so began Happy Lucky Me, a name she selected on a whim after writing countless possibilities on a stack of index cards. While the name doesn't shed much light on the nature of her do-it-yourself line of goodies, it certainly does encompass the exuberant Pathak Young, who seems to be so full of life she'll burst at any moment. Her exuberance must have been contagious, because Pathak Young began selling on her web site a line of homemade tote bags with her signature phrases such as "I heart won tons," and "I heart hot samosas." They were an instant hit with the DIY community. As HLM gained popularity, she expanded the line to add T-shirts, camisoles, hoodies, shorts and more. And her fans seem to "eat" the goods up: "I've had orders from every state in the US and 75 percent of European countries. I get ripped off all the time now—look at Urban Outfitters—'I love spicy tuna?' It's definitely been borrowed from my community," she says proudly.

Now, Pathak Young changes her line about three times a year. Since everything is still handmade (at one point she even needed an assistant to help her keep up with the orders), she likes to vary what she's selling every season. Her current summer gear features the "Bollywood is for lovers" line—a group of totes, tees, hoodies and skirts with images of her beloved 80s Bollywood icons. Later this fall, she'll bring back the "Make love" skirts, which utter the phrase in various Asian languages, including "Pyar karo" in Hindi.

A nurturing network
So what did Pathak Young's parents think of their daughter abandoning their desire for her to be an attorney? They were concerned at first, she says, but after seeing the success of the business, they came around. "Once my parents saw that I made decent decisions in my life, all they really want is for you to have happiness and stability and joy in your life—then it's OK to not be a lawyer anymore. It was about being someone who is worthy of respect. They've been so supportive," she explains. Pathak Young's husband is also incredibly supportive, and the couple has recently moved across country to New York City. The move prompted her to change the name of her line to Happy Lucky Us, reflecting her relationship with Young.

With a burgeoning business in New York City and a loving family at home, you'd think Pathak Young would be ready to relax. But though she is admittedly very happy, she still wants more. Her latest project is to become a stand-up comedian, and she feels she's experienced enough in life to have sufficient fodder for the stage. And if Pathak Young runs of out something to joke about, though that's unlikely, she's not worried about it. She knows she's lucky like that.