The Brown Girl Blueprint

What if the secret to true professional success isn’t just about what you know, but how much kindness you are willing to show along the way? In this episode of The Brown Girl Blueprint, I sit down with Pinky Lilani CBE, founder of the Women of the Future programme and the Asian Women of Achievement Awards. Over the last 25 years her portfolio of events, initiatives and networks has supported the n...

How do you preserve your cultural heritage when you leave your home country at just 16 years old? In this episode of The Brown Girl Blueprint, I sit down with Rasmita Kerung, the founder of Sarir Poshak, a sustainable sari brand celebrating traditional handloom craftsmanship. Rasmita shares her journey of moving from Nepal to the UK as a teenager, navigating a new culture, and eventually launching...

Why do comments about staying out of the sun or praising "fairness" still echo through our families and communities, and what impact does this have on our children? In this episode of The Brown Girl Blueprint, I sit down with Moniza Hossain, a children's author whose recent book, Ritu and the Sun, explores the deep-seated issue of colourism through a child's lens. We dive into the historical roots...

What does it really take to unlearn the "good girl" conditioning that so many South Asian women inherit, and how do we begin to choose ourselves without drowning in guilt? In this episode of The Brown Girl Blueprint, I sit down with Nisha Jandu, an integrative therapist and founder of Inner Space Therapy, alongside my Aunt Rekha (you will hear me say Rekha Masi - which means maternal aunt in my la...

Have you ever looked at your wardrobe and felt like none of it really reflects who you are? In this episode of The Brown Girl Blueprint, I sit down with personal stylist and author Neelam Mistry to explore how personal style goes far beyond fashion - it is about identity, confidence, and giving yourself permission to be seen. We dive deep into the duality of dressing as a woman of the diaspora, th...

How do you go from working part-time on a supermarket checkout to leading sustainability for global giants like Starbucks, WeWork, and Just Eat? In this episode of The Brown Girl Blueprint, I sit down with the incredible Jaz Rabadia MBE, a trailblazing engineer and one of the UK’s most influential voices in sustainability. Jaz shares her inspiring journey from navigating her ‘Brindian’ heritage an...

What does it actually take to pack up your life, leave the NHS, and rebuild your medical career from scratch in the United States? In this episode of The Brown Girl Blueprint, I sit down with the incredible Dr. Anjelli Wignakumar, a British doctor who successfully matched into general surgery at NYU. We dive deep into her journey from completing her foundation training in London to navigating the...

I love conversations like this because they remind me what real commitment actually looks like. In this episode of The Brown Girl Blueprint, I sit down with Charan Dhesi, the first Sikh female professional boxer in the UK, and honestly, her story stayed with me long after we finished recording. From starting out as a shy kid in Hull to becoming a national champion and now stepping into the profess...

I’ve been really looking forward to sharing this second part of my conversation with Jasmine Dotiwala, especially as we mark International Women’s Day. In this episode of The Brown Girl Blueprint, we go beyond the headlines and accolades to talk about what success actually looks like behind the scenes. From receiving an OBE to juggling life, work, and caring for loved ones, this is an honest, emot...

I was genuinely excited for this conversation. Jasmine Dotiwala has spent more than 25 years at the heart of music, media and culture, interviewing some of the biggest names in the world and helping shape the stories we see on screen. In this first part of our conversation on The Brown Girl Blueprint, Jasmine joins me to reflect on her journey from growing up in West London navigating identity and...

In this episode of The Brown Girl Blueprint, I sit down with Krishna Mistry, an award-winning Technical Programme Manager recognised as one of The Manufacturer’s Top 100 and recipient of the Asian Women of Achievement Award. With an impressive career in automotive engineering, including roles at Bentley Motors and McLaren Automotive, Krishna has led high-performance projects from concept through t...

Sitting down with Priya for this conversation felt like being back in her office again, laughing too loudly and talking about everything from ward rounds to life choices. In this episode, I wanted to understand how she actually did it: moving from India to the UK, retraining from scratch, building a complex surgical career and raising two children with very little family nearby. What came through...

I’m always inspired by women who pivot boldly to follow their passion and Ela Teague’s journey from classroom to kitchen is exactly that. In this episode of The Brown Girl Blueprint, I sit down with Ela, founder of Cook Eat Joy, about her Gujarati roots blended with East African influences, the joy of reconnecting with heritage through food, and how she built a business teaching home-style Indian...

I’ve been so excited to share this conversation - Eleena Misra is exactly the kind of trailblazer who inspired me to start The Brown Girl Blueprint. In this episode, I sit down with Eleena, a powerhouse barrister and King's Counsel who's shattered ceilings in the legal world. We talk about everything from navigating cultural identity as an Asian woman in law, to the breakthroughs that got her wher...

Lately, life has felt a little overwhelming - like I’m just about holding it together. Some days it’s home-cooked meals, other days it’s hospital food. I forget to reply to messages, fall asleep on the sofa mid-chapter, and question everything from my career to whether I’ve made my family or myself proud. As women, especially minority women, there’s this constant pressure to achieve, to exceed, to...