Chai Break

Niha Elety is a sustainable fashion advocate and designer/founder of Tega Collective. She uses fashion, art and heritage to bring awareness about sustainability and its importance. When joining the sustainability space full of advocates and leaders, Niha noticed that there weren't many discussions about culture and ancestral knowledge. Since then her goal has been to bring inclusivity and a variet...

In this episode, we chat with Indian-American actress Anjali Bhimani , so much talent packed in one person, its astounding! Her "why not me" attitude helped her pave a unique path in a world where she did not see representation, so she decided to lead the way and not be bogged down by rejections! From the world of TV, theatre, film, virtual gaming world, voice over — you name and she has delved de...

As a chalk carver and Arthropod curator, Anjali has spent over a decade carefully weaving her interests around the natural world. Along with practicing ways of permaculture, she intends to inherit her values from the balancing forces of Gaia and other elements. She is on a quest to bridge the loopholes in the community using her interdisciplinary art skills to narrate diverse thought-provoking sub...

Born and raised in Vijayawada, India, Shravya moved to Brooklyn in 2015 and graduated from the School of Visual Arts with an MPS in Photography. Captivated by oral histories and how they can shape a culture, her work is an exploration of home, identity and personal space largely focuses on the intimate and interpersonal stories of people of color and of queer people. In this chai-versation, we tal...

Shilpa Bhim is the founder of Glowreel, a media startup dedicated to celebrating the achievements and amplifying the stories of BIPOC, Black, Indigenous, and people of color women. Through Glowreel, Shilpa's aim is to ensure current and future generations of BIPOC women feel represented, empowered and inspired to blaze their own trail! We talk to Shilpa about how it was like growing up brown in Ki...

An Architect/ Airport-Designer by training she turned social entrepreneur when she founded Eight Thousand Miles - a sustainable ethically handmade line of children's & adults lifestyle collection, that places social impact at the core of its business model, in 2014, in Mumbai, India. Convinced that life is led best between both her antipodal homes, Mumbai and New York, she is often found shutt...

The word “perfect” has somehow become the ideal that we’re all constantly striving for. The perfect vacation, the perfect dress, the perfectly behaved children and the list goes on. I know we’ve all been guilty of that at some point! Honestly, the word “perfect” can be quite exhausting. It makes life itself feel like a race to reach an ideal that is almost impossible! In this episode, we discuss b...

Deepa Pillai is an Actor, Bharatanatyam Dancer, Choreographer and a Hatta Yoga Practitioner, based out of Planet Earth . An Engineer turned Performing Artiste, she holds a degree from New York University’ Tisch school of Arts as the most recent one. Her interest in life is to decode the magical bond between storytelling and Life and how the former's modalities become root to the latter's existence...

After her successful stint as a corporate executive for many years, Nameeta felt disconnected from her true purpose in life. In 2020, as the world shut down, she embarked on a journey of looking inward and discovered years of generational trauma that needed healing and darkness that needed to be filled with light. While on that path, she also discovered her true purpose: to boldly tell her story a...

We are excited to kick off Season 2 and bringing to you a roster of incredible, every day South Asian women from across the globe who are making a difference in their communities. Our first guest today is Dancer, Choreographer and Founder of Aalokam Dance Company, Bharathi Penneswaran. We talk to Bharathi about her early days growing up in India, what led her to the world of dance and how she trav...

November is celebrated as the month of thankfulness and gratitude here in the United States. Rema and Shwetha each share what they're grateful for and collectively express how thankful they are for an engaged audience like "YOU" - yes, each and every one of you, without whom this podcast wouldn't be what it is! Here's wishing all of you a very happy and joyous Thanksgiving, surrounded by family, f...

In our concluding conversation on sustainability we talk about the history of thrifting and the concept of conscious thrifting. Then we delve into brands that walk the talk on sustainability. Please note: This episode is NOT sponsored by any of the brands mentioned. Each brand is a small, women of color, South-Asian brand who's vision we @ Chai Break believe in. Do check out our Instagram post for...

This episode of Chai Break we talk about Sustainable Fashion something that is very near and dear to our host Shwetha Ravishankar, who after years of working in the retail spaces and becoming a shopaholic as a side effect, started to educate herself about the industry and it's practices. Today, she strives towards sustainable fashion practices and is an Advocate of the NYC Fair Trade Coalition.

Ever before we had even heard of the word "sustainability" we look back at our life growing up in India and reflect on how "sustainable living" was simply a way of living. We were raised in homes where "wastage" of any kind was not encouraged. We up-cycled, re-used, conserved and recycled everything and anything. Lastly we talk about how we're trying to incorporate some of those age old ways into...

Desi moms in South Asian culture all have a few famous lines in common, which have been used as a weapon in parenting for eons. Rema and I look back at our own experiences and some of the most frequently used lines. We also reflect on how they do have an impact in shaping us as adults, cue the show "Never Have I Ever" - we talk about Nalini Vishwakumar and Devi's relationship, which is much like o...

In this episode we talk about body positivity and the impact of body shaming on individuals. We dive deep into our own personal journeys growing up in India and how casual commentary from friends and family can have a lifelong negative impact on your confidence and how you look at yourself. We end the episode with 6 key things you can do to start loving yourself today. Read more on the blog: https...

Long before turmeric lattes and supplements ever became a thing, our grandmothers and their grandmothers have been using spices to enhance the flavor of food as well their medicinal properties. Head to our blog for the recipes mentioned in the episode and one BONUS TIP! https://chaibreakpodcast.com/2021/09/07/spices-from-our-grandmothers-kitchen/

In this episode of Chai Break we explore "Self Love" in the context of our growing up years in India. Was it even a thing back then? What it means to love yourself and what are some self-love rituals you can include in your daily life. Do you have a ritual you'd like to share with us? Write to us at chaibreakpodcast@gmail.com Head to our website to read our blog post about Self Love and leave us y...

Growing up in India, we experienced colorism on an everyday basis. In this episode we explore the roots of colorism and how it came about to becoming such a deep-rooted issue that has been unfortunately passed down from many generations. We also look to the beauty industry that has played a huge part in further solidifying this love-hate relationship with our skin tone.

The 2020 global pandemic brought everything we knew as a normal life to a screeching halt. Looking back, the biggest positive that came out of it was, time. Time with ourselves, our families and time to just stop and really question if we are living our life with true purpose and meaning. We reflect on what has happened and what practices we're taking forward with us into our post pandemic life. E...

Are you an immigrant? Did you move to a different country later in life? Then give ChaiBreak Podcast a listen! This is the story of Shwetha & Rema, 2 Indian immigrants who moved to USA more than a decade ago and how they navigated everything from culture, career and conversations, to becoming the confident women they are today. For more about us and the podcast, visit our website https://chaibreak...