Heartistry

Kranti empowers girls from India’s red-light areas to become agents of social change. In the past decade, Kranti’s girls have become the first girls of their community to study abroad, to have received UN awards for their social work, given 50+ TEDx and other speeches around the world, and been featured in dozens of international media platforms.  Kranti is also one of the world’s only schools for...

Jingqui and Farah were introduced by a brilliant dancer who knew that both dance artists have created work about the train as it relates to their own culture and personal histories. What a profound reminder that you just never know how you will cross paths (or tracks) with someone, find commonalities, learn from the similarities and differences, and share a strong desire to use an artistic medium...

For the second time, we welcome organizers of Aurat March Karachi to the podcast. Now in its 8th year, this grassroots movement in Pakistan advocates for gender equality and rights of gender-based minorities. Their mission is to create a society where all individuals, regardless of gender, have equal rights and opportunities. Through peaceful protests, advocacy campaigns, and community engagement,...

Anjali Rao brings an intersectional and decolonial feminist lens to the study of philosophy and religion (Indic traditions) integrating storytelling, art and poetry. Deeply influenced by her dance training, Anjali's work emphasizes an embodied approach and explores how spirituality, power and politics intersect. Her first book, "Yoga As Embodied Resistance: A Feminist Lens in Caste, Gender And Sac...

Farhana Huq is a visionary social entrepreneur, executive coach, and thought partner who transforms ideas into meaningful social impact. Her expertise spans traditional arts preservation, immigrant women’s economic empowerment, and surf and ocean culture creation through her platform, brown girl surf. In this conversation with Farhana, we hear how she balances her professional life with surfing, a...

Dr. Nadhi Thekkek is the Artistic Director of Nava Dance Theatre, and uses the south Indian dance form of bharatanatyam to navigate place, identity, and politics through the lens of her lived experience as a South Asian woman and a child of immigrants. She reimagines how bharatanatyam and South Asian forms can serve marginalized narratives that need to occupy space in the US right now. So many mom...

Season 7 of Heartistry is here (!!), and we are launching with a joyful and inspiring conversation with the awesome Hamama Tul Bushra! Trained as a graphic designer from National College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan, Hamama earned her Master’s degree in Art History from the University of Missouri, Kansas City in the United States. Her thesis explored two folios (pages) from a Mughal album, Gulshan Mu...

Aranyani is a Bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer who began her training in 1990. Over time, Aranyani has developed her own distinctive approach to Bharatanatyam focusing equally on the human and divine; the religious and secular; and the traditional and modern. In 2025, Aranyani Co-founded Indian Dancers for Gaza’s children to raise awareness about the plight of children in Palestine, and late...

Mona Ahuja is a certified Yoga Instructor as well as a Pilates Reformer Instructor and Deep Stretch Coach.  There were many moments that we loved in the conversation with Mona, but this had to be one of our favorites. Lesson: acknowledging - and acting on - the importance of how our own happiness and fulfillment can positively impact those around us.  Hear the full episode of @heartistrypodcast on...

This conversation with Mariam Magsi has been a long time coming, as Farah knew right away upon meeting Mariam in Pakistan in 2023, that this was someone that had to be heard on Heartistry! Finally, the stars (and schedules) aligned, and we are thrilled to share this episode and the infinite reflections, takeaways, words of wisdom, you name it, we know you're going to love it!  Based in Toronto, Ca...

Sisters and co-founders Lakshmi and Vinaya Ravi share their path to creating @vyoletclothing where simplicity meets quality and elegance in apparel. Hear the full episode of @heartistrypodcast on @iheartradio app @rukusavenueradio and wherever you hear your favorite podcasts. #PassionCompassionCommitment #Heartistry #Podcast

If you have seen either Roopa Mahadevan or Sruti Sarathy perform, you know just how brilliant they are! If you haven't, now is your chance!! And this time, they are premiering their collaborative project "Songs of Many Lives" which will bring their minds, hearts and music together in ways that are both rooted in their artistic sensibility, and bring so many unexpected layers to it. Swipe to hear @...

Nikita Shah is a brilliant Kalamkari and textile artist, originally from Mumbai, and now based in Brooklyn. This episode is extra special because Farah not only had the chance to learn so much about Nikita, but these two artists are both being presented as part of @whenyesspeaksf on Oct 11 & 12. Nikita will be giving a workshop in Oakland on Sat, Oct 11, and Farah and @nooranidance company wil...

Conversations like this one exemplify so much of what the Heartistry Podcast is all about. Spotlighting voices and stories of individuals who are equally focused on doing the same in the various ways that they show up in the world. Preethi & Shruti are a dynamic duo that - through their own individual and collective artistic practice, as well as through their various endeavors, platforms and o...

Arjun Verma is an internationally acclaimed sitarist trained by Maestro Ali Akbar Khan, Alam Khan, and Roop Verma, and has recorded with GRAMMY-winning artists London Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, and John Beasley, performed with musical greats Swapan Chaudhuri, Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, and Alam Khan, and presented music at the United Nations, the Fillmore, Prague Castle, and on NB...

Phoenyx Rose is a Bay Area-born, multi-hyphenated artist, healer, and movement educator whose work spans Broadway, film, music, and sacred storytelling. With over 2,000 students taught across the Bay Area, Phoenyx is known for weaving life values into every movement, igniting transformation in and beyond the studio. Her creative lineage merges ancestral power with modern expression, empowering oth...

Saadia Khan is the founder of Indus Threads, an impact driven fashion accessories brand that blends culture with elegance while empowering women through style. After leaving her corporate career, Saadia set out to build a brand that not only offers statement pieces but also inspires confidence and self-expression. With a keen eye for design and a passion for impact, she works with global artisans...

Muhammad Joyo @mojofounds is a Pakistani-American, born in Karachi and raised mostly in the US. His moving around a lot while young made him curious about new places and ideas, and was driven by learning and challenging himself to obtain new skills. After working at Google for five years as a software engineer, Muhammad started Elaichi Co, a chai cafe in Berkeley, with his wife and parents, and fo...

Dr. Geetha Murali is CEO of Room to Read, a leading international organization that transforms the lives of children through education. Geetha is a driving force behind Room to Read’s presence in 24 countries — benefiting more than 45 million children. We loved hearing about how Geetha's diverse personal professional experience have culminated into "wins" in various environments, in ways that even...

Seenaya @seenayaofficial was born out of a deep love for Pakistani heritage and the desire to share its beauty rituals with the world. As a mother-daughter duo—Saman and Maha— grew up surrounded by potent, natural ingredients and age-old skincare traditions passed down through generations. Inspired by their grandmother’s rituals and guided by the wisdom of their roots, they created Seenaya to brin...

Devanshi Somaiya is an obstetrician-gynecologist with 20 years of clinical experience and a strong background in public health, and has worked in low-resource settings. For the past decade, Devanshi has concentrated on cost-effective solutions for cervical cancer prevention, including screening and vaccination. Currently, Devanshi leads and serves as a clinical specialist on several local and glob...

Zainab Jeewanjee is a relationship-driven leader who believes “service is sales, and sales is service” and thus her work is rooted in service as a deepest form of connection. She exemplifies this in her actions, and so much of what she shares with Farah throughout this conversation. A Bay Area native, writer, yogi, and global thinker, Zainab brings heart, humility, and intention to everything she...

Kulsoom Aftab is a dramatist, poet, actor, original content creator, director, translator, voice-over artist, script consultant, writing and acting coach, and student counsellor, and the founder and artistic director of Theatre K productions.  Before her building up her own theatre production house, she has served National Academy of Performing Arts in various capacities for twenty years. Kulsoom...

Rana Nadya is a certified fitness trainer and an entrepreneur. She has been a national swimmer for Pakistan as well. Rana completed her MBA, and like everyone in their masters dreamt of an ideal corporate job as the only future. Two years into corporate life, she knew that it was not for her, and that something was always missing.  This is when Rana started doing online certification courses and t...

Taabir Noorani is an artist and yogi living in Karachi, Pakistan. She owns a gym and an art business with a touch of interiors. Farah invited Taabir to be a guest on Heartistry, not just because of her artistry and other endeavors, but also because of her involvement with various other activists and humanitarian efforts. Taabir is a great example of showing up sometimes with something specific to...