Talk Jhaal Mishti

This week we touch on the subject of expectations and boundaries about health issues. When we are dealing with an illness in the family or grieving a death or loss how much bandwidth can we have to maintain our own mental health and also be accountable to others who are sharing their thoughts and feelings with us. We also have a chuckle over everyone diagnosing all our ailments with a medicine for...

When you listen to our next guest's music, you can't help but sit up. He has redefined the sound of Bangla music, infusing different genres into his song and making the lyrics unforgettable. At Talk Jhaal Mishti, our goal is to bring attention to the remarkable contributions of Bangladeshis who are shaping our cultural landscape. Meet Farooque Bhai Project.

On this episode we respond to a few anonymous questions sent from our listeners. There is banter, a lot of laughter and our experiences. Disclaimer-We are not experts and these are our personal opinions and not to be generalized. Thank you for sending in questions-we love to see the engagement coming from all over the globe.

THIS NEW EPISODE features our first guest Tazeen. We explore conversations around sexuality, taboos around queer relationships and navigating what dialogue looks like and CAN look like as a deshi. We get candid on accepting who we are and giving permission to step out of the norm.

Self care is essential for all of us. This is also something that we neglect the most. This episode gets down to the nitty gritty about self care. From weight loss medication, cosmetic procedures we open up about all the different ways we can care for ourselves.

Let's talk about relationships, dating, childhood crushes and navigating this scary terrain with deshi parents. This leaves many of us moms wondering what when and how do we navigate all this with our kids? Also, how similar and different were our experiences in "bidesh" vs BDesh? We can never forget the brave chauffeurs in Bangladesh who have all the details on our love lives but never ratted us...

On this episode, we discuss all things "shorir kharap" or otherwise known as getting your period. Growing up between two cultures, having your period came with various taboos so, here is to diminishing shame and stigma around having the most natural experience as a woman, PERIOD!

Ki forshaa! Ki shuknaa! Ki shundor!! Toxic beauty standards, often based on Eurocentric features and body types, have been ingrained in our minds for generations. Ranging from racism, to classism to media, we’re impacted by these beauty standards more than we may know.

With all the Barbie hype, we wore pink and talked about colorism and the negative impact of the “western” beauty standards in our Bengali communities.

In this episode, we talk about why and how this podcast came to life…we’re often asked what motivated us to do this and we each share our perspective on the need for a space where Bangladeshi-Americans are represented in a fun and realistic way.

Dawaats, vacations, a perfect home, a perfect body, a perfect life…. Even if we can tell what is real and what isn’t, in this episode we talk about what we consume on social media can make an impact on our well-being. Especially, on kids.

“Ektu too much hoye gese na?!” Let’s talk about social media influencers! How far is too far when it comes to what we share?

The FOMO, the nostalgia, the multiple outfits for multiple dawaats, the pressure to pass traditions on to our kids - it’s all so real. While expectations are evolving, we’re doing our best to hold on to what we love and embracing new trends and traditions to make Eid extra special for everyone!

Our Babas (and Maas) did the best they could, with what they knew. They showed us their love more than they knew how to tell us. Now we’re trying to do the same…some things we carry with us, other things we have to unlearn…

There were many expectations and very little explanations of what healthy relationships and biye, shongshar should be like…so we start to unpack what we learned, unlearned and are still figuring out in therapy!

How many versions of your name end up on your Starbucks cup? In this episode, we talk about how our names impact our identities, even when they’re mispronounced or end up on the “No Fly” terrorist list!!!

Traveling to OR living in the Motherland comes with its own set of unique experiences that are fun and traumatic all at the same time!!

How we met was very random. Our parents didn’t know each other and some of us connected doing dushtami when our Maa’s weren’t watching. 😉 But how we became friends was because of social media, our love-hate relationships for melas and biye and the universal love for gorur gosh!