The Indian American Experience Podcast

Send a text On this podcast we have been talking about preserving the wonderful Indian values of prioritizing family, education, respectfulness and such virtues but we have not talked enough about the other side of Indian society such as women being objectified and finding themselves vulnerable and up against many obstacles when it comes to asserting their freedom and sometimes matters relating to...

Send a text In this unique episode I speak to two noteworthy people: Dr. Ratan Sinh Mehta, a centenarian, an amazing man who has left an indelible imprint on the lives of so many people in his life of 100 years and continues to be amazingly articulate, eloquent and a really good sport! He shares his wisdom and his priorities in the long life that he has lived as a brilliant cardiologist, neurologi...

Send a text In this podcast episode, I have a conversation with Rashi Livesey, an Indian American millennial pursuing a master's degree in social work. Rashi eloquently expresses her pride in her Indian heritage, discusses the challenges of maintaining her Indian identity in the US, and emphasizes the importance of embracing cultural roots while acknowledging its complexities. She also touche...

Send a text In this episode, our guest is Rajvi, a 28 year-old software engineer at Microsoft living in New York City. Born and raised in New Jersey, with a stint in Seattle, Rajvi shares her journey of embracing her Indian heritage while growing up in America. From being raised vegetarian in a Jain household to adopting veganism, she reflects on the cultural influence her Indian upbringing had on...

Send a text In this captivating interview, Mayor Ravi Bhalla of Hoboken, New Jersey, serving as the city's 39th mayor since 2018, shares his journey from a civil rights lawyer to a two-term mayor. He discusses his childhood, his path to politics catalyzed by a grassroots campaign for Barack Obama, and the challenges and achievements during his tenure. Mayor Bhalla also speaks about the import...

Send a text Samina Radia is a sophomore at Adelphi University majoring in political science, who, at just 19 years old, exemplifies dedication to public service, highlighted by her various roles such as interning at the New York City mayor's office, active involvement in the Student Government Association and engagement with The Innocence Project.  She shares her experience of growing up in d...

Send a text In this interview, Shaun Vakil, also known as Paz, discusses his two-decade-long career in music as a DJ and music curator for Paz America. He shares his experiences working with top hospitality brands, Fortune 500 companies, and philanthropic foundations, as well as performing at intimate events worldwide. Shaun recounts his upbringing in central New Jersey, where he grew up in a dive...

Send a text In this episode, I chat with Anika, a first-generation Indian American and pharmaceutical market access consultant, who shares her remarkable journey of balancing her rich Indian heritage with a modern digital nomadic lifestyle. From her roots in New Jersey to her traveling adventures spanning across Seattle, London, and South America, Anika delves into her unique identity, the cultura...

Send a text In the second episode of the young generation’s perceptions and aspirations about life as an Indian American, Anchal Dhir, in her gentle, sensitive, inimitable way, shares candidly and generously her thoughts and feelings about the importance of heritage, identity in the world of performing arts, and her compassion toward her parents’ generation. Anchal also explains beautifully the de...

Send a text In this episode, I welcome Addy Pai, a young millennial working in sustainable research in New York City.  Addy, who was born in India and raised in New Jersey, shares her love for both her Indian culture and American identity. We discuss her upbringing in an immigrant household, her current role integrating sustainability into investment processes, and her aspirations to complete the...

Send a text In the Season 1 conclusion of the Indian American Experience podcast, we reflect on the intricate layers of the Indian American experience, the diversity of answers we got to the questions on identity, cultural heritage, parenting styles, assimilation and more. There were some patterns formed and some myths shed but the most outstanding revelation was the uniqueness of everyone’s exper...

Send a text In this episode, retired senior IT executive Sanjay Bery shares his inspiring journey from growing up in a vibrant joint family in Delhi to becoming a successful tech leader and a dedicated community leader in New Jersey. Sanjay discusses the cultural dynamics of his upbringing, his unexpected path to the U.S., and the challenge of balancing career ambitions with cancer recovery. He em...

Send a text Jai Shekhawat is the Chairman, Technology Advisory Board, Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC. He was the Founder and former CEO of SAP Fieldglass, maker of the world’s most widely used Cloud platform for the procurement of contract labor and services. Under his leadership, the Fieldglass platform grew globally with users in 120 countries, multiple languages and currencies and over $50 bill...

Send a text My guest Kapil Seth was born and raised in India, and came to the US about 40 years back and got his doctorate degree in Economics from The New School in NY.  Kapil is a fine and rare gems specialist, though he describes it a little differently! Kapil has two adult boys and lives in New Jersey with his wife Taruni. Through his interesting and engaging stories he shares his diverse expe...

Send a text Prema Roddam is a senior associate with the New Jersey office of Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP, a firm of 6000 professionals across 60 offices worldwide (https://www.fragomen.com/). She focuses her practice in the areas of global mobility, workforce management, corporate immigration, related corporate compliance and advisory services. Her experience spans across various i...

Send a text My guest Rajinder Rai is a Wellness Coach and the founder of Sunrais Health that empowers women in midlife through information and inspiration. Rajinder has taken her expertise in physiology and biochemistry along with her training in functional medicine to create her unique women-centric coaching. Through the lens of being a mother and a pharmacist, she works with women to use midlife...

Send a text In this episode, I interview Pradip Patiath, currently a senior partner at McKinsey & Company. Pradip shares how serendipity molded his career and personal life paths. He recounts his journey working for Schlumberger in Europe to studying computer science in the twin cities to earning his MBA, the happy coincidences as well as the personal challenges including his brother's il...

Send a text My guest Deepak Verma’s is a story of deep dedication and drive, of building up on one rich experience to lead to another bigger and more impactful accomplishment, each done with selflessness and grace and joy. In spite of all his accomplishments, Deepak is remarkably unassuming and has a very generous attitude toward people and life. Interestingly, that may explain his degree of succe...

Send a text My guests this week are VijayaLakshmi Nagaraj and Anirvan Sengupta. Together they are a confluence of spirited dedication, intelligence and wisdom.  VijayaLakshmi, Viji to her family and friends, got her Doctorate degree in Microbiology from India. She has undertaken various adventures since then, including her one year of research at Trieste, Italy followed by a quarter century of wor...

Send a text My lovely guest this week, Nadia Jagessar, is an Indo-Caribbean Jersey girl who may be best known for her appearance on Netflix's "Indian Matchmaking".  But Nadia  is much, much more than an ex-cast member of a reality show. She is a vibrant, spirited go-getter loving her life and firing on all cylinders while being a warm, gentle and thoughtful human being. Nadia is the...

Send a text Suren Pai, in his various roles as an engineer, management consultant, C-suite executive, entrepreneur, and most recently, advisor and mentor to entrepreneurs, has fearlessly followed his passion and creativity and commitment to innovation. He sees himself as a tinkerer and builder, always ready and almost impatient to apply his skills to solve a new problem and build a new product. Su...

Send a text My guest Puja Shah, one of my younger guests, may also be one of the most articulate and thoughtful. Maybe it comes from her long journey being deeply creative, or maybe it comes from an equally long journey straddling the duality of her cultural identity, or both, but it surely makes her a sensitive, responsible and outstanding member of the Indian American community. The experience o...

Send a text Monisha Rao is a pediatrician in Southern California.  She immigrated to the US along with her family about 40 years ago after finishing tenth grade in India. She is married and a mother of two adult children. Monisha’s story is different than most in that she came here at the age of 15, a difficult age for a transition like that, while not even having been involved in the decision to...

Send a text Rahul Gosain’s is a story of generous grace, positivity, supreme accomplishment, and an attitude that would make a saint blush. Being a medical oncologist, he has no dearth of reasons to be very proud, but what he focuses on from his experience treating patients and seeing a sobering level of pain, is a determinedly down-to-earth attitude and a perspective that pervades his philosophy...

Send a text My guest Dr. Poonam Alaigh is a nationally recognized leader with a multifaceted background in healthcare of over 25 years that includes the public sector at the federal, state government and policy level as well as the private sector. In these roles Poonam has been New Jersey’s Commissioner of Health and Acting Undersecretary of Health for the Department of Veterans Affairs. In her va...