The Indian Edit

As I travel around the sheep-dotted fjords of Iceland, I’m reminded of the stunning landscape of a part of the world that my latest guest has made her home. Looking to work with a textile community, Catherine Allie moved from Germany to Ladakh in the High Himalayas, sandwiched between Tibet and Kashmir. Together with her Ladakhi husband and his nomadic family, she founded textile collective WE ARE...

Georgia-based human rights attorney and newly minted Picture book author Shelly Anand joined me for this wonderful chat about body positivity and championing immigrant rights. Her new book Laxmi’s Mooch is out now and another one is due next year! Listen now on your favorite podcast app, Spotify or www.theindianedit.com and please take a second to rate us wherever you’re listening so the voices of...

From her childhood in a small town to leading an internationally known brand, Anavila Misra has grown her fashion design label while remaining grounded in both innovation and tradition. Anavila reinvented the sari by using linen, while maintaining a strong connection with the artisan craft clusters who create her beautiful clothing. Join me as she shares how she brought together all her experience...

Teaching mindfulness in the US as a South Asian immigrant, my latest guest Zeenat Potia is working to make meditation instruction more inclusive and sustainable. She shares her journey from Bombay to the US, her own experiences with meditation and so many MANY wonderful and wise suggestions for us beginners. We discuss the reasons why people meditate, how to deal with some of the challenges we all...

Curious how this British journalist and mother of three went from idea to (physical) product launch within a (global pandemic) year? London-based Nishika Patel shares how she recruited the right help to create a high-quality and fun kids magazine focused on India, Koolfi Club. I learned so much from the magazine and this chat, and stay tuned until the end when Nishika shares some wonderful new Bri...

Two wonderful cultural entrepreneurs - Anu Sehgal of The Culture Tree in NYC and Shikha Malhotra of IFNet in Boston - share how and why they launched their organizations to bring South Asian cultural programming to their communities. Two different backgrounds and journeys, but the same passion for ensuring their and other families could connect with each other and with their heritage! Join the con...

The best sort of cookbooks (and conversations! ) expand your world view by taking you on a journey - whether it’s a new place, new techniques or just new ways of using age-old ingredients. I’m so grateful I got to have this chat with the Adelaide-based restaurateur, writer and activist Durkhanai Ayubi, who, along with her family, is bringing Afghan cuisine and culture to a world-wide audience thro...

A Dutch family’s love affair with heritage Indian jewellery began with their mother Bernadette and continues on with my latest guest Noelle Van Gelder and her sister Fleur. The challenges of finding and valuing vintage fine jewellery in India makes this family’s commitment to their work truly remarkable. Noelle takes us behind the scenes of how this unique family business based between the Netherl...

I thought, “Wow! I can't imagine I'm in America and I have to make this choice — to either have a family or to work... and that's when I thought to myself.. this is what I needed, a kick in the pants to launch on my own.” My latest guest belongs to a lineage of independent, female interior designers, but has carved out her own unique style and design philosophy. Come experience the ‘Warm Minimalis...

“If you have an idea, don't just sit on it, honestly just go for it! Don't be scared of failing!” Thrilled to bring you this energizing conversation with the founder of STAC Jewellery (and my cousin) Aakriti Tapuriah! Listen in as we chat about Bombay-based Aakriti’s start in the NGO world, her desire to create something independent from her family business, and her strategy for online succes...

Drawing on her own American childhood as the daughter of immigrants from Kerala, and parenting her own kids as an expat in Hong Kong and Amsterdam, my newest guest Dr. Anisha Abraham has built on her training and expertise in adolescent health to create a fabulous resource for parenting cross-cultural kids. If you have or will have a teen in your home, or if you just know any, this chat is full of...

“If I don’t back myself now, then who will?” My dynamic Singapore-based guest Kshama Alur left her corporate branding career to start Indigrow Kids along with her co-founder and child development expert Akhila Das Blah. They’ve set out to diversify kids’ playrooms with their sustainably produced, multicultural books and games focusing on India and other global cultures. We chat about entrepreneurs...

For so many of us, a New Year dawns with thoughts of restrictive eating and dissatisfaction with our bodies. I hope this conversation brings a healthy dose of caution, optimism and balance to start the year off on a more joyful, self-accepting note. My friend and Eating Disorders coach Lindsay Ronga shares how she overcame her own crippling anorexia and found purpose in helping others achieve the...

Have a kid? Know a kid? Were a kid? This final episode of 2020 is a must listen! Honored to have publishing powerhouse Namrata Tripathi (founder and publisher of Kokila Books) join me in this wonderful chat where she talks about the power of representation in children’s literature, how her international upbringing has shaped her, and what it’s like to create a picture book with His Holiness The Da...

My dearest friends Priya, Kanchan and I had a little too much fun recording this live Zoom call where a few of you joined! We chat about holiday traditions, menus, gift ideas and of course what we are each reading, watching and listening to this December. Grab a chai or champagne and join us in this Happy Hour which was recorded live on Dec 4, 2020 with old friends and audience members joining us...

Growing up in a family of Sindhi entrepreneurs based in Morocco and Ghana, my guest Sandhya Nankani grew up speaking French, Twi, English and Sindhi. Join me as she shares what it was like growing up between Ghana, India and the US, and how she came to launch her children’s media production studio Literary Safari. Her studio focuses on using evidence-based research to inform its inclusive creation...

My guest in this episode is the ambitious, yet modest entrepreneur and architect, Anjali Mangalgiri, who has built her business Grounded on sustainable principles that she also abides by in her daily life. After training at premier institutions in India and the US, Anjali jumped in the deep end by launching her own practice in Goa to build hand in hand with nature. Tune in to hear how the Singapor...

“ It is so important for our kids to be seen. The importance of seeing a Black-Indian girl exploring these traditions from South Asia, I think the value of that is intentional.” My chat with preventive medicine physician, meditation and yoga teacher, and mother of two young girls moved me to tears but was so hopeful! Rashmi shares both her journey as a doctor trying to expand modern medicine’s app...

“When I felt like I wasn’t growing in a job, I just left. I was not there for the comfort zone, I was not there to look good! My career graph!? Let’s just say a corporate wouldn’t hire me!” My latest guest embodies the entrepreneur’s need for freedom to pursue a vision, even when others can’t understand what it is. Delhi-based cultural entrepreneur, brand and travel consultant, Sayali Goyal, creat...

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 37: Pravini’s website and instagram The Uprising full film on YouTube Books and other things we discussed: Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake Indian Matchmaking on Netflix Follow us on Instagram for more on Pravini and everything we mentioned in this episode! Special thanks to Varun Dhabe, Aman Moroney and the team @ Flying Carpet Productions for audio post-production engineering!

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 36: Gunjan’s art website and instagram Flyover Fritterie website and instagram Books and other things we discussed: The Social Outfit (an Australian fashion label celebrating creativity & diversity, providing refugees 1st Australian jobs) where you can find Gunjan’s designs on scarves, notebooks and other cool stuff Podcast that Gunjan is loving right now: Good Food podca...

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 35: Upma’s company Arsenal Medical Books and other things we discussed: Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake Upma’s Peloton obsession (we joked she would bring one in her car to a recent Air fryer for instapot Follow us on Instagram for more on Upma and everything we mentioned in this episode! Special thanks to Varun Dhabe, Aman Moroney and the team @ Flying Carpet Productions for au...

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 34: Veera’s books on Indiebound Connect with Veera on instagram or her website Books and other things we discussed: Veera’s ground-breaking publisher Kokila Books The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman A Beautiful Lie by Irfan Master Veera makes Sai Bhaji on KiLitTV (recipe also in The Night Diary) 1947 Partition Archive - an incredible resource which Veera turned to in her res...

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 33: Rakhi and Marco’s social enterprise MicroHomeSolutions More on social enterprise and other things we discussed: Grameen Bank Banker to the Poor by Grameen Bank’s founder Muhammad Yunus Ashoka Fellows Rhodes Scholarship A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life by Jack Kornfield Teaching by Heart: One Professor's Journey to Inspire by Tho...

SHOWNOTES FOR EPISODE 32: Diaspora Co.’s website where you can find links to order their amazing single origin spices, and to Sana’s fantastic newsletter (highly recommended even if you’re not a spice fanatic!) Diaspora Co. on instagram Sana’s Bombay restaurant favorites: Soam Swati Snacks Bombay Canteen BOOKS and other things we discussed: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi Ants Among Elephants: An Untouchab...