In Conversation with Krithi Nanthan - Miss India Teen NE 2012

Gauri: What motivated you to be a participant for the contest last year?

Krithi: I heard about the pageant from a couple of friends and initially, I was apprehensive to join because I was extremely busy with school and I felt I couldn’t be fully committed. However, my family encouraged me and even today I thank them for it. Without their support, I wouldn’t be where I am today and I would never have won Miss India Teen New England 2012 along with Miss Photogenic. After attending the practices, I felt a sense of confidence and that motivated me to become a part of the pageant experience.

Gauri: What was the most exciting and memorable part of the participation for you?

Krithi: The best part of participating was just being able to showcase my attributes on stage and meeting other wonderful girls from the New England area. Everything from getting hair and makeup done to answering the questions posed by the judges was exciting! The most memorable part would have to be hearing my name as the winner as the first Miss India Teen!  It was a completely novel experience which I will never forget.

Gauri: What did this title mean to you?

Krithi: For me, this title isn’t just a crown and a sash, but it is a huge responsibility. I should be able to use the influence to serve my community and do good for others and also, motivate others to do the same.

Gauri: How did winning change you as a person?

Krithi: This title definitely made me a better person. I am much more confident in my abilities, and am a better public speaker then I was before. I have gained more insight into learning how to be a more poised young woman and I feel I am much more involved in the Indian American community then I was before.

Gauri: Did winning this title open up any new doors for you?

Krithi: Yes, this pageant experience definitely opened new doors to me. After winning, I acted in the NE Hindi Manch Chitrahaar play and became a part of the organization. Early this year, I represented Massachusetts in the first ever Miss India Teen USA pageant, hosted by IFC, in New Jersey and was able to meet many talented Indian -American girls from across the country. I also attended and emceed several charity fundraisers for Saheli, Sankara Eye Foundation, Sankara Cancer Foundation, and many others. This summer, I volunteered at a Cancer Hospital and talked at an all-girls’ school to inspire them to be successful women, using my title as an influence. In the coming week, I will be representing the my title at the Diwali in Boston show by dancing to a medley of Bollywood songs. Overall, I feel I got exposed to many influential people in the New England Indian - American community and am looking forward to getting even more involved in my community in the future.

In Conversation with Sachi Badola

Transcribed by Sunita Badola

Gauri : Welcome to Foundations TV everyone, our guest tonight is the superstar of New England. We just got a glimpse of her singing and she is absolutely incredible, I am such a huge fan of yours,  Sachi Badola,  welcome her to Foundations TV studio. Welcome Sachi.

Sachi :  Thank You

Gauri : Are you happy to be here?

Sachi : Yes, I am really excited to be here, I was waiting for this day.

Gauri : Oh wow, excellent. Why don’t we start of with how long have you been singing?  For the listeners it seems   it is perfect, flawless singing.  So  I want to know and  I am sure our viewers  want to know, how long have you been singing for?

Sachi :  I have been singing for about five years. I started when I was four and music is something I really enjoy doing.

Gauri : That’s really good. Would you like to share who your Guru is for music.

Sachi : I have two gurus, one guru is for Hindustani music Mrs. Shuchita Rao and my other guru, well teacher in American, for Western is Rob Woodin.

Gauri: So, does that mean that you sing in more than one language? Do you sing beyond Hindi as well?

Sachi: I sing in Indian,  Western and I sing in French, German,  Italian and I learned  these languages from participating for one year in NEC, New England Conservatory of Music.

Gauri: Wow, so you just listed four languages, but from what I have heard, you sing in ten different languages.

Sachi: Yes, that is right.

Gauri : Wow, So I am sure that singing must take up lot of your time and energy. Do you have anytime left for other hobbies as well.

Sachi: Yes, I do. I have time for swimming and basketball.  I love reading, I also learn piano, and I love to draw and go to Zumba which is an exercise dance and I love math and science.

Gauri: So you are perfect in everything

Sachi: Well I would not say perfect but I do everything to enjoy it and you know practice makes better.

Gauri: She is a little philosopher there too, Miss Perfectionist. I am sure after listening to your singing I can be absolutely sure that everything you do , has to be the best because you know it is a talent, it is a skill, it is the passion that shows  in everything a person does and I am so proud that you are a part of our community.  You are such a huge inspiration for so many others out there who would like to be like you. That is really, really good and I won’t be surprised if you have a long list of awards that you have received.

Sachi: Oh well, I , when I was in first grade and kindergarten, I won Chelmsford Idol and then I also  won  Sa Re Ga Ma Pa  , New England Hindi Manch, award for my age group  and people’s choice award. I participate in lot of school fundraising events and fundraising events around my community and my favorite one was the Sham-E-Leher where we showed our musical talents to donate money for Sankara Eye Foundation. I can really relate to this one because my eyes are not perfect, so it gave me lot of joy to donate money to people who don’t have enough money to see perfectly.

Gauri:  That’s beautiful and it sounds to me like that you take it as your award as well, I should say your reward rather , where you are singing for a cause and donating money towards something that you believe in.

Sachi: Yes, exactly.

Gauri: So  beside this noble feeling that you get, let’s just go back a little bit and talk about the first award that you got which was the Chelmsford singing Idol award. So how did you feel? I want to feel what you felt so describe in as elaborative way as you can. I want to feel that energy within you.

Sachi: Well, I felt like it was a big surprise to me. I did not expect it. I went there to go out and show people that I really like to sing and I did not expect to win but I guess I did win. And you know I was really happy. You know I go out there to sing , enjoy and to have fun, and it is nice to win, it gives you a great feeling . I was little and I felt embarrassed, of course, but it felt really good.

Gauri:  I am sure and that was just the beginning. You have a whole long list of awards that you won after that . That is excellent, so with all these awards, these competitions and these fundraising events and singing plus swimming and zumba and drawing and math and science, how do you manage your time?  There are only twenty-four hours in a day.

Sachi: I don’t know I guess I just have so much fun doing it, you know we think totally separately. I think  time is going by so fast and each activity is going by too fast. I want the day to be longer. I want to do my activities longer. So I mean I wish I had twenty-four hours for each activity, that’s how I feel.

Gauri: That is such a wonderful   level of energy you have and you are transporting it to everybody who is watching you today. I am so happy and so proud and I am sure so many people will fall completely in love with you after listening to you today. So what do you dream of? Tell us about what you want to be when you grow up.

Sachi:  I want to be a scientist, who studies the  human body and makes  medicine but I also want to continue my amazing journey of learning Hindustani music, Western music and all other sorts of languages because music is really my passion,  I love it.

Gauri: Do you play an instrument too?

Sachi: Yes, I play the piano.

Gauri: Oh great, great. So you have a whole life planned ahead of you, a dream ahead of you that you would like to follow. That is great. Would you have a message for other children who are watching you today.

Sachi:  Yes, I would definitely have a message to everyone who  is watching today, I want to tell them that even if you lose don’t give up keep on singing because if you really love singing, it is just something that will make you feel more relaxed, more calm. And always be happy when you are singing, be happy and feel good about yourself and don’t go too hard on yourself. Be happy.

Gauri: Such a beautiful message. I think Sachi has covered so many things, so many aspects of life. Being so young and still  so deep in her thought and so passionate about what she does in life, every single thing and not just music, that itself is a huge inspiration for not only children of her age but also adults such as us and everyone who is watching. Sachi, it has been such a pleasure to have you here today. Before we end today’s interview, Sachi, would you like to say something else.

Sachi: Yes, I would like to give a really special thanks to Gauri aunty and Niraj uncle for giving me this amazing opportunity and thanks to Foundations TV for doing such  wonderful community service.

Gauri: Beautiful, you are very welcome Sachi.

Chat with Rohit Bhambi - Co-Founder Boston Bhangra

Gauri: Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to Foundations TV. Our guest today is Rohit Bhambi from Boston Bhangra. Rohit, Tell us something about the organization and your association with the organization.

Rohit: Boston Bhangra is a non-profit organization that promotes cultural awareness and mentorship amongst children. We’ve been doing this for about 13 years now. The organization was founded back in 2000. We’ve been competing as an organization , as a dance team for many years. Now we do more of the dance performances for different organizations, corporations etc for different events. We also teach classes on a weekly basis. We host our annual Boston Bhangra competition which is on November 16^th this year. We really just promote cultural awareness. That’s what our whole organization is about. As far as what I’ve been doing with the organization, I am actually a co-founder along with my brother, Amit. We basically started this organization back in 2000. The reason we started it was because we were both on rival bhangra teams. I started BU bhangra and he started  NorthEastern Bhangra and we would never actually compete with one another. So, we started Boston Bhangra in a way that we could actually compete together. It has taken on a life of it’s own since then. Obviously It has grown dramatically since 2000 and we’ve taken on a lot more initiatives to help to organization grow and help promote cultural awareness.

Gauri: What are the various events that Boston Bhangra Inc organizes?

Rohit: Boston Bhangra primarily organizes the Boston Bhangra competition. It is the big initiative that we have every year. This year it is going be our 10^th annual competition. However, we also do host a New Years party on December 31^st, along with out parent organization called South Asian Nation. We also partner with South Asian Nation on our 3^rd event that we end up hosting, which is South Asian Showdown, which is a Bollywood fusion dance competition for the best teams in North America. Boston Bhangra is an organization that focuses really on The Boston Bhagra completion along with supporting for  New Years event along with South Asian Showdown. Those are the major events. However, there are other events that come up once in a while, like we did bring Bolly Sagu one year, and we do host other events here and there based on what makes sense for the organization. But Boston Bhangra Competition is our main event.

Gauri: How many teams participate in the competition and what’s the format like?

Rohit: The format of the competition is based on 12 teams that submit their applications to us. Then we select the 12 best teams based on the style that they are representing. We have a format where we have different types of teams competing, both modern, traditional, guys team, girls teams, co-ed teams, and a mixture of modern and traditional. We like to mix it up a little bit, so it adds variety for the audience. We want to show and depict various types of bhangra. Its funny because even when you go across the States, the styles are very different ~ West coast vs the East Coast, North Vs South. All these things kind of come into play and we like to show all these different styles. Canada is also a different ball game. East Vs West are different from Canada too. So format is really based on 12 teams and we like to have a very diverse group of teams that are based on all these different styles and represent something that the audience and the judges will enjoy.

Gauri: Now all that sounds really exciting. I would like to know what the audience can expect from such an event.

Rohit:  The audience can expect a very high energy, a very fun, a very energetic type of event. Bhangra in itself is a lot of fun to watch. Teams also bring a very high level of energy and a different flavor based on what they are representing. Some have stunts, some have traditional elements. They all dress up in traditional garb. So the audience can expect something very unique and different as compared to other events or shows that are in Boston. It is definitely very entertainment focused. Bhangra in itself is a folk dance, but these teams are taking it to the next level, with the type of song mixes they’ve selected, the type of choreography that they do. These are very skilled dancers. We have a very selective competition in general. We only try to take the best teams from across North America, and we do like to have that diversity in teams, so kind of combining that with the energy, expression, the enthusiasm, and the audience participation. The audience does get very wild about the competition too, just in it’s nature, this being a competition. The teams get different audience and everyone is kind of rooting for their teams. So, it is a very sporting event. It is very unique. You got the crowd cheering, you got the great performances on stage. We also have an artist performing on stage as well. We have Jas Reign, who is one of the highest hit youtube comedians in the Western hemispheres. He has established himself very highly across the board right now traveling all across the world. We also have Sharmilla who is one of the prominent Punjabi artists across the world. He is coming from India for this competition. So you’ll see Bhangra, you’ll hear great singers, you’re going to see a fantastic comedian. So, overall the audience is going to have a fantastic time, high energy, a lot of fun, and it doesn’t really slow down. So, if you’re looking for a fun high energy type of event, this is the one to come to. It is also meant for all ages. It is a very family friendly type show. If you like Bhangra, if you like dance, this is a must see.

Gauri: That sounds super awesome. I’m sure a lot of people are already excited about this to come see the event. I for one, have not seen this before so, I’m certainly looking forward to this. So, could you share some event details, specifically regarding location, the date, the time and where can people find the tickets for this event?

Rohit: This is going to be the 10^th annual Boston Bhangra competition. We’ve been around for a while and we know that the audience is going to have a great time coming to the event. It is going to be hosted on Saturday, November 16^th at 6 p.m. sharp. Doors open at 5 o’clock. It’s going to be at the Orpheum Theater in Boston. You can buy tickets through our website, www.bostonbhangra.com\bbc . If you just go to www.bostonbhangra.com, the information is there as well. You can also call us for details 617 448 2508. You can email us if you have questions at info@bostonbhangra.com . We’ve been doing this for a while. We know how to run this competition. The performers themselves are fantastic. We are lucky enough to host the competition with all the great performances that are shown that day. If you are looking for  a fun event, its definitely one to come to. The tickets are not that expensive. They range anywhere between $20.00 and $100.00 . $20 to $40 is the primary. There’s $20 good view, $30 premium and $40 VIP along with VVIP being $100.00 . So there is different price range , but the goal is for us to keep it as cheap as possible. Also because we have a large attendance. We expect close to 3000 people at the event. It is a large event. We want everyone to come and enjoy Bhangra. That’s what it is all about. Our organization is about promoting our culture and for everyone to enjoy it. So if you like Bhangra, this is definitely something you don’t want to miss. Come on down on November 16^th  and you’ll have a great time.

Gauri: So, as you may have gathered by now, this competition is one of the largest and one of the most successful competitions in North America, which showcases the highly energetic and enthusiastic fun folk dance from Punjab, India, which is Bhangra. Most respected teams come over from all over United States and Canada and they will fight it out to be crowned Boston Bhangra champions. The tickets are selling fast , from what I hear and this has been a sold out event in the past. So, this is the time to buy your tickets to get the best seats.

in conversation with Saqib Syed

Transcribed by : Divya Mendiratta

Niraj :  Hello and welcome to Foundation TV. Today we are going to start our new series. A series which is focused on the corporate environment. Series which is going to bring to you corporate leaders, leaders from academia and other professionals. Before we start this series, I have a question for you, have you ever dreamt of getting promoted at your work place? Have you ever thought of leading a team, or have desired to lead your department or to lead the company? I’m sure some of us have dreamt of those things, and I’m sure some of us have accomplished those goals as well. While rest of us may be still dreaming about those things, and may have some questions which may not be answered. In the past the only way to seek those answers was to find a mentor, or to find a friend who have been successful. Well going forward you have a third avenue, which is the avenue of your choice. That is Foundations TV. At Foundations TV we plan to bring to you professionals who have accomplished a lot in their field, and best of all who are ready and willing to share their knowledge and information with you.

With that theme today with us we have a very young entrepreneur, the guy who has accomplished a lot and amazing amount of stuff in a very young age. If I have to give his background I’ll just give few references. He did his MBA from Apse School after he graduated from his engineering school. Post his graduation he started working into software jobs, which eventually led executive positions at Computer Associates and BMC Software. And eventually jumped onto to become an entrepreneur and a private investor. The best part of his story is, his success doesn’t not end there, his success starts from there. Once he became a private investor he went onto to invest on many companies that are focused on Cloud Computing, IT infrastructure and Data Securities Two of his Investments got acquired by Cisco and Novell. And he has few more investments in and around Boston area. This guy is very passionate about Cricket number one and number two is very passionate about sharing his ideas, his thoughts with each one of us. With that background please welcome to The Foundations TV Studio my friend Mr. Saqib Syed. He is the CEO of Array IQ, and he is Advisory and chief mentor at many other Companies.

So Saqib welcome to our studio. I’m not sure if I really did a true justice to your background, with the amount of stuff you have accomplished. Would like to elaborate if I missed something, which I’m sure I have.

Saqib :  First of all Niraj I would like to thank you for inviting me to your studio. It’s a great opportunity to share my thoughts with the viewers. I think you did a great job on my background.  A few things that I would like to add to my background is specifically around entrepreneurship. I never thought about entrepreneurship when I initially came to this country back in early 90s. I enrolled in a Master’s program at university of Michigan Ann Arbor. And then after that my first goal was to find a job in United States, where I could move on further in my career. And then first thing was to get a green card, so that I could accomplish what I needed to do in terms of the passion I had for the technology. From then on there’s been a lot of help that I got specifically from mentors. So during that process I was debating whether I should continue working for a bigger company verses making a jump towards entrepreneurship. So only thing I would like to add is specifically I had never thought about entrepreneurship in my first 10 years in my career. But later on, the situation was such that I got dragged into it because of the wonderful mentors that I got from all lot of other entrepreneurial organizations you have around Boston.

Niraj :  Great, so your thought process just evolved as you went along and just enjoyed the journey.

Saqib :   Absolutely. I believe as an entrepreneur you should be able to adapt to changes. It’s one of the things that I learnt over the period of time. My mind was all set when I initially started working, but during the process I saw technology changed quite a bit. And that also changed the thought process in me, that for me to accomplish what I need to do is keep up with the changes. I need to change myself. So I went in and specifically thought about what I should be doing to specifically get into those areas that I needed to, and I wanted to be in data center, infrastructure, security, and cloud computing which at that point was not so prevalent. So it was more about internet. And I can share with you a story specifically when I graduated from my University with a Master’s program. I had an option to go to a start up at that time was pioneering the entire internet. It was a company called Netscape, and it had about a few people in the company. At that time I made a choice to come here to Boston to join a bigger company Digital Equipment Corp, which was a multi-billion dollar company. So you can imagine for someone who has started his career at a big company to come and talk about entrepreneur ship and investing in smaller companies and startups, it’s a tremendous change.

Niraj :   So the lesson learned for all of our audience and especially the fresh graduates and their parents is, If your kids are graduating and they want to go to a small company rather than a big company like Digital, let them follow their dreams. Big companies may not be there forever, that is not true for small companies either, but let them follow their dreams, and you never know where they end up being.

So let’s ask the first question. Saqib, I mentor many people out in the industry and almost everyone asks the question, “should I go for MBA or not? “. And I have given them the advice based on my perspective. But you are a guy who have gone through MBA, so what’s your perspective on value of MBA in short term and long term?

Saqib :  Thank you Niraj. That’s a great question. I always reflect back on my career on specifically the things that I did. And the decision making at that point because there’s always a 20-20 height side, when you look at it today it looks a little different.  But at that time when I had a growing family I had to make a decision, whether to do or not to do a MBA. And I’m sure a lot of folks who want to progress in their career will be asking the same question. So let me throw some light on what were the factors that led me into doing an MBA. And whether that was specifically useful in what I wanted to do in future.  Thinking back we were just acquired by a big company. And so I was a part of that big company, and I was getting restless at that time as I could not see a very clear career path in that company. Because specifically when companies get acquired the acquiring company would like to have their own people in key management roles. And at that time I really thought that maybe I should look at it from a bigger perspective, what is the goal that I wanted to accomplish. And look at it rather than from a small company, or that particular company I was working on, and look at it from a bigger perspective. So I had to really convince my boss at the company, that I would add a lot of value if I did a MBA and I wanted to move specifically into the mergers and acquisition side. So I used an argument with my boss to convince my boss, that I could to a MBA part time and still do my job at that time. And those were the times when people were moving from one job to another easily, so my boss was very keen to keep me in that role that he had, and he allowed me to do a MBA and also sponsored me for a MBA program. That helped me a lot eventually in my career. But let me answer that question on whether MBA really is one of the key factors or not. I should say that if you are an entrepreneur your ability to adapt to change matters a lot more than what you actually learn from your education. Education is important, but what you do after you finish your MBA or after you finish your Masters is more important than the program itself. And one of the things that I learned when I did my MBA in entrepreneurship was exactly that. So I was so energized when I finished my MBA that I said, ‘this has really given me what I need to go accomplish, what I came here to do.’ So I went off and started getting involved with many startups, and that kind of was the formation phase for me to understand startups and how they grow. That really led me to becoming a private investor later in my career.

Niraj :  Great. So if I have to sum up your response MBA or Masters in anything is education that is valuable to everybody that gives you a formation, a frame work of thought process. But unless you apply that knowledge that you have acquired in school you cannot really realize the value of that. Did I say it properly what you wanted to convey?

Saqib :   Absolutely Niraj. I think you’ve summarized that well. So when we talk to our youth and the budding entrepreneurs we need to inculcate in those entrepreneurs, ‘it’s about applying your thought, and applying your knowledge that matters more’. And that’s what entrepreneurs are good at, they make things happen, they are getting into unchartered waters and they have that ability to execute in those unchartered waters and deliver value. And if we can really get our youth and budding entrepreneurs to do that we’ll create a lot of value n United States.

Niraj : Great. I’m getting to ask one more follow up question on the same topic. Usually it is said that if you go for a MBA at an IV league it’s a great door opener for you in your career. But if you are in your career for 10-15 years and you have lead teams, lead functional team, and lead companies then MBA may not add as much value. What do you say to that though process?

Saqib :  I think it all defers, depends on how you think about that MBA program. IV league MBA is definitely very important, especially if you want to get into the big Wall Street firms, which no longer exists at this point they were tainted a few years back. Definitely in terms of managing organizations in bigger company, large corporates, they do look for IV league MBAs, and MBAs from one of these top schools. But I would kind of recommend that you seek your passion. Sometimes these smaller schools will have programs that really are one of the best in their specific areas. So understand what it that you are looking for and seek those programs, you’ll have better results. And that’s exactly what I did when I was looking for a MBA program back in late 90s to look for a specific program that really was in my area of interest.

Niraj :  Great. Again it goes back to the same thing, follow your passion. And if you find a program that meets your passion go for it. So Saqib you have transitioned from being a software engineer to being a merger and acquisition guy. Usually merger and acquisition requires skills which is pretty strong in financial background. So help our audience understand what skills do you need to be a M&A guy with no finance background?

Saqib :  Absolutely , I do believe that mergers and acquisitions specifically requires different areas of expertise. You start with market, the strategy, the product and then the finance. And then comes the cultural integration of the company when it gets acquired. So there are lot of different aspects of M&A.  I would recommend folks who want to get into to that specific area to look into to where are today, if they are on the strategy side, or on the product, or on the marketing side, they could get involved M&A. M&A is usually held very close to very few important people in the company, one of the key aspects is for you to get into to that small circle. And that require having a relationship specifically with those key people. There are different ways to go build that relationship. And that comes through some good ideas, if you are on the product, marketing or on the strategy side and you have good ideas to contribute towards M&A, there will be people willing to except those ideas. And once you become part of that group you will learn finance along the way. I do believe that finance is one of the very small component of M&A, so it’s basically those other three or four aspects that I believe are important when you want to really move into to M&A from where ever you stand today.

Niraj :  Great. So these are great ideas that we are sharing among us and along with our audience. I think my last question for today would be, you have been an entrepreneur what suggestion or advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs out there who are listening and watching our show?

Saqib :  Great question again Neeraj. I get asked this question in most of the panels that I’m on, and every time I answer the question it makes me think. I do believe the biggest asset that you could have to becoming an entrepreneur is your ability to ‘adapt to change’. If you are able to do that, if you are honest to yourself then you would be able to accomplish a lot. And remember entrepreneur are the ones who make things happen. So you should focus on execution while you have a clear thought process and making sure that you leverage all the resources around you to bring value, and that’s what you focus on. I do see that most people who come and ask me that question they get stuck on the fact that they are not able to go ahead and execute on the thought process, they get stuck on thought process. So I do believe that execution capability and ability to perform in unchartered waters is what make you an entrepreneur.

Niraj :  Great response. I’m sure our audience would’ve learnt a lot from today’s session in terms of what’s the value of education, what’s the value of MBA, what’s the value of following your dreams and having your parents allow you to follow your dreams, whether it is a big company of a small company. And how to transition career from products , strategy, technology, finance to whatever field you are in to mergers and acquisitions, because many people desire to go to that field. Saqib thanks a lot for sharing these thoughts with our audience, it was a wonderful session, and we enjoyed having you in our studio.

Saqib :  Thank you Niraj for having me over at Foundations TV. I enjoyed the discussion. I’m hoping that I’m able to inspire some of the entrepreneurs who are planning to form their own companies. And remember you always start small, I mean have dreams that are big but you start small. And I would really encourage budding entrepreneurs to take that big leap and jump into it once you have given a good thought process. And another thing that I would like to add, I have learnt a lot to becoming an entrepreneur through a sport called cricket, which is very pre dominate back home in India. So I grew up playing cricket, and I’m quiet involved working with youth here in the sport of cricket. So maybe next time I would like to talk about cricket, if anyone is interest on how to apply some of the principles that you have in sports to entrepreneur ship I would be glad to talk to you. Thank you

Niraj : Thank you.

chat with Deepa Srinath and Deepti Mittal

Write up by : Deepa Srinath and Deepti Mittal

Introducing Deepa Srinath:

Gauri: Our guest today is Deepa Srinath. Bhartanatyam is her passion and her first Love. She started learning under her Guru Smt Radha Sridhar who is in Bangalore, India, when she was 5 years old. She continued to learn under her and she still does. She has performed on several platforms and prestigious dance festivals throughout India and has toured countries like France, UK, Hungary, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. She has received kind appreciation and acknowledgements through different titles and awards over the years. This has kept motivated her to produce many different dance productions as well.

Gauri: Can you tell us something about your dance school and the event that is coming up?

Deepa: Yes, I started to run a dance school soon after I moved to the Boston area. It has been 3.5 years now. My students and I have performed in many opportunities, small and big. Under the school banner we have produced a new dance feature called the Journey of Bharatanatyam, which we premiered last year in Cambridge, MA. As part of the ritual, all the students of the school perform annually. This year the event is called “Rasa Vaibhava”.  This is a dance festival. Apart from the school students performing we have, two guest dancers coming in.

Rasa Vaibhava meaning: Rasa means emotions that are evoked in the minds of the audience while watching a performance. This is very hard to achieve for a dancer to strike a cord in the minds of the audience.  With experienced and budding artists performing we would like to celebrate the joy that we can bring to the people.

Gauri: Who is performing for the event?

Deepa: Gauri, as I said earlier, the young students are the budding artists who are practicing so hard and will be performing that evening. They will be the torchbearers and will be representing Vaibhava Dance School.  Also performing are Amudha Panizhsamy, Student of Smt Ranjini Saigal and she is also the great grand daughter of the legendary Bharatanatyam dancer Bala Saraswathi. She is performing a short dance ballet called Savitri and the other dancer is Sonali Skandan, who is the artistic Director of Jiva Performing Arts, an organization fostering Indian Classical music and dance, as well as Sonali Skandan & Jiva Dance, a critically acclaimed dance company presenting exciting and compelling works based on the Bharatanatyam idiom. She is coming down from NYC.

Gauri: How do you think the idea of a dance festival idea occurred to you and why do you think there is a necessity for a Dance Festival in New England Area?

Deepa: Back in India, there are always some or the other dance festivals going on round the year. I grew up watching many many dance programs and I feel it truly shaped my learning abilities through watching. I took my teacher Radha Sridhar as my inspiration who runs a dance festival on National Level called Rasa Sanje. Many great performers have danced under the banner. As the students of her school, we used to look forward annually to see great dancers dance. It was a treat for us. It helps not only her students but also attracts many connoisseurs of art. It’s been 40+ years now and she still continues.

When I moved to Boston, I used to miss such dance festivals. Of course, there are big organizations here who bring in dancers from India but it is only two or three at best each year. There are dance programs run by each school that perform annually but nothing like a dance festival where you give a platform for a young artist and also a treat to watch an experienced artist. I wanted my students to have the same experience as I did; The experience of watching other dancers and grooming themselves to become better dancers.

I hope to continue in a much bigger way year by year with the support of the New England area people. I would also like to bring in a variety of Indian classical dance forms and provide a platform for the performers and connoisseurs alike. As your tag line says SPREADING INSPIRATION, I want to exactly do the same thing.

This year, we also have my college friend Deepti Mittal to be part of the event. She is an artist too. She is a talented person and I will let her speak about her interests and how she is amazingly following her interests in new ways.

1   

Gauri:    Please share information on Madhubani Painting and its origins

     Deepti: Madhubani Painting also known as Mithila Painting is an ancient Indian Folk Art from Bihar. It finds its origins in mythology and it’s said that during the Ram-Sita Swamvar, the women-folk decorated the walls and floors of King Janak’s palace doing this painting. Ever since then, it has been passed down through generations and even today, women practice this art in their courtyards and walls of homes before festivals and celebrations.

2   Gauri:  When did you identify your passion for painting and how has your   journey been so far?

Deepti: I was introduced to Madhubani Painting at the age of seven when my mom started an institute to empower women artists in the area. Ever since then, practicing this form of art has been a parallel routine for me.  I started with making greeting cards for Birthdays and Anniversaries and went on to paint sarees and suits as gifts for family and friends. Even after MBA and during my corporate life, I couldn’t keep the creative energy inside me dormant for very long and decided to get back to doing what I like doing the best which is playing with colors on a blank canvas.The vibrant, rustic patterns of this style have always thrilled me and I take creative liberty in tweaking its styles keeping its essence intact.

3   Gauri: You represented Madhubani art - an age old art in a very trendy fashion, how did the idea spark.

Deepti: Since I have been practicing this art for 20 years now, it got a little mundane to paint the same types of motifs in every next project. Probably this is why; I started experimenting and have created my own genres which I call ‘Modern Madhubani’ and ‘Folk Fusion’.  Where ‘Modern Madhubani’ is a blend of the abstraction of ‘Modern Art’ with the precision of ‘Madhubani Painting’, ‘Folk Fusion’ is a combination of different types of folk arts together in one art piece.I also paint on unconventional home-décor items and accessories. My latest popular line of art is hand-painted shoes which is getting quite popular around the globe. Most of my art pieces could be found on my page www.facebook.com/deeptidesigns

  

     Gauri: What are the tools and mediums you have used so far for your paintings.

     Deepti: Brush is the primary tool that I use for all my paintings. Even though line-work (kachani) dominates in this art, free-hand usage of brush creates its beautiful imperfections. Other than brush, there is a special type of nib that is available in India (mostly in Bihar) which a lot of artists use for painting on fabric.

    I have practiced this art in every possible medium such as oil, enamel, water color, acrylic, etc and have extensively painted on walls, floors, clay pots, fabrics, canvases and now on leather, wood, cardboard, etc. Owing to its versatility, acrylic remains my favorite medium.

Chat with members of Young Voices Gavel/Junior club

Transcribed by : Mallika Biswas

Gauri – Hello everybody! Welcome to Foundations TV. Our guest today is Abhi Jain, who is a very enthusiastic member of the Toastmasters Club from Shrewsbury which has been running for over a year now. This is run at the ATFS Learning Center. So, welcome to Foundations TV  , Abhi.

Abhi – Thank you for having me.                                                                                                          

Gauri – You’re very welcome.  Why don’t we start talking about the club . Let’s tell our audiences what your experiences has been and how long you’ve been part of this club and how does it work.

Abhi – OK Sure. So I have started this club in Shrewsbury one year ago and my experiences have been great. I have learnt a lot about public speaking and I have been able to make a lot of friends and it has been a great experience. So, the club is basically a group of 6 graders to 12 graders .We meet every week and we practice public speaking in a variety of different ways from games , debates, table topics and of course speeches. So, the club is basically run with the set up as one speech per week with added games and debates every week also and occasionally we also do some table topics.

Gauri – Wonderful! Did you think that being part of this club actually built your confidence in public speaking?

Abhi – Oh definitely. Before I was always nervous and embarrassed about what I was going to say, but after joining the club, I learnt techniques to avoid that embarrassment and definitely built up my confidence. So, I was able to deliver the speeches with more confidence and definitely more………

Gauri – Just feel good about yourself and well prepared, is that what it is?

Abhi –  Yeah.

Gauri – OK, good, that is very nice. So how large of an audience have you addressed?

Abhi – So, last year at the end of the Gavel Club, we were giving speeches to an audience of about 100 people. So actually I took a lighter side for my speech and did a Barack Obama impersonation.

Gauri – Oh, wow! That would be something to watch for sure and may be even repeat sometime for us.

Abhi – Definitely.

Gauri – OK, Great . I also hear that this club is ready to kick off once again this year and there is something special this year .So what is that something special that we are doing this year.

Abhi – So, this year instead of just the Young Voices Gavel Club from 6^th graders to  12^th graders  , we are also adding a Young Voices Junior Club which is for  1^st graders to 5^th graders. So, we are trying to get these kids into our club and build their foundation for public speaking so that once they enter middle school , high school and through their adult life, they can have the skills to deliver when they have to speak in front of an audience.

Gauri – That’s super exciting. I think the philosophy is excellent to get them prepared way ahead of time and it works in sync with the ATFS learning philosophy as well. So, I think that’s a great initiative. So, are you going to be involved with the Young Voices Junior Club as well?

Abhi – Yes, I will be teaching the Young Voices Junior Club and it will definitely be a learning experience for me also because I have never taught such young students before but I am looking forward to it and I am really excited.

Gauri – That’s really nice. So do you have a minimum number of students that you need absolutely to start this club?

Abhi - Yes, we are going to need five students to start this club and as the club gets started and as we continue we are always looking to add more people and definitely spread the word of this club.

Gauri – From  what I remember, that’s what happened last year too – you started with a smaller group and as it progressed through the year , it expanded a lot because a lot of other people got interested and they wanted to join it and it came out to be a nice decent sized group at the end of the year.

Abhi – Definitely, last year we had leadership, so we had a President, a Vice President  and other leaders and we were able to expand our club through newspaper articles , spreading the word- through word of mouth and it was great because we were able to have 5 or 6 more people at the end of the year.

Gauri – Excellent! That’s all really good information and we invite all our viewers to definitely come to an Open House which is happening on Sunday the 29^th September from 10 am to 11 am. So do definitely come in. Abhi are you going to be available to talk to perspective members of the club?

Abhi – Sure.

Gauri – OK,  great!  He will be there and he will be able to answer any questions that you have and the open house once again is on Sunday the 29^th from 10 am to 11 am. Thank you so much Abhi for sharing such good information with us today.

Abhi – Thank you.

Gauri – Our next guest today is a young one who is part of the Young Voices Junior Club and has been part of that for 2 years now. We have Abha Chaudhury who is from Sharon, and she is going to share with us today some good experiences of hers with this Young Voices Junior Club. So, tell us something about the club. What’s fun and what do you like about it?

Abha – Ah, I mostly like the debates because you get to take “somebody down”. You get to show them you are the boss! So I guess  there is one experience where there are 2 famous books – I think you know, the first one is called “Harry Potter” and the second one is called “ Percy Jackson” and so there is a show down  and in the final round – it was  me versus another guy and I was Percy Jackson and he was Harry Potter.

Gauri – So, was it a debate?

Abha – Yes.

Gauri – OK.

Abha – We had to tell why our book was better than the other one and so I guess the debate takes about 2 minutes and Percy Jackson won.

Gauri – Great! So was it a team or was it individually done.

Abha –Well, First it starts out as teams, then it becomes 2 individuals .

Gauri – OK. How many kids are there in the club?

Abha – I think there’s about five.

Gauri – OK. Did you make some special friends in the group as well?

Abha – Yes, there was one girl, her name is Navya.

Gauri – Great! At the end of the year, do you have some presentation or something in front of a larger audience?

Abha – Yes, at the end of the year, we have something called a picnic and it would be picked at some park I think. Last year we had it in our house as it was raining. So, year before that it was a very good experience. It was at Borderland Park. It’s very beautiful there.

Gauri – Did you get to speak for Public Speaking? Did you get to talk in front of an audience as part of the group as well?

Abha – Yes, you had to prepare a speech and I think the one there was “what’s your interest”.

Gauri – OK. So do you like talking in front of the audience?

Abha – Yes.

Gauri – Or, do you get nervous?

Abha – Well at first I was nervous, but you know the club helps, so….

Gauri – That’s good to know and I think that opinion of yours will be really helpful for our audiences who are watching today and who are probably thinking of joining the Shrewsbury Young Voices Junior Club which is scheduled to start pretty soon. So, that will be great and I definitely invite you for the open house next week as well for Sunday the 29^th of September, in case we have young people come in and they have questions. So, definitely come over and help them out with understanding how the club works.

Abha – Yes, definitely.

Gauri – Sounds good. Thank you so much Abha for joining us and the Foundations TV today.

In conversation with Ashwani Garg for Sewa International

Write up by : Ashwani Garg, volunteer at Sewa International and a coordinator for the Boston Chapter 

Part 1 – About the Organization

Q. What is Sewa International?

A. Sewa International is a community service organization. It is a nonprofit charitable organization registered under US IRS Code 501 (c) (3). All donations to Sewa international are tax deductible in the US. Sewa International was incorporated in 2003 and got its nonprofit status from the IRS in 2004.

Q. What are the goals of Sewa International? What does it want to achieve?

Sewa International is a humanitarian organization. We have broadly three goals:

a.      Promote volunteerism among people and increase the civic engagement in developmental needs of the community. Sewa is a platform which motivates, and provides opportunities, specially for youth to take active part in community development despite time constraints.

b.      Aid local communities by performing local service projects.

c.      Support disaster relief and rehabilitation efforts worldwide. Also development projects worldwide.

Q. What are the guiding principles of Sewa International?

We are inspired by the life and works of Swami Vivekananda. Our volunteers perform community service in a selfless manner without expecting any rewards or recognition. We believe every living being has the same divinity inside, and we serve them with an attitude that we are serving the divine. Swami Vivekananda explained this as Nar Sewa, Narayan Sewa. Since we believe that the same divinity resides in all beings, we consider the whole world as an extended family. We serve all irrespective of their race, color, gender, religion, or national origin.

Q. What are the domestic programs of Sewa International in Boston area?

A. At present we have two main projects going on. We work with the Bhutanese refugees in greater Boston area and help them in resettlement in USA. We call it BRE program. We provide them coaching for skills development, organized events for them and help them in integration with the mainstream community. Other project we have is “Feed the Hungry”. We go to soup kitchens like the one in Lawrence and cook meals for hungry and homeless. Next year we will be expanding into other areas.

Q: What kind of disaster relief work does Sewa International support?

A. Sewa International supports disaster relief efforts in two ways – If we have Sewa volunteers at the location of the disaster then they directly work with the local authorities and participate in the relief efforts. We invariably always raise funds whenever there is any major disaster in the world and make them available to a credible organization directly serving the disaster hit areas. In case of recent flood disaster in Uttarakhand Sewa International partnered with UDAPSS and together we had several thousand volunteers working on the ground. In case of Tsunami in Japan in 2011 we partnered with Ram Krishna Mission who was serving there directly. In case of Haiti earthquake in 2010 Sewa International sent a team of doctors from USA to serve the victims.

Q. What is your overhead?

A. Most of the work is done by volunteers therefore our overheads are very nominal, less than 5% including all administrative and bank fees.

Q. Does Sewa International serve only a particular religious group?

A. Sewa International serves all. Sewa International does not discriminate based on race, color, gender, religion, or national origin.

Q. Does Sewa International work with other organizations?

A. Yes. Sewa USA is open to working with any organization that furthers its mission.

Part 2 – About the show

Q. What is this Laser show about and why are you doing it?

A. This laser show is an hour long documentary on life and works of swami Vivekananda. This year is the 150^th birth anniversary of the swami Vivekananda. We want to celebrate this occasion by taking his message of Nar Sewa Narayan Sewa to masses. We are therefore doing that in an innovative and fun filled manner via a Laser Show which I am sure will attract a lot of people. As I said before, Swami Vivekananda is a role model for our volunteers and we believe that his message is more relevant today than it ever was.

Q: What is special about this laser show?

A.      It is a unique Laser show in many ways. It is prepared by world famous Laser Manick Sorcar, who has won several international awards. He is son of famous magician PC Sorcar. Manick Ji will himself come and host the show. It is an indoor show and there will be five live dancers who will enact in front of the laser show.

It is the longest laser show ever made on a human being.

The content of the show is absolutely miraculous. You will see the main events from the life story of Swami Vivekananda and how he introduced Indian and its philosophies to America in 1893. How a simple monk from an unknown country became a celebrity overnight and became a center of attraction for the most intellectual and biggest industrialists of that time. You will see how his message of Nar sewa Narayan Sewa is relevant in today’s world.

Q: Has this show been hosted before anywhere?

A.      Yes, Manick Ji hosted this show in Rama Krishna Mission in Bellur Math, and the New Delhi ashram last year. Swami Jis in both ashrams appreciated the show very much. In US this show has bveen hosted in Denver, Houston, and LA in last 4 weeks by Sewa International. Sewa International has plans to host it in 17 cities in US this year.

Q: What is the date and time of this event

A.      The event is on Sunday October 6^th in Collins Center of Andover High School. Program will start at 3 PM with a poster and books exhibition on Swami Vivekananda. It will be very educational specially for children and youth. After seeing the exhibition we will invite everyone to participate in a quiz on Swami Ji.

The show will start at 4 PM in the auditorium.

For the convenience of our guests, we have made arrangements for delicious food and Kulfi which will be served by restaurant.

Q: Seems like a fun and inspiring event I would not like to miss. How can one buy the ticket for the event?

A.      The tickets are available on line. You can bo to boston.sewausa.org and buy the ticket on line using your paypal or credit card. Tickets are $25, $50 and $75.

 Part 3 – Conclusion

Q. I am inspired. How can I become a volunteer?

A. Contact any Sewa volunteer and we will be happy to have you join the sewa team.

Q. How can I contact Sewa International ?

A. You can contact us by the following means:

·   Call 508-635-1610

·   Visit our Web site www.sewausa.org/boston

·   To buy the ticket on line boston.sewausa.org

Q: Would you like to say anything to our viewers

I request every viewer to please come and watch the Laser Show on Swami Vivekananda on October 6^th in Andover High School. Get inspired and find out how you can make a positive impact on the community you live in.