CD49 Definition Please, a Conversation with Sujata Day
The Carolina Desi
Sujata Day is a performer, creator, writer, and director known for her work on HBO's Insecure as well as her film directorial debut Definition Please (now streaming on Netflix), among others. Join us as Sujata discusses her background, her work, how she turned her creative ideas into reality, the specific challenges her team overcame in film production and distribution, and so much more!
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CD48 Sufi Scholarship with Arpan Bhandari
The Carolina Desi
Today we are joined by Arpan Bhandari, PhD candidate of Islamic Studies at UNC Chapel Hill, for a fantastic conversation around Sufism and scholarship. We discuss Arpan's background, surviving in academia, the value of the humanities, the basics of Sufism, its influence on Bollywood and modern pop culture, and some of the most prominent Sufis in history (Rumi, Al-Hallaj, Hafiz, etc). It's sure to be an exciting conversation you won't want to miss! IG / FB / Twitter: @arpandholi
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PODSWAP: Brown People We Know (Ranjan Ravaliya)
The Carolina Desi
Brown People We Know, hosted by Suraj Kandukuri, is an interview podcast with South Asian Americans taking non-traditional career and lifestyle paths. By sharing these stories, the podcast aims to break down stereotypes about South Asians and to reduce social pressures from within the diaspora community to take a certain path. In this episode, Suraj interviews Ranjan Ravaliya who is a retired engineer who earned her PhD in Chemistry in India during the 1980’s. At 62, she decided to come out of retirement by visiting Haridwar in India and training to become a priestess. Today, at 67, she goes...
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CD46 Southern Fried Asians with Keith Chow
The Carolina Desi
The Carolina Desis teamed up with Keith Chow (@the_real_chow) of the Southern Fried Asians (@southernfriedasians) podcast and the Nerds of Color (@thenerdsofcolor) to put out a special episode discussing this year’s rise in awareness towards AAPI issues as well as the general complexity involved in being labelled as “Asian-American”, especially for those of us living in the American South. What are the similarities in our stories? Who gets to be counted in the coalitions being built? And what does solidarity look like between all of us? Join us as we discuss all these questions and more!...
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CD45 International Choreographer and Filmmaker Tricha Kumar
The Carolina Desi
Tricha Kumar is a professional dancer and filmmaker who also happens to be the Bollywood film industry's #1 dance choreographer of Bhangra. Join the Carolina Desis this week as Tricha sits down with us to discuss current projects, her philosophy on dance as a career and an artform, the state of Bhangra in Bollywood, the value of labor as a backup dancer, adjusting to Covid, and so much more! IG: @tricha.k Twitter: @trichakumar Website: MOON: MOON: Witness to a Devouring Monster: WTADM Fundraising:
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CD44 Invisible India with Jessica Kumar
The Carolina Desi
We've spoken before about the immigrant experience coming from South Asia to the US, but never the other way around! This time, we get to know Jessica Kumar, an American Midwesterner and Co-host of the Invisible India Podcast. Over time, Jessica found herself building a life with her husband and children halfway across the world in India. We sat down to ask Jessica about her work, her transition to life in India, raising bilingual children there, the misconceptions she had before arriving, and much more. Invisible India episode mentioned: @InvisibleIndia on IG @IndiaInvisible on Twitter...
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CD43 The Farmers Protest with Sahej Preet Singh
The Carolina Desi
What do Rihanna, Greta Thunberg, and the farmers of India all have in common? They, along with a groundswell of supporters worldwide, are shedding light on the unjustness of three farm laws passed by India's Parliament. The passing of these laws, which has sparked the largest protest in world history, strip away previous protections for workers and open the doors for billionaire corporate interests to destroy an entire way of life for upwards of 60% of India's population still working in agriculture. We sit down with Sahej Preet Singh of the Sikh Coalition to discuss the rapidly developing...
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CD42 An Actor's Journey with Sachit Grover
The Carolina Desi
Sachit Grover is a young Desi-American Actor and Content Creator making his way in the rapidly evolving landscape of the entertainment industry. We sit down with Sachit to discuss his film projects, experiences, and lessons learned both at home and abroad. Tune in to hear more about Sachit's creative process, the challenges of acting in a second language, adapting to auditioning during Covid-19, learning from and working with experienced Bollywood actors such as Ranvir Shorey, and much more! YouTube: Instagram: Twitter: Facebook:
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CD41 Mamaji by Elisheba Haqq
The Carolina Desi
Elisheba Haqq is an author, educator, and nurse who has just released her debut memoir Mamaji, chronicling the adversity, challenges, and lessons learned through her own upbringing as a Desi-American in 1970s Minnesota. We sit down with Elisheba to discuss the social and cultural isolation felt in her life, the effects on her family and identity, as well as other core themes that have shaped her and her story. Find Mamaji on or .
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CD40 Ronnie Chatterji for NC State Treasurer
The Carolina Desi
On today's episode, we had the great pleasure of speaking with Duke professor, economist, author, and self-described nerd Ronnie Chatterji on his 2020 political campaign as the Democratic candidate for North Carolina State Treasurer. Join us as we learn more about his vision for North Carolina, his background working for the Obama administration, the significance of the office of NC State Treasurer, his own experiences as a Carolina Desi, and much more. Remember to VOTE on or before November 3rd. To learn more about Ronnie and his platform, visit www.ronniechatterji.com.
info_outlineBrown People We Know, hosted by Suraj Kandukuri, is an interview podcast with South Asian Americans taking non-traditional career and lifestyle paths. By sharing these stories, the podcast aims to break down stereotypes about South Asians and to reduce social pressures from within the diaspora community to take a certain path.
In this episode, Suraj interviews Ranjan Ravaliya who is a retired engineer who earned her PhD in Chemistry in India during the 1980’s. At 62, she decided to come out of retirement by visiting Haridwar in India and training to become a priestess. Today, at 67, she goes by the moniker The New England Priest as she officiates weddings. In this episode, Ranjan shared the story of her family leaving Tanzania during Idi Amin’s time and about earning the nickname “Rapid Ranjan” as she hiked Kilimanjaro years later. They talk about her decision to pursue higher education despite her father’s wishes, and the funny way that she convinced him to pay for it. And she reflected on parenting as a single mother of two and what she sees her role as a grandparent today.