Breaking Barriers with Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Undercover sting ops. Armed security guards. And several broken bones. All in a day’s work for Kailash Satyarthi, India’s premier child rights activist. For 35 years, this has been his singular purpose—the eradication of child labor and advocacy for stricter laws to end exploitative child labor and slavery. In Atlanta to deliver the keynote […]
The Pivot Point monthly column: Carving a Path to Selfless Service
BY NEHA NEGANDHI* Atlanta, GA, August 15, 2024: There are certain memories that require no trigger. They’re etched in like permanent identity markers constantly reminding us of who we are. That unbreakable tie between past and future still reverberates tangibly decades later for Bindu Malbari who recalls with pinpoint accuracy the day she found out her […]
The Pivot Point monthly column: Transforming Challenges into Fashion and Success
BY NEHA NEGANDHI* The path of an entrepreneur is marked by overcoming obstacles and taking on enormous risks to reap subsequent benefits. In 2018, when Anusmita Bardhan galvanized plans to create a unique fashion boutique, it halted her rewarding teaching and growing IT career. Pushing forward, she wholly stepped into the dynamic, frenetic fashion world, […]
BeBe’s Kitchen: Babita Verma empowers refugee women to share their culinary heritage
BY NEHA NEGANDHI* Cover photo: Babita Verma (center) during a cooking demonstration on Indian breads. Babita Verma curates cooking experiences steeped in the stories and memories of our ancestors. Sometimes she steps into the kitchen; at other times, it is one of her 12 partner chefs, each encapsulating flavors and techniques passed down through the […]
Monthly The Pivot Point column: Coding for Success
BY NEHA NEGANDHI* Nidhi Jain, a software engineer, turned her dilemma of keeping her young boys engaged during summer into a successful kids’ coding education initiative. Despite being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Jain’s passion for teaching coding has positively impacted thousands of students. Nidhi Jain faced a dilemma fourteen years ago, as many parents do […]
Spotlight on Sustainable Solutions
It is baffling how even in a bountiful country like the U.S., which has shocking amounts of food excess, there are still so many suffering from hunger. Atlanta-based social entrepreneur, Kashi Sehgal, has found a solution. While serving on one of the subcommittees at Georgia Innovates Task Force, created by Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, Kashi […]
Trends: Modern Matchmaking
For most Indians, marriage is an important milestone in fulfilling one’s destiny, a sacred pact that is laden with the weight of a centuries old culture. What is passé, however, are arranged—read parentally approved—marriages. So where does a young (or not-so-young) South Asian turn to while searching for a life partner? Where one searches for […]
Spotlight: Taking Yoga to Police Officers and More
Rutu Chaudhari’s ‘The Dharma Project’ seeks to universalize yoga in America, where it is often confined to people who are “white, skinny, and upper-class.” In the process, she also seeks to transform the image of yoga—from one that is associated merely with body-bending exercises to one where it is seen in its ancient, classical aspect—as […]
AIM for Seva Atlanta annual gala charms audience with comedian Rajiv Satyal
The All India Movement for Seva held its annual gala fundraiser in Atlanta with entertainment from the nationally known comedian, Rajiv Satyal, on November 18, 2016. The event at Ashiana Banquet Hall in Global Mall attracted 160 attendees. The goal is to support 3 chatralayas (Free Student Homes, FSH, educational residential facilities for India’s underprivileged school children) […]
Food: Making Cooking Cool
From Nigella Lawson to Masterchef, it seems the world cannot get enough of televised cooking shows. But for some years now, there have been more nimble alternatives on the Internet, offering any ambitious amateur chef the chance to access a vast digital audience. One example is Henna Bakshi, 23, who rustles up quick, flavorsome, and […]