About: Kanwal

Neil Makhija is a public interest attorney and election law professor who serves as the Executive Director of Impact. He led Impact and its affiliates through the 2020 election on their mission to engage South Asian and Indian American communities and help them run for, win, and be successful in elected office.

Neil was born and raised as a son of immigrants in Carbon County, Pennsylvania and went on to earn his law degree at Harvard Law School. In his legal work, he has represented essential workers, consumers, and the public interest.

Neil has served as president of the South Asian Bar Association in Philadelphia and is a member of the board of trustees at his alma mater, Sarah Lawrence College. He was listed as one of the “40 under 40” influential people in Pennsylvania by City & State PA. In 2021, he was chosen as one of 13 Asian American civil rights leaders to meet President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House to discuss immigration and voting rights.

So, you know for sure, this conversation is one that is not to be missed at all. In case you missed it earlier, tune – in for sure, today, 9th August, on our Show, Saat Samundar Paar, on MeraSangeet Gold – at 9:00AM,1:00 PM,5:00 PM and 9:00 PM – EST. You can also catch the interview on MeraSangeet East at 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM – EST

Vaishali Gade joined IAGB team in 2017 and now serves as the President. She earlier served as the Vice President of New England Marathi Mandal. Dancing is her passion and she has participated in many fundraising events to benefit area charitable organizations.

Maya Tamhankar is a Program Management professional, passionate about giving back to the community, and has been part of many non-profit organizations in the area. She now serves as Director, IAGB. She enjoys Indian classical music and dance and has dabbled in theater both on-stage and back-stage.

Nilesh Agrawal is a Senior it Project Manager and manages the database team globally as dba manager. He has over 20+ years of it experience. He now serves as a Director with IAGB and helps with their various initiatives such as civic collaboration. He loves music and sports.

Tanu Basu started with IAGB In her late teens, and is now running her 10th Executive term. Her Community Service ‘Mantra’ for this IAGB term is to be instrumental in enthusing the larger immigrant community to come together in synergy and also serve the Senior Community in the area.

On the show today, we talk to about the India Day celebrations and the many events that lead up to the day along with the ones that follow. So, in case you missed it earlier, tune – in for sure, today,5th August, on our Show, Saat Samundar Paar, on MeraSangeet Gold – at 9:00AM,1:00 PM,5:00 PM and 9:00 PM – EST. You can also catch the interview on MeraSangeet East at 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM – EST

Abhishek Singh, President of Federation of Indian Association, New England, talks to us about the forthcoming India Day Celebrations.

Abhishek is a software engineer, entrepreneur, social activist, and a family man, as he says. He lives in Boston. He was awarded the Leadership & Community Service Award for his best contribution to the Indo- American Society by Mr. Randhir Jaiswal, Counsel General of India, New York, on the eve of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas 2021.

Abhishek provided humanitarian services to the Indian Diaspora when the world was grappling with COVID-19. He organized massive food drives. He urged the Indian Diaspora to uphold the principles of ‘Nation First, Always First’ and be a force for positive impact. He also organized the festival of lights, Diwali and urged people to recognize the importance of ‘Jyotismati’ or ‘inner light’.

On the show today, we talk to Abhishek ji about the India Day celebrations in Boston. For details about the event, and in case you missed it earlier, tune – in for sure, today, 4th August, on our Show, Saat Samundar Paar, on MeraSangeet Gold – at 9:00AM,1:00 PM,5:00 PM and 9:00 PM – EST. You can also catch the interview on MeraSangeet East at 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM – EST

Madhusudhan Akkihebbal is an IT professional in the Greater Boston area, working in the field of Information Security. Over the past two decades, he has been part of several cultural, artistic and charity initiatives.

Madhusudhan has served as the president of Mandaara, New England Kannada Koota in Boston (2013-15) where he started new, useful initiatives. He is on the executive team at Chinmaya Mission Boston and is a founding member of RangaTaranga Boston, a cultural non-profit organization.

Last summer, he became a part of Samarthanam USA’s Board of Directors. Keen about music, he has also founded light music groups such as Lahari Boston, Kalarava and ChinmayaSwaranjali Boston (a devotional choir). Madhusudhan utilizes his free time on creative projects and volunteers for various community causes.

On the show today, we talk to Madhusudhan about the Samarthanam and Nazraana. For details about the organization and about the event, about Madhusudhan’s role and journey, tune – in for sure, today,19th July, on our Show, Saat Samundar Paar, on MeraSangeet Gold – at 9:00AM,1:00 PM,5:00 PM and 9:00 PM – EST. You can also catch the interview on MeraSangeet East at 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM – EST

Saheli offers non-judgmental culturally sensitive services to domestic and sexual violence survivors from South Asia and the Middle East.

Saheli’s offers legal support including translation, accompanying survivors to court and police stations, and offering free family law legal clinics. It has an Economic Empowerment Program that gives clients tools and resources to live a safe, self-sustaining and empowered life.

Nirmala Nanguneri has had a career in the pharma industry for over 20 years. She is currently a Principal Investigator at the Tufts Medical Center as well as a co-Founder and CEO of Vindhya Data Science. She contributes to the cause of supporting women to have enriching and healthy lives.

Nirmala Nanguneri – on the board of directors, Saheli Boston, graces our show – So, to learn about all that Saheli does, the ways to reach them and much more, join – in for this wonderful conversation, in case you missed it earlier, this Monday, 18th July, on our Radio Show, From our Archives, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST

Manoj Singh, an IT Consultant, has always had a passion for the arts. He has acted in several prominent plays, including: Mere Bachhe, Jisne Lahore Nahi Dekhya woh Jamiya Nahi and A Tryst with Destiny. He is a member of Natya Bharati, the Actors Center, and Storytellers Short Film Club.

In 2012, Manoj and his wife Geeta started Ceasar Productions – it has fast become DCs premier company for hosting South Asian TV Talk Show, Theatre, Music, Films and Book-Reading events. In 2018, they together started a Not for Profit 501 (c)(3) organization, DC South Asian Arts Council Inc under which they now host the DC South Asian Film Festival and DC South Asian Literary Festival and soon to add more year round programming.

Do not miss the DCSAFF Summerfest 2022 – July 16 and 17th at the AMC Wheaton Mall 9, Wheaton, MD. A special 15% discount to MeraSangeet listeners – to avail, use the code MERASANGEET15 https://dcsaaci.org/dcsaff/july-2022-schedule/

To know about the films being screened at the festival, about the selection criteria and much more, do join – in the conversation with Manoj ji – today, 13th July, on our show, Saat Samundar Paar, on MeraSangeet Gold – at 9:00AM,1:00 PM,5:00 PM and 9:00 PM – EST. You can also catch the interview on MeraSangeet East at 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM – EST

Prem Chopra is an Indian actor in Hindi and Punjabi films. He has acted in 380 films over a span of over 60 years. Since 1967, he has been a leading villain in Hindi films and his peak period as main villain was from 1967 to 1995. After 1996, he appeared as a villain in very few films. He took up positive character roles from 1996 and started getting more positive roles from 2007. Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prem_Chopra

This conversation was recorded many years back. It revolves around Prem Chopra Sahaab’s growing up days in Shimla, about his journey to Mumbai (then Bombay), his initial films, his family and so much more.

Do listen – in for sure to one of India’s finest actors, Prem Chopra Sahaab, today, 11th July, on our Hindi Radio Show, From our Archives, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST

Widely regarded for her singing versatility across genres, Anuradha recorded playback for films. She was the featured singer in live shows and has recoded with stars Kumar Sanu, Suresh Wadkar, Deepak Pandit, Salim-Sulaiman, the late Bappi Lahiri and Guitar Prasanna. In 2020 Anuradha’s private song, “Jaan Meri” won an award. She is the Chairperson of MIT’s Heritage Arts of South Asia (MITHAS). She is also the founder of Juju Productions.

Prashanth Palakurthi is the founder and former CEO of Reflexis Systems. A serial entrepreneur from 1992, retired from software businesses, and now helps Anuradha, his wife, in her music business. He was named as one of 50 Outstanding Asian Americans in Business by the Asian American Business Development Center, in 2014. He is the CEO of Juju Productions.

Anuradha and Prashanth serve philanthropic causes ranging from Veterans, Education in India and productivity to the differently abled. On the show, we talk about their journey, about Samarthanam and the forthcoming event – Nazraana. Do tune-in for the conversation, on 8th July, on our Show, Saat Samundar Paar, on MeraSangeet Gold – at 9:00AM,1:00 PM,5:00 PM and 9:00 PM – EST. You can also catch the interview on MeraSangeet East at 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM – EST

Chintan Pandya, recently won the James Beard Award – for “Best Chef: New York State. It is America’s most prestigious culinary award -The James Beard Foundation recognizes exceptional talent in the food industry.

It was in New York that Chintan joined the Michelin-starred Junoon for a brief stint before he met restaurateur Roni Mazumdar in 2017 and became the chef at the modern and upscale Rahi, followed by Adda Indian Canteen for which Chintan was the winner of the 2019 StarChefs New York Rising Star. Within a year after Adda opened, the restaurant was on the short list to be nominated for a James Beard Foundation award for “Best New Restaurant” Food & Wine Magazine’s “Top Ten Best New Restaurants 2019”, Eater National’s Best New Restaurants 2019” and Bon Appetit’s “Top 50 Best New Restaurants of 2019”. In 2021 the duo opened Dhamaka, for which Chintan won The James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef, New York State.

On the show today, we talk to Chintan about his journey, in India and from India to the United States – about food – and much about it – one message hits the point – “Do your best in what you do” – So incase you missed it earlier, join in today, yet again, for this must listen conversation, today, 1st July, on our Show, Saat Samundar Paar, on MeraSangeet Gold – at 9:00AM,1:00 PM,5:00 PM and 9:00 PM – EST. You can also catch the interview on MeraSangeet East at 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM – EST