Amidst all the sudden and unfortunate outbreak of coronavirus in and around March 2020, not a single day passed without acknowledging the suffering it caused to humanity. While we took a year to assess and be well prepared to face it on with the vaccines rolling out, the stories of resilience, kindness, sheer courage kept flowing in throughout the year and onwards. There are many ordinary faces who all in their might devised or re-directed their ways to mitigate the loss and pain.
Vinti Maheshwari, the founder of the online platform EnthuZiastic, shares her journey with Indian Currents in this interview.
IC: What is EnthuZiastic?
VM: EnthuZiastic is an online platform and a collaborative community where like-minded people come together irrespective of their age, gender, profession, faith, nationality. They bond over their mutual enthusiasm and zeal to create and share a healthy space where the self and the others grow together.
I would not hesitate to say that I envision EnthuZiastic to be a world prototype brimming with joy, kindness, selfless love; where members encourage, help and motivate each other.
IC: What happens at EnthuZiastic? How do you create that shared and healthy space?
VM: Let me answer it differently. Spanish, Piano, Yoga, Vedic Math, Cooking, and the list continue. I mentioned very different things in the same thread. It sometimes makes one curious, Right? (chuckles softly)
But that’s the beauty and uniqueness of EnthuZiastic. We have something for everyone.
Our members range from preschool kids to senior citizens encompassing all age groups. We have this whole plethora of courses, starting from preschool and phonics classes to Vedic Math, Beatboxing, Piano, Scratch Coding, Chess, Fitness and Yoga and so many. Name what you want to learn and we have expert instructors teaching those skills and knowledge at EnthuZiastic. You can even request a custom course!
We have different clubs — Science Club, Preschool Club, Art Club, and Grandparents Club.
We have societies where we host Enthziastic talks; members share their stories, connect and motivate others. And importantly, EnthuZiastic Celebrations.
IC: So, If I ask you to pinpoint the one very thing which you think makes EnthuZiastic stand out as unique, what that would be?
VM: I have to pinpoint that one thing about EnthuZiastic that makes it unique is the EnthuZiastic Celebrations.
We at EnthuZiastic celebrate all the possible festivals and occasions to spread joy and smiles. We celebrated Eid, Mothers’ Day, Diwali, Valentines’ day, Cinco de Maya, Fathers’ Day, and Yoga Day. Presently we are hosting summer camps for the kids which is parallel to the kind of fresh arrival of fall and spring!
We are trying to make kids and our members aware of differences. By celebrating these all kinds of festivals and events, we are learning to respect different cultures and faiths. I believe this will make our world a kinder and more tolerant place to live in.
IC: I am keen to ask, how did EnthuZiastic start?
VM: There were many reasons actually behind it. When I came to America, I had few friends. There were nuclear families. There was lots of judgment and complaints that I miss this back in India, but to my disappointment, no one was doing anything about it.
I wanted to create something to make vanish some of the complaints and problems, if not all.
So, I started with this idea of a one-day camp called Play Date. Kids from the neighborhood joined and they loved it. As we shifted to new cities many times, this Play Date remained a part of our lives. Wherever we went we created this community for our kids and ourselves.
IC: And who are the people behind EnthuZiastic?
VM: Like-minded people volunteered, often. I want to name some of them here: Mayuri, Soniya, Vaishali, Surbhi, Suruchi, Murti Aunty, Jyoti Aunty, and many more. They have seen EnthuZiastic in its crib and few of them are still at EnthuZiastic.
Pratik, my husband, has always been the rock support. When we shifted from offline to online mode, he came as the urgent strength I needed. He is the complementing courageous soul behind EnthuZiastic, and we have a complete team working dedicatedly on the online platform.
IC: I derive from your story that EnthuZiastic started as an offline thing happening in a physical space, right? When and why did it go online?
VM: In fact, very recently! When the pandemic hit the world, I felt it my responsibility to do more than what I was doing earlier. From all the different parts of the world, we were in this together — in this suffering, loss, and pain. Also, the pandemic made it kind of impossible to gather in person and connect in physical space.
That was the phase when I thought of going digital, reaching out to as many as we can. I wanted EnthuZiastic to be a bright thing of hope amid all these dark and tough times.
IC: Would you like to pass on some messages?
VM: Yes! It’s never late to learn or to start afresh. There always remains some room and scope to be the better version of yourself. And together, we are strong and invincible!
And if you want to be a part of this beautiful journey of hope, growth, sharing, and enthusiasm at EnthuZiastic, visit and join us here!
Neha Kumari is a literary enthusiast. She ardently believes that words are the most empowering tool to catalog and question every cause and can change and resurrect the world for the better.