Aindrila Roy
Aindrila Roy is a stay-at-home mom with her fingers in many pies. She writes, reads, makes jewelry, sings, dances and is a huge Paleontology nerd. Her book, I See You, was self-published on Amazon. She also has stories in anthologies, such as City of Screams and Dark Valentine. Several of her movie reviews have been published in the Monster magazine. She is currently working towards pitching her second novel, and building a Paleontology blog. More by Aindrila Roy
Alakananda Mookerjee
Alakananda Mookerjee lives in Brooklyn, and is a Francophile. More by Alakananda Mookerjee
Anjana Nagarajan-Butaney
Anjana Nagarajan-Butaney is a Producer/Founder of DesiCollective Media, where she creates audio, video and written content that impacts the South Asian diaspora.
She is also a writer for magazine India Currents, showcasing the stories of South Asians in the United States while exploring the social and cultural impact of issues like immigration, health, social justice, politics, census, elections, technology and the arts.
Anjana is a 2021 and 2022 Domestic Violence Impact Reporting Fund grantee at the USC Center for Health Journalism, which has allowed her to report on domestic violence in the South Asian community. She received an award from the California Journalism Award for Local Coverage of Election 2020.
Having started her career as an electrical engineer, Anjana revels in the challenge of using both her analytical and creative parts of her brain to create impactful, data driven, and engaging content. Anjana holds a B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech. More by Anjana Nagarajan-Butaney
Anuj Chakrapani
Anuj Chakrapani loves music and cinema among all art forms. He believes their beauty lies in their interpretation, and that the parts is more than the sum. Anuj lives in the SF Bay Area and works for a large technology company. More by Anuj Chakrapani
Avatans Kumar
Avatans Kumar is a columnist, public speaker, and activist. A JNU, New Delhi, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign alumnus, Avatans holds graduate degrees in Linguistics. Avatans is a recipient of the 2021 San Francisco Press Club’s Bay Area Journalism award.
Column: Beyond Occident – A column exploring a native perspective on the Indian diaspora. More by Avatans Kumar
Bindu Gopal Rao
Bindu Gopal Rao is a freelance writer and photographer from Bangalore who likes taking the offbeat path when traveling. Birding and environment are her favorites and she documents her work on www.bindugopalrao.com. More by Bindu Gopal Rao
Jaya Padmanabhan
Jaya Padmanabhan is editor emeritus, contributing writer, and board member of India Currents.
She is a veteran journalist, essayist, and fiction writer with over 250 published articles and short stories. She has received 25 awards for journalism and 8 awards for fiction, most notably the San Francisco Press Club’s Overall Excellence Award three times and the Lorian Hemingway Award for short fiction.
Her columns and articles can be found in India Currents, PBS Next Avenue, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Standard, Forbes, The Bold Italic, and Elemental.
Find out more at http://jayapadmanabhan.com/ More by Jaya Padmanabhan
Jyoti Bachani
Dr. Jyoti Bachani is an Associate Professor of Strategy and Innovation at Saint Mary’s College of California. She is a former Fulbright Senior Research Scholar, with degrees from London Business School, UK, Stanford, USA, and St. Stephen’s College, India. She translates Hindi poems, and has edited a poetry anthology called “The Memory Book of the Poetry of Diaspora in Silicon Valley.” More by Jyoti Bachani
Kallol Basu
Dr Kallol Basu is passionate about Bangla heritage and has been writing about it for many journals . When he is not executing duties as a business transformation consultant – with a IT service major – he keeps an eye out for intriguing historical trivia and unearths forgotten stories More by Kallol Basu
Lalit Kumar
Lalit Kumar works in the Bay Area’s tech sector and enjoys writing prose and poetry. He published “Years Spent : Exploring Poetry in Adventure, Life and Love” in April 2022. Contact Lalit on Instagram (@lalitk06) or at www.lalitkumaronline.com. More by Lalit Kumar
Lopamudra Basu
Lopamudra Basu is a professor of English and Philosophy and Co-Chair of the Literature Committee at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University. More by Lopamudra Basu
Mona Shah
Mona Shah is a multi-platform storyteller with expertise in digital communications, social media strategy, and content curation for Twitter and LinkedIn for C-suite executives. A journalist and editor, her experience spans television, cable news, and magazines. An avid traveler and foodie, she loves artisan food and finding hidden gems: restaurants, recipes, destinations. She can be reached at: mojoexplore.com
Column: Dig in Meals: A column highlighting Indian spices in recipes that take traditional Indian food and add a western twist. More by Mona Shah
Monita Soni
Monita Soni grew up in Mumbai and works as a pathologist in Alabama. She is well known for her creative nonfiction and poetry pieces inspired by family, faith, food, home, and art. She has written two books: My Light Reflections and Flow Through My Heart. She is a regular contributor to NPR’s Sundial Writers Corner. More by Monita Soni
Mukund Acharya
Mukund Acharya is a regular columnist for India Currents. He is also President and a co-founder of Sukham, an all-volunteer non-profit organization in the Bay Area that advocates for healthy aging within the South Asian community. Sukham provides curated information and resources on health and well-being, aging, and life’s transitions, including serious illness, palliative and hospice care, death, and bereavement. Contact the author at sukhaminfo@gmail.com.
Column: Sukham Blog – A monthly column focused on South Asian health and wellbeing. More by Mukund Acharya
Nandini Patwardhan
Nandini Patwardhan is a retired software developer and co-founder of Story Artisan Press. Her writing has been published in, among others, the New York Times, Mutha Magazine, Talking Writing, and The Hindu. Her book, “Radical Spirits,” tells the deeply-researched story of Dr. Anandi-bai Joshee, India’s first woman doctor.
Column: Unalienable – Reflections on Independence and Belonging More by Nandini Patwardhan
Nandita Chowdhury Bose
Nandita Chowdhury Bose is a journalist, writer, and editor. In the past, she has worked at publications like India Today and Society. Since moving to the United States, she has been a freelance communications professional. More by Nandita Chowdhury Bose
Neha Kirpal
Neha Kirpal is a freelance writer based in Delhi. She has worked for over a decade in print, television, and online media. Her diverse interests in the culture beat include books, music, travel, films, and theater. More by Neha Kirpal
Partha Sircar
Partha Sircar is a retired Civil Engineer, currently residing in Concord, California. He has a BE in Civil Engineering from Bengal Engineering College in Shibpur, India, and a Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a 55-year resident of the United States, including the last 38 years in California. He loves to write and has written several articles in India Currents over the last few years on various topics including on Indian history and Indians at the Olympics. He can be reached by e-mail at psircar@yahoo.com. More by Partha Sircar
Piyali Biswas De
Piyali Biswas De is a versatile Indian dancer, instructor, and choreographer in the Greater Seattle region. When she is not dancing, Piyali works as an IT professional and spends time with two beautiful daughters who seem eager to follow in her footsteps. For the past six years, she has run an Indian dance academy named Dance Tantra in the greater Seattle region. She is very active in Indian American cultural scenarios. In addition, she founded a Non-Profit called Sadhana to impact the community through Art. She is a speaker screener for TEDxSeattle in Art and culture. Being a fitness enthusiast and committed CrossFit athlete, she promotes fitness to individuals of all ages through dance teaching. More by Piyali Biswas De
Pradeep Srivastava
Pradeep Srivastava is a retired engineer, who currently lives in Albany, California. He has been writing for more than three decades.
Column: A Grandpa’s Guide To Getting By – Our grandpa-in-residence Pradeep Srivastava offers his advice for overcoming a habit we all share. More by Pradeep Srivastava
Pragalbha Doshi
Pragalbha Doshi, E-RYT500 – lives with her family in San Jose, CA. As a therapeutic yoga teacher, she facilitates therapy, healing & change for people who struggle with chronic symptoms of stress, physical & emotional, and who want a productive & fulfilling life www.yogasaar.com. She regularly writes inspiring poetry and prose on her blog Infinite Living. More by Pragalbha Doshi
Preeti Hay
Preeti Hay has a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media and Journalism and a Master’s degree in English Literature, majoring in Post Colonial Literature. She has worked for Indian publications including The Times of India, Hindustan Times, Sunday Midday, and Society Magazine. Nothing like walking into regular work without knowing you might end up meeting Shah Rukh Khan at a Press conference!
In America, she has written for publications including India Currents, Khabar Magazine, Yoga International, Yogi Times, and Months to Years Magazine.
She trained under Pat Schneider, the Founder of Amherst Writers and Artists (AWA), a highly acclaimed creative writing method. She is passionate about creative writing and her fiction and poetry have been published in anthologies. When she is not working, Preeti is mostly chasing her busy two-and-a-half-year-old son all over! More by Preeti Hay
Rajesh C.Oza
Dr. Raj Oza has written or contributed to Globalization, Diaspora, and Work Transformation, Satyalogue // Truthtalk: A Gandhian Guide to (Post)Modern-Day Dilemmas, P.S., Papa’s Stories, and Living in America. He can be reached at satyalogue.com or amazon.com/author/rajoza.
Column: MahaMementoMori (Fables Beyond COVID’s Warning Wall) – A monthly series that gently reminds us to remember what life would be like if we succumbed to a pandemic. While settings shift from India to America, and characters change as well, each story explores the vital nature of relationships in life and death. More by Rajesh C.Oza
Ranjani Rao
Ranjani Rao is a scientist by training, writer by avocation, originally from Mumbai, and a former resident of USA, who now lives in Singapore with her family. Her latest book, Rewriting My Happily Ever After – A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery is now available worldwide.
Column: Desi Roots, Global Wings – a monthly column focused on the Indian immigrant experience More by Ranjani Rao
Ritu Marwah
Ritu Marwah is an award-winning author ✍️ and a recognized Bay Area leader in the field of 🏛 art and literature. A California reporting and engagement fellow at USC Annenberg’s Center for Health Journalism and fellow at UCLA’s Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies (LENS). Ritu hosts a panel at the South Asian Literature and Art festival and Indians for Collective Action. 🏆 Her body of work is recognized and awarded for its versatility and range of excellence by the Indian American Women Empowered, Claremont McKenna College, Ding Ding TV and California News Publishers Association.🇺🇸 Ritu covers breaking news in politics, health and lifestyle. More by Ritu Marwah
Shabnam Arora Afsah
Shabnam Arora Afsah is a writer, lawyer, and short story writer who is working on her first novel based on the Partition of India. She is a committed political activist and also runs a food blog for fun! More by Shabnam Arora Afsah
Shalini Kathuria Narang
Shalini Kathuria Narang is a Silicon Valley based software professional and freelance journalist. She has written and published extensively for several national and international newspapers, magazines and websites. She is originally from New Delhi and is settled in the Bay Area with her husband and two daughters for 25 + years. She loves to hike, read fiction and nonfiction, and read and write poems on subjects ranging from parenting and philosophy to growing and thriving. Rumi and Paulo Coelho’s works are some of her favorites. To read all of Shalini’s poems, go to her blog site: Rhythm and Rhyme. More by Shalini Kathuria Narang
Suman Bajpai
Suman Bajpai is a freelance writer, journalist, editor, translator, traveler, and storyteller based in Delhi. She has written more than 17 books on different subjects and translated around 160 books from English to Hindi.
Column: The Cultured Traveler– A column exploring the many miles of what South Asia has to offer. More by Suman Bajpai
Sunil Kakkar
Sunil Kakkar, an IITK computer engineer by profession, spends his fun time
“Romancing The Degchi©™” as it’s Chef De Passion and writing shayari/poetry emanating from “Suneel Ke Dil Se”. His blogs have been referred to, in the San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News. More by Sunil Kakkar
Vidya Murlidhar
Vidya Murlidhar is a children’s book author, essayist, and teacher who lives in Charlotte, NC. A seasoned golf widow and a rookie empty-nester, she is learning to revel in her own company and looks forward to a life of traveling solo and having new experiences.
Column: Tiny Tales From the Heart – A monthly column that presents the world as seen through the eyes of Desi kids. More by Vidya Murlidhar
Umang Sharma
Umang Sharma is a media professional, avid reader and film buff. He has worked as a journalist for over 12 years and is addicted to breaking news! He enjoys researching and writing about socio-political, cultural and economic issues. Umang is an avid traveler who loves discovering the essence of new places and weaving stories about the little things in everyday life. More by Umang Sharma
Interns
Adi Anand
Adi Anand is a 9th grader living in the Bay Area. He is an avid sports fan. In his free time, Adi likes to read. More by Adi Anand
Ashir Rao
Ashir Rao is a student at Los Gatos High School, CA. He likes programming and history — especially as it relates to current events. More by Ashir Rao
Kaashvi Mittal
Kaashvi Mittal is a freshman at Saint Francis High School. Her interests include art, speech and debate, and writing. She especially enjoys writing about current events, social media, and mental health. More by Kaashvi Mittal
Medha Sarkar
Medha Sarkar is a Freshman at Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos, California. She enjoys writing about social issues and her experiences as an Indian-American teen. More by Medha Sarkar
Pavana Upadhyaya
Pavana Upadhyaya is a Junior at Leland High School in San Jose, California. She likes to read nonfiction in her free time. More by Pavana Upadhyaya
Sanjana Karthik
Sanjana Karthik has her own writing organization – Your Words Matter To Us, a mental health app – myEsprit, and is the host and co-founder of the Shawmulticultural show – The Reality Is. Her poetry and articles have been recognized by the Mayor of Whiterock, and various magazines and radio stations, and have been published in anthologies. She is always engaging with her community and advocating for men’s rights, mental health, restorative justice, and other integral topics. More by Sanjana Karthik