Parhaat Second Generation Podcastit (2024)

1
Romana Kassam on art, music and storytelling in the time of COVID-19 28:12

4+ y ago28:12

28:12

While Romana made art her whole entire life, she didn’t make art her career until relatively recently. Romana shares that in her experience, arts and creativity weren’t always encouraged in South Asian households. Even as kids, art was something you did after you finished your math homework. So, she never thought of art as anything outside of a hob…

1
Paul Nazareth on family expectations, the gift of failure, and mentorship 32:25

4+ y ago32:25

32:25

In this episode, Paul and I talk about the day-to-day realities of COVID lockdown, and how quarantine has been impacting all of us. We talk a bit about Paul’s work in philanthropy, and how Paul got to where he is now in his career. Paul is currently the Vice President of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners, and sits on several charity boards …

1
The Lost Heer: Documenting the lost women of colonial Punjab 36:21

4+ y ago36:21

36:21

Wow the world has changed a LOT since my last episode which was a few months ago. Its changed even in the past few days. Moving forward, I’m going to pivot to focus on stories that we don’t see on the news. There are so many stories to capture during this historic time, and I hope this podcast will be a place to document them. I’ll feature stories …

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1987 in Edmonton, Alberta – Where My Mother’s Canadian Immigration Story Began 34:24

5y ago34:24

34:24

In the late 1980s, my mom arrived to Canada as a single, Pakistani female international student to do her PhD at the University of Alberta.During this time, a white Albertan mother (Corrine) and daughter (Kathy) housed my mother for two years, without paying a penny or expecting anything in return. This year, I went back to Edmonton for work, and d…

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The Muslim Tinder...MINDER! (Plus Other Online Dating Tales) 25:39

5+ y ago25:39

25:39

Online dating has become THE way to meet people, and along with that trend, many new apps have been developed to target niche demographics. I learned last year that there is basically a Muslim version of Tinder….and it’s called Minder. I was hanging out with a friend a little while ago and she was telling me about the dates she’s gone on through Mi…

1
Adil, India and Ancestors 47:57

5+ y ago47:57

47:57

This episode is an interview with my friend Adil Dhalla, who decided to visit India for the first time in his mid-30s, to learn more about his ancestry. 200 years ago, Adil’s ancestors left India (Gujrat), and went to Tanzania. About 50 years ago, they immigrated to Canada. Adil grew up here in Toronto, when asked where he’s from, Adil would always…

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Ritu Bhasin, award-winning life coach, speaker and authenticity advocate 27:36

5+ y ago27:36

27:36

In this episode, I sit down with Ritu Bhasin, a renowned diversity, inclusion and empowerment speaker, author, consultant, coach, strategist. Ritu and I talk about what drives her to do the work she does. We start off the conversation about how the 1960s and 1970s saw a new wave of immigration to Canada, and how Ritu’s upbringing in Toronto and Uni…

1
How Samra Zafar, author of "A Good Wife", escaped her abusive marriage 1:08:02

5+ y ago1:08:02

1:08:02

This episode is an exclusive interview with Samra Zafar, author of A Good Wife, which has been a bestseller since the week it launched, receiving accolades from around the world.In this special hour-long interview, Samra and I talk about how she left her abusive marriage, and discuss the difficult but cathartic process of writing A Good Wife. We sp…

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The Story Behind Thorncliffe Park’s Jewel - Iqbal Halal Foods 39:52

5+ y ago39:52

39:52

This episode focuses on Iqbal Halal Foods, a South Asian grocery store in Thorncliffe Park neighbourhood.Thorncliffe Park is a neighborhood where almost 80% of the population is racialized (aka visible minority), and nearly three quarters of the population report English is NOT their mother tongue. The most common languages in the neighborhood are …

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Practicing spirituality in a big and busy city: A journey to Sufism 53:43

5+ y ago53:43

53:43

This episode touches on a topic that is often considered politically incorrect or awkward to discuss – religion and spirituality. In this episode, I wanted to explore Sufism – a side of Islam that is very different from the version of Islam often presented in mainstream media. Sufism is a philosophy and Islamic practice which is focused on inclusiv…

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LGBTQ+ Conversations in the South Asian Community 32:50

6y ago32:50

32:50

In this episode, I sit down with Hazel Hunter, a young South Asian woman of Indian background. We met in my apartment and had a conversation about her experience of coming out to her Indian parents as a lesbian in her early 20s. In this episode, Hazel describes how she came out to her parents and how the dynamic between her and her parents has chan…

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The Gentrification of Toronto's "Little India" Neighbourhood 28:38

6y ago28:38

28:38

This episode is about the gentrification of what used to be Little India, or Gerrard India Bazaar in Toronto. I share my experiences growing up in Toronto in the 1990s and 2000s, and how Gerrard India Bazaar was a central meeting space. The area was a dynamic, bustling enclave of shops that catered to South Asian immigrants living in Toronto, inclu…

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Language - Reconnecting With My Roots Through My Mother Tongue (Urdu) 13:52

6y ago13:52

13:52

This is a story about how my first language was Urdu, and how I learned English as a 3 and a half year old…It’s also a story about how teaching me English backfired a little, and how my parents forced me to retain the ability to speak Urdu. While growing up I resented getting in trouble for something as silly as not speaking Urdu at home, this rela…