Click on each pic below to watch video. To see all the whole playlist from the evening....click here.
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Click on each pic below to watch video. To see all the whole playlist from the evening....click here.
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Click on each pic below to watch video. To see all the whole playlist from the evening....click here.
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Click on each pic below to watch video. To see all the whole playlist from the evening....click here.
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Click on each pic below to watch video. To see all the whole playlist from the evening....click here.
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2024!
When
- Saturday, March 2nd, 2024, 6-8 PM
- Sunday, March 3rd, 2024, 4-6PM
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Where​
At the Academy of Creative Arts, 12 A Street, Burlington, MA.
Voices 2024 proved to be an immensely successful event, with tickets for both days selling out rapidly. Storytellers hailing from India, Sri Lanka, Tibet, and Pakistan shared poignant narratives of their immigrant journeys. These true accounts delved into various themes, including the challenges of coming out in conservative societies, navigating implicit biases, the complexities of parenting amidst cultural clashes, exhilarating yet daunting hiking expeditions, triumph over abuse, and the profound impact of unexpected acts of kindness, among others
Cast of tellers in Voices 2024
Come immerse yourself in the immigrant experiences of tellers from India, Sri Lanka, Tibet and Pakistan. True stories from their lives will include: coming-out to a conservative society, implicit bias, parenting and work culture wars, hair-raising hiking trips, overcoming abuse, unexpected kindness and others. All stories will be shared on Saturday and Sunday and will be told in English. Note: Some themes and stories may not be child appropriate.
Yasmin Azad: was born in Sri Lanka and moved to the United States in her twenties. She has lived mostly in the Boston area where she raised her three children and worked for over twenty-five years as a mental health counselor. Her memoir Stay, Daughter, draws on her experiences growing up in a close-knit, Muslim society which, when it gave more independence to women, had to deal with the challenges of modernity. More at www.staydaughter.com.
Yasmin’s story in Voices 2024 centers on an uncomfortable moment of self-awareness that, as an immigrant and a person of color, she is also prone to profiling and snap judgements that reduces others to stereotypes in ways that she herself has been.
Priyadarshini Banerjee: is a college lecturer and teaches writing, communication and literature. She has worked with diverse student populations ranging from traditional college students, to incarcerated individuals looking for a college degree and a fresh start. Her most challenging role so far has been parenting a modern American teenager to be compassionate in an increasingly isolated age and strongly connected to his Indian roots.
Priyadarshini's story explores the challenges as a new mother cut off from familiar support and guidance as she tries to settle on her own parenting approach. Is she a millennial mom who above all, respects her toddler’s individuality? Or an Asian one conditioned to take wise, far-seeing steps for his own good when he doesn't know any better?
Phuni Kim Meston was born into a nomadic herding family of Tibet forced into asylum in South India. She was trafficked to Massachusetts as a teenager but eventually sent her trafficker to jail, earned a degree & founded a socially conscious artisan boutique (Karma Fine Crafts) focusing on fair trade and cultural enterprise. She remains dedicated to efforts to end domestic violence and human trafficking and other social issues. Learn more at www.cometokarma.com.
Voices 2024 will be one of Phuni’s first attempts at telling her story on her own terms. Off Kendrik is honored to offer her a forum to find and share her raw, real voice.
Deepmala Ray Nandi came to the USA as a 24 year-old, got a masters in finance (go BU!) and a career as a financial analyst and is mother to two (twin) girls and 2 (non-twin) fur-babies. Her mind deals in humor while her heart lies in theater - specifically, Bengali experimental theater. When her kids (canine and human), the stage and her bank can spare her, she loves to travel.
Her story is about the bumpy transition from an Indian workplace to American corporate culture including the discovery of key commonalities that make compromise bearable.
Ashis Saha was raised in a small town near Kolkata, India where his fascination with the periodic table led to a love of Chemistry and eventually, to a post-doc at U.C. Berkeley (by way of U. Michigan). By trade he is a medicinal chemist and senior biotech R&D professional but in his free time he’s treasurer and councilor of the American Chemical Society, an avid photographer and traveler.
His story is about an ill-fated trip to the south side of Chicago as a new-ish immigrant that led to despair and then, the realization that hope lies in wait in the most unlikely places.
Harini Aiyer is a scientist by training, a sales person by day, and an aspiring stand-up comic by night. Born and raised in an orthodox South Indian family in Chennai, she always felt a bit outside the bell curve wondering, amongst other things, if Bollywood-fueled heteronormativity was her cup of chai.
Her story is a road trip from inside her closet to the world outside where she is her fully authentic self Follow her on https://www.instagram.com/paninisportini/
Jumhoor Rashid migrated from Pakistan to the United States in his 20’s and recently retired from 30 years of teaching science to youth in Boston. He is passionate about spiritual awakening through stories and poetry, an avid gardener and can cook many Indian/Pakistani dishes. He is a curious soul, always striving to better his arts, help others and live an authentic life. He often performs at Sub-Drift open mics in Cambridge, MA.
His story is about a multi-day trek in the high mountains of Pakistan that taught him that no road is as easy as it seems and that few smooth paths are truly smooth.