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Part 2 of a conversation with four of the five founding members of The Reserved Compartment - Aleena, Gautam, Daniel and Abhijit.

The Reserved Compartment is a pioneering, community-driven initiative to amplify Dalit, Ambedkarite, gender-inclusive voices through spoken word poetry, storytelling, music, and performance.

By reclaiming the term "Reserved Compartment," which historically refers to
segregation, they are creating a platform for subaltern narratives to challenge caste, gender, and other intersecting oppressions.

Rooted in the legacy of the Bhakti movement, the Ambedkarite jalsa-shahiri tradition, and the Dalit Panthers, they aim to move beyond tokenism, ensuring the art and lived experiences of marginalized artists are honoured with dignity.

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Four of the five founding members of The Reserved Compartment, Aleena, Gautam, Daniel and Abhijit join me to talk about their first-of-its-kind poetry initiative - The Reserved Compartment. The fifth, Shripad could not join us.

The Reserved Compartment is a pioneering, community-driven initiative to amplify Dalit, Ambedkarite, gender-inclusive voices through spoken word poetry, storytelling, music, and performance.

By reclaiming the term "Reserved Compartment," which historically refers to
segregation, they are creating a platform for subaltern narratives to challenge caste, gender, and other intersecting oppressions.

Rooted in the legacy of the Bhakti movement, the Ambedkarite jalsa-shahiri tradition, and the Dalit Panthers, they aim to move beyond tokenism, ensuring the art and lived experiences of marginalized artists are honoured with dignity.

Share, like, subscribe as always.

Thank you for listening! Watch all episodes of Pause with Nandini on https://youtube.com/c/NRIAffairs

Send us a text

Sneha and Runjhun from the Aunties Fund join me to talk about The Aunties Fund.
The Aunties Fund is the first permanent fund for South-Asian women, by South-Asian women. They are on a mission to raise $100,000 for culturally informed services for women facing domestic abuse.
The data is startling.
1-3 migrant women face some form of domestic abuse. Many are South Asian. Visa and Dowry abuse is the most prevalent.
This fund will help 4 exceptional organisations working in this space.
• Indian (Sub-continent) crisis & support agency
• House of Sakinah
• Immigrant Women's Speakout Association
• Harman Foundation
Find them on https://www.instagram.com/auntiesfund to know more.
Donate at: https://aunties-fund.raiselysite.com

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The British novelist, Rajeev Balasubramanyam, now a somewhat unlikely Instagram influencer, joins us on Pause with Nandini to explore the difficult questions of the psyche, and of our times. We speak of the spiritual and the political, mental health, wounded narcissism, a personal journey through sex, drugs and alcohol to a healing through self-enquiry, and the reasons for a re-engagement with the political.

We speak of the woundedness of young men, the angry patriarchal masculinity on one hand and the rising discourse about toxic masculinity on the other - and a generation of young men caught between the two. We speak of how there can be a third way, rooted in masculine vulnerability, in the ability to cry, and the need to heal.

This is an important conversation in our fractured times, that goes beyond the what, deeply into the why, and through a story of an examined life, it takes us to into a path of possibilities, redemption, and ultimately of hope.

You can follow him on Rajeevwriter on Instagram.

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Giri Sivaraman, Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner, spoke with Nandini Sen Mehra about the larger questions of racism in Australia, the institutions and structures that need an overhaul, and the genuine concerns and issues that everyday Australians are facing, across communities and ethnicities.

He talks about the critical need to implement the anti Racism Framework that includes the establishment of the Anti Racism Taskforce with representation from government, institutions and civil society, something we at NRI Affairs have been championing as well.

In addressing concerns over the targeting of the Indian diaspora in inflammatory fliers being circulated by anti-immigration campaigners, he offers his perspective on preventive measures, the role of law enforcement in building trust in community, and what he considers of primary concern should a racist attack occur.

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When Rabbi Shergill says, ‘write the truest line you know,’ he isn’t only quoting Hemingway. In a way, he is capturing a lifetime’s quest for authenticity.
In word, in artistic expression , and in navigating a life that didn't always fit into neat boxes.
In this soulful conversation, he speaks of the awakening of his passion for Panjabi, which for him is the language of love, of his grandmother’s sweet phrases, of poetry rooted in everyday life.
He says art comes from an intimate corner of your being and to connect with Delhi is to connect with Delhi’s poetry.
He speaks of Tolstoy, of Bulleh Shah, Santana, Abida Parveen, of Shiv Batalvi, of Baba Farid.
He speaks of his father, an oriental scholar and the only true blue genius that he knew first hand.
He says today we don’t have artists, we have craftsmen, we have algorithms.
We speak of many things in a little over an hour, and in the end, I wonder: do we know Rabbi, the artist and the man any better than we did before?
In some ways, yes, we get a glimpse behind the veil, but yet, much of the enigma remains.
And in a way, I’m thankful for it.

Listen, like, share, subscribe. And perhaps take a moment to revisit the magic and memories of Rabbi Shergill's music.

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The 2025 Australian federal election has been called for May 3, 2025. Members of the 48th Parliament of Australia will be elected. All seats of the House of Representatives (150 compared to 151 in the previous election) and 40 of the 76 seats in the Senate will be contested.

Two exceptional thinkers and leaders, Sukhmani Khorana and Varsha Yajman join me on Pause to talk elections, media and civic literacy, disinformation, and the issues that impact the South Asian Diaspora.

Sukhmani Khorana is a Scientia Associate Professor in the School of Arts and Media at UNSW. Sukhmani has published extensively on migrant media, the politics of empathy and belonging, and self-representation for refugees. Sukhmani’s work on the Indian diaspora in Australia is considered foundational in the field.

Varsha Yajman is a speaker, podcaster, and advocate, with a keen interest in climate justice and mental health awareness. As a coordinator at SAPNA South Asian Climate Solidarity Network and a paralegal at Equity Generation Lawyers specialising in climate change litigation, Varsha actively engages in transformative work. Varsha's passion materialises in her podcast, "Not to be Controversial," designed to forge a community where young South Asians feel represented and empowered. In 2021, the Women’s Agenda acknowledged her as one of the 100 women resetting the world, and in 2022, Urban List recognised her as one of the 30 individuals poised to change the world by 2030.

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Gaza has been front and centre for many of us as we watched the decimation of a land and its people with horror and dismay, each of us wishing we could do more. More than the sharing, the bearing witness and the fund-raising.

On the cusp of a potential ceasefire, still hanging by a tenuous thread, it is our honour to have Dr Sanjay Adusumilli as a guest on this show. Dr. Sanjay was in Gaza on a medical mission. He is a General and Colorectal Surgeon from Sydney who is also a cofounder of the Global Medical Foundation Australia , a charity without any religious or political affiliation, that raises funds and provides medical services to third world countries. Each year Sanjay travels overseas to perform this work.

In this conversation, Dr. Sanjay takes us into the Al Aska hospital in Gaza, and gives us a glimpse into the horrific conditions he witnessed, the heartbreaking choices he was confronted with, and the exceptional medical students and Doctors of Gaza, each of them heroic in indescribable ways.

Learn more about the Global Medical Foundation Australia at www.gmfaustralia.org.au. Donate, sign up as a volunteer or simply share their work with others.

This is important, life-saving, life-affirming work and may it inspire each of us to do what we can, and a little bit more.

Thank you for listening! Watch all episodes of Pause with Nandini on https://youtube.com/c/NRIAffairs