Languages Spoken / Gujarati
Ms. Mohini Pai (Masala Chat Project)
Mohini Pai, 83, is a retired investment manager and non-profit leader. The interview includes detailed discussion of her early and young adult life in India and Kenya with her parents and six younger siblings. She...
Ms. Padma Chandwaney (Masala Chat Project)
Padma Chandwaney, 73, is a proud Sindhi community leader, one of the first Indian Americans in Chicago, and an insurance professional. The interview includes discussion of how she had to raise her younger siblings at...
Ms. Virbala Desai (Masala Chat Project)
Virbala Desai, 79, is a retired Montessori school teacher and one of the pioneer members of the Indian community in Chicago. The interview includes discussion of her first impressions of New York City as a...
Mr. Kanti Gandhi (Masala Chat Project)
Kanti Gandi, 76, is the owner of a successful global chemical coatings company. The interview includes discussion of the fact that he among the earliest members of the Indian community in the United States, having...
Ms. Renu Gandhi (Masala Chat Project)
Renu Gandhi, 68, is a devoted wife and mother who works alongside her husband and children in the family business, the Gandhi Corporation. The interview includes discussion of how she built a hybrid identity as...
Ms. Shamiya Ghogha (Masala Chat Project)
Shamiya Ghogha, 20, is a newlywed who is adapting to life in America. The interview includes discussion about her recent move to Chicago from India and her efforts to learn English at the Indo-American Center...
Mr. Ashok Patel (Masala Chat Project)
Ashok Patel is a retired physician who was Chief of Hematology at Cook County Hospital for more than thirty years. The interview includes discussion of his young life in India and Fiji and life as...
Ms. Daksha Patel (Masala Chat Project)
Daksha Patel, 76, is a pioneering neonatal physician who now consults for the Department of Social Security. The interview includes discussion of her average day as a child and how she charted an uncommon path...
Mr. Mafat Patel (Masala Chat Project)
Mafat Patel, 72, is an entrepreneur and the owner of two businesses catering to the Indian community in Chicago. The interview includes discussion of his frequent desire to return to India after he came to...
Ms. Tina Shah (Masala Chat Project)
Tina Shah, 39, is a designer and software developer who is working hard to ensure she keeps her Indian heritage alive for herself and the next generation. The interview includes discussion of her family's search...
Mr. Rohinton and Ms. Roshan Rivetna (Masala Chat Project)
Roshan, 77, and Rohinton, 82, Rivetna, are pioneers of the Zoroastrian community in the US, having arrived in the mid-1960s. The interview begins with Roshan alone, and her husband Rohinton joins approximately halfway through. The...
Mr. Navinchanvra Sanghavi (Masala Chat Project)
Navinchanvra Sanghavi is a mechanical engineer who was among the first Indian Americans in Chicago, having arrived in the early 1960s. The interview includes discussion of his devotion to the Pushtimargiya religious practice and his...
Ms. Naseem Umar (Masala Chat Project)
Naseem Umar, 64, is an educator and dedicated community leader. The interview includes discussion of the obstacles she faced in getting employment that matched her experience after arriving in Chicago, but how she eventually became...
Ms. Krishna Chakrabarthy (At Risk Stories)
Krishna Chakrabarthy, 80, is a retired biochemist, college lecturer, and active member of the Bengali community in Chicago. The interview includes discussion of her youth in Gujarat, her father’s influence on her decision to study in the United States, her arranged marriage, and her and...