Hey! So Glad You're Here.

Hello there! I'm Anika. I'm the founder and director of Embracing Our Desi. I live in New Jersey and I'm a junior in high school. I love to sing, dance, play the ukulele and piano, and read. I love learning languages (I'm currently learning French) and I enjoy spending time with people.

 

Being Desi- American has always been a very big part of my life. Growing up, my parents always made sure that I was fully immersed within my roots. I attended Indian school for 5 years, did Bollywood dance for the longest time, and I now have been doing Kathak (Indian classical dance) for seven years. With each of these elements, I find that I am brought closer to my culture. 

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In May 2020, I founded Embracing Our Desi, a platform for South Asian girls to share their stories. I, as a South Asian female living in a predominantly white space, feel as though my voice, opinion, and sometimes background have been “erased.” I also find that there’s a stigma around being too “Asian” or too “Indian” that I constantly face. I have known that I’m not the only person to face this and that’s why I founded this organization.

 

On our website (embracingourdesi.com) we have featured numerous stories of South Asian girls and their experiences ranging from culture shock to anti-blackness within the South Asian community. The goal of these individual stories is to get people talking and form a connection within the South Asian Community,