Known onstage as “Raskol Khan,” Cyrus McGoldrick is not your average 22-year-old. A couple of months ago, when the nation was trapped in a hostile argument over the mosque at Ground Zero, CNN called him a “Muslim who raps for peace.” In an era where young Muslims find themselves defending their faith as often as worshipping, McGoldrick has emerged as a powerful voice in the chorus. He plays the saxophone and writes his own lyrics, using his music to present a deeply personal reflection of himself. For McGoldrick, the personal is inextricably linked to the public, as his ideals and beliefs consistently drive his creativity.

A recent convert to Islam, McGoldrick’s faith takes center stage in his music—the intersection of hip-hop and Islam is a natural one to him. His search for identity as a young Muslim is one that he believes resonates strongly in hip-hop, he explains, “At the end of the day, we’re all dealing with issues of identity, trying to figure out who we are. This is my way of doing just that.” With his faith driving his creativity, McGoldrick has quickly garnered a following that appreciates his music as much as they respect his courage of conviction.

Having read both the Bhagavad Gita and Sufi poetry before eventually converting to Islam, McGoldrick’s spiritual influences are as diverse as the music he plays. (He’s even a Bollywood fan!) He performs often with the Freddy Fuego band, a NYC-based group that combines jazz, hip-hop and a number of other musical styles to create a fusion that is simultaneously innovative and timeless.

Over the next two months, McGoldrick is devoting a number of performances to charity gigs where proceeds will benefit victims of the recent flood in Pakistan. With a firm belief in the power of community activism, he is hoping these concerts can be just the beginning of an organized and resonating response from the community. “There has been a lot of care and positive energy among New Yorkers,” he explains, “but we need more.”

One of the bigger fundraisers he’ll be a part of takes place this Saturday at the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Education Center. Performing with renowned spoken word artist Amir Sulaiman, DJ Raichous, Alex Schein, Hasan Salaam, and many more, “Sounds of Solidarity” promises to be both inspiring and entertaining.

Click here for more info about Cyrus, including tour dates and music clips!

For more info about this Saturday’s “Sounds of Solidarity” concert, and to purchase advance tickets, visit http://soundsofsolidarity.eventbrite.com

He seems to be everywhere—starring as Tom Haverford on NBC’s Parks and Recreation, and with appearances in movies like Funny People, I Love You Man, and Observe and Report, this 27 year old has quickly become a household name.

In addition to his roles in television and film, he has continued doing standup shows in between various acting commitments. Last year’s tour, titled Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening, was released on CD and DVD this January. His standup style incorporates true stories about his cousins, Harris and Darwish, as well as regular updates about his unexpectedly hilarious friendship with rapper Kanye West. Our personal favorite skit from last year? A rant about the dangers of Coldstone Ice Cream.

His decision to not center his act on only ethnic humor is an intentional one; instead, he makes it a point to focus on his own personal experiences. As he told VenusZine, “I like talking about things that are going on in my life, because that’s always going to be different and original. No one else is going to be talking about my personal experiences.”

Tickets to his NYC show this weekend are already sold out, but you can still see him TONIGHT at the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ. Click here to get your tickets now!

Can’t get enough of Aziz? Be sure to check out his blog, at http://azizisbored.tumblr.com/

Post a comment to this article and tell us what you loooove about PJs.  One winner will be chosen on July 14th and will receive a free pair of Jaipur Rose pajamas.

Q. What inspired you to start your own online business selling pajamas?

My master’s thesis at Stanford was my first foray into garment construction and sewing, and I loved it! I did a line of maternity wear that I would still like to produce one day.  I also did a line of Indian clothes, and while the line sold out, I quickly realized that it wasn’t a cost-effective or innovative way to run a business. I began searching for a way to combine the aesthetics of my Indian line with the soothing quality of my maternity line, and came up with sleepwear! It was a moment that I will never forget – everything came into focus and I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

Q. How do you balance being a new mom and starting this new company?

It is not easy! I took an entire year off to fully experience motherhood, and then returned to my business slowly. I did most of the business set-up before I became a mom – I finalized my patterns, fabric, trims, financing, and most of the details. The only things I did after my daughter was born was the website and produce the pajamas. She’s been with me to the sewing workshop, downtown LA’s fabric district, and all over town! She is my first priority and I am thankful that I have been able to balance motherhood and my career.

Q. What pajama set is your favorite?

I love the Jaipur Rose set! The print is fresh and feminine, and distinctly Indian.

Q. Any advice for entrepreneurs out there?

Think BIG! Examine your goals and go beyond them – why not? Also, you don’t need to have an MBA to start a business. You just need passion, motivation, and a little luck. I am grateful to my parents for supporting me when I wanted to study design rather than become a doctor or engineer, and to my husband for supporting me no matter what!

CS: Tell us about your focus on strong female protagonists, especially in the Taj Mahal trilogy.
 
IS:  I began writing the trilogy after I stumbled, quite by chance, on a book on Mughal harems during my last year of graduate school at the University of Delaware.  Until then, and I admit this, my knowledge of the power the women of the Mughal zenanas had was sketchy at best; most of my history textbooks focused on the men with few mentions of how influential the women were.  Therein, lay my first and initial inspiration.  Then, I began reading further, mostly foreign travelers’ tales to India during the 16th and 17th Centuries, the emperors’ memoirs, other more contemporary histories, and realized that there were stories to be told here (or retold, if you will).
 
I was astonished at how powerful Mehrunnisa was during the 17 years of her marriage to Emperor Jahangir–that he gave her all the powers of sovereignty except one; she had coins minted in her name, signed on imperial farmans (which were an exclusive privilege of the sitting sovereign).  The only authority not granted to her was, naturally, the khutba–which was an official proclamation of sovereignty sung in the mosques around India before the Friday noon prayers.  And to cap all of this power was a real, tangible love story between Mehrunnisa and Jahangir, of love and longing for some 17 years.  By the time she marries him, she’s 34 years old already, ancient by Mughal standards, and has been married and widowed, with a child from that previous alliance.

CS: Keeping with the theme of strong South Asian women, who are your major female influences?  In writing, in history, in life?
 
IS: My early reading influences were Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Elizabeth Gaskell and the Bronte sisters.  Later, in high school, I began reading the few Indian authors who wrote and published in English at the time, Kamala Markandaya, Nayantara Sahgal.  In history, I’d say the women who are most memorable are Razia Sultana, the Rani of Jhansi, and of course, Nur Jahan and now, Jahanara.  Personally, my mother and sisters.

CS: Are there other periods of Indian history you would eventually like to write novels about?
 
IS:  I have written one novel, The Splendor Of Silence, set in India during four days in May of 1942; just before Indian independence from British rule; during World War II, which India did not officially participate in, but Indian troops fought abroad in British armies; and during the nationalist movement in India.  There was a whole lot of reading and research involved for Splendor from a different time period; it’s also set in a fictional desert kingdom called Rudrakot and is a love story between an American soldier, Sam Hawthorne, and and Indian woman who is the daughter of the Indian political agent at the kingdom of Rudrakot.  For this book, I did a fair bit of reading on the China-Burma-India theatre of war also, because I needed a reason for Sam to be in Burma (and so eventually travel to India and Rudrakot).
 
Splendor is then, more ‘modern’ than the novels of the Taj Trilogy and I will eventually write a sequel to this novel, which will take me to India in the 1960s or so.  As for other, different time periods, I am working on something now which spans another historical period in Indian history.
 
CS: There are a number of recent short story collections focusing on contemporary India—what is it about contemporary India that makes it an interesting setting for short stories, or fiction in general?
 
IS:  My collection of short stories, In The Convent Of Little Flowers, is set in a present-day India that is facing varied pressures to adapt from tradition to western/modern influences.  I think it’s this juxtaposition of ideas—how to incorporate this change seamlessly, the pains of trying to do so, how to be one thing at home, another at work or in the outside world, how to present our ideas and thoughts to that outside world—that’s vital to talk about.  Stories are, in the end, about conversations and thought.  They appeal because they paint a complete picture of the reality—the good, bad, and the ugly—and in the process allow for change.

CS: As a writer, how does the process of writing a short story differ from writing a full-length novel?
 
IS: The stories in Convent, the way I present them, are filled with a non-stop emotion.  I’ve taken a moment of change in the character’s life, filled in a past, sketched out a future, shown that moment when something explosive happens.  My novels are more leisurely paced (and truly, this sort of galloping emotion would be difficult to sustain for the length of a novel for me as a writer, and for the reader); they have lulls, quiet times when the narrative voice takes over, action-packed times when the plot does.
 
Both forms of writing are challenging in their own way and I enjoy both equally, only I tend to gravitate more toward novel-length fiction than short stories.

CS: Back to the Taj Trilogy, how was writing about Jahanara, a figure that is lesser known in Mughal history, different from writing about Mehrunissa in the first two novels? 

IS:  The interesting thing about both women, Mehrunnisa/Empress Nur Jahan in The Twentieth Wife and The Feast Of Roses, and her grand-niece, Princess Jahanara in Shadow Princess, is the lack of cohesive and complete information about their lives.  There exist no official biographies or autobiographies of the two women; the imperial memoirs of Emperor Jahangir and Emperor Shah Jahan mention both women in laudatory, distant terms.  They’re both credited with immense power, unimaginable in today’s world, huge incomes which they spent lavishly in building tombs, mosques, palaces, and also with jewelry they designed, poetry they wrote, imperial farmans (edicts) they sent out; the politics at court that they influenced.
 
Of the two, Mehrunnisa suffers in most of the literature coming out of her stepson/nephew-in-law Emperor Shah Jahan’s times, because she had, when in power, sent him into exile as a prince, a favor he returns when he gains the throne of India.  Jahanara, his daughter, comes across as pious, devoted to her father, a woman who stays on in her father’s harem and never marries to leave for another man’s harem.
 
And then, there are the foreign travelers’ tales of India–the men who came to India on work, for pleasure, to join an army, or for no reason at all, and stayed on to see what was going on, picked up on local bazaar gossip, and then turned all of this into some wonderfully informative memoirs!
 
CS: What is it about the Mughal period that makes it such a fascinating setting for novels, epic movies, etc.? 
 
IS:  Someone talked to me about a Mughal ‘revival;’ but I’ve been working on the books of the trilogy for some 17 years, just because I was interested initially in Mehrunnisa’s story and then found so much literature that was equally interesting.  My interest was because the Mughals lived these larger-than-life lives; it’s the stuff of good storytelling!
 
CS: Any parting words for CitySaheli readers?
 
IS: Thank you, for inviting me to be on this page, and for reading, thus far, with patience and interest!

 Merle Oberon’s Sri Lankan mother, Charlotte, met her husband, Arthur Terrance O’ Brien Thompson, in Pune.  Merle was born in Bombay on February 1911.  Half Sri Lankan and half Irish, Merle was a young beauty and known as “Queenie” in her Bombay flat.  Merle’s mixed heritage typified her then as an Anglo-Indian and she faced challenges growing up in a society not accustomed to mixed ethnicity families.  After her father’s death in World War I, Merle and her mom moved to Calcutta where she enrolled in one of the most prestigious schools in the country and began her pursuit of acting and other hobbies. 

At the age of 17, Merle moved to London and worked in nightclubs under the name Queenie O’Brien.  She got her big break as the character of Ann Boylene in The Private Life of Henry VII.  Pursuing her dream, she made her way to Hollywood, taking on big and small roles, and received an Oscar nomination in 1935 for best actress in The Dark Angel. Oberon is best known for her performances in The Private Life of Henry VII, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Dark Angel and Wuthering Heights.  Oberon’s background was unknown to many, as she concealed her heritage fearing it may hinder her career in film, given societal restrictions at the time.  Her South Asian background was revealed only after her death in 1979. 

 Today Oberon is remembered as one of the best and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  You can read more about her life and triumphs in the biography Princess Merle written by Charles Higham with Roy Moseley.

CitySaheli was warmly welcomed by Gavankar’s exuberance, her warm hug, and the  inside look she gave us into the world of Hollywood.  You probably recognize Gavankar from Showtime’s super-hit The L-Word , where she played the sassy siren, Papi.  This rising star exudes a great personality and Citysaheli looks forward seeing her on her new show. 

CitySaheli:  Welcome to NYC.  You’ve been hitting cities across the US promoting your upcoming show, The Gates. What’s it like being here in New York City?

Janina: It’s great being in NYC.  The South-Asian women here are different than in other parts of the country. They’re not afraid to be empowered, sexy, and autonomous. It makes me proud to see them.  Everyone knows Desis have big old brains and now their self-esteem is rising to match the brainpower. 

CitySaheli:  From Papi to Leigh, you’ve avoided playing typically Desi roles.  How have you escaped being type-cast in Hollywood?

Janina: I’ve actually been very lucky.  I never felt stereo-typed. I never felt like I had to wear a flag, but I always felt proud to have the flag behind me.  Thanks to Hollywood for these opportunities. My parents had a lot to do with giving me an American and Indian identity.  We would take trips to India but stop in Italy on the way.  We were raised to be children of the world.  I’m grateful for their support in enabling me to cease the opportunities that came my way.

CitySaheli:  Growing up American, what South Asian values did your parents instill in you?

Janina: Well, my parents aren’t traditional. My mom’s mom is actually Dutch, so I had a multi-cuone knows Desis have big old brains and now their self-esteem is rising to match the brainpower. 

CitySaheli:  What’s your advice to young women out there who look to you as a role model?

Janina: I’m a video game junkie. I love Dr. Mario, Assassin’s Creed, and the Dead Space.  You probably don’t expect me to be seriously into video games, but I am.  I don’t feel like you have to fit into a mold.  TV isn’t reality. Reality TV isn’t even reality.  Be who you are and be beautiful on the inside.  Surround yourself with people who support you and accept you for who you are.  Be good to yourself.  Hydrate. Sleep. Respect the vessel you were given: your body, mind, and spirit.  

CitySaheli: That brings me to the big question – how you maintain your superb physique? Also can you tell me a bit about your beauty regimen?

Janina: Oh my god. I have a serious sweet tooth, so I have a trainer. I should watch what I eat, but I rarely do.  You can always sway me off a healthy meal plan with a cupcake, especially if it has butter cream icing.  So that’s the secret to my figure. It’s a lot of hard work. 

As far as beauty goes, well that’s a multi-level process. There’s the everyday level which is lots of water in my system, enough sleep, and chapstick. I have this amazing marzipan flavored chapstick which I just ran out of that I’m positively addicted to.  Then there’s the next level up, the lash level, which is all about making my eyes pop. I put on a few coats of mascara and use this terrific under-eye concealer by Ziba Beauty.  I’m still in search of that perfect mascara.  The key here is tinted sunscreen to complete the look.  Above this is the base level which involves actually putting on foundation, liquid liner, blush, and pink or sheer lip gloss.  And then the top level is stage make-up which involves these added details: fake, individual lashes, lip liner with lipstick and gloss over it, and a thicker base.  So much of beauty is an illusion. I think true beauty comes from the inside and I just try to be as real as I can be.

Shah travels the world to hand-pick her featured collection.  Her items can be purchased only at her traveling pop-up-shop, which has been featured in Daily Candy, Time Out and the NY Daily News.

This weekend is your chance to check out what Nirali has to offer.  For three days only, she is popping up in Tribeca, giving you the chance to purchase items from around the world without ever leaving the island.  Mention CitySaheli and get 10% off your purchase!

When: Saturday, April 24th – Sunday, April 25th
12pm – 5pm
Where:  Truffles Building 
34 Desbrosses Street
* Ask for Nirali Shah @ Reception
RSVP: www.wearsnirali.com

Not in New York? Check out her site to find out when she will be in a city near you or email wearsnirali@gmail.com for more info.

Want to learn more?  CitySaheli interviewed Shah to find out more about the inspiration behind her the line, the must have accessories for this season and to ask her for advice and tips on starting your own business.  Here’s what she had to share:

Can you tell us about the “Nirali Capsule Collection?”

The Nirali Capsule Collection is my in-house collection of jewelry, exclusively available through me in the United States.   I work closely with designers in India and have developed a selection of pieces that are fusion forward, combining old world tradition with new world cosmopolitan.

We have heard about the “Nirali Experience,” what is it?

The Nirali experience refers to the underlying mission of every event: to show you something you’ve never seen before.  Not only do I travel from Brazil to Bombay to find unique pieces that aren’t available Stateside, but I make a concerted effort to display my pieces in unique ways.  For example, at a recent event, I employed bare-chested male models to strut around in my necklaces and approach groups of women to explain the designs.  The women tittered, touched, tried…they loved it!

In addition to unique pieces and unique merchandising, The Nirali Collection also collaborates with local artists to deliver an eclectic and unique experience for shoppers.  For example, a recent event featured a live demo by Lexi Bella, a renowned painter who dances while she paints (usually in the dark!)  and live music by Sachal Vasandani (the “Indian Michael Buble”).

What are some items that you believe are a must for this summer’s wardrobe?

Sarah Chofakian’s Audrey Hepburn shoes are the absolute must-have flirty work pump for this season.   I love the red color because it’s such a stand-out, although we also carry both black and navy.

Malini Ramini’s yellow strapless sundress is the perfect weekend go-to and can travel anywhere in the city or the Hamptons.

My flower bag collection is the perfect way to accent those femmie summer dresses and skirts – you can’t help but feel a little extra special with my brown flowered briefcase or hot pink flowered tote.

How do you choose the designers you showcase?

It’s mostly about gut instinct and timing.  Each designer that I’ve chosen a) is well-established in his or her country of origin and has the wherewithal and desire to launch internationally; b) shares the same aesthetic and appreciation for statement pieces that are bold, different and POP and c) understands and shares my desire to “dress up the city”.

You are known for your desk to dinner accessories. What advice do you have for working women looking for a new accessory for the summer?

Two golden rules:

1.    Blazers can hide all manner of sins.

Night dresses are easily disguised by blazers and the right accessories.  Take a hot, black dress like my Heike Jarick piece and pair it with a fitted blazer by day and one of my gorgeous necklaces by night for a completely different yet relatively effortless look.

2.    A bold necklace is easy to throw on and hard to ignore.

The Nirali Collection has a variety of necklaces that are specifically meant to be paired with a work dress or shirt for some added DRAMA.   My customers have reported back that they are man magnets!

What inspired you to start your fashion and accessories business?

I used to be a corporate lawyer at a big firm and like so many others, I felt stagnant and repressed.  Rather than deskdream my life away, I decided to do something about it.  I’ve always been said to “have a good eye” when it comes to fashion and I knew I was better with people than paper, so I took a chance… and here I am.

What do you like most about your business?

The infinite possibilities that exist outside the rigid structure of the corporate context.   Plus the crazy characters I meet everyday.

What is the hardest part about running your own business?

My time is my dime these days, so it is really hard to make myself stop working.  Even though I love what I do, the stress can take a toll if I’m not careful.

What is the one piece of advice you would give to a Saheli looking to start her own business?

Do your homework, be practical in your preparation, but don’t be afraid to leap when the right time comes.

Misha, Aroon’s daughter, is following in her mother’s footsteps, with her own vision – MISHA NICOLE.  Misha is taking her passion for fashion and love for Indian textiles and designs, and is creating a venue in New York where wearable art and unique fabrics, jewelry, and designs will be displayed.

CitySaheli:  Could you tell us what inspired you to start the IAAC? 

Aroon:  In 1998 New York did not know Indian artists existed.  There were no visible Indian art galleries, theatre, film, dance and music groups.  Mainstream America was unaware Indian artists in all these disciplines were alive and well.  I decided it was high time America was made aware of India’s rich heritage, that second generation Indians realized the wealth of their cultural heritage, and that New York was enlivened by yet another fabulous culture to add to its tapestry.

CitySaheli:  Can you tell us about some of the events held by the IAAC?

Aroon:  I will first give you the annual events we have established and then two of my most memorable events. 

We schedule an annual Erasing Borders Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora that travels from February to November – a month in each gallery or museum; an annual Erasing Borders Festival of Indian Dance that has been hailed by the New York Times as “stunning”; an annual Playwrights Festival in conjunction with the Lark Theatre; an annual MIAAC Film Festival of Indian Independent and Diaspora Films that made the NY Times compare us to Sundance.

One particularly memorable event was our Perspectives of Gandhi Festival which included a screening of The Making of the Mahatma (by Shyam Benegal), Feroz Khan’s play Mahatma vs. Gandhi, Godse’s play, and finally a conference at Columbia University with Gandhian philosophers, playwrights and filmmaker on the perspectives of Gandhi.

Another was a staged reading of Shashi Tharoor’s novel Riot, adapted for the stage to encourage discussion of the Ahemadabad riots in an effort to create understanding and tolerance.  Shabana Azmi played the extreme Hindu, Madhu Jaffrey played the extreme Muslim, Shashi Tharoor played the extreme Sikh and Tunku Varadharajan was the Voice of Reason.

CitySaheli:  Misha, what impact has your mother’s involvement in the IAAC had on your life and how has your mother and her role in the IAAC inspired you?

Misha:  My mother’s impact on me has been tremendous in her passion and dedication in what she believes in from the arts, India, her family and her friends.  She has such grace and confidence, is such a giving person, an amazing mother and a beautiful person.  She has given exposure to so many people, taking their talent to the next platform by giving them the proper exposure in the correct avenues with the right audiences. By knowing how to identify art that should have more awareness and would appeal to a larger audience, she has given a lot to society. I believe that giving people a platform to showcase their talent is critical in helping them succeed. My new venture, called MISHA NICOLE, seeks to do the same with Indian fashion as in the way my mother did with the Indian art. 

CitySaheli:  Please tell us more about MISHA NICOLE.  What inspired your idea to open a shop and venue like MISHA NICOLE?

Misha:  MISHA NICOLE has been an evolving concept that has been within me for 15 years.  As I have grown up surrounded by culture and the arts, and most importantly as an American Indian woman, I have always been in love with the textiles, colors, embroidery and richness India offers. 

I would always try to take these elements found in India and implement them into my wardrobe, but truthfully, it was not so easy.  I would take old pieces of my mother’s saris or jewelry and wear them with my western clothes. I would get compliments from so many people, especially in the fashion industry, but it took sitting in my room safety pinning things together or cutting things up.  There was never a wearable product that I could throw on to look fabulous that incorporated these Indian elements. 

I went into the fashion industry to learn every component of the trade, from store line sales at Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus, to wholesale sales at Ferragamo and Tods, buying in all product categories, while also taking classes at FIT, volunteering for 7th on 6th, and working at the Bryant Park tents during fashion week.  As I worked in the industry, I always had this concept in my mind, and it kept evolving as the market changed. 

I realized there truly was a demand for inaccessible products from India in the US.  MISHA NICOLE will provide a combination of emerging global brands with established brands, in a cohesive and exciting environment.

CitySaheli:  Is your interest in fashion focused on Indian designers specifically?

Misha:   MISHA NICOLE is a fashion forward store that is built around the concept that many of these Indian coveted items and Indian designers are inaccessible to the NYC market.  All merchandise will be worked back to Western brands and basics like denim jeans and t-shirts. Combining emerging Indian brands back to the established Western brands will truly create unique and fashion forward outfits.

CitySaheli:  When do you expect MISHA NICOLE to open in NYC?

Misha:  Fall 2010 – but you can register now on http://www.mishanicole.com to receive exclusive offers and stay connected with us prior to our launch!  We have a Pop-Up Shop on April 16 at the Paramount Hotel in Times Square, 4pm to 9pm to preview what’s to come.  You can also find us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MISHANICOLE

CitySaheli:  What impact do you think MISHA NICOLE will have on the awareness of Indian designers in the West?

Aroon:  Misha has worked in the fashion industry her entire adult life.  She graduated with a major in Communications and subsequently worked in luxury retail (Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Ferragamo, Tods).  I do believe she will make an indelible mark on the Western fashion industry by exposing it to the Indian designers she introduces to this market as well as the impact Indian textiles and designs have on Western fashion depicted through Misha’s own special creative lens . She has amazing vision and creativity when it concerns clothing or accessories.

CitySaheli:  Could you tell us about the IAAC’s  “Global Runway’s Night Out.” 

Aroon:  It is a Benefit for the IAAC, completely organized by MISHA NICOLE and her team.  It will be a fabulous evening of Global Fashion, cocktails, a phenomenal fashion show featuring designers from India and the US, attending designers, celebrities, a rocking after party and, for those who wish to purchase some of the clothes, there will be a pop up shop the following day, April 16th, at the Paramount Hotel from 4-9pm.

CitySaheli:  What is your advice for other young woman pursuing a career in the arts? 

Aroon:  The arts reflect life, they celebrate life and they educate people about all that is beautiful, as well as all that energizes our senses and allows us to live life to the fullest.  Young people pursuing careers in art have to be passionate about it, willing to put in time and effort without great financial payoffs.  I don’t have percentages, but a small percentage of artists really become commercial successes.  However, the fun, the joy, the learning, the giving involved while pursuing a career in the arts is unmatched by anything else in the world.

Ms. Saujani’s parents are of Indian origin and are political refugees who escaped the regime of idi Amin in Uganda.  The loss of rights and freedom her family suffered in Uganda remind and inspire her to fight for those who are under-represented.  She has experience from a major law firm and hedge fund, but today is committed to improving the lives of New Yorkers in the 14^th District. Ms. Saujani’s bid is historic – if elected, she would be the first South Asian woman to serve in Congress.  There already are signs of strong grassroots support for Ms. Saujani in the Manhattan and Queens community, the campaign has raised over $403,000 for the Democratic nomination.

To find out more about Ms. Saujani, check out Women for Reshma, in support of the Congressional Campaign of Reshma Saujani!

Tickets:  $100, $250, $500, $1000 and $2400

Tickets may be purchased by:
1) Completing the attached form and mailing to PO Box 20245, New York, NY 10009;
2) Heading online to www.reshma2010.com/women;
3) Calling Annie at 347-325-0699

 WOMEN_FOR_RESHMA

Can you tell us a little about DSPAC and your work schedule?

Dancing Shiva opened its doors in September of 2004 with only a handful of students. 5 years later we have over 130 students, 5 teachers and have moved into our own dance studio. Dancing Shiva was created to give people of all ages the opportunity to take different types of dance classes and then choose which one suits them best.  We offer classes in Bollywood, Bhangra, Contemporary Indian, Bharatnatyam, Kathak and Hip Hop. Each student gets the chance to perform on stage 2-3 times a year at various local and regional events.

How do you balance your career, growing your business and being a mom?
 

Being a mom is probably the most fulfilling yet also one of the most challenging jobs any woman could have.  It’s the one job that where you will never really know if you’re doing a good job or the right thing.  Initially it was really difficult trying to balance my school and my baby. I didn’t want to neglect either part of my life, but there was only one of me, and I couldn’t be in both places at the same time.Luckily, I have a great support system.  I rely heavily on my mother to help take care of my daughter.  It’s important to have someone you trust in your life, whether it be your spouse, your nanny, or someone else, to be there when you physically can’t be.  Since my hours are different than many working moms, I can’t place my daughter in daycare, but have found a great support system in my family.  In addition to my mother, my husband is extremely supportive of my career and helps with my daughter in any way he can.  He and I are both on the same page when it comes to taking care of our family and our careers.  Since my career demands that I work weeknights and weekends, I rely heavily on my support network to care for my daughter.

Dancing is my passion and my school is something I truly believe in.   I am extremely busy running it in an organized and efficient manner.  Although classes run in the evenings, I spend my days doing a lot of administrative work, scheduling, costume design, contacting events, marketing, etc. We also attend 15-20 different events during the year where I am always present.  It’s really important that I attend all the performances, large or small, to support my students.  I haven’t even started talking about our competitions.  With those, we have a lot of extra rehearsal time, which takes place on the weekends and adds to my already busy schedule.

What advice do you have for women looking to balance both a career and being a mom?

It is really important to realize that you can’t be everything all the time.  Being a mom is a full time job itself.  Working on your own business in addition can be extremely overwhelming. Make small goals for yourself and let go when you need to.  For example, I hired an office assistant to help with marketing endeavors for my business so that I could spend more time with my daughter.  Once you set realistic expectations for yourself, you feel better about your accomplishments  and are able to accomplish more.

My other piece of advice is that if you don’t care for yourself, you can’t take care of everything and everyone else.  It is really important to take time out for yourself.  Try to squeeze in one day a month for yourself, whether its going to the spa, taking a dance class, or meeting up with friends for a drink. Taking even 2-3 hours out in a month can make a big difference in the way you manage the rest of your time. You will also feel better about yourself, your relationship with family and your work.

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