Prarthana Gurung and Maya Oral History Interview
Conversation with Prarthana Gurung and Maya (name changed) about growing up in the U.S. (Prarthana) and in Nepal (Maya), flattening of identity, feeling alienated within Nepali community because of gender and ethnicity, finding chosen family, and the privilege of having the luxury to explore identity not bogged down by day-to-day survival
In this slideshow, you will see:
Rajan Maharjan Oral History Interview
Rajan Maharjan is a first generation immigrant from Nepal currently living in Queens, NY and working in Manhattan. The interviewee discussed growing up in Yala in Kathmandu valley, coming from a farming community, his family, struggles of early days in New York, his literary forays, and hopes for his young daughter. Also discussed: caste, ethnicity, class in Nepal and Nepali diaspora.
Devi Oral History Interview
Devi and her sisters have owned Karma Nepal Crafts for the past six years and up until the pandemic was running a flourishing business, with profits going towards helping provide their female handicraftsmen in Nepal earn a fair wage.
They began their business as a temporary stall in the NY summer street fairs before finally venturing into a retail storefront.
Deepa Oral History Interview
Deepa recently moved to New York from Nepal in 2019, before the pandemic hit, and was thrust into navigating a new career space. She had business experience in Nepal, and was a professional nail tech, so upon moving to New York she took on the role of working with a largely knit community of Nepali nail salon owners in Queens.
Thiru Kumar Oral History Interview
Thiru Kumar owns the most successful Dosa carts in New York, serving dosas inspired by his Tamilian and Sri Lankan roots. Fully content keeping his business on the streets, Thiru has been featured in several NYC news articles and has been going on two decades with his flourishing business.
Tenzing Tsering Oral History Interview
Tenzing Tsering is renowned Tibetan chef who moved from India to New York in 2010 (?) and started his own restaurant. They hit a little success in the beginning with New York Times highlighting their early days and local papers following suit. However, since then his business faced quite a few struggles, from needing to relocate to struggling to draw in customers.
Pradeep Deol Oral History Interview
Pradeep Deol (PD) owns The Last Stop, a late-night bar in the Bronx, that caters to a large South Asian crowd due to its Indian fusion menu and tendency to play Indian and Punjabi beats throughout the night.
Shaheer Oral History Interview
Shaheer, 23, and his younger brother, Saqib, 18, conceived the idea of PyoChai during the pandemic. Saqib, a high school student, realized that most of his peers would need to Uber to their closest bubble tea joint or Uber Eats because there were no student-friendly cafes near them. That’s when the two young brothers came up with the idea for a South Asian-inspired bubble tea cafe.
Daljit Kaur Soni Oral History Interview
Daljit Kaur Soni most recently played a key role in U.S. solidarity with the Farm Workers' strike in India in 2021; the daughter of Punjabi farm workers from California's central valley, she also worked as legal support for farm worker justice there.
In this slideshow, you will see:
Nuwan Gunawardhana Oral History Interview
Nuwan Gunawardhana is a son of Sri Lankan immigrants in the United States that fostered a commitment to service, a love for family and a curiosity for making things better for the community both at their ancestral home in Sri Lanka and here in the United States.