Rashmi Rustagi: A Ray of Light

Summary

Podcast Summary: Rashmi Rustagi: A Ray of Light

Rotary Voices • January 28, 2026
Host: Linda Yu
Guest: Rashmi Rustagi

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Episode Overview

This episode spotlights Rashmi Rustagi, an accomplished actress, writer, producer, food blogger, yoga expert, and Vedic priestess, who shares her remarkable journey from growing up in Lucknow, India, to building a creative and socially conscious life in the United States. The conversation delves into her artistic career, the motivations behind her socially impactful films—particularly about domestic violence and selective abortion in Indian American communities—and her renewed engagement with Rotary. The episode thoughtfully explores cultural identity, women's empowerment, and community service.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Returning to Rotary (01:28–02:34)

• Background: Rashmi recalls her early involvement in Rotary's youth chapter in Lucknow, India, often participating in fundraising activities like fashion modeling.
• Reconnection in the US: After moving to Redwood City, California, Rashmi rejoined Rotary, appreciating the sense of community and opportunity for social work alongside like-minded individuals.
  • Quote:
    “To be with a group of like-minded people, that was amazing… It reminded me of India in a way.” – Rashmi (01:51)

2. Filmmaking with a Purpose (02:45–05:12)

• Artistic Genesis: Rashmi began acting in radio at age nine, transitioned through theater, and eventually pursued Hollywood roles, often overcoming racial barriers.

• Short Film "Unborn": Inspired by cases of female feticide within the Indian diaspora in America, Rashmi wrote and produced "Unborn" to raise awareness about selective abortion practices—a subject still taboo but prevalent.

• New Feature Film “Designed by Preeti”: Born out of real stories from friends and family, this film addresses domestic violence in South Asian communities, challenging the myth that such issues don’t exist among the upper middle class.

  • Quote:
    “A lot of South Asians… don't believe that domestic violence exists in the upper middle class in America. And so I had to convince them... No, but go to this website and read here, etc. So I wanted to get that message across.” – Rashmi (04:30)

3. Breaking Cultural Silence on Domestic Abuse (05:12–08:59)

• Cultural Conditioning: Rashmi and Linda Yu connect over similar cultural taboos in Indian and Chinese communities, where women are conditioned to endure abusive relationships and divorce carries social stigma.
• Audience Impact: Rashmi recounts that screenings elicit powerful personal stories from diverse viewers, highlighting the universal relevance of her film’s themes.
  • Quote:
    “After many screenings, people come and talk to me about themselves or their family… A middle-aged Hispanic male… started crying… ‘This is a story of my parents.’” – Rashmi (06:40)
• Film Title Meaning: “Designed by Preeti” reflects both the lead character’s profession as a clothing designer and her journey in designing her own new life after leaving abuse.
  • Tagline:
    “When the old life does not fit.” (08:38)

4. Journey to the United States (09:19–11:58)

• Arranged Marriage: Rashmi describes her arranged marriage process, highlighting autonomy (“you do meet each other and you have a say”), and recounts that her husband was unusually thorough in his search for a partner.
  • Anecdote:
    “For him, I was the 39th girl.” – Rashmi (10:45)
• Early Years in America: Adjusting priorities, Rashmi temporarily set acting aside to focus on raising children.

5. Breaking into Hollywood (12:04–15:23)

• Theater to Film: Relocated to the Bay Area, Rashmi found an Indian theater group, reigniting her passion for acting, which later blossomed into opportunities in film and television.
• Challenges in Industry: Faced with barriers around race, age, and union status, Rashmi’s perseverance paid off, landing a role in the 2012 "Avengers" film.
  • Behind-the-Scenes Highlight:
    • Mark Ruffalo & Hindi lines:
      “Mark Ruffalo was sweet enough to make an appointment with me… he wanted to say [his Hindi lines] right… I wrote the lines down for him phonetically.” – Rashmi (14:12)
    • Scene Cut: Her extended scene was cut for pacing, a reality in filmmaking.
• Resilience Message: Even significant roles don’t guarantee a breakthrough, underlining the persistence required in the industry.

6. The Meaning of Her Name & Embracing Her Role as a “Ray of Light” (15:23–16:05)

• Family & Sharing Culture: Motivated by her child’s interest in family recipes, Rashmi started a blog to share Indian traditions, reflecting her desire to “shine a light” on her heritage.

7. Comparing Rotary in India and the US (16:05–18:54)

• Contrast in Culture:
  • India: Historically perceived as an “elitist” organization.
  • US: More inclusive and middle-class oriented.
  • Quote:
    “In America, it’s not like that. I’m just middle class and all the people in my Rotary are pretty much like me.” – Rashmi (16:23)
• Public Perceptions & Purpose: Rashmi notes that many Americans have a positive association with Rotary, especially with its well-known anti-polio campaign, but wants greater awareness of Rotary’s diverse community service projects.

8. Rotary Clubs’ Diverse Community Projects (18:54–20:00)

• Rotary in Action: Rashmi describes local club initiatives, such as:
  • Volunteering and providing meals to the homeless.
  • Medical equipment lending libraries.
  • International partnerships (e.g., sister cities with Japan).
• Amplifying Impact: Discusses sharing these stories more widely through podcasts and local media.

9. Improv & Comedy Training (20:13–21:36)

• Second City Training: Rashmi highlights how improv sharpened her comedic instincts, especially cultivating presence and observation.
  • Quote:
    “The best thing is how to improvise… how to be present. Really, how to be present is what improv teaches you.” – Rashmi (20:29)
• Versatility: Training revealed her affinity for deadpan comedy, complementing her dramatic skills (21:09).

10. Looking Forward: New Projects & Passions (21:45–22:21)

• Focus on Storytelling: Intention to continue writing and producing films, particularly about women’s issues and middle-aged women’s experiences.

11. Vedic Priestess Role & Spirituality (22:21–25:24)

• Modern Reform Tradition: Rashmi explains her Arya Samaj background, emphasizing non-idolatry and gender inclusivity in Hindu rituals, a legacy she continues as a Vedic priestess in the US.
• Performing Weddings: Rashmi often officiates Arya Samaj weddings, elucidating ritual meanings for non-Indian attendees and making ceremonies accessible and memorable.
  • Memorable Moment:
    “The best compliment I get is, ‘You’re the prettiest priest we ever had. And that we could understand.’” – Rashmi (25:18)

12. Combining Filmmaking and Rotary Activism (25:38–27:17)

• Synergy: Rashmi integrates her film screenings, such as at the Bravemaker Film Festival attended by fellow Rotarians, with broader educational efforts about women’s empowerment and storytelling.
• Outreach: She offers to share expertise with any Rotarian interested in storytelling or filmmaking, reinforcing her commitment to community empowerment and mentorship.
  • Quote:
    “If anybody out there is an aspiring storyteller or a filmmaker… I want to even teach that to any Rotarian out there who wants to talk about a story that they want to tell in any media.” – Rashmi (26:10)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On cultural conditioning:
  “My mother… said to me, ‘A girl goes to her husband’s house in a wedding carriage and only leaves in a coffin.’ … So I put that dialogue exactly in the film. That’s the conditioning that we have.” – Rashmi (06:40)

• On representation struggles in Hollywood:
  “Nobody would take me because I was brown, middle-aged, and did not have a union affiliation… So then I got an LA phone number…” – Rashmi (13:05)

• On Rotary inclusion:
  “In America, it’s not like that. I’m just middle class and all the people in my Rotary are pretty much like me.” – Rashmi (16:23)

• On improvisation:
  “How to be present is what improv teaches you. To take your surroundings in, to observe, to watch and be there and use your words.” – Rashmi (20:29)

• On being a Vedic priestess:
  “In Arya Samaj, it tells you how a woman can be a priest… And now I perform weddings when people want an Arya Samaji wedding. And I do that for free.” – Rashmi (24:30)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Returning to Rotary: 01:28–02:34
• Filmmaking & Social Activism: 02:45–05:12
• Breaking Silence on Domestic Abuse: 05:12–08:59
• Meaning of “Designed by Preeti”: 08:28–08:59
• Journey to the US & Marriage Anecdotes: 09:19–11:58
• Hollywood Struggles & Triumphs: 12:04–15:23
• Her Name, Culture, and Blogging: 15:23–16:05
• Comparing Rotary (India/US) & Public Perception: 16:05–18:54
• Community Service Highlights: 18:54–20:00
• Improv & Comedy Learnings: 20:13–21:36
• Upcoming Film Projects: 21:45–22:21
• Vedic Priestess Role: 22:21–25:24
• Integrating Filmmaking & Rotary: 25:38–27:17

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Conclusion

Rashmi Rustagi’s story is one of perseverance, cultural synthesis, and a drive to empower others through storytelling and service. She embodies the Rotary spirit of community impact while also blazing a meaningful path in the arts, advocacy, and spiritual leadership. This episode is both a personal portrait and a call to action for leveraging personal passions to serve the greater good.

Transcript

[A]

From Rotary magazine. This is the Rotary Voices podcast. I'm JP Swenson. Growing up in Lucknow, India, Rashmi Rustagi acted in radio plays for pocket money. After moving to the Bay Area in the United States, Roostagi joined a local Indian theater. Over the years, she began a demanding transition into Hollywood. She overcame many hurdles in the industry, eventually securing roles in such projects as Grey's Anatomy, the the Avengers and Never have I Ever. She produced an award winning short film titled Unborn that sheds light on an issue in Indian American communities she feels deeply passionate about. On the other side of her success, she was invited to join the Rotary Club of Redwood City in California where she's a member. Today, Chicago journalist Linda Yu sat down with Rashmi Rustagi to discuss Rotary, her career and her new feature film describes designed by Preeti.

[B]

Welcome everybody to the Rotary Voices Podcast. I'm Linda Yoo. Now today we are so pleased because we have sitting here with us a very talented movie actress, TV star, script writer, producer, food blogger, which makes you a chef, also yoga expert and Vedic high priestess.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Rashmi Rastagi.

[C]

Hello there. Hi.

[B]

It's so good to have you here with us. And we're gonna get to all of those talents that I just talked about. But first of all, it was a year and a month ago, I think that you joined the Redwood City, California Rotary Club, bringing you back to Rotary from being with Rotary in your childhood.

[C]

That's right.

[B]

That's a long explanation for that. But anyway, why did you come back to Rotary?

[C]

Well, so when I was growing up in Lucknow, India, I was a rotoract member and I did some fashion modeling for them at their annual fundraisers. And then I came to the us had children and work and life. And then when I came back to Redwood City two years ago, I met this gentleman at the gym who mentioned the Rotary Club and I said, you know what, is there a Rotary in Redwood City? And he said, yeah, yeah, I'm a member, come visit. And that's how it started. And I visited and I fell in love and I was like, oh yeah. And reminded me of India in a way. And to come back to doing social work, which I do on my own, but to be with a group of like minded people, that was amazing. I'm delighted to be a part of.

[B]

Well, Rotary is so happy to have you back. So one of the things though that you have just accomplished is a movie called Design by Preeti. Talk to me about that.

[C]

So I'm an actor, writer and producer. Acting is what I started. I started Working in radio plays from the age of nine in India and earned all my pocket money while growing up and then went into theater, live theater, and got married and came to the US and for a while everything stopped because nobody was casting brown faces in theater. So we traveled around and when I arrived in the Bay Area and started found a theater, Indian theater, pretty much, yeah. It's called Not Duck. I started doing plays with them and then transitioned into Hollywood and found representation there. Started working in shows and films and booking some jobs here and there. And so the trajectory from acting to writing was when I found this story that came to me about female feticide in the Indian American community. And somebody needed to tell that story. So I wrote a short film. It's on Amazon Prime. It's called Unborn. And the issue that I am very passionate about, selective abortion or, you know, feticide in the quest to have a boy. That's being practiced now today in the.

[B]

US Very quickly, for those who don't fully grasp what feticide means, it's a.

[C]

Selective abortion of the fetus. So you get an ultrasound and you find out if it's a boy or a girl, and then you get rid of it if it's a girl. I mean, that happens in India, but India is taking many measures to prevent that. They don't even allow ultrasounds anymore. It's illegal to have an ultrasound for that reason. But not in other countries, right? And then during the pandemic, when there was very little work as an actor, I started writing this story designed by Preeti Story, which is about domestic violence in the South Asian community particularly, and then community at large. And it's based on true story of two of my friends in the Bay Area and a close relative. And when I found out about the close relative, it became a passion project. And one of the reasons I wanted to tell this story is because a lot of South Asians or Indians in particular, don't believe that domestic violence exists in the upper middle class in America. And so I had to convince them and I was like, no, but go to this website and read here, et cetera. So I wanted to get that message across. And so I made this film.

[B]

And was it also necessary to make the film because even those who were maybe in the upper class or who this was happening to, them didn't dare speak up.

[C]

Exactly, exactly. And my movie addresses all those reasons why they don't speak up or why they stay in these marriages, all the society requirements, and how when women do leave an abusive marriage or get divorced how the society kicks them out. Kicks them out for being a single woman, for being a threat to the other married women. Yeah, yeah. Doesn't make any sense.

[B]

This is something that I identify with also because in the Chinese culture, the same thing existed because it was such a part of culture in the past. Little girls grew up believing this is the way it's supposed to be. And it wouldn't occur to them, oh, I can or I should or I have the right to leave this. Right, yeah. Because an arranged marriage, or even if it's not arranged, it is a traditional man who was raised in that culture and expects a submissive wife. It doesn't occur to either one that things ought to change.

[C]

Right, right, right.

[B]

So do you find women and you talk about middle aged Indian women. Does it come as a surprise to some of them with, oh, I don't have to live this way.

[C]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. After many screenings, people come and talk to me, want to talk about themselves or their family or their mother or their father who have been touched by domestic violence. And a lot of them are not Indians. A middle aged Hispanic male talked to me and broke down and started crying because he said, this is a story of my parents and thank you for making your character stand up and say no. And you know, when I was growing up in India, and this is the conditioning that your culture, My culture, does to young women. When I got married, as I was leaving, my mother, who had a law degree, she was an educated woman, said to me, you know, a girl goes to her husband's house in a wedding carriage and only leaves in a coffin. And I started laughing and I said, mom, but if this doesn't work out, I'm coming back here. She said, oh, let's not even think about that. She didn't want to go there. So I put that dialogue exactly in the film. That's the conditioning that we have. So I have many such dialogues or incidents in the film that we have raised with or we were conditioned with.

[B]

Right? Yeah, definitely. And then it's interesting when you say that so many people identify because there are so many people who live in this country and they live within two cultures and they're trying to navigate the one that they came from and the one that they meet here. And it's difficult.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just straddling both cultures and, you know, juggling finding that perfect spot where you raise your kids in the affluent America and you want them to have a traditional marriage and you want them to be vegetarian and you want them to have all the values, Indian values and American values. It's a lot to ask.

[B]

It really is hard. It is. And just very quickly, what's the title mean? Preeti is the character.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

That you play.

[C]

I play. So I wrote this film and I produced it and I play the lead. And it's called Designed by Preity because Preeti ends up designing her life. So our tagline is when the old life does not fit. And also she is a clothing designer because that's all she knew how to do. So she starts designing clothes. That's great.

[B]

So you talked about starting when you were nine years old. When you were nine years old, you know, you found that this was something you enjoyed to do. And being on the radio, it gave you some spending money, that kind of thing. Did you see in it a future for yourself? That this was going to be my career?

[C]

Well, I enjoyed doing it from the get go because I have four siblings. My mother took all of us to the radio station. Only two of us actually stuck with it. Me and my younger sister who's also an actress in India. And I loved it. I wanted to go back. And even though the style of the people that coached you was very rough and abrasive and they would yell at you, but I loved it, loved every minute of it. So I knew that this is what I enjoyed. And when I did, started doing live theater, it just came very naturally and people liked what I was doing. So that gives you the impetus to keep going.

[B]

Yeah, it just grew from there. You could do drama, you could do comedy. You can be a narrator too.

[C]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

So you've done a lot. How did you leave India and come to the United States?

[C]

First I had an arranged marriage. And by arranged in the modern terms means that you do meet each other and you have a say. You can say, no, I don't like the guy. Oh, yes. So I met my husband in India. He was living in the United States. He grew up here and we clicked and I said yes. And then we got married and I came to the U.S. this was the time when you could get your green card. Yes, right. Right.

[B]

Now the interesting part of that is that he was the second young man that you met as a potential husband.

[C]

And for him, for him, I was the 39th girl.

[B]

So he was really picky and he picked the best.

[C]

Well, he was picky because he was in a time crunch. He had to find a wife. He had gone to India to find a wife. I was not looking for a husband at that time. I was going to do an mba. I had just graduated from college, so. Yeah, so that's why I hadn't met too many men by that time.

[B]

So in many ways he was still very. A traditional Indian man because even though he was raised in the United States, he still wanted to go back and have an arranged marriage with an Indian woman. So that was important. Yes. So he brought you to the United States and. And your role then was to be a wife and then mother, right?

[C]

Yeah, well, I could have. I tried to get an mba. He encouraged me, but a lot of things didn't work out. He was moving around a bit and so I ended up doing like one year of the two year MBA program, ended up at Ohio State and then got pregnant and I was like, okay, I'm done going to school and I just want to have this child and raise the child on my own instead of sending them to daycare or whatever. And ended up having. Fortunately, yes.

[B]

So then it was after that that you decided I miss acting.

[C]

Well, actually I missed acting all of this time, but we were in smaller cities, we were in towns which did not have roles for brown people. So then when we moved to the Bay Area is when I found my tribe and Indian theater and started acting in theater. And then in around 2009 ish, I got offered a role for a Bollywood film that was being filmed in LA with a famous Bollywood actor. And it went very well. And I was like, wow, film. This will be around for a while. Theater goes, nobody sees it. So that's when I got the film bug and I went to LA from the Bay Area, started looking for an agent and nobody would take me because I was a brown, middle aged and did not have a union affiliation Screen Actors Guild and I did not live in la. So all those strikes. So then I got an LA phone number. It's like, yeah, yeah, I live here. Here's my phone number. 3:10 phone number. And I will get a union credit. I mean with getting a union affiliation, it's chicken or the egg.

[B]

You have to get parts in order to get in. You can't get parts until you're.

[C]

It's like. But then he said, okay, if I call you tomorrow for an audition, I want you to be there. And I said, okay, that's fine. Just don't call me before noon. Because I knew I could get in my car at 6am and drive to LA from San Francisco and be there by noon. And so I got a bunch of auditions like that where I would drive there and maybe stay in a motel. That night or maybe just drive back if I had the energy. And then I got one audition in January and I drove six and a half hours and there was fog and I'm listening to an audiobook and tears are coming down my face. And anyway, it was very dramatic and I arrived there. I did my audition, which lasts two to three minutes, usually came back home and bought food from Whole Foods. Nobody knew I was missing all day. And two months later, I get the call that I booked it. And this was a big part in the Avengers, the 2012 Avengers. So I thought, okay, this is it. My career's made. Well, that was not true. I continued to struggle and audition. And in the beginning, it was like when I was on the set of the Avengers. I had a scene with Mark Ruffalo and I was so starry eyed, but you have to not show that. And Mark Ruffalo was sweet enough to make an appointment with me because he had lines in Hindi and he wanted to say them. Right. So he made an appointment with me the day before for breakfast and I wrote the lines down for him phonetically. And he actually had that paper with him on set. He wanted to be so accurate. And it was a longer scene. It ended up being cut, which I understand storytelling has to move forward. So he was very particular about saying it. Right. And here I was on set with Mark Ruffalo and Joss Whedon is directing this film. And I mean, yeah, yeah, you really have to contain yourself and not be over excited about that fact. Yeah. And be a pro. Right?

[B]

Yeah. Your name is Rashmi. What does it mean?

[C]

A ray of light.

[B]

Do you feel that you have a responsibility then because that's your name?

[C]

Oh, I didn't think of it that way ever. But now I have to think about that.

[B]

Right.

[C]

Yeah. I love to share. I love to teach. So when my child was going off to college and wanted my recipes, which I like to cook, I said, okay, I'll write a food blog and share it with all the people your age. Trying to keep the culture there and my mother's recipes and why some of the things that she did. So, yes, I like to teach and share. I don't know if. Yeah, maybe that's called shining a lot.

[B]

I think it is. It definitely is. So I want to get back a little bit to Rotary then. India is one of the countries where there is a great deal of growth in Rotary clubs and interest in Rotary. So based on what you know about rotation Rotary in the United States and the clubs that are in India what's the difference?

[C]

So, you know, when I was part of the rotoract club in Lucknow, which is a relatively small town, not like Mumbai or Delhi, the impression was that Rotary belonged to the affluent. So everybody that we knew that belonged to the Rotary or the ROTOR act were rich people. It was not for the middle class because there was an elitist element to that. And that was my perception as a 18 year old. But in America, it's not like that. I'm just middle class and all the people in my Rotary are pretty much like me. So the cost of being a part of the Rotary is not a large amount per an American standard. That's how it is here in the US I don't know how much it has changed in the last 40 years. If it's fast growing, perhaps it has come to the middle class.

[B]

What's your sense of the public perception now, especially in this country, of what Rotary is?

[C]

People have good impression of Rotary. I mentioned it to people. I'm like, okay, where in Redwood City? And then I say, oh, there are so many in just our county and you don't have to travel very far to go to one. And they meet regularly and they have projects that they do, they travel. Sunnyvale has a sister city with Japan. Yes. They go to Japan. I know. I'm sure there are other sister cities.

[B]

So does Rotary need to get the message out beyond what is one of their primary, primary projects? And that's eradication of polio. That's an important message to get out. Yes. And then there are clubs that do so many different things. Maybe not your club is doing this, but other ones are. Does hearing stories about that make people think, oh, this is an active organization? Yes. This isn't just a have lunch social organization.

[C]

Oh, absolutely. In our particular group, once a month we go to a church where we help cook lunch to feed the homeless that day. And we bear the cost of that lunch. So we volunteer, roll up our sleeves and help in the kitchen. So that's just one of the little things we do. And then we have many other things that we do annually on a regular basis. And when we have visitors that talk about their amazing projects from all over the world, we support them financially or we'll say, how else can we connect you with other people? So it's very exciting. Yeah.

[B]

When I have heard and doing this, I've learned so much more about the different clubs and what they do. I mean, there are a number of clubs in the four state triangle around the Navajo Nation where it's a Huge project for them to get water to Native Americans who live on reservations where our government never put in water pipes, so they have no water in their homes, and the clubs are doing something about it to bring it to them. Or clubs that are working with people who have been abused and using acting as a way to help them deal with the pain. Therapy as therapy. As therapy.

[C]

There's a Rotary chapter in San Carlos that opens up every Saturday with any medical equipment that anybody might want to borrow. Crutches or walkers or stuff like that, wheelchairs, and people borrow and volunteer. It's a huge space with a lot of inventory, and it's so great for anybody. Rotarian. Non Rotarian, to go borrow it and then return it.

[B]

That's a great idea.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

So how do you get more of these stories out to the public so.

[C]

That, you know, I mean, this podcast is great. We should have more podcasts like that, perhaps, especially in the Bay Area.

[B]

Something else about you that I found so fascinating is that you had some Second City training, not here in Chicago, but in one of the satellites. Yeah.

[C]

Yes. In la. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. So what's the best thing you learned about that that brought out your comedic talents?

[C]

The best thing is how to improvise and, you know, how to be present. Really. How to be present is what improv teaches you. To take your surroundings in, to observe, to watch and be there and use your words. So that's what improv teaches you. You have to have a sense of what's funny and what sounds funny, and it comes with body language. I mean, the best comedians have the best body language, and they can change their voices. And so all of that, a lot of it is. And some of it is, of course, learned. So.

[B]

So were you surprised when you discovered that you had this comedic talent?

[C]

I was surprised because I'm such a drama queen. But that came out only because of the training. They said, you know, if you say it this way. So why don't you look at it this way? And that kind of. Yeah. So training is important.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

All right.

[B]

So it's great because I loved seeing you in some of the drama roles and then in your comedic roles. Some of it is deadpan. Yeah, almost. You know, it's like the Matchmaker series.

[C]

Right.

[B]

You know, where that was so funny.

[C]

It was great.

[B]

So. And people listening to this podcast, I hope they go, oh, what series is that? And have them look it up. Okay.

[C]

It's on my YouTube channel. Okay.

[B]

All right. So besides what you want to do with the Rotary Club, what other Projects come next for you.

[C]

I want to continue to write and produce and make films because my main passion is storytelling and being in front of the camera. And there are so many stories that need to be told about women, about women of color, about issues with girls. And, you know, there's several stories that I have in mind. And a lot of them have to do with middle aged women, because then I can play one. Okay.

[B]

Yeah, that's good. Keep it up. All right. And talk to me about being a Vedic priestess.

[C]

So I grew up as a reformed Hindu. There are two sects of Hinduism. One is Sanatana Dharma, idol worship, and mostly controlled by the priests. So they dictated everything and they made up rules and stuff like that. And if you go to a traditional Hindu wedding, there are things that many things that are done. And the wedding takes place very long and very subjective to the priest. And used to be that women were not allowed to be priests as well. So then there came this reform movement called Arya Samaj. And that was based on our oldest scriptures called the Vedas, which do not segregate. They do not say a woman can't do this or that. And it's based on the premise of worshiping the four elements, earth, wind, fire and water, and appreciating that. And there's no idol worship there. The idol worship came later, which is fine if you wanna think of God in a certain way. If you think God has 10 hands, fine. And there were many myths that were then generated to make those deities look like the ones that you wanted them to look like, but based on Sanskrit mantras, the Gayatri Mantra, which a lot of us know, which is very universal. The peace mantra is peace for the universe, the peace for earth, wind, et cetera. So I grew up with that. Then I was married into a family. My in laws were also Arya Samajis. And my father in law lived here in the US for many, many years. So he was performing the weddings and the rituals when priests were not available. And I kind of started working with him and performing with him, taught the children all the mantras. And in Arya Samaj, it tells you how a woman can be a priest and how a woman can perform anything.

[B]

That a man can, which obviously instantly spoke to you.

[C]

So even at my wedding more than four years ago, I had a woman priest. I sought one. And now I perform weddings when people want an Ari Samaji wedding. I've performed four so far. And I do that for free. And that's kind of like my passion. I translate a lot of the mantras explain to the non Indian, because here in America, a lot of the people in the audience in the party are non Indians. So I explain what some of those rituals mean. And people after the weddings come up to me and say, hey, we're so grateful that we can understand what you're saying. Because a lot of the priests have heavy Indian accents and don't explain the rituals. So the best compliment I get is, you're the prettiest priest we ever had. And that we could understand.

[B]

That's great. I love that. So here's to many more weddings that you perform as the priestess.

[C]

Like I say, I have wedding will travel. Okay. Yeah.

[B]

We did talk some about how do you combine who you are and the things that you care about, particularly right now, designed by Preeti, with your, I think, going to be great Rotary activism. How do you combine those and why?

[C]

So when I had the screening of the film in Bay Area, it was actually in Redwood City, a film festival called Bravemaker Film Festival. And a lot of meritarians came to see it and they loved it. And the message of a woman's journey from abuse to empowerment, getting out of an abusive marriage. But that's the beginning of the film. It's how she travels through life and makes something out of nothing and finds love. So that message I want to bring to everybody, I want to meet other Rotarians and talk about not just the message of the film, but how if anybody out there is an aspiring storyteller or a filmmaker, how to go about. Because I've learned so much from making this film. I've learned so much of what not to do while producing a film that I want to even teach that to any Rotarian out there who wants to talk about a story that they want to tell in any media, really. Pretty much.

[B]

So for those clubs that are very interested or active in projects that empower women, and especially young girls, this would be a great film for them to show to their membership or to have an event.

[C]

Yes, yes, absolutely.

[B]

On that note, thank you so much. This has been a pleasure.

[C]

Thank you. I'm honored to be talking.

[B]

I've enjoyed it very much to get to know you a little bit better.

[C]

Okay, thanks very much. Thank you.

[A]

This episode of the Rotary Voices Podcast was produced by JP Swenson and edited by Wen Huang. Production by Joe Dissolt. Linda Yu was our host. If you enjoyed the show, please rate us five stars on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and share it with your friends. The Rotary Voices Podcast is produced by Rotary Magazine. The official monthly publication of Rotary International. Thanks for listening.