Cha Da Cup with KayRay

This week, our guest is director/ producer/writer V.T. Nayani (pron. 9'knee). Her first feature documentary SHADEISM: DIGGING DEEPER (2015) has been traveling around the world for the past few years, starting difficult conversations in our own diasporas. Nayani's long list of accomplishments includes being an alum of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Workshop for Diverse Creators, the HotDocs Festival's Doc Accelerator Program, and the 2017 ReelWorld Film Festival's Emerging 20 Program, and the recipient of the 2017 UN Women Yvonne M. Hebert Award. In 2018, Nayani's first feature drama film, THIS PLACE, was selected as a recipient of Telefilm Canada's inaugural Talent to Watch Program. Nayani is also a Co-Founder and Executive at 43°North Productions, a production company that she runs with her producing partners Camaro West and Simone Ince. Through their work together, they are focused on centering stories from the margins, featuring Black, Indigenous, and other people of colour. In this episode, we talk about the deep-rooted racism within our own communities, why it's important to acknowledge the anti-blackness and shadeism in our diasporas in a healthy way and how to use media as a way to break these stigmas. If you enjoy this episode, you know what to do!!! Hit that comment, like and rate! FOLLOW: instagram // twitter: @_9knee film: shadeism.com FOLLOW KAYRAY: instagram // twitter: @kay__ray youtube: youtube.com/kayrayco snapchat: @kiranrai

LIVE FROM VANCOUVER! It's our first episode with a live studio audience thanks to our friends at @5xfest! This week, join KayRay while she chats with Punjabi superstar, Jasmine Sandlas, Basement Bhangra legend - DJ Rekha and welcoming back dance choreographer, Manpreet Toor! Listen to us talk about everything from the struggles of working in the Punjabi music industry to juicy stories from our questionable past - lol. It's a fun one! If you enjoy this podcast, hit that subscribe / rate! Watch the full video version of this podcast: youtube.com/kayrayco FOLLOW OUR GUESTS: Jasmine Sandlas: @jasminesandlas // https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKXUXx16fR-S0m54fDG9-MQ Manpreet Toor: @toor.manpreet // https://www.youtube.com/user/xxMappy16xx DJ Rekha: @djrekha // http://www.btrtoday.com/rekha/ FOLLOW KAYRAY: insta // twitter: @kay__ray youtube: youtube.com/kayrayco snapchat: @kiranrai

Happy Pride everyone! This week's guest panelist is comedian Anasimone George. She is the founder of comedy show "SHADE", that is inclusive of LGBTQ, womxn and POC comedians. In this episode, we talk about the beauty of Pride as well as the complexities, understanding Pride's political roots and how we can ensure the safety of our queer/trans siblings. Plus you could hear us talk a lotta shit about the recent elections! If you think we're funny don't forget to rate and subscribe on the Apple Podcast app!

FOLLOW:

instagram: @theanasimone // @shadetoronto

twitter: @idoughnutcare

FOLLOW KAYRAY:

insta // twitter: @kay__ray

youtube: youtube.com/kayrayco

snapchat: @kiranrai

Make sure to comment / rate / subscribe!

Hemali Mistry, more popularly known by her brand name, Ready To Glow, is an upcoming beauty blogger / influencer from Toronto. She is best known for making fun and quirky make-up / hair tutorials. Garnering over 100k followers on Instagram, Hemali not only shares her artistry through consistent video posts but also sharing her own struggle with body image and mental health issues. She is now working and collaborating with some of the world's top beauty brands. This week, KayRay sips cha with one of her most frequent collaborators to talk about their journey working in the fashion and wedding industries, why representation matters in beauty world and why it's important to promote self-love and inner beauty.

Watch the video version of this episode: youtube.com/kayrayco

FOLLOW:

instagram: @ready.to.glow

youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/readytoglowmuah

FOLLOW KAYRAY:

insta // twitter: @kay__ray

youtube: youtube.com/kayrayco

snapchat: @kiranrai

Make sure to comment / rate / subscribe!

This week, we feature Spanish filmmaker, Alba Sotorra. Her work primarily focuses on stories of genuine characters that reflect on controversial issues. Through creative documentary, she aims to open spaces for reflection and discussion to facilitate understanding of the world in constant change. The world premiere of her latest documentary, Commander Arian - A Story of Women, War and Freedom is premiering at the HOT DOCs festival. The documentary follows the Kurdish resistance in Syria and Commander Arian Afrin in the Women's Protection Unit (YPJ) with her fight against ISIS. KayRay sits with Alba to discuss the struggles of documenting in a war-zone place, women empowering women and their ultimate fight against patriarchy in Syria as a collective. FOLLOW: Alba Sotorra: http://www.albasotorra.com/ facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commanderarian/ FOLLOW KAYRAY:

insta // twitter: @kay__ray

youtube: youtube.com/kayrayco

snapchat: @kiranrai

Make sure to comment / rate / subscribe!

This week, we are focusing on the importance of using social media to highlight women who are making waves in the tech industry. Our guest speaker, Sarena Bahad, is on a mission to help close the diversity gap in tech, using media and storytelling as the main tool to achieve this goal. She is the Founder of the WomenInTech Channel which won the award for Best Snap Account of the Year at the 9th Annual Shorty Awards. Also as a yoga teacher and meditation practitioner, she shares her practices through social media, especially for those who work in fast-paced environments. This week, KayRay, Sarena and Bali talk about how Women In Tech are changing the industry globally, why it's important to practice meditation / spirituality and ways to disrupt male dominated spaces.

Follow: @WomenInTech @Sarenabahad

insta // twitter: @kay__ray

youtube: youtube.com/kayrayco

snapchat: @kiranrai

This week, we feature Anubha Momin on a special episode of #LetsTalkAboutSex. Anubha is the creator of Finding True North, an award-winning blog about life in Nunavut, a remote town of 8,000 people in the Canadian Arctic, where she lived for the last four and a half years. Anubha has transitioned from writing to film and television jobs, working as a host, producer, and digital content creator on various projects with VICE, The CBC, and Netflix. She was named one of 50 Outstanding Canadians by the Huffington Post in 2016. She most recently got into the Conservatory at Second City, allowing her to pursue her dreams as a comedian. When Anubha's not doing all these incredible things, she is a huge advocate of sexual health and why it's important to get more knowledge on sex ed. This episode, we'll be talking about the difference between the liberation of being sexual vs. the harm of being sexualized, why sex is considered to be a taboo topic in South Asian communities and how we can better take care of ourselves when it comes to sexual health. FOLLOW: @anubhamomin

Follow:

insta // twitter: @kay__ray

youtube: youtube.com/kayrayco

snapchat: @kiranrai

Rupi Kaur is a poet, artist, and performer. Over the last 3 years, her works have taken the literary world by storm. Her new book, the sun and her flowers—an instant global bestseller, is an artistic sibling to her debut, milk and honey—America's best selling book of 2017.

"i am the product of all the ancestors getting together and deciding these stories need to be told"

Rupi sees her work as an articulation of this vision. She's an eternal artist. In the years since, milk and honey has become an international phenomenon. It's sold over 2.5 million copies, been translated into more than 30 languages, and landed as a #1 New York Times Bestseller—where it continues to sit for over the 80th straight week.

Rupi explores a variety of themes in her work ranging from love, loss, trauma, healing, femininity, migration, and revolution. She's a Forbes 30 under 30, an editor of the 2016 Mays Literary Anthology of New Writing from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and one of BBC's 100 women of 2017. Rupi hopes to continue her artistic exploration through art and poetry—searching for ways to understand and articulate This week, Rupi sits with her long-time friend KayRay to talk about our humble beginnings, breaking barriers in the mainstream and what it means to stay authentic to your craft.

If you enjoyed this podcast - be sure to leave us a comment / rate! And like, subscribe already!

Follow: @rupikaur_ // www.rupikaur.com

Follow:

insta // twitter: @kay__ray

youtube: youtube.com/kayrayco

snapchat: @kiranrai

Inkquisitive Illustration (Amandeep Singh) is a London, UK based artist who has risen to the forefront of youth art and culture; creating work that reflects a new movement of self-expression and experimentation. His work is a tribute to his heritage and faith. With over 180,000 instagram followers, Inkquisitive has created a stir internationally with 13 sold out exhibitions around the world from Canada, Australia, Kenya and more. This week, we sit down with the artist to talk about his journey, anti-bullying and how he went from a people pleaser to creating honest art.

Follow: @Inkquisitive

FOLLOW:

insta // twitter: @kay__ray

youtube: youtube.com/kayrayco

snapchat: @kiranrai

Punjabi Community Health Services, better known as PCHS, was founded by Baldev Mutta back in 1990 as a community development project. Now, PCHS is known to be a not-for-profit, charitable, accredited and a Health Service Provider organization. Their mission to improve the quality of individuals, families and communities has allowed them to create programs that are sustainable to the growth and mental well-being for our community. Everything from Addictions, Domestic Violence, Mental Health, Elderly abuse to Child, Youth and Family Services. PCHS addresses the problem with creating solutions. This week, we'll be sippin' cha with the Founder himself, Baldev Mutta and Chief-Operating Officer Amandeep Kaur touching on all these topics, what it was like to immigrant to a foreign country with no support, plus, a special event that I will be co-hosting in honour of International Women's Day.

FOLLOW:

www.pchs4u.com // @pchs4u

FOLLOW:

insta // twitter: @kay__ray

youtube: youtube.com/kayrayco

snapchat: @kiranrai