Meenal's World

My guest this week, Reena Kaur, is a Punjabi folk singer and I met her a couple of months ago at a friend's wedding and her performance just blew me away. When I researched more of her music, a whole new side of Reena was revealed to me. She isn’t just a singer, she is so much more than that. Her story brought me to tears and her life lessons are ones that you should write down and pass onto your children and grandchildren! Reena was engaged at the age of 13, and then after that didn’t work, she was engaged at married at 18. This marriage didn’t work out and being a single mum of 2 young boys didn’t stop her from becoming the superstar she is today. 

You can follow Reena on Instagram @reenakaurofficial, and you can contact her for bookings on www.ladiessangeetbyreenakaur.co.uk

This week, I spoke to Priya Krishna, an Indian American food writer. She recently released her second cookbook, Indian-ish where she celebrates her life as an Indian American. Priya talks about how she fell in love with her mother’s cooking despite spending her childhood feeling too embarrassed to embrace her identity as an Indian-American. So much so, she would only pack peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for her school lunch. Now, she is famous for her love of sharing Indian cooking recipes and has her own segment on the Bon Apetit YouTube channel and is also a food writer for the New York Times. 

Priya’s journey over the last few years from writing recipes at University to releasing her own cookbook was purely one of self belief and passion. She mentions how she never took no for an answer and always found a way to turn a no into a yes! 

 You can find more of Priya's work and recipes here: www.priyakrishna.me 

This week, I spoke to Priya Krishna, an Indian American food writer. She recently released her second cookbook, Indian-ish where she celebrates her life as an Indian American. Priya talks about how she fell in love with her mother’s cooking despite spending her childhood feeling too embarrassed to embrace her identity as an Indian-American. So much so, she would only pack peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for her school lunch. Now, she is famous for her love of sharing Indian cooking recipes and has her own segment on the Bon Apetit YouTube channel and is also a food writer for the New York Times. 

Priya’s journey over the last few years from writing recipes at University to releasing her own cookbook was purely one of self belief and passion. She mentions how she never took no for an answer and always found a way to turn a no into a yes! 

 You can find more of Priya's work and recipes here: www.priyakrishna.me 

Isra Zul is a poet, changemaker and at such a young age, her insight into what it means to be a South Asian woman in our generation really struck a chord with me. We talk about what it means to be a woman in our community and the responsibilities that come with it. Isra also talks about her aspirations as a poet and her dream to write a book based on the common phrase ‘log kya kahenge’ - a term that has killed the dreams of many young millennials. This term directly translates to 'what will people say?' Tune in to find out how at the age of just 20, her life experiences have motivated her to help many other young girls in our community. 

Isra Zul is a poet, changemaker and at such a young age, her insight into what it means to be a South Asian woman in our generation really struck a chord with me. We talk about what it means to be a woman in our community and the responsibilities that come with it. Isra also talks about her aspirations as a poet and her dream to write a book based on the common phrase ‘log kya kahenge’ - a term that has killed the dreams of many young millennials. This term directly translates to 'what will people say?' Tune in to find out how at the age of just 20, her life experiences have motivated her to help many other young girls in our community. 

My first guest, Raveen Sethi, is a cancer thriver and in her early twenties, she was posed with a difficult decision of whether she should freeze her eggs as she was receiving heavy treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma - a topic that's rarely discussed in the South Asian community.  

We discuss how her diagnosis first came about and how she has come to terms with dealing with her fears and how she has learnt to create a space where she can protect her parents from her own grief. 

This episode will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and it will give you a whole new perspective on life. Raveen tells us not to see life as a timeline and if the timeline we planned out doesn't work out for whatever reason, it's okay to start again from scratch.

New episodes of Meenal's World every Friday! Don't forget to subscribe on iTunes!

My first guest, Raveen Sethi, is a cancer thriver and in her early twenties, she was posed with a difficult decision of whether she should freeze her eggs as she was receiving heavy treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma - a topic that's rarely discussed in the South Asian community.  

We discuss how her diagnosis first came about and how she has come to terms with dealing with her fears and how she has learnt to create a space where she can protect her parents from her own grief. 

This episode will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and it will give you a whole new perspective on life. Raveen tells us not to see life as a timeline and if the timeline we planned out doesn't work out for whatever reason, it's okay to start again from scratch.

New episodes of Meenal's World every Friday! Don't forget to subscribe on iTunes!

Welcome to my world and thank you for choosing to be a part of my journey! For those of you who don't know me from my previous podcast, Desi Outsiders, this episode will give you a good idea about who I am and what I have to bring you every week. 

If you are looking for an alternative podcast with inspiring and life-changing stories - you're at the right place. 

New episodes every Friday. Don't forget to subscribe on iTunes and leave a review!

Welcome to my world and thank you for choosing to be a part of my journey! For those of you who don't know me from my previous podcast, Desi Outsiders, this episode will give you a good idea about who I am and what I have to bring you every week. 

If you are looking for an alternative podcast with inspiring and life-changing stories - you're at the right place. 

New episodes every Friday. Don't forget to subscribe on iTunes and leave a review!