PennTalks the Podcast

In this episode, I speak with Amani Mahmoud and Rhunjhun Pacholi Bhardwaj of the Aunties Fund. 

The Aunties Fund is an Australian grassroots, volunteer-led initiative operating as a sub-fund of the Sydney Women's Fund. It is the first permanent fund established specifically to support South Asian women and families in Sydney who are impacted by domestic and family violence (DFV).

Amani and Rhunjhun together share with us how the Aunties Fund began, what it sets out to achieve, and why there is a need for culturally sensitive DFV service providers. In this episode, we explore the power of community for community and how collective action can help create systemic change. 

To learn more about the fund or to contribute, please visit their website or social media handles. Website: https://sydcf.org.au/the-aunties-fund/
Instagram: @auntiesfund
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Aunties-Fund/61577870487600/

Music by @lavanmusic 

Episode recorded in September 2025.  

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Niveditha Manokaran (or Nive, as I know her) about her work destigmatising sexual health through education and advocacy. 

Dr. Niveditha is a medical practitioner in Australia with over 15 years of experience working in sexual health. She founded Untaboos, a platform through which she educates on tabooed topics such as sexual health to bring about awareness and change. 

She shares with us her story, from being a young girl in India with creative talents and a passion for fashion, her inevitable foray into medicine, and her pivot from dermatology to sexual health medicine. With experience working as a doctor in both in India and Australia, she shares her observations on how sexual health is managed, treated and spoken about — and why it is critical that the taboo around it is broken. 

To follow Dr. Niveditha's work on social media, her Instagram handles are @untaboos and @aadhirai_penn

Music by @lavanmusic

In this episode I speak with Vithyaa Thavapalan (also known as Vee), a community leader, founder of a South Asian women's networking group called Brown Boss Babes, private fire investigator, small-business owner, and mum. 

Vee shares her story as a Tamil-Australian woman living in Australia, from growing up as the extroverted, tomboyish twin to stepping forth and carving out her dreams, despite there being a lack of support and encouragement at times for her ambitions. Through determination and grit, Vee created the opportunities she sought. 

To join Brown Boss Babes or to follow Vee's fire investigation works, her Instagram accounts are @brownbossbabesau and @whatthefireau

Music by @lavanmusic

In this episode I chat to Lajja Champaneria, a mindfulness coach and landscape architect, who shares her journey towards practising mindfulness. 

From growing up as a creative and studious child in Mumbai, to migrating to Australia for her further studies, Lajja graciously shares her story of how mindfulness became a source of healing and motivation in her life. 

To contact Lajja for her mindfulness coaching, visit her Instagram profile @lajjachampaneria_leadyourway

Music by @lavanmusic

In this episode I speak with Isha Bassi, a South Asian woman with an education background and a deep passion for community impact. Over the past five years, Isha has presented to hundreds of secondary and tertiary youth on the growth mindset and soft skill topics through intensive workshops and focused programs. 

Isha shares her journey of once being the quiet kid at school to now presenting in front of hundreds of students. She talks about the events in between that spurred her growth and how we can employ the growth mindset to help achieve our goals. 

Originally published in August 2022.
Music by @lavanmusic

A short introduction where I talk about what the podcast is all about, what inspired me to start it, as well as what I hope for it to be. 

Originally published in March 2022. 
Music by @lavanmusic

In this episode I speak with Isha Bassi, a South Asian woman with an education background and a deep passion for community impact. Over the past five years, Isha has presented to hundreds of secondary and tertiary youth on the growth mindset and soft skill topics through intensive workshops and focused programs. 

Isha shares her journey of once being the quiet kid at school to now presenting in front of hundreds of students. She talks about the events in between that spurred her growth and how we can employ the growth mindset to help achieve our goals. 

A short introduction where I talk about what the podcast is all about, what inspired me to start it, as well as what I hope for it to be. 

A short introduction where I talk about what the podcast is all about, what inspired me to start it, as well as what I hope for it to be. 

In this episode, we are joined by Anjana Chandran – a dancer, choreographer, content creator and actor from Sydney, Australia. Classically trained in Bharatanatyam, Anjana shares her Classical-Western fusion dance reels to an audience of over 75, 000 on TikTok. This episode is all about Anjana's journey in dance. She shares her experience of breaking the stereotype of a Bharatanatyam dancer, why she has consciously moved away from fear-based teaching, the community's response to her fusion dance style, and the pros and cons of sharing dance content online.