Stories of Community Resilience

Dr Pravati Panigrahi is a Medical professional with special interest  in creating awareness on  Mental Health and Domestic violence in communities. As the Founder & Director of Pink Umbrella International,an ACNC regd  public charity(Aus), and as an academics from  University of Sydney in Human rights & Social justice sector, she works passionately for social justice topics,maily for primary prevention of domestic abuse and on Mental health Stigma. 

Currently she is a committee members and  advocate for White Ribbon Australia that focuses on Primary prevention of Domestic Violence and part of Domestic Violence subcommittee of a reputed  Umbrella organization in Australia. She takes special interest in mental health stigma education  and sits as an international   working committee member for Suicide prevetion for United for Global Mental Health,UK) and is a meber of Suicide prevention Australia.

She has delivered many educational talk in various media platform and in conferences, and  is the WIP award recipient , UNITAR ( UN research Center, Geneva, Switzerland),2019-20.

Dr Panigrahi is an Awardee of Emerging Women’s leader, Leadership Victoria,2017 and special Award for Social justice, In 2020. 

We hope Pravati's journey proves to be an inspiration for initiating healthy and positive conversations around various impacts of sexual health.

Produced by Chris Mallika Bhadra. You can find more of Chris's media projects at:

• Coconut Chats YouTube and Instagram
• Durdeshe Bangla YouTube and Instagram
• Ananda Dance Group YouTube and Instagram

Intro and outro music by Gregor Quendel under a Creative Commons Attribution licence

3ZZZ Stories of Community Resilience is proudly supported by the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It takes a lot of grit and determination to follow your passions. And even more difficult when you are a performing artist.

On that note, we speak with Taufeeq Ahmed Sheikh from Sydney. Radio, theatre & films surround Taufeeqs’ life, fuelling his passion for storytelling. Making his TV debut as an actor at the age of 9 in India Taufeeq went on to acting, writing & directing for theatre when he was 17. In Sydney Taufeeq resumed his creative pursuit in 2018 after a sabbatical of 14 years and now works in the Australian performing and literary arts spectrum with an added focus on the South Asian Community. His vision is to bring the creative ambitions of emerging artists to life and into the mainstream Australian media.

Recently Taufeeq has acted in W. Shakespeares' Much Ado about Nothing & Hamlet; EM Forster’s, Passage to India; Mahesh Dattanis’ Where Did I Leave My Purdah. Broadway hit musicals like, The Drowsy Chaperone performed in Sydney, Australia. Amongst other works of emerging writers in Australia Taufeeq has also acted in plays by respected Australian writers like Joanna Murray Smith in Female of the Species. He has won awards in fields of acting, public speaking, literature, broadcasting, direction, and for his work towards Interfaith & Communal Harmony.

Since 2018 Taufeeq has acted in, produced, directed, and mentored local, national, and trans-continental creative projects while writing & presenting his short stories for the weekly radio show Kehte Sunte 89.3 2GLF FM. Taufeeq is passionately community driven, and voraciously seeks opportunities to build creative projects focussed on helping people find their voice. He follows and hopes to continue keeping art inclusinve and accessible to all. Taufeeq pursues his work with commitment, passion, and just about anything that challenges Taufeeq creatively drives him; while constantly learning and trying to better his craft.

We hope Taufeeq's journey proves to be an inspiration for all the creative souls who wish to pursue  a bright future in the field of Arts.

Produced by Chris Mallika Bhadra. You can find more of Chris's media projects at:

• Coconut Chats YouTube and Instagram
• Durdeshe Bangla YouTube and Instagram
• Ananda Dance Group YouTube and Instagram

Intro and outro music by Gregor Quendel under a Creative Commons Attribution licence

3ZZZ Stories of Community Resilience is proudly supported by the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Being a parent is tough work. And being a single parent is not an easy road to walk upon. 

In this episode, we talk to Paromita Bhattacharya who joined us from Sydney. Paromita moved out of India when she was all of 18 years old.  She is an absolute self-made person and a single mother to her son. She is currently working for Austrac which a regulatory board of Australia. Paromita considers herself to be a friendly and fun loving person. Cooking and being on stage are her two passions.

We hope Paromita's journey, experience and words bring comfort to every single parent and hope in these very difficult and testing times.

*Please note that this episode has been recorded in English and Hindi.

Produced by Chris Mallika Bhadra. You can find more of Chris's media projects at:

• Coconut Chats YouTube and Instagram
• Durdeshe Bangla YouTube and Instagram
• Ananda Dance Group YouTube and Instagram

Intro and outro music by Gregor Quendel under a Creative Commons Attribution licence

3ZZZ Stories of Community Resilience is proudly supported by the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The LGBTQ+ community needs to be loved, accepted and acknowledged by the global community. On that note, our next guest provides massive hope, support and resilience through his journey of coming out as Gay.

Prateek Gajwani, was born and raised in a slightly different family structure in the capital city of India and was re-raised in the American Society in a BIG (Brown Immigrant Gay) way. He is still learning and unlearning his privileges and disadvantages. Working in Public Health and Healthcare research sector, Prateek views life as constantly evolving and believes that endpoints are changing based on new data. Prateek loves hanging out with friends, working out, listening to audiobooks, and making elaborate plans for solving the world’s unique problems.

We hope this conversation will be a beacon of hope to anyone who might be going through a similar journey and want to live their lives freely as a part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Produced by Chris Mallika Bhadra. You can find more of Chris's media projects at:

• Coconut Chats YouTube and Instagram
• Durdeshe Bangla YouTube and Instagram
• Ananda Dance Group YouTube and Instagram

Intro and outro music by Gregor Quendel under a Creative Commons Attribution licence

3ZZZ Stories of Community Resilience is proudly supported by the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mental health and physical/emotional well-being are of utmost importance in Post-COVID times. Many of us have gone through immeasurable grief and loss during these two years and constantly live in uncertainty. In lieu of that, regular dialogues around mental health are the need of the hour.

Dr Beulah Joseph has  been based in Melbourne for the past 27 years, having originally come from Singapore. She has a PhD in Psychology and has been working as a registered psychologist for the past 13 years. Her research relates to the efficacy and evaluation of workplace wellbeing services and she currently heads up the Clinical Governance and Quality area at a large national provider of workplace wellbeing and individual support services.

We hope Dr Joseph's journey, experience and her words bring you comfort and hope in these very difficult and testing times.

Produced by Chris Mallika Bhadra. You can find more of Chris's media projects at:

• Coconut Chats YouTube and Instagram
• Durdeshe Bangla YouTube and Instagram
• Ananda Dance Group YouTube and Instagram

Intro and outro music by Gregor Quendel under a Creative Commons Attribution licence

3ZZZ Stories of Community Resilience is proudly supported by the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

International students have been the forefront of uncertainty during the pandemic. During these times, finishing a Doctoral degree requires grit, sanity and determination.

On that note, our guest- Dr Eshan Arya was born in Mumbai and has been living in Australia since 2008, He has travelled, lived, studied, and worked across 12 countries and on merchant navy ships. 

Eshan has a PhD (Pol), M. International Relations with honours & 2 LTU Gold awards, B. Econ with 2 dean’s commendation awards, a Dip. Bus Admin with 3 achievement awards, & a 6 Dan Black Belt. 

On Dec 13th, 2021, he started as a full-time permanent Residential Life Manager with Little Hall and University Apartments of the University of Melbourne. Additionally, I work as Trainer and Coach with SparkMe, economics HOD with RL, Policy and Course developer, Director of a think tank he founded called Ich Ne San, an associate with Alexandria Agenda and Conversations at Crossroads, a Sessional Lecturer for La Trobe MBA (won 2018 best Lecturer award) and an Economics tutor for Ormond College, UoM. 

In Australia, as an ALLY academic with over 9 relevant certifications, Eshan has taught over 12,000 students across 150 countries, won the best lecturer award, written 45 news articles, published a book on the Sea Piracy in Somalia, created 110 academic YouTube Videos, and Spotify Podcasts. Eshan has won community awards & appeared in media for volunteering and creating programs to tackle racism, domestic violence, bystander action, youth at risk, isolated int students, & issues of students of refugee backgrounds. He served as a member on LTU academic board, int strategy committee & academic quality committee. I then worked as a director at Muskaan Support Aus. aiming to fund the construction of a school for slum children in Bhopal. Eshan was a co-founder of student politics ticket & also started my own radio show and four multicultural clubs. He has won multiple annual awards as a RA and RA Coordinator, ISA president, & PG officer of LTSU. I have also served as a sports manager & karate coach at SARA, & as an invigilator-interlocutor with OET.

Please have a listen to Eshan's journey and feel inspired by his grit, mettle and positive mindset.

Produced by Chris Mallika Bhadra. You can find more of Chris's media projects at:

• Coconut Chats YouTube and Instagram
• Durdeshe Bangla YouTube and Instagram
• Ananda Dance Group YouTube and Instagram

Intro and outro music by Gregor Quendel under a Creative Commons Attribution licence

3ZZZ Stories of Community Resilience is proudly supported by the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The pandemic has seen all of us struggling either physically, mentally or financially. But the maximum brunt has been faced by those working in the Medical Industry. Their grit, energy and relentless dedication has proven to be an inspiration for all of us.

Our guest of this episode, Saheera Razeek is  a single mom to  two beautiful boys as well as a full time Radiation Therapist working at a hospital in Rural Victoria. She is originally from Singapore, born to mixed ethnicity parents came to Melbourne just a little over a decade ago as an undergraduate student at Rmit University. Saheera enjoys meeting people from all walks of life and learning from their experiences, and loves that her job allows her to do that!

We hope Saheera's journey gives hope and energy to all our listeners.

Produced by Chris Mallika Bhadra. You can find more of Chris's media projects at:

• Coconut Chats YouTube and Instagram
• Durdeshe Bangla YouTube and Instagram
• Ananda Dance Group YouTube and Instagram

Intro and outro music by Gregor Quendel under a Creative Commons Attribution licence

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Naina Menon is from Kerala but stays in Himachal Pradesh and is a proud 33 year old transwoman who has achieved many milestones in her life. She is an engineer by degree and professionally a successful writer, fitness trainer and a model. She has risen recently to be an inspiration to many people from the LGBTQ+ community and is very actively involved in speaking about gender equality and issues faced by transwomen in the society.  She is actively involved in modelling and is a prime time fashionista.

We hope this conversation will be a beacon of hope to anyone who might be going through a similar jounery and want to live their lives freely as a part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Produced by Chris Mallika Bhadra. You can find more of Chris's media projects at:

• Coconut Chats YouTube and Instagram
• Durdeshe Bangla YouTube and Instagram
• Ananda Dance Group YouTube and Instagram

Intro and outro music by Gregor Quendel under a Creative Commons Attribution licence

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Neha Rajagopal is a special needs teacher and a counselling psychologist. She moved to Melbourne in 2017 with her husband and is a proud mother of her 15-month-old son, Advaith. Her passions include dance, music, gardening and yoga.

Produced by Chris Mallika Bhadra. You can find more of Chris's media projects at:

• Coconut Chats YouTube and Instagram
• Durdeshe Bangla YouTube and Instagram
• Ananda Dance Group YouTube and Instagram

Intro and outro music by Gregor Quendel under a Creative Commons Attribution licence

Stories of Community Resilience is proudly supported by the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Shanthi Joseph is a university Senior Technical Officer and Lecturer, who went through a phase of 'unlearning' after years of working in highly planned and structured environments. She realised that when the going gets tough, it's ok to take a step back and be kind to yourself.

Produced by Chris Mallika Bhadra. You can find more of Chris's media projects at:

• Coconut Chats YouTube and Instagram
• Durdeshe Bangla YouTube and Instagram
• Ananda Dance Group YouTube and Instagram

Intro and outro music by Gregor Quendel under a Creative Commons Attribution licence

Stories of Community Resilience is proudly supported by the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.