Today we’d like to introduce you to Akanksha Manna.
Hi Akanksha, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am a radio jockey at Shudhdesi radio where I interview and host south asian creatives, thinkers and professionals about their journeys. I think how this show started off was really unexpected. During the summer of 7th grade, my dance teacher (who was also an RJ at the time) had called me right before lunch. She asked me if I’d be interested in hosting my radio show on this channel called Shuddhdesiradio. I was ecstatic and took the opportunity right away; however, I didn’t know how to run this show. It was definitely a learning curve. It took, I would say, 1 or 2 episodes and a whole lot of introspection ( as much as a middle schooler can do) to figure out what my niche would be. I knew that I wanted to incorporate my Indian-American identity into this show.
After many cheesy names and name rejections from friends and moms, I decided to stick with “Spilling The Chai.” The name was chosen, but what was some 13-year-old going to talk about for 30 mins straight? After episodes of just reading a script and staring into the camera, I knew that something else was in store for “Spilling The Chai.” I’ve always loved talking to people and have been a curious person since I was a kid (still am). So one day, I was thinking of topics to present for an episode and started thinking about Indian-American I had always thought of it as a big problem because it has impacted me. I had to do something about it. I’m am incredibly grateful to my dance teacher Sareena Nagpal and Shuddhdesiradio, for giving me a platform, so I wanted to do something meaningful. Now, Spilling The Chai has become a place where we highlight south Asian voices in their respective fields to offer a fresh, new perspective to our viewers. It has become a community where we don’t shy away from sharing our POC experiences in different walks of life.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was definitely not easy to do or a very smooth road especially when I had to start balancing high school with the show. I think as a student who is also balancing this kind of creative outlet, it can be really tough to navigate how to make sure that I am producing quality work and also making sure that as a student I am balancing everything else as well. There’s also a challenge for creating every episode. It definitely takes a lot just to create one episode of the show. There’s script writing, editing, getting in touch with guests and coordinating shoots. There is always stuff going wrong especially with technology. However, each episode that is made is unique because of those struggles. I think the challenges are what make up each podcast episode and help me improve as a host and offer perspective on how I can fix problems that can arise in the future.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My name is Akanksha and I am the radio host on my radio called “Spilling The Chai”. In this radio channel, I interview South Asians from different fields of work. On the radio show, we love to talk about representation and we interview guests from unique paths to shed light on the different careers many south Asians pursue. We are often depicted as being restricted to certain fields but Spilling the Chai is here to fight the molds South Asians are put in. We are also here to inspire any young people whose aspirations match up with our guests. I ask different questions that would be beneficial to our audience. What I’m most proud of would be any impact my show has had on others. Whether it is motivation, inspiration or knowledge, I am proud of any positive impact I can have on listeners and viewers. If there’s one thing I would want to people to know about my story, it would be about the impact of representation in different fields. I think a lot of south Asians like myself are constantly pushed to choose out of 3 options: doctor, lawyer, or engineer; however, I made my platform to represent the other fields south Asians excel in for inspiration for future generations as well as to highlight people in my area. So, Make sure to listen to the show at 6 pm EST on Shuddhdesiradio.com every other week!
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My favorite childhood memory would be spending time with my family India during the summer in India. I would cherish this time with my family in Kolkata. I always enjoyed the food, the hustle and bustle of the city and the connections made. Those trips always lead me to connect with my culture and stay connected to my heritage. My favorite parts of those trips was eating mango ice cream in the extremely hot Kolkata weather and traveling to the Himalayas and Taj mahal.
Contact Info:
- Website: Shuddhdesiradio.com
- Instagram: AkankshaManna
