KOLKATA: City born Ena Sarkar is making her presence felt in Silicon Valley with her TV talk show on Women Now and her events to showcase Indian cultural diversity.
The Scottish Church College alumnus had moved to the US with her husband in 1995 as a 26-year-old and was desperate to follow her dreams but wasn't allowed to get a work permit. "I joined voluntary organizations because free service doesn't collide with state rules there. That's how I came across Indian people and their issues that needed immediate redress. The Indian community in the US is grappling with issues of parenting, depression, abuse of all kinds, neglected elderly parents etc. So when I finally got my citizenship and associated work permits I decided to start a forum to address Indian women's issues in California," Ena said. Thus came Women Now.
Her voluntary work brought her close to KTSF, a TV channel in California, where the Indian slot was on Bollywood films and music. "Naturally, the impression of India was filtered through the Bollywood prism, which is just a miniscule part of this country that has so much cultural diversity to showcase! Two ideas germinated at the same time. I wanted to start my own company to focus on women of Indian origin, and wanted to hold events to promote Indian culture. Women Now happened five years ago," Ena, said.
Prominent members of the Indian community come on her talk show. "Unlike in India where victims of abuse or depression prefer to stay incognito because they fear social hounding, in the US, such people volunteer to appear on talk shows to interact with psychiatrists, administrators, teachers."
Women Now also organizes events like classical Indian dances, yoga, regional film festivals and celebrates all major Indian festivals in public spaces like Union Square of San Francisco.
Now in Kolkata on vacation, she plans a Durga Puja next. The idol has already been flown there. "In the US, Indians are used to a weekend puja and that too at a convenient date. But we are holding a full fledged puja in the heart of California to encourage non-Indian participation," Ena said.
"Away from home we yearn for everything Indian. Women Now is the only show that focuses on our needs and helps us connect as a community," said Shikha Dasgupta, wife of Somnath Dasgupta, an IBM employee in California.
The mayor of the city of San Jose, Chuck Reed, recently recognized the initiatives of Women Now.
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