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Shastri News - November/December 2009

A storyteller’s story

Rashi Khilnani makes a living telling people’s stories and she loves her job. First, because she believes that everyone has a story worth listening to, but also because she gets to focus on a group of people close to her heart: Indo-Canadians. Rashi runs the Indo-Canadian Report, a thrice weekly segment on CBC’s international broadcast, Radio Canada International. This month, she celebrates her first anniversary on the job, so we have decided to reverse the microphones and tell her story.

Like many Indo-Canadians her age, Rashi was born in India but moved abroad when she was only a toddler. She spent her formative years in Nigeria, where she attended an international school and became a true citizen of the world. When she moved to Canada at age 15, the idea of being an Indo-Canadian was just as foreign as the idea of living on Indian soil.

Rashi’s journey of self discovery prompted her to return to India as an adult. An internship through the Shasti Indo-Canadian Institute provided the perfect vehicle to get there. So Rashi took the internship and spent nine months living in India and working with the National Council of Applied Economic Research in New Delhi. The experience of living independently in India proved to be radically different from the short visits to family that she had made as a child.

“I got to make friends with regular Indians and see how they lived their lives,” she explains. “It was a chance to see [India] for what it was, with all its rich complexities, beyond the confines of my family homes.”

Returning to Canada was a difficult adjustment and left Rashi torn about what to do next. She had already completed her degree in Political Science and International Development Studies from McGill University and contemplated taking a Master’s degree in Public Health. She enjoyed the health -related research she had done in India, but she was also surprised at how much she enjoyed conducting key informant interviews as part of that job. As a self-professed “news junkie,” Rashi started to see potential for a new career path and chose rather to study International Journalism at City University in London, England.

After spending two years working as a journalist in England with stints at the Associated Press, Time magazine and the Financial Times Group, Rashi returned to Canada. A job surfaced to head-up the Indo-Canadian Report as part of Radio Canada International’s English program called ‘The Link.’ The job required competency in Hindi, and experience in India among other things, so she decided to give it a shot. Now, a year later, Rashi gets to look back on what has been a truly amazing experience.

When asked about the most memorable segment she has ever done, Rashi replied:
“Tough question, because they were all memorable. But I do remember really enjoying talking to a gentleman who had lost his family in the Air India Bombings. He started a school in South India in an attempt to regain a reason to live… it’s incredible to see just how much people are doing with their lives.”

Rashi feels that Indians are generally a curious people, well-respected, hard working and increasingly influential in Canada. A substantial portion of the people who tune into ‘The Link’ everyday are Indians living in India, so Rashi has a unique opportunity to show that audience how the Indo-Canadian community has evolved and thrived.

Some day she hopes to be able to report from India on India-Canada relations and bring new perspectives to the Indo-Canadian Report. The segment is still in its infancy, but it has been growing. Recently, Rashi has been given airtime on Radio One, so that Canadians also have the opportunity to hear her live broadcasts.

The Indo-Canadian Report it is broadcast on shortwave radio in India (at 6:30 AM IST on 6040 kHz and 6165 kHz and at 8:30 PM IST on 9635 kHz and 11975 kHz) and on Radio One in Canada at 2:00am. Segments can also be downloaded from the Radio Canada International website.

Rashi welcomes feedback and she would love to hear from you if you know of a story that needs to be told. Write to her at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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Comments

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Although retired from academia, my ancestors came from India. I am delighted to see the progress our people have made in Canada. The co-operation between Canadians and Shastri Institute is solid bond. As to Rashi’s contribution and progress, I am absolutely delighted.

I remember with joy my year spent in India as a visiting professor in 1995-96. I love India. jay Hind.

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