U n’ I with Rashmi Shetty

U n’ I with Rashmi Shetty- Ann Gonzalez & Smitha Sadasivan - MSSI & India MS Day

India Multiple Sclerosis Day (India MS Day) is the only awareness-raising campaign all over India. This falls on the first Sunday of February every year. This year it is on the 5th of February, 2023. The theme for this year’s India MS Day is “Celebrate MS”.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the Central Nervous System, affecting its functioning unexpectedly and repeatedly, resulting in devastating disabilities in young people in the prime of their lives. It is also known as the “Crippler of the Young Adult”.
Multiple Sclerosis has various symptoms ranging from minor visual disturbance to total paralysis, due to which simplest everyday tasks can no longer be efficiently performed known as a rare disease, it brings about 41 invisible disabilities hence it has been classified as a disability under the Government of India RPWD Act, 2016.
In India there is little or no support for people living with MS i.e., from medicines to Disability cards & pensions and part of our job is to help those people to get together and improve their health & situation.
The Chennai Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of India in keeping up with the theme of this year which is “Celebrate MS, is having an Evening of Song/ Games, etc., at the Anna Nagar Tower Park from 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm on 5th February 2023, in order to create awareness of MS.
The Chief Guest of the function is Honored by Chief Guest Shri Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Commissioner, Greater Chennai Corporation, Chennai.
The purpose India MS Day campaign is to raise awareness of four key messages in order to improve public knowledge and awareness of MS:
1. There is no known CAUSE or CURE for Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
2. MS is usually diagnosed between the ages of 25 and 40 and lasts a lifetime – KNOWN AS THE “Crippler of the Young Adult”
3. MS symptoms vary from person to person. This makes life with MS unpredictable. There are more “Invisible Symptoms than “Visible Symptoms”.
4. Medicines only stem the progression of the disease.
5. Treatments and services are improving for people with MS, but the costs of treatment are prohibitive
We would like you as the Media, to highlight “What MS is” and its Invisible Symptoms thereby creating awareness of this orphan & rare disease, among the general public.
Our guests today are from MSSI -Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ind/ are Ms. Ann Gonzalez & Smitha Sadasivan
Ms. Ann Gonzalez whose priority today is MSSI the & MS persons. She believes once an MS person comes into our fold it is a lifelong relationship. This is the driving force for this ex-banker who has served at YWCA in various capacities & in many other associations, Her priority today is MSSI. Her driving forces are her siblings who are in the medical field and her strong belief that the Almighty has gifted us a purpose.
Smitha Sadasivan is a Cross-Disability inclusion and accessibility practitioner with Multiple Sclerosis from Chennai. Smitha dons many hats and has multiple roles to play including being a resource person. She is the Accessibility Consultant to the Election Commission of India, apart from being an active member of Disability Rights Alliance India. She is a member of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of India (MSSI). She is associated with different forums, initiatives, and organizations including Vidya Sagar& South Asia Regional Program on Women’s Institute on Leadership and Disability.
Apart from many awards and recognitions, she was awarded the NCPEDP – Mphasis Javed Abidi Public Policy Award for Universal Design, in recognition of her efforts in promoting accessibility for people with disabilities.
Listen in as they share their journey with MSSI and how it has helped patients like Smitha & about India MS day this Sunday, Feb 5th, 2023.
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U n’ I with Rashmi Shetty - Dr. Prakash Sontakke & Khussh Mehta

It’s our 101st episode & it is special. Our guests today are two artists who have gifted the Omkara as a blend of many ideas and expressions uniquely fit into a motivational, yet peaceful musical production.
With the concept of uniting the world, Dr. Prakash Sontakke and Khussh Mehta explore musical fusion on the original vibration of the universe the Omkara. Omkara has been released through Karmik Records.
Dr. PRAKASH SONTAKKE is a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, music producer and composer. Mr Sontakke has innovated this instrument called ‘Swar Veena’ on which he can play the Indian Raga Music as well as western sounding style.
Dr. Sontakke is associated with Grammy award winning albums as a co-composer, vocalist and guitarist on the Grammy Winning Album “WINDS OF SAMSAARA” and with more recent ” DIVINE TIDES” as a song writer. He is the only Indian to have won the Independent World Music Awards, USA and the Nashville Award for composers
KHUSSH MEHTA is a Sound engineer, music producer, vocalist and percussionist, who has dedicated his life to learn the art of audio mastering and how it is the critical step before the LPs, CDs or any audio content on digital platforms reaches the audience. Mr Mehta conceived and patented K-SPHERE which encodes Spatial Audio, Dolby Audio and other popular surround formats to qualify for consumption on even the traditional stereo system. With over two
decades of experience in audio industry, he has mixed and mastered numerous film songs and Television commercials. Mr Mehta is the founder of Karmik Records which was established in mid-2020. Karmik Records is an independent record label dedicated to audio production for independent artist, audio professionals, academics, musicians and audio enthusiasts.
Listen in as they both share the journey to the creation of this single released yesterday the 26th of January, 2023 India’s 74thRepublic Day.
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U n’ I with Rashmi Shetty- Bhavna Toor

It’s our 100th episode & our guest today is Bhavna Toor, the Founder, and CEO of Shenomics, a leadership platform supporting aspiring leaders to live and lead with authenticity, mindfulness and impact. Under Bhavna’s leadership, Shenomics has positively impacted over 100,000 women across all walks of life to date. As an internationally-trained mindfulness and women’s leadership coach, Bhavna has spoken on various platforms including TEDx, and has trained and coached high-potential leaders at leading Fortune 500 companies from around the world.
Bhavna’s prior experience includes mentoring leaders and entrepreneurs as the CEO and Director of the National Social Entrepreneurship Forum, and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the GSF Global Accelerator. Prior to that, Bhavna had a 9-year celebrated career on Wall Street, most recently as a Vice President and Client Portfolio Manager for a portfolio of hedge funds at a top investment firm in New York.
Bhavna has lived and worked in over 7 countries and has an MBA in Social Impact from New York University’s Stern School of Business. Bhavna is the recipient of multiple awards, including WEF’s “Iconic Woman Creating a Better World for All”
Listen in as Bhavna shares what a life defined by service is, listening to the voice within, having faith, and living a life of abundance.
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U n’ I with Rashmi Shetty- Sanjay Mudnaney

Our guest today is Sanjay Mudnaney a coffee lover & cyclist who has been storytelling ever since he can remember & chose to make a career out of it. He believes that stories connect because we have human beings on the other side. And humans are wired for stories.
CMO for over 35 years, marketing strategist, he has helped brands, organizations, startups, solopreneurs, and nonprofits to make an impact, stand out and grow with innovative marketing strategies and storytelling.
His strength is his ability to find stories in organizations, founders, employees, clients, communities, and people and build tribes around stories & started his own entrepreneurial journey at the age of 50.
Sanjay has trained over 500 nonprofits across India in the art and science of storytelling.
As a storyteller, he made 10 short films on Heroes of India and launched the films on YouTube.
Listen in as he shares the power of stories, and how your story is connected to the brand you love. Even though our life is all about stories, we have forgotten the power of the story we carry. He believes stories are born out of gaps.
He is in the process of building a one of its kind storytelling experiential lab bringing together theatre, visual, copy, film, and digital formats with Crow Tales Story Room.
He can be reached at sanjay@crowtales.in
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U n’ I with Rashmi Shetty- Sugandha Sukrutaraj

Our guest today is Sugandha Sukrutaraj, founder of AMBA and author of its pan-India copyrighted © curriculum. An Ashoka Fellow with 18 years of experience in developing a sustainable livelihood solution for adults with moderate to severe intellectual disability, the focus was on visual data entry and peer training. This, along with 11 years of experience in Aviation & IT, gives her the mainstream
know-how for enabling sustainability. AMBA’s concept has been shared with 475 Special Institutions across 25 states in India, helping them become small hubs for Learning and Earning. She was awarded the Ashoka Fellowship in 2007 for her initiative in conceiving the holistic AMBA concept for the moderate to severely intellectually challenged adults who do not have the social skills to work directly in the mainstream. AMBA can only be sustainable with work, with the presence of community participation from individuals and mainstream companies to draw -upon their network to sustain work …
Listen in as she shares her journey, the proud moments, & the current challenge. She along with the team at Amba invites Volunteering Partnerships to generate more opportunities and possibilities of work post Global Automation. Appreciating the Smart minds participating in exploring more opportunities of back-end work from the volunteers’ Network, Sugandha believes that “This support is critical to AMBA and the community they serve going forward as Existing Processes could get further automated. Their target is to enable work to 150000 beneficiaries by 2030.”
AMBA’s Accolades:
BHARATHI SRINIVASAN runner up CII Women exemplar 2017 for education.
CEGEO TEKKAL is the winner of the Hellen Kellar Award in 2016 for being the outstanding employee of the year.
JEET BOPANNA has won the Maciver Rotary Award online during the pandemic
PRIYA CHANDRASHEKARAN manages the virtual curriculum training and is the winner of CII women exemplar 2013 for education.
Women Transforming India Awards (WTI) 2021
Ms. Sugandha Sukrutaraj Senior Citizen Entrepreneur Award 2020 – Runner-up
Digital India Award in the category ‘Good for India-Digital Innovation in Skills and Employment solutions’
AMBA - The Collaboration between Oklahoma University, UNHQ & AMBA to take AMBA Global (beginning 2017-18)
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U n’ I with Rashmi Shetty- Nimal Raghavan

Our guest today is Nimal Raghavan, an Engineer by profession & now an organic farmer and social activist. Born in an agricultural family, in Nadiyam village close to Thanjavur district Nimal, was devasted by the havoc left behind by Cyclone Gaja in his hometown in 2018, that he quit his job in Dubai and moved back to Nadiyam to dedicate his life to the betterment of his homeland.
His passion is for the conservation and rejuvenation of water bodies while raising awareness in his community. He uses modern techniques to restore the 131 water bodies, & is now on the 132nd lake project. He recently won the Better India's Water Warrior award, & is currently focusing on raising awareness of climate change and finding solutions, rejuvenation of water bodies, afforestation, and reforestation, implementing rainwater harvesting systems, and developing Miyawaki forests. He is involved in schools conducting workshops on environmental awareness such as plastic use and wastage, the importance of trees, and planting saplings with students.
Nimal has successfully helped over 200 new graduates find fulfilling employment in their fields. He is an active supporter and is involved in various projects with Government school children, differently abled students, and abandoned senior citizens. His MEGA -Make Earth Green Again - Foundations focuses on and encourages organic farming related to the conservation of native seeds, and has planted 15.2 lakh saplings.
Listen in as Nimal shares the joy of seeing Cauvery water enter a restored lake bed for the first time & the subsequent priceless moments of the meaningful work that he has dedicated himself to.
You can connect with Nimal at:
nimal.raghavan@gmail.com
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U n’ I with Rashmi Shetty- Pallavi Kumar

Our guest today is Ms. Pallavi Kumar, Executive Director- MOHAN Foundation-Delhi NCR. Working for NGOs for the last thirty years, Pallavi has fought for HIV orphans, comforted the specially-abled, and enthused the underprivileged. She currently heads the Delhi-NCR office of MOHAN Foundation, an NGO committed to promoting deceased organ donation in the country.
Pallavi had the opportunity to work with TANKER (Tamil Nādu Kidney Research) Foundation in Chennai, an organization providing subsidized dialysis to patients living with end-stage kidney failure. Her work there helped her understand the plight of patients living with end-stage organ failure requiring a transplant for survival on one hand and the acute shortage of organs in our country on the other.
Armed with this understanding, and her deep passion for the cause, Pallavi set up the Delhi NCR office for the Foundation ten years ago to create awareness of organ donation and to work closely with hospitals to set systems in place to promote organ donation.
Beneath that soft heart, there is a glint of steel that emerged when she braved her way up to conquer the Everest Base camp in 2018 and Mount Kilimanjaro in 2019 with the singular aim of promoting organ donation.
Listen in as Pallavi shares her journey & talks about her meaningful work with “friend-raising”, organ donation, life & death.
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U n’ I with Rashmi Shetty- Roopa Pai

Our guest today is Roopa Pai, one of India’s best-known writers for children. This Bangalore-based author has written over 25 books, ranging from picture books to chapter books and fiction to non-fiction, on themes as varied as sci-fi fantasy, popular science, maths, history, economics, Indian philosophy, life skills, and most recently, medicine. Many of her books are bestsellers and are enjoyed as much by adults as by children.
Her best-known books include the 8-part Taranauts, India’s first fantasy-adventure series for children in English, Ready! 99 Must-Have Skills For The World-Conquering Teenager (And Almost-Teenager), the award-winning national bestseller The Gita For Children, listed by Amazon India as one of ‘100 Indian Books To Read In A Lifetime, and its ‘prequel’ The Vedas And Upanishads For
Children. Her TEDx talk ‘Decoding The Gita, India’s Book Of Answers’ has received over 2 million views to date. Her most recent book for children is ‘Leeches To Slug Glue: 25 Explosive Ideas That Made (And Are Making) Modern Medicine’.
She has also co-authored fitness evangelist and supermodel Milind Soman’s memoir, Made In India, and is currently working on a book of poetry translation, in which she is translating 100 poems of the much-acclaimed Kannada poet, Padma Shri K S Nisar Ahmed, into English. Her most recent book for adults - CubbonPark: The Green Heart of Bengaluru – was released a month ago.
When she is not writing, Roopa can be found leading groups of children and young people on history and heritage walks across her beloved Karnataka, as part of her job as director of a company she co-founded, BangaloreWalks.
Listen in as Roopa shares her philosophy of life & her journey to becoming the popular author she is today.
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U n’ I with Rashmi Shetty- Commander Vijaya G Bopanna

Our guest today is Commander Vijaya G Bopanna, a Pioneer Indian Naval Lady Officer, an accomplished sports personality, and a corporate HR Leader.
She attributes her successes in life to her single-minded focus and supporting family - especially her mother and husband.
She started playing badminton at the age of 12 years. She has been the undisputed state champion of Andhra Pradesh across all categories continuously for 5 years, she won titles at the National level and represented India at the Wimbledon Badminton tournament in 1986. She feels Badminton shaped her personality, dared her to dream beyond the horizon and opened up another wonderful world of Opportunity... The Indian Navy.
She is one of the very few young girls who made it through a tough selection process to become the first Lady officer in the Indian Navy. She served the country for 14 years as part of the Indian Navy & won several awards for her meritorious service. Unfortunately, since women were allowed only in short service commission at that time, she had to make a transition to the corporate after serving the country for 14 years.
Having played sports and served in the Indian Navy, she already had much more to offer than what the corporate jobs required. She has very quickly made her place in the HR Leaders league and served as HR head in some of the reputed companies.
Listen in as Vijaya shares how attributes like Adaptability, Dependability, Handling Success with Humility, Dealing with Setbacks, Game Strategy, Managing & Leading Teams & people, Playing Fair & Straight, Sincerity, Hard Work, Resilience, Service Before Self, Result orientation… were all that she learned on the field both as a sportsperson & a defense professional which she now has put to good use in her HR role & her personal life as well
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U n’ I with Rashmi Shetty- Arundhati Kumar

Arundhati is the founder and the creative force behind her sustainable accessories brand called Beej. Born in a family with mixed parentage, her childhood was deeply influenced by music, art, dance, and books.
Arundhati finished her schooling at Mayo Girls and has an undergraduate degree in Psychology from LSR, Mumbai. An HR professional by career and education, post her management degree,
During her corporate career, She’s worked with various Indian and Global organizations including Indian Hotels, ICICI, Deutsche Bank and Conde Nast.
Arundhati spent 18 years working across industries as a senior HR professional and a leadership and performance coach before starting Beej.
A self-taught designer, Arundhati’s first brush with accessories happened at her father’s leather goods factory where she would spend her time after school and most summers. Her journey with sustainability began a few years ago when she started to read more about climate warming and its impact. What started as small personal lifestyle changes soon became a way of life. Extremely passionate about sustainability and global causes such as climate warming, environment conservation, and reducing plastic pollution and wildlife, she decided to combine her love for the planet with her love for accessories. That became the foundation of Beej.
Her core design approach stems from her belief that style and sustainability can and must co-exist and that’s what led her to work with various plant-based and upcycled leather alternatives in her designs. As a self-taught designer who’s still discovering her own style, her designs are driven by what she looks for in a bag. She says it’s fairly simple, ‘if I wouldn’t be happy carrying the bag, I won’t sell it.’
Arundhati has won several awards during her corporate career and was recently a part of a UNDP and Government of India program where 35 women entrepreneurs were selected to be mentored to help scale and grow their businesses.
As a single mother and someone who did a mid-career pivot at 40, Arundhati believes that her greatest strength, and perhaps her biggest weakness too, is that she’s a dreamer. She sees the world as it can be and not how it is and that’s her energy source.
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