desi kahanian

Our Story
It began as a wish for more, a wish to enrich a little girl’s life with literature rich in characters
and plots through which she saw her everyday reflected. From that special grandma far away
to the neighborhood friends she plays with, the little girl could read about her life, her unique
experiences of growing up in overlapping cultures.
Many years later, that wish has come true as Kahani, a South Asian literary magazine for
children. It’s the perfect title to reflect the simple but empowering concept of the magazine:
kahani, the Hindi word for story. Named by that special grandma, Kahani would be just that,
a place where the stories of South Asian children—just like that little girl—would be told.
Today, Kahani illuminates the richness and diversity that South Asian cultures bring to North
America. Completely ad-free, full of great stories, art, activities, and fun facts, Kahani is a
must-have for any family, school, or library seeking to empower and educate global citizens.
Our subscribers range from public schools in Clark County, Nevada (the school board bought
subscriptions for all of its elementary, middle, and high schools in the district), to an Oregon
family who adopted their infant daughter from India, to an Indian family in far away
Bermuda who want their children exposed to quality literature that reflects their reality.
We are proud that Kahani is groundbreaking in so many ways. It is the first national
magazine of its kind in North America. It is also the premier platform for talented South
Asian children’s writers and illustrators, both established and upcoming, to showcase their
work. And as a secular and nonpartisan magazine, Kahani welcomes readers of all ethnic and
religious backgrounds.
We encourage parents and children to share in this reading experience together.
For more information about Kahani or to schedule an interview, please contact:
Sunitha Das
Business Director
617-620-2375
www.kahani.com
Kahani Media • P.O. B ox 590155 • Newton Centre MA 02459 • www.kahani.com
Staff
Monika Jain
Editor/Founder
A mother of two, Ms. Jain got tired of checking out Arthur and Nancy Drew books for her young
daughter at the neighborhood library. Needing and not finding literature relevant to her children’s
unique experience—celebrating Diwali with candles bought at Target, stumbling through Hindi
classes every Sunday at Indian school—Ms. Jain embarked on telling their story through Kahani. It
was 2004 and the timing couldn’t have been better.
Raised in Japan, Ms. Jain worked as a reporter/editor for the Associated Press in Tokyo. She moved
to the United States to pursue her master’s degree in broadcasting and after graduating, joined PBS
as a field producer in California. She later moved on to produce a documentary series for Japan’s
NHK television in New York.
Ms. Jain has an M.A. in Broadcast Journalism from Northwestern University and a B.A. in Print
Journalism from the University of Southern California.
Sunitha Das
Business Director
Ms. Das is a bird of many feathers. She is in partnership with her husband at a private marketing
consulting firm, and also works as a gallery instructor at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. But besides
sales and system analysis endeavors, Ms. Das is most proud of having helped set up early
intervention centers for children with mental handicaps in Mumbai, India. She serves on the Parent
Advisory Board at the Price Center, and on committees at the Fessenden School in Newton,
Massachusetts.
Ms. Das has an M.B.A. from Boston University, a B.S. in Information Systems from Purdue
University, and a B.A. in Psychology from India
Sonia Chopra
Creative Director
Echoing the sentiment of many, Ms. Chopra wishes she had a magazine like Kahani when growing
up in America. Now she's making up for lost time so that her nephew, and other children like him,
have access to a publication that is unique yet honestly reflects their childhood. When approached
about joining the Kahani team in 2005, Ms. Chopra jumped on board without hesitation.
Born in Canada and raised in the United States, Ms. Chopra has always been an artist and designer
since she picked up her first crayon. She now runs her own graphic/web/interactive design business
called freshSparks design, with clients around the world. Visit her portfolio site at
www.freshsparks.com. On the off chance away from her Mac, you might find her at Home Depot,
on an airplane, or at an indie rock show.
Ms. Chopra has a B.A. in Architecture and Studio Art from Rice University in Houston, and an
M.F.A. in Design & Technology from Parsons School of Design in NYC.
Kavita Ramchandran
Art Director
Telling children's stories through illustration and design is Ms. Ramchandran's passion. An artist
herself, she brings this same intensity to her job as she directs the work of established as well
as upcoming South Asian illustrators from around the world. The biggest challenge, she says,
is staying sensitive and true to their diasporic voices.
Ms. Ramchandran is the creator/director of Maya, a Nick Jr. original preschool animated short
series that's been screened at film festivals worldwide. She also runs her own art and design studio
at wemakebelieve.com in New York City.
Ms. Ramchandran has an M.F.A. in design from the School of Visual Arts in New York, a post
baccalaureate in advertising design from San Francisco's Academy of Art, and a B.A. from
Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai.
www.kahani.com
Editorial Advisory Board
Lisa Diercks
Director, Publishing and Writing
Graduate Program, Emerson College
Ms. Diercks has taught courses in book design and production, magazine design and production,
and desktop publishing at Boston’s Emerson College since 1996. Ascenders & Descenders, the
book designed and produced by her 1999 book design class, was accepted into the 2000 New
England Book Show; Hot Metal, from her 2002 class, was accepted into the 2003 Book Show;
and Foul, from her 2003 class, made the 2004 Book Show. Ms. Diercks began her career at
Houghton Mifflin/Trade and established her own design studio in 1987. Her publishing clients
have included the Atlantic Monthly; Beacon Press; Boston Common Press; Candlewick; Clarion
Books; HarperCollins; Harvard University Press; Houghton Mifflin; Little, Brown; and the Boston
Museum of Fine Arts. She continues to work on 10-15 publishing projects a year. Chocolate on the
Brain, a book she designed, won an award at the 2002 Book Show.
Nancy Gruver
Founder/Publisher
New Moon magazine
Ms. Gruver is founder and publisher of the groundbreaking international publication, New Moon:
The Magazine for Girls and Their Dreams. Ms. Gruver is a national leader in the movement to
empower girls and foster their creativity and self-confidence. New Moon is an advertising-free
magazine with more than 50,000 readers worldwide and 2,000 bookstore outlets. It has garnered
many awards including nine Parent’s Choice Foundation Awards (including Best Children’s
Magazine, 1995, 1997, 1999-2003), five Educational Press Association of America Design and
Editorial Awards, and a National Association for Multicultural Education Award. Ms. Gruver is a
frequent speaker and media guest on girls’ adolescence, the Girls Movement, and successful
strategies for parents and professionals who live and work with girls 8 to 14 years old. She is also
the recipient of many awards, from Parenting magazine’s Parenting Achievement Award to the
Feminist Majority Foundation’s Feminist of the Year Award.
Uma Krishnaswami
Writer/Teacher
Ms. Krishnaswami is a frequent contributor to Cricket, Highlights, Ladybug and Spider
magazines. She has written many books including The Broken Tusk, winner of the Scientific
American Young Readers Book Award in 1997. She recently published her first novel, Naming
Maya. Through Writers.com, Ms. Krishnaswami teaches an online course on writing for children.
She also conducts a writing workshop for children through the National Park Service at the Aztec
Ruins National Monument in northwest New Mexico.
Mitali Bose Perkins
Writer
Mr. Perkins was born in Kolkata, India, and lived in several continents (Africa, Asia, and Latin
America) before settling with her parents and two sisters in California. Her specialty is writing
about life “between cultures,” and believes that the view is often clearer when you’re straddling
borders. Ms. Perkins is the author of several novels for young readers, including Monsoon
Summer (Random House), The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen (Little Brown),
Rickshaw Girl (Charlesbridge), and a forthcoming two-book series about a President’s daughter
(Dutton/Penguin). She speaks frequently in libraries and schools about writing and about her
experiences of growing up as an immigrant kid. Ms. Perkins is the mother of twin boys and is
married to the Rev. Robert Perkins. They live in Newton, Massachusetts.
www.kahani.com
Business Advisory Board
Desh Deshpande
Chairman, Sycamore Networks
Dr. Deshpande is the chairman of Sycamore Networks, which he founded in 1998. Prior to that,
Dr. Deshpande was founder and chairman of Cascade Communications. Before Cascade, Dr.
Deshpande co-founded Coral Network Corporation in 1988 and was with the company until 1990.
Dr. Deshpande has also worked in various management positions for Codex Corporation, a
subsidiary of Motorola. Before Codex, he taught at Queens University in Kingston, Canada.
Dr. Deshpande serves on the Board of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he
created the MIT’s Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation. The Center serves as a catalyst
for innovation and entrepreneurship by supporting research and collaboration among
entrepreneurs, young companies, and MIT students, alumni, and faculty.
Gita Iyer
IT Specialist, Accenture
Ms. Iyer is an Information Technology specialist with over 17 years experience in Information
Technology consulting. As a senior manager with Accenture, she has consulted with many
companies, both in the public and private sectors. Her clients include Polaroid Corporation,
Liberty Mutual Insurance and Boston Scientific. Ms. Iyer has managed several projects across a
variety of technologies from large mainframe systems to distributed architectures. Prior to
coming to the United States, she worked with Rediffusion Advertising as an Account Executive.
Her experience in marketing combined with her knowledge of technology allows Ms. Iyer to
understand a business requirement and translate it into an appropriate solution that incorporates
the right technology.
Seeme Moreira
RE Specialist, Coldwell Banker
Ms. Moreira has been a real estate specialist with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage for the
past eight years. Prior to that, she worked at Boston Gas Company (now KeySpan Energy) where
she headed the financial accounting department. While at Boston Gas, Ms. Moreira also lead a
demand-side management conservation study which quantified the effectiveness of various
energy efficiency improvements undertaken by the company. Ms. Moreira’s work experience in
Pakistan includes working for the economic unit of the World Bank’s Resident Mission in
Pakistan, Grindley’s Bank (now the Standard Chartered Bank) and Rural Development
Foundation (an NGO working for the economic development of Pakistan’s rural areas).
www.kahani.com
Awards
2008 A Parents’ Choice Approved Award
From the Parents’ Choice Foundation
2007 A Parents’ Choice Approved Award
From the Parents’ Choice Foundation
Judges’ Comments
“Kahani is dedicated to introducing young readers to the children of South Asian descent living in
North America. Although described as an alternative publication, this literary magazine reflects
unique life experiences from which each of us can learn.”
2006 Distinguished Achievement Award
From the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP)
Judges’ Comments
Kahani’s “high quality work incorporates excellence in editorial principles and design elements;
excels in “appropriateness of content for audience, quality of depth and breadth of subject matter
covered; exhibits “uniqueness of approach to addressing subject matter and meeting audience
needs; succeeds at engaging and sustaining reader interest.”
2006 Multicultural Children’s Periodical Award
From the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME)
Judges’ Comments
Kahani “fosters awareness, acceptance and affirmation of diversity for pre-K-12 grade students;
are original works with wide audience appeal that create an interest in multicultural issues;
contributes to the development of multicultural education; are authored by individuals with
appropriate credentials; maintains high multicultural standards.”
www.kahani.com
Pricing and Frequency
Pricing
Kahani is $20 for an annual subscription of four issues.
One-year subscription: $20/4 issues
Two-year subscription: $35/8 issues
The magazine is registered with EBSCO, W.T. Cox, Magazine Subscription Service, and other
vendors.
Frequency
Kahani is a quarterly. It is published in February, May, August, and November.
www.kahani.com