The Transcript

Hello and welcome to the pilot episode of Culturally Ours– a platform that explores cultural diversity from around the world.

I am your host Karthika Gupta and my goal with this podcast is to create a way for us, both you AND me, to connect with people from all over the world to hear their stories and narratives as a way that makes the world around us more accessible, one conversation at a time.

In each episode we will have emotive, heartfelt conversations with everyday people on topics ranging from lifestyle, culture, food, art and travel as a way to share perspectives that evoke real and authentic interactions with each other.

Someone once said to me, ‘Where we are from is who we are’. My journey has certainly been one of movement. I left home when I was 21 and moved thousands of miles away from all that I knew and held dear. For years I juggled both sides of my culture and my identity never knowing which way to turn – they both felt right and wrong at the same time. I journeyed through decades of the education system, corporate America and finally the entrepreneurial dream before I realized the full truth that statement held.

Now years later, I have understood that where I come from is such a huge part of who I am – my core being. It defines how I raise my family, how I live my life and how I pursue my dreams. And you know what, where I am NOW is equally important on how I learn to navigate the rest of my life.

Diversity is such a beautiful thing, my friends. It opens you up to different perspectives, different ideas and different opportunities. The more we understand, the more we begin to appreciate what it is truly means. And appreciation brings empathy and acceptance.

My promise with this show is to connect you to people from different parts of the world to explore global diversity without prejudice, religious bias or a political agenda. Our conversations will be casual, informative, engaging and most importantly, inclusive.

I am so excited to start this journey to bring global cultural diversity to the table and invite you to pull up a chair, turn up the volume, and lean in with an open mind for a listen.

I leave you with these beautiful words from writer Arianna Schioldager…she writes

“We can no more finish a novel with missing pages than we can write off a person whom we’ve taken no the time to get to know”

Welcome to CulturallyOurs!