Thoda Aur (A Little More)
I am a US-based journalist with roots in India. I am a product manager with a passion for storytelling. Here’s my story.
Most of my life experiences have been defined by a major historical event - the Partition of India in 1947. The Partition made my grandparents refugees and they were pushed to poverty. This led to limited opportunities for the women in my family and no woman from my family was ever allowed to work or pursue higher education, as we were seen as liabilities. Things changed with my birth. Here’s my story:
I was born in Mumbai, India, but spent most of my growth years in Delhi. I have extensive work experience across Europe, US and India. In 2013, I broke the tradition of women not working in my family by starting my career as a TV producer, eventually transitioning to the digital media space. I have helped launch websites and mobile products in a crowded media market in India, targeting more than 1 billion people. I have also worked as a business journalist for 2 years, as a tech consultant, eventually landing my dream job at Deutsche Welle (DW), where I was an online reporter with extensive experience on the field.
I define myself as a tech-savvy journalist, who is always looking to build her skills. I wish to build my own media product in the future, and I see my immediate future as a product manager, building media products and bringing my deep understanding of users across US and India.
I have a Masters in Journalism, with a specialization in Media Innovation from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. I have also completed a Certificate course in Data Science and Visualization from Northwestern.
I also have degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Lady Shri Ram College, India’s top college for Humanities and Social Sciences. In 2022, I was awarded a Postgraduate reporting fellowship by the Pulitzer Center.
In my spare time, I like to trek, learn karate and sing. I am a trained Hindustani Classical singer who has given multiple performances across India. I also like to keep brushing up my German. I have over 8 years of training in German and I continue to brush up my knowledge of the language in the hope that I can eventually settle in a small, quaint German town.
