At the Indian Film Festival, Los Angeles

In the melting pot that is called the United States of America, oftentimes we do such a good job of blending in with the lifestyles here at home, slowly -– and perhaps unintentionally –- distancing ourselves from the foreign culture either we or our ancestors brought with us. This concept is even more prevalent for cultures who have second, third, fourth, or greater generations in these United States, whose link to the past of their home culture is often non-existent or indirect, only to be found, at-best, through second-hand accounts or written documents.

Thankfully, the digital age is making it easier to capture the life of our ancestors and capture on record the heart and soul of our respective cultures, allowing us to maintain a fine, delicate balance between honoring our roots whilst also being mindful of the different environment we live in. Using the Internet as a platform to communicate such accounts to the masses, it is becoming easier for younger generations to connect with their elders and maintain a sense of cultural identity while still blending in the greater society that is the United States of America.

For two Indian brothers living half a world away from the culture that spawned their cultural identities, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and his brother Suneel felt compelled to capture the stories of their elders. The timing of their ambitious project could not be better, since the first generation of post-independence Indians to venture beyond their villages, towns and cities in the subcontinent for greener pastures in the United States are in their twilight years. For the generation of Indians in the United States who are hitting the stride of their careers, the last remaining link to the struggles of Indian independence and massive global exploration and emigration is on the verge of disappearing.

Sanjay Gupta

In order to preserve that link, the Guptas launched the Kahani Movement, a non-profit project aimed at inspiring the younger generation of Indian-Americans to capture and share the stories of their ancestors. The focus is on those who emigrated from India to the United States since 1947 — the year India established its independence from British rule.

Thanks to the growing stature of the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, the Gupta brothers stepped away from the full-time projects at CNN and Mozilla and found the perfect platform to launch the Kahani movement…and did so at the festival’s opening ceremonies on April 21st.

“I knew IFFLA was the perfect place for us to launch Kahani,” Suneel Gupta told Buzzine in an exclusive interview. “Kahani is a living, breathing project. A lot of people came to us and confirmed to us the energy we felt in trying to make Kahani a reality, and a lot of people also came to us with ideas on how to make it better.”

Basically a social network bridging the gap between first-generation Indian-Americans and the ancestors who paved the way for South Asians to establish itself as one of the premiere cultural communities in the United States, the Kahani Movement itself has deep roots from the South Asian subcontinent. In fact, the word “Kahani” itself means “story.”

Indeed, the video-based project is all about telling a story, as Suneel Gupta quickly poined out in explaining the essence of the Kahani Project. “The spirit of Kahani is to capture untold stories and provide a platform for those stories to be told,” Suneel candidly told Buzzine. “We wanted to adopt the concept of family members interviewing family members … in an intimate atmosphere.”

Based upon and inspired by the StoryCorps concept founded by Dave Isay, the Kahani Movement hopes to imitate its predecessor in honoring the lives of others through asking insightful questions and intently listening to the answers. A novel idea indeed, Suneel Gupta acknowledges obtaining content is not exactly a walk in the park. Naturally, people have to be willing to take the time to pick up a camera and interview an elder. Sometimes the problem is as simple as not having the proper venue for two family members to have an insightful conversation.

Dave Isay

“How do we get strong content for the site?” Suneel Gupta rhetorically asked. “How do we get people to pick up a camera and talk to their family? This movement is all about inspiring people.”

To help inspire first-generation Indian-Americans to take a few moments and have a candid conversation they otherwise would not have had, the Guptas have thought of hosting a competition, with several people submitting video content of their stories to the Kahani Movement website and have each story up for a vote to the general public. Ideally, the most compelling stories will receive solid public supporting, opening the door for those powerful conversations to be highlighted on larger platforms for greater exposure.

“We’re getting people to just talk to family members, asking questions they would not usually ask and just have a candid conversation,” Suneel Gupta said. “These are questions people would ask at the dinner table or at a family gathering but are not asking, for whatever reason.”

With positive reviews already in the bag at the Kahani Movement launch at IFFLA, the Guptas are continuing in their quest to expand the project. To date, more than 300 people have already signed up through the project’s website to somehow participate with Kahani. Ideally, there are 300 stories to be told, which can lead to 300 more stories, and 300 more, and so on.

To find out more about the interactive narrative project, visit the Kahani Movement website.