A new kind of celebrity

Venil Ali
  • 5.0 (2)
  • PERSONAL JOURNALS
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

A new kind of celebrity showcases stories of individuals who are breaking barriers, overcoming obstacles and making the world a better place. A show that aspires to redefine the word 'Celebrity' as a person who needs to be celebrated. If you are looking for some positive stories, or to be inspired, or to act or make the world a better place. Join us as we celebrate individuals, learn from their experience, leadership and wisdom and feel inspired by their journey. Listen on and join the community. Become a new kind of celebrity. #Inspire #Leadership #Journey #Changemakers #Impact #SocialImpact

  1. MONISHA & KEYA HATKAR - Dancing on Wheels - Redefining SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) as I M Possible.

    FEB 28

    MONISHA & KEYA HATKAR - Dancing on Wheels - Redefining SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) as I M Possible.

    What happens when your daily life is a high-stakes battle against biology? What happens when a "terminal" diagnosis meets an unstoppable spirit? If you are the Hatkar's, then you 'Dance on wheels.' In this episode, we are joined by the powerhouse duo Monisha and Keya Hatkar, a mother and daughter who are transforming the narrative around Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) from one of limitation to one of limitless impact. Keya, a 15-year-old, is a recepient of the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, a three-time author (Dancing on my Wheels, I M Possible, A book on how to write books) , a TEDx speaker and a podcaster. She has won multiple awards at the National Young Authors Fair for her books. She doesn't view her wheelchair as a limitation but a platform to dance on. Her mother, Monisha Hatkar, is a professionally qualified architect who spent 25+ years in corporate real estate before pivoting her life to become a "Chief Belief Officer" for her daughter. A podcaster and community builder, today she is building the world's largest community on Inclusion. Through iniatives like I M Possible, SMAARTR, they aim to generate revenue to build sustainability and self sufficiency for people affected by rare diseases. At month 10, Keya was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a rare progressive genetic disease. The doctors gave her 2 years to live, with Monisha's approach to life, they have far from beaten those odds. SMA affects 1 in 10,000 people and is one of the world's most expensive medical interventions costing crores of rupees each year. #rarediseases #SMA #resilience

    49 min
  2. PRADEEP & PREM - Generational change in tribal Maharashtra - EP38

    JAN 14

    PRADEEP & PREM - Generational change in tribal Maharashtra - EP38

    Is Artificial Intelligence (AI) truly going to take over jobs across India? For rural and tribal areas, this feels far from reality. Melghat was the first tiger reserve created in Maharashtra. More than a 100 villages in the Melghat Forest Area, Maharashtra do not have simple mobile phone connectivity, most of them do not have paved roads as well. Taking a zoom call means travelling 40-60 kms to the nearest town. In the midst of these challenges, there are many literacy, malnutrition and employment challenges. Sadaya Foundation is quietly changing these statistics by working to provide quality education and nutrition to tribal communities. Led by a seasoned social worker Pradeep David and a young member of the Korku tribe, Prem, there is a fascinating story about intergenerational change that you must listen too. We are fundraising for solar electrification of two village centres, along with network boosters, laptops and bikes for transportation. If you would like to suppport this initiative, you can donate here.#education #tribal #rural #empowerment #intergenerational

    43 min
  3. JOANN McPIKE - The traveling school - EP37

    05/19/2025

    JOANN McPIKE - The traveling school - EP37

    Have you ever imagined a school without any building? Have you ever wished to take a year off and travel the world? Joann McPike has created a traveling school! Joann is a New Zealand native, an avid traveler and a photographer. She founded Think Global School (TGS) where students travel to 12 countries across 3 years. Everything they study is connected to the context of the country they are in. Traditional schools tend to focus on content to be taught. They have to make an extra effort to make learning relevant, with real - life applicability and build future skills like communication, critical thinking, creativity, adaptability, empathy etc. Think Global School by design keeps relevance, real-life applicability and future skills in the centre, with content being a mere vehicle. Listen in to learn more about the motivation, design, successes, challenges and lessons learnt. NOTE - This conversation was recorded in 2023 over zoom. #education #school #futureskills #skilleducation #projectbasedlearning #innovation

    34 min
  4. AMBUJAM VENKATRAMAN - Secret sauce of a 'Super-Ager' - EP36

    04/09/2025

    AMBUJAM VENKATRAMAN - Secret sauce of a 'Super-Ager' - EP36

    Lifestyle and pollutants of today's world has fundamentally changed the profile of health and disease. Many diseases onset or diagnosis is showing up a couple of decades earlier. In India 50% of the heart attacks post 2020 are of people below the age of 40! A study showed that 20% of the cancer diagnosis were also people below the age of 40. Along with this, the flipside exists as well. We have 'Super-Agers.' These are people 80 years and above with cognitive function comparable to those 20-30 years younger, along with better mobility and better control on all parameters. A research shares that there maybe less than 10% of the population who qualify as Super-Agers Today, we celebrate one such Super-Ager, Ambujam Venkatraman, a 92 year old inspiring lady who currently writes and publishes an Income Tax Law journal, regularly practices yoga and lives independently. We speak about her motivation, inspiration and practices that drive her. #superager #health #motivation #purpose

    32 min
  5. USHA CHAUMAR - From Manual Scavenging to Padma Shri - EP35 [HINDI]

    05/16/2022

    USHA CHAUMAR - From Manual Scavenging to Padma Shri - EP35 [HINDI]

    This episode we celebrate Usha Chaumar. Usha is a social worker from Alwar, Rajasthan, India. From age 7, she used to work as a manual scavenger, or do the work of maila doni as it is called in her region. She is the President of Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, the non-profit arm of Sulabh International. In 2020, she received the Padma Shri honour from the Government of India for her contribution in the field of social work. Bindeshwar Pathak was instrumental in her journey, you can listen to his journey in episode 11.

    50 min

  6. 04/25/2022

    ANOOP PARIK - Education, the gateway to opportunities - EP34

    Education has many obvious benefits, but did you know that Universal secondary education could virtually end child marriage, or that each year of education reduces the risk of conflict by around 20% or that one extra year of schooling increases an individual's earnings by up to 10%. Learn how our guest Anoop Parik works to do this for his students in an area of Mumbai, India where 78% of the population lives in slums, the life expectancy is 38 years and which has a human development index of 0.05.  Anoop Parik is a librarian, teacher, and football coach who has been working with the children and youngsters of Shivaji Nagar for over a decade. He quit teaching in the formal education sector in 2019 and since then has set up a youth community centre, The Next Page, library, and sports programme with the help of youngsters in the community. He was working as an academic counsellor in a college in Ohio before he moved back to India for the Teach For India Fellowship.   NOTE - This conversation was recorded over Zoom. In case you have feedback or guest suggestions, please write to anewkindofcelebrity@gmail.com. If you want technical or consultancy support to launch your podcast, write to reachus@disorientedpenguin.com #Education #Interview #Inspiration #Leadership #Arts #Sports #Library #Reading #Books #CommunityCentre #AfterSchoolCentre

    38 min

  7. 04/18/2022

    DEBORAH LEVINE - Diversity Appreciation & Inclusion - EP33

    There are 7000+ different languages in the world, and 4200+ different religions, faith groups, tribes etc. Our guest, Deborah Levine, speaks about how to thrive, appreciate and encourage such diversity.  Deborah Levine is the founder and editor in chief of American Diversity Report. She is an award-winning author of 15 books, and Forbes Magazine Diversity And Inclusion Trailblazer. Deborah has 33 years experience as a change maker in challenging times. Deborah is a Designer of Cognitive Diversity using emotion metrics, neuro-communication, and decision-optimization. With her considerable experience in program planning, community interface, teaching and management, she designs DEI projects that boost inclusion efforts on multiple levels. Deborah has also founded Chattanooga’s Women’s Council of Diversity. She has received awards from the Women’s Federation for World Peace and Nation of Women.   In the episode we speak about her journey, personal background that influenced her work as a Diversity specialist, along with strategies to build diversity appreciation.  NOTE - This conversation was recorded over Zoom. In case you have feedback or guest suggestions, please write to anewkindofcelebrity@gmail.com. If you want technical or consultancy support to launch your podcast, write to reachus@disorientedpenguin.com #diversity #inclusion #equity #diversityequityinclusion #DEI #culture #arts #interview #selfdevelopment

    38 min

  8. 03/21/2022

    ZOHAIR DIWAN - Nobody Ever Sleeps Hungry - EP32

    Globally, about 9% of the world’s population — 811 million people — go to bed on an empty stomach each night. Every thirteen seconds, a child dies from the effects of hunger. On the other hand, it is estimated that nearly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year gets lost or wasted.  In this episode, we celebrate Zohair Diwan. Zohair Diwan is a metal artist  and the founder of the organisation Nobody Ever Sleeps Hungry (NESH). Nobody Ever Sleeps Hungry started with providing food to people in need in some communities in Mumbai and evolved during the pandemic to provide oxygen cylinders, medicines in addition to food. NESH is now a huge community of various stakeholders united by a common purpose.  We speak about the evolution of NESH from feeing 100 meals to over 100,000 meals, the motivation and the operations to start something like this. We speak about the building of a network and community which replicated the idea of NESH across the entire city.  #inspiration #leadership #community #hunger #eradicatehunger #poverty #interview #changemaker #socialimpact  Note - This conversation was recorded over Zoom. In case you have feedback or guest suggestions, please write to anewkindofcelebrity@gmail.com. If you want technical or consultancy support to launch your podcast, write to reachus@disorientedpenguin.com

    38 min
See All (40)

Trailer

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

A new kind of celebrity showcases stories of individuals who are breaking barriers, overcoming obstacles and making the world a better place. A show that aspires to redefine the word 'Celebrity' as a person who needs to be celebrated. If you are looking for some positive stories, or to be inspired, or to act or make the world a better place. Join us as we celebrate individuals, learn from their experience, leadership and wisdom and feel inspired by their journey. Listen on and join the community. Become a new kind of celebrity. #Inspire #Leadership #Journey #Changemakers #Impact #SocialImpact

Information

  • Creator
    Venil Ali
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    40
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Venil Ali
  • Show Website
    A new kind of celebrity