August 15, 2025 • 19 mins
Join Visit Bentonville and the Ra-Ve Cultural Foundation Executive Director, Srividya Venkatasubramanya, as we share the founding story, the importance of tradition, and building a bridge between cultures.
Whether you're a visitor or local, this episode is packed with heartwarming stories and reasons to plan a trip around one of Ra-Ve's next events.
Coming up quick! Come on over to see international Indian artists performing on September 19 at the Record. Learn more at ra-veculturalfoundation.org/
A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Welcome back to A New American Town.
I'm Natalie from VisitBentonville.
Today, we're joined by the RaveCultural Foundation, a
non-profit dedicated topromoting Indian performing arts
in Northwest Arkansas From artworkshops, music and more.
They're focused on connectingcommunity.
I'm joined by the executivedirector, shravidya.
We'll explore how Rave isbuilding cultural bridges
(00:35):
through music and storytelling,what's behind this
transformation and how you canbe a part of it.
Whether you're a music loverlooking to connect with
Bentonville's rich culture orjust looking for something
unique, this episode is yourguide.
Let's get into it.
Thanks for joining me today.
So, starting with you, whatbrought you to Bentonville and
how did you find your way to theRave Cultural Foundation?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Okay, so to be honest , I didn't even know there was a
place called Bentonville.
I didn't know there was a statecalled Arkansas.
I knew Kansas thanks to Dorothyand the yellow big road, right,
I mean, like all the way inIndia we have watched Wizard of
Oz and we just love it and so,um, so I swear I didn't know
(01:18):
there was a place calledArkansas.
I mean, typically for theaverage Indian, you know, coming
to the US, I think it's justNew York and California and you
know pretty much Maybe Texas,yeah, and I got married and came
to the US in 2001 and wentstraight to Minneapolis.
So I didn't even know there wasa place called Minneapolis.
You know, or that there is amiddle part to America, or
(01:38):
something I learned, you know,after I landed there.
And what a beautiful place.
I really enjoyed my time inMinnesota in spite of all the
cold and everything, but reallyI think it pushed me into what
America is really about.
And then we moved here.
My husband got a job here atWalmart and that's how he used
(02:00):
to work for Northwest Airlines,which is now part of Delta.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Okay, that makes so much sense.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
So that's why we ended up there.
And then he got this job atSam's Club and now he works in
Walmart and yeah, that's thereason we moved here.
Yeah, and when I moved here,the funny part was that we drove
.
You know, I'm talking 17 yearsago.
We were driving from theairport towards downtown
(02:29):
Bentonville.
Like this was the discoverymeeting or whatever.
You know that first meeting.
They want the family to comeand see what the place is like
and everything.
So me carrying an infant of sixmonths and, you know, a
four-year-old girl, and you knowI'm like, okay, where are we
going?
What is this?
And the first thing I see iscows.
And I come from the airport, Isee cows and I started laughing.
(02:50):
I said I've grown up in citieswith no cows.
That's so funny.
Yeah, I grew up like I'm acomplete city girl.
I was born in Chennai and thenI grew up in Delhi, which is the
capital city of India, and soI've like, grown up in these
huge massive cities cosmopolitancities country.
(03:12):
You're like where am I, likethis is like that's it like four
streets and that this isbentonville, like what is this?
Yeah, so, so, yeah, so that waslike it was quite a shock, you
know, when I first came.
But yeah, 17 years, fastforward, 17 years, I think I'm,
I'm glad to here, I'm happy thekids have grown up.
Now we have a double graduationnext year high school and
(03:34):
college.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, bentonville is awesome.
Bentonville has changed so muchin 17 years.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
And I think I'm very grateful for that change,
because if it had not changed inthe past 17 years, we most
probably wouldn't have continuedbeing here.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Well, and it set a great foundation for the Rave
Cultural Foundation.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Oh, the minute the museum opened we were like I was
like, okay, we are staying,there's a museum in town, Cool
yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
So what sparked the idea for you to start Rave?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
So Rave came from.
So when I moved here 17 yearsago, my children were really
young and I wanted my childrento learn indian music and dance,
because it's a very beautifulway to be in touch with your
heritage.
And I found people who wereteaching Indian classical music
(04:29):
and dance at that time here, andwhat I realized was that all
the community events in theIndian community were based off
Bollywood.
Oh wow, see, for an immigrantgroup, right, popular culture is
the easiest, the low-hangingfruit, it's the easiest to keep
(04:51):
up with you know there's alatest bollywood hit, and you
put it on and your kids aredancing for it and you dress up,
you know, however, and andyou're done.
Yeah, but culture, tradition,takes a lot more investment and
a lot more consistency, yeah,you know.
So what I realized was therewas a whole bunch of children I
(05:11):
want to say about 100 plus kidstotal that were going to all
these music and dance classeslearning Indian traditional,
like Bharatanatyam and Carnaticmusic and things like that, but
when they performed on stage,like you know, when they came to
these events, they would bedoing like the latest Bollywood
hip swing and you know, whatever.
Yeah, not that I have anythingagainst that, but there was no
(05:34):
platform right for traditional,for the traditional culture of
India which we, we, even today,you know, like.
If you listen to some of ourpopular songs, you will hear a
swara pattern in the middle.
It is, it's just part of who youare.
You know.
You may find new uh expressionsfor it.
(05:56):
You know modern expressions forit.
There was a latest.
I saw one girl, you know she'spart of some, uh, some kind of a
rock band or something.
She's playing the guitar andshe was doing conical.
Conical is like the verbal, umthe verbal, um.
What do you call it?
Speaker 1 (06:16):
like, uh, russian of rhythm you know like yeah, that
makes sense, yeah say it.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
You know it's like a rap and they'll say it before
they play it, okay, you know.
So that's called conical andshe was doing that.
She was wearing this, like youknow.
I mean, I didn't even know thatshe was of indian origin or
anything.
You know, I would have justtaken her as any band, you know,
latest band, whatever and shehad this short hair and this and
she's got this big guitar inher hand and then she's doing
(06:47):
conical.
I was like, and the drummer wasresponding he's a white guy,
you know, on the drums and thatguy is like responding to her,
conical.
I was just blown.
I said and that's it.
You know that that's the point.
That's what I wanted to see.
You know, I wanted thesechildren to understand that
there is a place for who theyare.
(07:07):
You know the identity, becausewhen you're an immigrant, you
know you try to cater to thebroader culture.
You know, because you want tobecome a part, you don't want to
stand out, you don't want tofit in, want to make connections
, want to meet new people.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
You've grown a community here of your own, and
that was my intention.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
You know there's no need for an Indian to feel bad
about their past or theirculture or anything.
Yeah, I mean you know you eatcertain things, we eat certain
things, that's it you know Iwould like to eat what you're
eating and I hope you like toeat what I eat?
yeah, I do we have some goodIndian restaurants.
So that's that's kind of wherewe started.
(07:48):
You know, we started withtrying to create that platform.
We were doing, my friend and I,nandini and I we did an annual
event called Sargam, which wasjust one event a year where we
tried to bring in, you know, allthe local artists and sometimes
we invited artists from outside.
You know, know that wereupcoming or things like that,
(08:11):
and we just it would be purelike traditional music and
things like that.
And then we did that for Ithink about seven, eight years
or something like that.
And then the two of us gotburnt out.
We were like, okay, somethingneeds to give our kids were
growing.
I mean it's just a crazy time,you know.
And then life happened, my, Ilost my parents suddenly, you
(08:34):
know, like just out of the blue,within six months, in 2016-2017
, like I lost both of them, andthe worst part was they were in
India.
I was here, you know, so Iwasn't even there with them and
it was just sudden, and so atthat point of time, I just had
this moment, you know, like anepiphany.
You know, like, what am Ireally like?
(08:56):
What is this life all about?
Right, I mean, what am I reallytrying to do here?
What am I going to do withwhatever money I'm earning, or
you know what?
What am I leaving behind for mykids?
Very selfish, you know, I wasnot thinking community, nothing.
I was just like, okay, you know, will my children?
Because my daughter, you know,because my daughter, you know,
she went she's, she went topreschool here and she also
(09:19):
graduated from BHS, okay, and sothroughout those 13 years, 14
years of schooling, you know,she came to me.
Like, even at the beginning,she had some trouble.
And then, at the end of, youknow, on the eve of her
graduation, she told me, shesaid, mom, you know, I go and I,
(09:39):
you know, if I sit with mywhite friends they're cool, like
you know.
They'll give me a spot, we'llchat everything, but if I'm
sitting with my Desii friends,then my white friend won't join
me, and that's something shenoticed and felt bad about.
Yeah, you know, this is notsomething I asked her or
anything, it's just a commentshe made, you know, and that
(10:01):
really struck me.
I said why?
Why is that?
You know, why are we stillseeing these differences?
Right, I mean, we are in 2025.
Why are we still seeing?
Because there is no differencein that sense.
So Rave came from that.
It came from that need.
Yes to just so that we canlearn more about each other.
(10:21):
I think, and for me personally,it was just as important that
we Indians learn about you knowthe Ozark culture, or you know
the Southern culture or Americanculture overall, as that's as
important as you know otherslearning about you know what
Indian music is about or dance,and these are just easier
(10:43):
conversations to have than youknow straight away to pounce
into religion or politics orsomething like that, more
complicated like that.
So that's why we just stick toyou know the music?
Yeah, exactly, we do theeverybody.
Come, let's eat samosas.
I think I've influenced quite afew community events in the
area to have yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
I know that's what I wanted to talk about.
I wanted to talk about all thefun festivals and community
events.
I feel like every year, youguys have got your hands and
feet in everything and it's sogreat, you guys?
Yeah, what do you want to talkabout?
You guys just worked withdowntown Bentonville for the
first Friday Festival of Nations, which has come a long way, and
(11:27):
I feel like you have a lot todo with that.
So I would love to know how youinfluence.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
This was, I think, before COVID, right, I mean, I
think I want to say because westarted in 2018.
That's when I established theyou know.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
After, like the yearly event, you were like this
is going to be differentBecause, like I said, I lost my
parents and then I was like,okay, what do I do?
Speaker 2 (11:56):
I want to do something and I just was not.
I run the Kumon you know mathand reading center in Rogers and
I was just not, somehow I wasnot comfortable starting another
business like, yeah, that wassomehow, I tried, but I just
didn't feel happy about it.
And then I kind of came back tothis annual event that I'd been
doing and I was like nobody isstill doing anything in that
direction.
You know it's still the same.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Whatever was there when I had come 17 years ago and
it's just so authentic to youand who you are.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
There's nobody who really wanted to take on the
mantle of, you know, promotingIndian traditional culture.
So then I said, okay, let me doit.
And I kind of had no idea whatnon-profit was, nothing.
I just said I'm going to do it,I'll figure it out.
We started, we had events and,very grateful to, you know, my
daughter's violin teacher, sriVittal Ramamurthy.
(12:43):
He's a very world-renownedCarnatic violinist and he was
the first one to kind of say,yes, I'll come and play in
Bentonville for you, you know,because even for Indian artists
they were like what Bentonville?
Where is Bentonville?
I can imagine.
Yeah, so it's been a journeyyou know You're also like at all
(13:03):
levels.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
You're informing a whole community outside of
Arkansas that, wow, yeah, makesthat, makes sense, that, yeah, I
mean it takes, it takes, so ittakes a whole village.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
You know, if he had not said yes, and you know, if a
person of his stature had notcome and perform for us, we
would not have been able toinvite the next set of people.
And same thing with RukminiVijaykumar.
You know, she's aninternational Bharatanatyam star
, like I mean, she also doessome contemporary dancing also.
(13:36):
She does, and she's just anamazing artist.
And she also agreed.
You know, she was also like shewas the first dancer whoever
came, you know, and didworkshops and things like that,
and and that made a hugedifference.
That meant so much to us.
So these two artists, you know,and did workshops and things
like that, and and that made ahuge difference.
That meant so much to us.
So these two artists, you know,I can never forget them.
I mean, they are like my.
You know, thank you so much forcoming, because, because they
(13:58):
came, other artists were alsoopen to coming.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
They were like oh you know, vittal sir has come, or
Rukmini has come yes absolutelythat made a huge difference and
there's so many different kindsof people that go.
I watched your cute littlevideo on your website of how the
community kind of has respondedto some of your events and
seeing everyone from alldifferent walks of life, in
different ages and everyone justbeing so willing to learn and
(14:24):
to listen and to appreciate andto dive in a different culture.
It's beautiful what you guysare creating.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Absolutely, and that's what sets Ravi apart from
a lot of other Indianorganizations, even in the
entire US, that's doing anythinglike this.
Our audience is so diverse andthat's the whole point of Ravi.
We want just we don't, we don't.
Yes, we see the differences,but we don't see the differences
(14:54):
to celebrate just thedifferences, but to find those
common elements.
You know, we all dance incircles, we all do that every
culture has it Name, a culturethat doesn't have some form of
dancing in a circle, right,right, and that is what we want
to like.
The first time we did, we hadthis.
(15:17):
So there's a state calledHimachal Pradesh in India which
is in the Himalayas, okay, andthey have some very unique folk
dances and things like that, andwe found actually a small
community of people here inBentonville from that state and
a couple of them knew thosedances and things.
(15:39):
So we put a group together,they taught us those dances and
then they went and performed.
We did a family day at CrystalBridges Museum.
It was such a hit because wehad all these little little kids
and wonderful moms, you know,trying to come and you know, try
out the dance and it was socool and that's it.
You know, just give it a try,you know, just, I mean nothing,
(16:01):
it's fun, exactly.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Exactly so much.
Life isn't that serious andthere's so much to learn and get
excited about.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
You know I mean, why not so?
Speaker 1 (16:11):
well, wrapping up, tell me more about the concert
in September.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
So on September 19,.
Wrapping up, tell me more aboutthe concert in september.
So on september 19th, we haveour music master concert called
sacred winds and it bringstogether, you know, indian,
hindustani traditional musicalong with jazz, like with a
saxophone, so flute, saxophoneand tabla.
And the tabla player he'sShubhane Chatterjee.
(16:39):
He was nominated for theGrammys and he's an oh my gosh,
what a talented person.
I mean I got the opportunity tovisit him and his school and
his studio and everything inCalcutta when I had gone last
year and just amazing,mind-blowing.
(16:59):
I mean he's a gem of India,like.
I mean he's one of those topartists.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Coming to Bentonville .
Speaker 2 (17:06):
That's really cool and this is the second time, so
I'm so excited.
And this year, specifically, wewill also have our fundraising
dinner along with the concert.
So hopefully people will… Inthe same dinner along with the
concert.
So hopefully people will In thesame night.
Yes, okay, it's all going to beone after the other, you know,
we will have the music, a fullexperience, yes, and the dinner
(17:26):
will be like, because it's goingto be, because the event is,
you know, jazz and Hindustani,so the dinner also is going to
be very interesting.
It's going to be veryinteresting.
It's going to be a littlebecause India was colonized by
(17:47):
the British, so there are a lotof western food items that we
still eat even today, and it'sjust part of Indian culture, you
know, I mean, it's nothing tosay that oh, you know, this is
we won't eat this because it wasnothing like that.
It's just all.
We, we love cutlets, like wecall them cutlets.
Uh, they are like your um hashbrown kind of thingies you know,
because, yeah, potatoes, yeah,and uh, we, uh, you know.
So we're gonna have somethinglike that and we'll have the
(18:08):
indians, but very differentindian food, you know, not the
kind you'll get when you go tothe local restaurants.
So it's going to be real fun,the dinner, and that's one of
our biggest fundraising eventsalso for us, and we have a very
special, special announcementalso coming up about our master
concert.
(18:28):
I won't say anything, but wehave a surprise.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Okay, wow, that sounds amazing.
I can't wait for people toexperience it.
If you haven't gotten yourtickets yet or haven't planned
your trip, you guys need to comeand plan your trip just to
experience the master concert inseptember.
Um, it's really.
It's worthwhile and so unique.
Um, thank you so much for beingon our podcast today.
This was so fun and can't waitto see what else you guys do in
(18:54):
our community.
Absolutely thank you for havingme.
Yeah, as always, if you guyswant to learn more about
Bentonville, go tovisitbentonvillecom or follow us
on social at visit Bentonville.
See you next time.
Bye.
Welcome back to A New American Town.
I'm Natalie from VisitBentonville.
Today, we're joined by the RaveCultural Foundation, a
non-profit dedicated topromoting Indian performing arts
in Northwest Arkansas From artworkshops, music and more.
They're focused on connectingcommunity.
I'm joined by the executivedirector, shravidya.
We'll explore how Rave isbuilding cultural bridges
(00:35):
through music and storytelling,what's behind this
transformation and how you canbe a part of it.
Whether you're a music loverlooking to connect with
Bentonville's rich culture orjust looking for something
unique, this episode is yourguide.
Let's get into it.
Thanks for joining me today.
So, starting with you, whatbrought you to Bentonville and
how did you find your way to theRave Cultural Foundation?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Okay, so to be honest , I didn't even know there was a
place called Bentonville.
I didn't know there was a statecalled Arkansas.
I knew Kansas thanks to Dorothyand the yellow big road, right,
I mean, like all the way inIndia we have watched Wizard of
Oz and we just love it and so,um, so I swear I didn't know
(01:18):
there was a place calledArkansas.
I mean, typically for theaverage Indian, you know, coming
to the US, I think it's justNew York and California and you
know pretty much Maybe Texas,yeah, and I got married and came
to the US in 2001 and wentstraight to Minneapolis.
So I didn't even know there wasa place called Minneapolis.
You know, or that there is amiddle part to America, or
(01:38):
something I learned, you know,after I landed there.
And what a beautiful place.
I really enjoyed my time inMinnesota in spite of all the
cold and everything, but reallyI think it pushed me into what
America is really about.
And then we moved here.
My husband got a job here atWalmart and that's how he used
(02:00):
to work for Northwest Airlines,which is now part of Delta.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Okay, that makes so much sense.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
So that's why we ended up there.
And then he got this job atSam's Club and now he works in
Walmart and yeah, that's thereason we moved here.
Yeah, and when I moved here,the funny part was that we drove
.
You know, I'm talking 17 yearsago.
We were driving from theairport towards downtown
(02:29):
Bentonville.
Like this was the discoverymeeting or whatever.
You know that first meeting.
They want the family to comeand see what the place is like
and everything.
So me carrying an infant of sixmonths and, you know, a
four-year-old girl, and you knowI'm like, okay, where are we
going?
What is this?
And the first thing I see iscows.
And I come from the airport, Isee cows and I started laughing.
(02:50):
I said I've grown up in citieswith no cows.
That's so funny.
Yeah, I grew up like I'm acomplete city girl.
I was born in Chennai and thenI grew up in Delhi, which is the
capital city of India, and soI've like, grown up in these
huge massive cities cosmopolitancities country.
(03:12):
You're like where am I, likethis is like that's it like four
streets and that this isbentonville, like what is this?
Yeah, so, so, yeah, so that waslike it was quite a shock, you
know, when I first came.
But yeah, 17 years, fastforward, 17 years, I think I'm,
I'm glad to here, I'm happy thekids have grown up.
Now we have a double graduationnext year high school and
(03:34):
college.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, bentonville is awesome.
Bentonville has changed so muchin 17 years.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
And I think I'm very grateful for that change,
because if it had not changed inthe past 17 years, we most
probably wouldn't have continuedbeing here.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Well, and it set a great foundation for the Rave
Cultural Foundation.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Oh, the minute the museum opened we were like I was
like, okay, we are staying,there's a museum in town, Cool
yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
So what sparked the idea for you to start Rave?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
So Rave came from.
So when I moved here 17 yearsago, my children were really
young and I wanted my childrento learn indian music and dance,
because it's a very beautifulway to be in touch with your
heritage.
And I found people who wereteaching Indian classical music
(04:29):
and dance at that time here, andwhat I realized was that all
the community events in theIndian community were based off
Bollywood.
Oh wow, see, for an immigrantgroup, right, popular culture is
the easiest, the low-hangingfruit, it's the easiest to keep
(04:51):
up with you know there's alatest bollywood hit, and you
put it on and your kids aredancing for it and you dress up,
you know, however, and andyou're done.
Yeah, but culture, tradition,takes a lot more investment and
a lot more consistency, yeah,you know.
So what I realized was therewas a whole bunch of children I
(05:11):
want to say about 100 plus kidstotal that were going to all
these music and dance classeslearning Indian traditional,
like Bharatanatyam and Carnaticmusic and things like that, but
when they performed on stage,like you know, when they came to
these events, they would bedoing like the latest Bollywood
hip swing and you know, whatever.
Yeah, not that I have anythingagainst that, but there was no
(05:34):
platform right for traditional,for the traditional culture of
India which we, we, even today,you know, like.
If you listen to some of ourpopular songs, you will hear a
swara pattern in the middle.
It is, it's just part of who youare.
You know.
You may find new uh expressionsfor it.
(05:56):
You know modern expressions forit.
There was a latest.
I saw one girl, you know she'spart of some, uh, some kind of a
rock band or something.
She's playing the guitar andshe was doing conical.
Conical is like the verbal, umthe verbal, um.
What do you call it?
Speaker 1 (06:16):
like, uh, russian of rhythm you know like yeah, that
makes sense, yeah say it.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
You know it's like a rap and they'll say it before
they play it, okay, you know.
So that's called conical andshe was doing that.
She was wearing this, like youknow.
I mean, I didn't even know thatshe was of indian origin or
anything.
You know, I would have justtaken her as any band, you know,
latest band, whatever and shehad this short hair and this and
she's got this big guitar inher hand and then she's doing
(06:47):
conical.
I was like, and the drummer wasresponding he's a white guy,
you know, on the drums and thatguy is like responding to her,
conical.
I was just blown.
I said and that's it.
You know that that's the point.
That's what I wanted to see.
You know, I wanted thesechildren to understand that
there is a place for who theyare.
(07:07):
You know the identity, becausewhen you're an immigrant, you
know you try to cater to thebroader culture.
You know, because you want tobecome a part, you don't want to
stand out, you don't want tofit in, want to make connections
, want to meet new people.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
You've grown a community here of your own, and
that was my intention.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
You know there's no need for an Indian to feel bad
about their past or theirculture or anything.
Yeah, I mean you know you eatcertain things, we eat certain
things, that's it you know Iwould like to eat what you're
eating and I hope you like toeat what I eat?
yeah, I do we have some goodIndian restaurants.
So that's that's kind of wherewe started.
(07:48):
You know, we started withtrying to create that platform.
We were doing, my friend and I,nandini and I we did an annual
event called Sargam, which wasjust one event a year where we
tried to bring in, you know, allthe local artists and sometimes
we invited artists from outside.
You know, know that wereupcoming or things like that,
(08:11):
and we just it would be purelike traditional music and
things like that.
And then we did that for Ithink about seven, eight years
or something like that.
And then the two of us gotburnt out.
We were like, okay, somethingneeds to give our kids were
growing.
I mean it's just a crazy time,you know.
And then life happened, my, Ilost my parents suddenly, you
(08:34):
know, like just out of the blue,within six months, in 2016-2017
, like I lost both of them, andthe worst part was they were in
India.
I was here, you know, so Iwasn't even there with them and
it was just sudden, and so atthat point of time, I just had
this moment, you know, like anepiphany.
You know, like, what am Ireally like?
(08:56):
What is this life all about?
Right, I mean, what am I reallytrying to do here?
What am I going to do withwhatever money I'm earning, or
you know what?
What am I leaving behind for mykids?
Very selfish, you know, I wasnot thinking community, nothing.
I was just like, okay, you know, will my children?
Because my daughter, you know,because my daughter, you know,
she went she's, she went topreschool here and she also
(09:19):
graduated from BHS, okay, and sothroughout those 13 years, 14
years of schooling, you know,she came to me.
Like, even at the beginning,she had some trouble.
And then, at the end of, youknow, on the eve of her
graduation, she told me, shesaid, mom, you know, I go and I,
(09:39):
you know, if I sit with mywhite friends they're cool, like
you know.
They'll give me a spot, we'llchat everything, but if I'm
sitting with my Desii friends,then my white friend won't join
me, and that's something shenoticed and felt bad about.
Yeah, you know, this is notsomething I asked her or
anything, it's just a commentshe made, you know, and that
(10:01):
really struck me.
I said why?
Why is that?
You know, why are we stillseeing these differences?
Right, I mean, we are in 2025.
Why are we still seeing?
Because there is no differencein that sense.
So Rave came from that.
It came from that need.
Yes to just so that we canlearn more about each other.
(10:21):
I think, and for me personally,it was just as important that
we Indians learn about you knowthe Ozark culture, or you know
the Southern culture or Americanculture overall, as that's as
important as you know otherslearning about you know what
Indian music is about or dance,and these are just easier
(10:43):
conversations to have than youknow straight away to pounce
into religion or politics orsomething like that, more
complicated like that.
So that's why we just stick toyou know the music?
Yeah, exactly, we do theeverybody.
Come, let's eat samosas.
I think I've influenced quite afew community events in the
area to have yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
I know that's what I wanted to talk about.
I wanted to talk about all thefun festivals and community
events.
I feel like every year, youguys have got your hands and
feet in everything and it's sogreat, you guys?
Yeah, what do you want to talkabout?
You guys just worked withdowntown Bentonville for the
first Friday Festival of Nations, which has come a long way, and
(11:27):
I feel like you have a lot todo with that.
So I would love to know how youinfluence.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
This was, I think, before COVID, right, I mean, I
think I want to say because westarted in 2018.
That's when I established theyou know.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
After, like the yearly event, you were like this
is going to be differentBecause, like I said, I lost my
parents and then I was like,okay, what do I do?
Speaker 2 (11:56):
I want to do something and I just was not.
I run the Kumon you know mathand reading center in Rogers and
I was just not, somehow I wasnot comfortable starting another
business like, yeah, that wassomehow, I tried, but I just
didn't feel happy about it.
And then I kind of came back tothis annual event that I'd been
doing and I was like nobody isstill doing anything in that
direction.
You know it's still the same.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Whatever was there when I had come 17 years ago and
it's just so authentic to youand who you are.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
There's nobody who really wanted to take on the
mantle of, you know, promotingIndian traditional culture.
So then I said, okay, let me doit.
And I kind of had no idea whatnon-profit was, nothing.
I just said I'm going to do it,I'll figure it out.
We started, we had events and,very grateful to, you know, my
daughter's violin teacher, sriVittal Ramamurthy.
(12:43):
He's a very world-renownedCarnatic violinist and he was
the first one to kind of say,yes, I'll come and play in
Bentonville for you, you know,because even for Indian artists
they were like what Bentonville?
Where is Bentonville?
I can imagine.
Yeah, so it's been a journeyyou know You're also like at all
(13:03):
levels.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
You're informing a whole community outside of
Arkansas that, wow, yeah, makesthat, makes sense, that, yeah, I
mean it takes, it takes, so ittakes a whole village.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
You know, if he had not said yes, and you know, if a
person of his stature had notcome and perform for us, we
would not have been able toinvite the next set of people.
And same thing with RukminiVijaykumar.
You know, she's aninternational Bharatanatyam star
, like I mean, she also doessome contemporary dancing also.
(13:36):
She does, and she's just anamazing artist.
And she also agreed.
You know, she was also like shewas the first dancer whoever
came, you know, and didworkshops and things like that,
and and that made a hugedifference.
That meant so much to us.
So these two artists, you know,and did workshops and things
like that, and and that made ahuge difference.
That meant so much to us.
So these two artists, you know,I can never forget them.
I mean, they are like my.
You know, thank you so much forcoming, because, because they
(13:58):
came, other artists were alsoopen to coming.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
They were like oh you know, vittal sir has come, or
Rukmini has come yes absolutelythat made a huge difference and
there's so many different kindsof people that go.
I watched your cute littlevideo on your website of how the
community kind of has respondedto some of your events and
seeing everyone from alldifferent walks of life, in
different ages and everyone justbeing so willing to learn and
(14:24):
to listen and to appreciate andto dive in a different culture.
It's beautiful what you guysare creating.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Absolutely, and that's what sets Ravi apart from
a lot of other Indianorganizations, even in the
entire US, that's doing anythinglike this.
Our audience is so diverse andthat's the whole point of Ravi.
We want just we don't, we don't.
Yes, we see the differences,but we don't see the differences
(14:54):
to celebrate just thedifferences, but to find those
common elements.
You know, we all dance incircles, we all do that every
culture has it Name, a culturethat doesn't have some form of
dancing in a circle, right,right, and that is what we want
to like.
The first time we did, we hadthis.
(15:17):
So there's a state calledHimachal Pradesh in India which
is in the Himalayas, okay, andthey have some very unique folk
dances and things like that, andwe found actually a small
community of people here inBentonville from that state and
a couple of them knew thosedances and things.
(15:39):
So we put a group together,they taught us those dances and
then they went and performed.
We did a family day at CrystalBridges Museum.
It was such a hit because wehad all these little little kids
and wonderful moms, you know,trying to come and you know, try
out the dance and it was socool and that's it.
You know, just give it a try,you know, just, I mean nothing,
(16:01):
it's fun, exactly.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Exactly so much.
Life isn't that serious andthere's so much to learn and get
excited about.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
You know I mean, why not so?
Speaker 1 (16:11):
well, wrapping up, tell me more about the concert
in September.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
So on September 19,.
Wrapping up, tell me more aboutthe concert in september.
So on september 19th, we haveour music master concert called
sacred winds and it bringstogether, you know, indian,
hindustani traditional musicalong with jazz, like with a
saxophone, so flute, saxophoneand tabla.
And the tabla player he'sShubhane Chatterjee.
(16:39):
He was nominated for theGrammys and he's an oh my gosh,
what a talented person.
I mean I got the opportunity tovisit him and his school and
his studio and everything inCalcutta when I had gone last
year and just amazing,mind-blowing.
(16:59):
I mean he's a gem of India,like.
I mean he's one of those topartists.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Coming to Bentonville .
Speaker 2 (17:06):
That's really cool and this is the second time, so
I'm so excited.
And this year, specifically, wewill also have our fundraising
dinner along with the concert.
So hopefully people will… Inthe same dinner along with the
concert.
So hopefully people will In thesame night.
Yes, okay, it's all going to beone after the other, you know,
we will have the music, a fullexperience, yes, and the dinner
(17:26):
will be like, because it's goingto be, because the event is,
you know, jazz and Hindustani,so the dinner also is going to
be very interesting.
It's going to be veryinteresting.
It's going to be a littlebecause India was colonized by
(17:47):
the British, so there are a lotof western food items that we
still eat even today, and it'sjust part of Indian culture, you
know, I mean, it's nothing tosay that oh, you know, this is
we won't eat this because it wasnothing like that.
It's just all.
We, we love cutlets, like wecall them cutlets.
Uh, they are like your um hashbrown kind of thingies you know,
because, yeah, potatoes, yeah,and uh, we, uh, you know.
So we're gonna have somethinglike that and we'll have the
(18:08):
indians, but very differentindian food, you know, not the
kind you'll get when you go tothe local restaurants.
So it's going to be real fun,the dinner, and that's one of
our biggest fundraising eventsalso for us, and we have a very
special, special announcementalso coming up about our master
concert.
(18:28):
I won't say anything, but wehave a surprise.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Okay, wow, that sounds amazing.
I can't wait for people toexperience it.
If you haven't gotten yourtickets yet or haven't planned
your trip, you guys need to comeand plan your trip just to
experience the master concert inseptember.
Um, it's really.
It's worthwhile and so unique.
Um, thank you so much for beingon our podcast today.
This was so fun and can't waitto see what else you guys do in
(18:54):
our community.
Absolutely thank you for havingme.
Yeah, as always, if you guyswant to learn more about
Bentonville, go tovisitbentonvillecom or follow us
on social at visit Bentonville.
See you next time.
Bye.
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