North Texas mom on mission to teach Indian culture in DFW

IRVING, Texas — Diwali begins on Monday, Oct. 24.

Known because the “festival of lights,” it is one of many most-celebrated holidays in India. Many of our neighbors right here in DFW rejoice Diwali, however not all of us know an excessive amount of about it.

Avni Gandhi is on a mission to change that. 

The Irving mom of two was born in Mumbai. Her mother and father made the choice to transfer to America when she was in the eighth grade. She was the one Indian pupil in her class.

“When I walked into my first day of school, I had oil in my hair,” Gandhi advised WFAA. “I took chutney sandwiches for lunch.”

Her new classmates had been merciless; they laughed at her unfamiliar hair and her meals. 

“The first month of school, I actually spent the first two weeks eating in the bathroom … the next two weeks eating with the librarian,” she advised WFAA.

Eventually, Gandhi stopped praying in public or bringing lunch to college.

“I feel like I gave up a lot of my Indian-ness just to fit in,” Gandhi stated.

Determined now to empower her kids – and others to embrace their culture – Gandhi constructed a enterprise: Bhaasha Basics.

Just a few of her merchandise embody: calendars to countdown the times till Diwali, templates to teach younger ones the Indian sand artwork of Rangoli, personalised boards and cups so youngsters can see their identify and their language celebrated. 

“‘Building that confidence in them, knowing that I don’t have to change just because somebody thinks what I’m doing is weird,” Gandhi stated.

Gandhi advised WFAA constructing that confidence is simply as necessary at present because it was when she was a baby. She pointed to the viral video of a racist, violent assault on Indian American ladies outdoors a Plano restaurant in August.

“It was scary, it was a scary reality,” Gandhi stated of the video. “And I think one of my goals here is to be able to humanize everybody, right? And to humanize everybody is to kind of eliminate ignorance.”

Gandhi believes we are able to remove ignorance by studying, which is why her line isn’t just for Indian households. She hopes colleges would possibly purchase her merchandise in bulk and expose all kids to the culture.

Gandhi does ship orders all throughout the nation, however she hopes to develop her model at residence in DFW, as nicely. You can contact Avni Gandhi and Bhaasha Basics here.