About us

We may live in San Francisco, Saratoga or anywhere in between. We may be fresh off the boat or have roots in the US that go back to the last World War. We may speak in a thick dialectical accent from the Indian hinterland or indiscernible American slang. But our hearts all beat a little faster in that last over of a cricket match when India has 7 runs to make in 6 balls. Our eyes go moist listening to an old Mukesh lament. Precious time on the weekends is devoted to chaat and the latest mush from Bollywood. We have not forgotten where we came from but we are looking to find and take our place in our new home. While we may never end up taking our glass of water with ice, we want to make a difference in the communities we live in. We have strong opinions on American culture, politics and the economy and we love to share them. This website is our attempt to provide a channel where we can get ideas and share our thoughts on political, cultural and social issues that most concern us, covering both our Indian roots and our American lifestyle. We want to profile the members of our community who are making an impact in their own unique way. We want to start discussions on things that matter to us. We want to inform, entertain, involve.

Water, No Ice was started in March 2007 by Vidya Pradhan and Rohini Mohan. Due to the time constraints of a full time job, Rohini has parted ways with WNI and we will miss her invaluable contributions and her pithy articles.

Today, WNI is made possible by a bunch of talented writers from the Bay Area and India. Here is a little bit about them.

Vidya Pradhan – Founder and Editor

After graduating from IIM-A in 1989, Vidya blundered around in the world of high finance at ANZ Grindlays  and American Express for 5 years. Jumping at the chance to take a break, she followed husband Basab Pradhan to the U.S. when he joined Infosys. 10 years and 2 kids later, she has found her calling as a writer, contributing to the community paper in Fremont, California where she lives. She also loves to write children’s stories, some of which have been published in India. For exercise, she enjoys straining her eyes playing online scrabble, scratching her head solving Sudoku and shaking her hips to Bollywood numbers.

Isheeta Sanghi

Isheeta Sanghi shares her unique perspective on all things Indian. Isheeta was born in California and lived there for six years before moving to Saudi Arabia. After four years in Saudi she moved back to the States- this time to Delaware, and after another four years there she moved to San Diego. She went to high school in San Diego, and then went to SJSU for one year before re locating to India. Currently she is attending a private institution in Delhi and is pursuing a Bachelors in Business Administration.

Many other writers send in their work to make Water, No Ice a true representation of its environment and we thank them with deep gratitude.

If you are interested in writing for Water, No Ice, get in touch at vpdot [at] yahoo.com All articles are put through the editing process to ensure a consistent quality.