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.

Rennu Dhillon

Rennu Dhillon runs the successful, award winning  Genius Kids  Learning center, soon to become a national and global  franchise. Dhillon has won several global awards for her innovative ideas in developing education – Hind Rattan Award – Jewel of India 2010, Pravasi Achievers Gold Award 2010, Outstanding 50  Asian America 2009, Fastest Growing Woman Owned Company 2009 American Business Awards, Best Preschool in Alameda County KRON 4 Best of the Bay 2009.  She writes on education for WNI. Her newest enterprise is Toto Station, where kids come to play and learn and a matrimonial radio show called PREM BANDHAN which airs on KLOK 1170 AM.

Aarti Johri

Aarti is a former engineering professional, now a stay-at -home mom of two teenagers. Her interests include taking long walks with her dog, reading (of course), cooking and travel. She occasionally co-hosts a radio program on KZSU 90.1 FM, has taught Hindi as a volunteer for Chinmaya Mission, has run a “Discover India” summer camp, and is also working on a Master’s in Liberal Arts. Aarti writes about life in these United States.

Laxmi Natarajan

Laxmi is a marvelous landscape artist and painter and runs Bagicha, a landscape design company. She writes a regular gardening column for WNI and  answers reader queries on the subject.

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.

Gaurav Rastogi

Gaurav blogs on the Bhagavad Gita as he reads it, chapter by chapter.

Arti Miglani

Arti, who works with Alain Pinel Realtors, writes on the state of the housing market in the Bay Area on a quarterly basis. She also answers reader queries on real estate.

Geeta Padmanabhan

Geeta Padmanabhan co-edits the in-house magazine for the Ability Foundation in Chennai. She is also a grammar expert, writing books on grammar that are used in schools throughout Chennai. An activist committed to preserving Chennai’s beaches, she gives seminars on the English language in her spare time. For fun, she enjoys being frustrated by Tamil Nadu politics.

P.R. Ganapathy

P.R. Ganapathy lives in the Bay Area. He has several amateur interests — Flying small planes, Photography, Sailing and Reading.

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 using our feedback form. All articles are put through the editing process to ensure a consistent quality.