Marching Forward: Somnil Das' Story from Calcutta to Nashville | Diasporaa Podcast Episode 11

Welcome to Diaspora, the show where we share the remarkable stories of immigrants from the Indian subcontinent. In this episode of Diasporaa, host Aditya Mehta sits down with Somnil Das, a former Indian Army officer and Amazonian, to discuss his remarkable journey from Calcutta to Canada and eventually Nashville. They explore the cultural adaptations, challenges, and unique experiences Somnil faced, including serving in one of the world's highest battlefields, Siachen Glacier. The conversation dives into differences between living in Canada and the US, the importance of meticulous planning for immigrants, and leveraging professional networks for successful assimilation. Somnil also shares his passion for astronomy, opera music, and his fulfilling career at Amazon. Tune in for an inspirational story filled with valuable insights for new immigrants.

00:00 Introduction to Diasporaa
00:36 Meet Somnil Das: From Calcutta to Toronto
03:03 Life in Calcutta: Childhood and Education
04:28 Military Service: Experiences and Challenges
12:22 Comparing Indian and Pakistani Armed Forces
17:31 Moving to Canada: The Decision and Early Days
26:35 Starting a Career at Amazon
26:52 First Impressions and Working Together
27:54 Lessons Learned and Career Achievements
29:35 Launching Warehouses Across Canada
31:12 Planning for Life After Amazon
32:35 Life in Nashville vs. Toronto
34:25 Immigrant Experiences and Cultural Differences
44:59 Advice for New Immigrants to Canada
49:21 Cricket Memories and Final Thoughts

List of Resources:
Calcutta Metro Rail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkata_Metro 
Indian Army: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Army 
Siachen Glacier: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siachen_Glacier 
Somnil's article in Outside Magazine: https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/meltdown-siachen-glacier/

About the Podcast: 

Diasporaa was the name of Aditya's startup based in Vancouver, BC. It focused on helping new immigrants in Canada find their feet, get off to a running start and ease their assimilation into Canadian life. A big part of the platform were conversations, community and support. Though the startup stopped growing once Aditya moved to Seattle, WA - it remained alive in the form of several discussion groups and online communities.

Now, Diasporaa has been resurrected in the form of a podcast focused on sharing interesting immigrant stories from the South Asian diaspora and uncovering how much we have in common despite our differences. It is available on YouTube, all major podcast platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, etc. and is also broadcast as a radio show on Alternative Talk 1150 AM and 98.9 FM HD Channel 3 on Wednesdays from 2-3pm PST. 

About Aditya Mehta:

Aditya is a Bombay boy who has lived in Austin, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Vancouver before making it to his current home in Seattle. He has degrees in marketing, urban planning, real estate and strategy but has spent his career in financial services, social media and now real estate - mostly as an entrepreneur and partly as an employee at Amazon.

He balances Indian, Canadian and American culture, loves helping those who are new to North America and looks forward to the interesting stories that his interview guests bring each week. When not podcasting, he is helping his wife Prachi build her pharmaceutical business or hanging out with his son Arjun.

Connect with Diasporaa:
-Instagram: @diasporaapodcast
-YouTube: https://linke.to/dspyoutube 
-Bio Link: linke.to/diasporaa 
-Listen on Spotify: https://linke.to/dspspotify
-Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://linke.to/dspapple 
-Diasporaa Podcast on KKNW Alternative Talk Radio: https://linke.to/kknw1150

Diasporaa 05-21-25 Marching Forward: Somnil Das' Story from Calcutta to Nashville

Trump administration violated court order by deporting eight convicted migrants to South Sudan without due process, forcing new legal safeguards and highlighting immigration law challenges for African and diaspora communities.

Trump's Unjust South Sudan Deportation Ruling Exposed

Putting your faith in another person, expecting other people to do things for you, sacrificing, immigration enforcement, Spartan society, survival, betrayal, homelessness in Santa Monica, political swings, having too many options, group mentality, and other stuff.

We're The Batteries

On WBAL News Now at 6 Rep. Glenn Ivey talks about a trip to El Salvador in an attempt to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia who reamins in a prison in El Salvador

WBAL News Now in Depth Congressman Glenn Ivey Goes to El Salvador

On WBAL News Now at 6, ABC News legal analyst Royal Oakes discusses the legal battle between P the Trump Administration and Harvard University over the President's order that Harvard not accept international students. 

WBAL News Now in Depth Trump vs Harvard

Калифорнийцы начинают надеяться, что накопившиеся за годы проблемы наконец будут решаться. Какие шаги уже были предприняты?
Станет ли Калифорния тем демократическим штатом, где демократия — это право выбора, а не вседозволенность?
Рассказываем, откуда и куда дует ветер перемен. Смотрите также на YouTube канале: https://youtu.be/jY21sHOvPVc

Let’s make California great again!

Pink Experiments & Game Design: Divya Dias on Diasporaa | Diasporaa Podcast Episode 11

In this episode of Diasporaa, host Aditya Mehta sits down with Divya Dias, a video game story designer originally from Mumbai, India. Divya shares her journey from Mumbai to Vancouver, discussing the unique challenges she faced as an immigrant, her career path that led her to work for Amazon Games, and her personal insights on adapting to a new culture while maintaining her roots. The conversation touches on the emotional and practical aspects of immigration, including Divya's innovative concept of 'designing her life' and how she overcame challenges by focusing on health, art, and finances. Divya also shares future plans for her new project—a YouTube video series based on fantasy storytelling—and offers advice for new immigrants to Canada. The episode is rich with anecdotes, personal stories, and valuable tips for navigating life in a new country.

List of Resources:
You Are My Sunshine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Oc6PTtcthA 
What a Wonderful World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBrd_3VMC3c 
Bandra: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandra 
Diaz: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%ADaz_(surname) 
Game of Thrones: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_Thrones 

About the Podcast: 

Diasporaa was the name of Aditya's startup based in Vancouver, BC. It focused on helping new immigrants in Canada find their feet, get off to a running start and ease their assimilation into Canadian life. A big part of the platform were conversations, community and support. Though the startup stopped growing once Aditya moved to Seattle, WA - it remained alive in the form of several discussion groups and online communities.

Now, Diasporaa has been resurrected in the form of a podcast focused on sharing interesting immigrant stories from the South Asian diaspora and uncovering how much we have in common despite our differences. It is available on YouTube, all major podcast platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, etc. and is also broadcast as a radio show on Alternative Talk 1150 AM and 98.9 FM HD Channel 3 on Wednesdays from 2-3pm PST. 

About Aditya Mehta:

Aditya is a Bombay boy who has lived in Austin, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Vancouver before making it to his current home in Seattle. He has degrees in marketing, urban planning, real estate and strategy but has spent his career in financial services, social media and now real estate - mostly as an entrepreneur and partly as an employee at Amazon.

He balances Indian, Canadian and American culture, loves helping those who are new to North America and looks forward to the interesting stories that his interview guests bring each week. When not podcasting, he is helping his wife Prachi build her pharmaceutical business or hanging out with his son Arjun.

Connect with Diasporaa:
-Instagram: @diasporaapodcast
-YouTube: https://linke.to/dspyoutube 
-Bio Link: linke.to/diasporaa 
-Listen on Spotify: https://linke.to/dspspotify
-Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://linke.to/dspapple 
-Diasporaa Podcast on KKNW Alternative Talk Radio: https://linke.to/kknw1150

Diasporaa 05-28-25 Pink Experiments & Game Design: Divya Dias on Diasporaa

📌 CƠ HỘI HỌC TẬP, LÀM VIỆC VÀ ĐỊNH CƯ NGÀNH GIÁO VIÊN TẠI ÚC 📌
📍 Chính phủ Úc đã và đang triển khai hàng loạt chính sách nhằm thu hút và giữ chân giáo viên, mở ra nhiều cơ hội hấp dẫn cho sinh viên quốc tế cũng như người lao động mong muốn định cư tại Úc:
✔️ Chính phủ sẽ chi 1 tỷ AUD xây dựng 160 trung tâm giữ trẻ từ 2025.
✔️ Từ 2026, phụ huynh được hỗ trợ 3 ngày giữ trẻ miễn phí mỗi tuần.
✔️ Tăng 15% lương cho giáo viên mầm non từ tháng 12/2025.
📍 Khu vực đang thiếu giáo viên nhiều nhất:
✔️ Queensland: 78% hiệu trưởng báo cáo thiếu giáo viên trong 2024, đặc biệt ở khu vực xa xôi như Central North, Far North.
✔️ Victoria: thiếu khoảng 1.500 giáo viên ở cả thành thị lẫn nông thôn.
✔️ New South Wales: thiếu ở các vùng sâu, vùng xa, dù đã có chính sách hỗ trợ nhà ở.
✔️ Northern Territory (Bắc Úc): tỷ lệ thiếu giáo viên cao nhất so với dân số và số lượng trường học. Khu vực khó thu hút giáo viên do điều kiện sống và vị trí địa lý.
📍 Ngành giáo viên thuộc danh sách định cư tay nghề (skilled occupation list). Bạn có thể nộp các loại visa như subclass 189, subclass 190, hoặc subclass 491.
👉 Để biết thêm thông tin về visa tay nghề Úc, bạn có thể tham khảo các bài viết sau:
https://vemvisa.com/cac-loai-visa-uc/visa-tay-nghe-uc/ 
---------------
👍 Đừng quên THÍCH và THEO DÕI fanpage thường xuyên để biết thêm những thông tin hữu ích về du học, định cư, và đầu tư bất động sản Úc!
https://www.facebook.com/VEMvisaUC 
#dinhcuUc #duhocuc #batdongsanuc #visaUc #visadinhcu #ditruUc #duhocdinhcuUc #australia #VEM #visahonnhanUc #kethonUc #visakethonUc #visahonnhanUc  #visadinhcuUc #visatayngheuc #visa190 #visa189 #visa491
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👉 Khi có nhu cầu được tư vấn, xin vui lòng liên hệ VEM để được hỗ trợ!
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🔗 https://www.youtube.com/vemvisa 
🔗 https://twitter.com/vemvisavn 
🔗 https://www.instagram.com/victory_education_migration/

CƠ HỘI HỌC TẬP LÀM VIỆC VÀ ĐỊNH CƯ ÚC NGÀNH GIÁO VIÊN

Dans cette quatrième partie, les stagiaires en langue française de l'Agora posent leurs questions sur le thème du travail à Catherine Deloo, permanente Diversité à la CSC de Liège. Originaires de Syrie, d’Afghanistan, d’Ukraine, d’Érythrée ou encore de Bulgarie, ils et elles participent au projet "Yalla Slovo", un atelier podcast mené à l’ASBL Agora. Bien plus qu’un simple micro tendu, c’est un espace pour faire entendre celles et ceux qu’on écoute rarement.

Yalla Slovo - Episode 1 - Partie 4

In this week's The Reason Roundtable, editors Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch are joined by The Gist's Mike Pesca to discuss the Trump administration's escalating campaign against Harvard. The conversation explores how government overreach in education threatens civil liberties and stable institutional governance. They also discuss corruption concerns they have over Donald Trump's memecoin.

0:00—Introduction

2:53—Trump continues to attack Harvard

7:10—Trump is using the power of the state to punish his enemies

13:35—Are taxes on endowments a good idea?

17:23—Trump wants to give Harvard's money to trade schools instead.

23:41—Trump's memecoin dinner corruption

32:02—Listener question: If someone magically waved a wand and got rid of all federal discretionary spending, would it actually feel like government only got a 25 percent to 30 percent haircut?

37:49—The U.S. Mint has made its last order of pennies.

38:47—Should we eliminate the Institute for Peace?

40:08—Should we eliminate the Saturday service of USPS?

41:31—Should we get rid of everything that is free for congressmen at the U.S. Capitol?

43:34—Should we eliminate the Selective Service?

49:11—Weekly cultural recommendations

Subscribe at YouTube: http://youtube.com/reasontv
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magazine
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason
Visit the archive: https://reason.com/tags/reason-podcast


Trump's War on Harvard

Le Mouvement Ouvrier Chrétien (MOC) de Liège-Verviers est une organisation d’éducation permanente et d’action sociale active dans les régions de Liège, Huy, Verviers et Waremme. Créé en 1945, le MOC est un acteur engagé dans la transformation sociale, œuvrant pour une société plus juste, solidaire et démocratique.

Founded in 1968, Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Our podcast offerings include:

The Reason Roundtable
Every Monday, the libertarian editors of the magazine of “Free Minds and Free Markets”—Matt Welch, Nick Gillespie, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Peter Suderman—discuss and debate the week’s biggest stories and what fresh hell awaits us all.

The Reason Interview with Nick Gillespie
Want to know what comes next in politics, culture, and libertarian ideas? Reason’s Nick Gillespie hosts relentlessly interesting interviews with the activists, artists, authors, entrepreneurs, newsmakers, and politicians who are defining the 21st century.

The Soho Forum Debates
Reason presents a libertarian-themed debate series recorded monthly before a live audience in New York City. Moderated by former Barron's Economics Editor Gene Epstein, the Soho Forum features Nobel prize winners, radical thinkers, and other public intellectuals facing off over the future of bitcoin, veganism, sex work, illegal drugs, electric vehicles, abortion, robotics, government debt, and other controversial topics.

The unresearched opinions of two culturally insignificant dudes. New episodes posting weekly.
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Contact Us: lowfactpodcast@gmail.com
Featured Music on Soundcloud: @artificialfantasy
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iHeart Radio: www.iheart.com/podcast/269-low-f…podcast-70563920/
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Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/dcc716da-9eb6-427b-8f0a-7e6f841289f9/low-fact-podcast

Alternative Talk 1150AM is unlike any other talk radio format in the Seattle Radio Market. Hosts on the station cover a wide variety of topics, including natural health, personal and financial growth, pet wellness, the psychic realm, issues important to today’s busy woman, and even foreign language programming to serve the area’s large Russian and Chinese speaking communities. Alternative Talk 1150 is proud to pioneer such unique and diverse talk radio subjects. The station brings a variety of perspectives to the Puget Sound airwaves with talk radio that touches on seldom covered subject matter.

VEM | Tư vấn định cư Úc là công ty tư vấn di trú và định cư Úc hàng đầu Việt Nam. 
Người đứng đầu của VEM - ông Peter Phong Cao, là người được chính phủ Úc cấp phép về tư vấn di trú Úc. Với 20 năm hoạt động, VEM hiện có 3 văn phòng tại Việt Nam và 4 văn phòng tại Úc. 
Liên hệ:
Địa chỉ: SAV.6-03.06 The Sun Avenue, 28 Mai Chí Thọ, phường An Phú, quận 2, Hồ Chí Minh
Điện thoại: +84909112310
Website: https://vemvisa.com
Email: infor@vemvisa.com

Подкаст «Rush In Documentation» будет полезен всем, кто планирует иммиграцию в США и интересуется иммиграционными новостями. 

За 27 лет работы наша команда решила более 185 тысяч вопросов в сфере получения гражданства США, оформления паспортов, виз, доверенностей, легализации документов и переводов.

В подкасте мы будем разбирать кейсы наших клиентов и все подводные камни иммиграции в Америку. 

Автор — Вадим Печерский, иммиграционный консультант и руководитель компании Rush In Documentation Center. 

Жмите play и будьте в курсе всех иммиграционных событий!

New tracks tagged #Immigration