eNews edition
shines SPOTLIGHT on Preetesh Shrivastava, Playright, Deejay, Standup comedian and Founder and President of New England Hindi Manch
.
IAGB:
Welcome to SPOTLIGHT. Over the past several years people in New England have seen
Preetesh Shrivastava in many different roles - as an actor, as director, as singer, as dancer, as a playwright, as Deejay, but overall as a community leader. Can you reflect on your past and tell us what prepared you to be a community entrepreneur which primarily translates as a leader?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
As far as I can tell I was always like this. My earliest memory of community organizing goes back to the time when I was just 5 or 6 years old. I had started my own library of comic books that I had finished reading. I use to share them for free with whoever was interested in borrowing those books. Later as a teenager I organized events around the ‘mohalla’ (community). Religious festivals were exciting activity for us as youth. Be it the preparation of Holi (Bon Fire); erecting Ganesh Mandap (ten-day festivities around Ganesh festival) or the Raavan Dahan (Bonfire of Raavan) during Dussehra, every event was an opportunity for me to gather friends and community folks to celebrate in essence our culture and traditions. In school I served as the cultural secretary, and later in college I was the chapter head for Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY), the non-profit music organization – at REC Bhopal.
IAGB:
What and where was your education and what has been your career path?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
I earned my Engineering degree from REC Bhopal and later worked and earned my Master’s degree in Engineering too. One of the reasons for going into Engineering was because I was fascinated by the idea of being a student of REC Bhopal. Locally it was a Harvard/MIT equivalent and being a student at this college was a mark of respect and with it came some bragging rights, some intangibles that carried lot of weight as a teenager. That said, of course, getting admitted to this college was only through a highly competitive process and my academic record had always been stellar, so in a way my choices were to choose between medical and engineering track and I chose engineering. And finally, the future career opportunities play a key role in determining the education track and hence an admission in a prestigious engineering college seemed pretty obvious. The factor that I learnt only after joining the college was that my destiny was me to be here. I met my lifelong friend - Pratibha here at REC. As for my career, in this day and age of constant hops and jumps, I have stayed steady with Infosys Technologies Limited since the last 18 years and am currently heading a unit from USA.
IAGB:
Your passion for Hindi, did it take root in India or after coming to US? What drove you to start Hindi Manch?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
I have always had love for Hindi language. I have been reading prose, poetry, and fiction books in Hindi much more than an average Indian even as a youth growing up. I have been involved with different organizations since the time I moved to US in Scottsdale, AZ. Over the years I had been associated with many different causes but since moving to Boston I started to feel that something was missing. I am of opinion that culture and language are closely intertwined. To appreciate and understand culture and traditions one needs to have a good grounding in the language of that particular culture. I realized that there was a plethora of organizations that promoted Indian culture and I wanted to leverage their efforts by introducing the focus on Hindi language through the establishment of Hindi Manch. My efforts to create and establish Hindi Manch was more akin to find and plug the one critical missing piece of the larger mosaic that we represent as Indians in a foreign land.
IAGB:
One aspect of you that always shines through including in your activities as Hindi Manch President, is you as an entertainer. Do you ever wish to be a full-time entertainer?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
I do. Stage is my love. While I am happy that I trained and work as an Engineer – and thanks to this field I am here in US, live in Lexington and enjoy many of the benefits. But I did think of another career very briefly before signing up at the Engineering college. I very much wanted to go to National School of Drama in New Delhi. But giving up a prestigious engineering admission for an opportunity to an uncertain future was not pragmatic, at least at that point in time.
But while I did not pursue a traditional entertainment career, I have not given up on my dreams. I have been Deejaying at events for many years now. My love for Hindi literature, plays and comedy came together in the Play I wrote – Mirchi Cola. This is the first Hindi Play published from USA. I also had the fortune to have this Play directed by Mohan Dali ji and performances of this play received wide accolades both here locally and outside of New England area too. My other milestone moment as entertainer was my Broadway style show Comedy Bindaas – Preetesh ke Andaaz. The two shows were sold out events and more importantly they were thoroughly enjoyed by one and all.
IAGB:
This year Hindi Manch completes ten years. What is your read on its contributions and success? Do you have any thoughts for its next phase?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
It is a fact that before Hindi Manch there was not much encouragement for Hindi as a language on the public stage due to lack of a proper avenue. Hindi Manch presented the community with an opportunity to perform in Hindi. Starting with emceeing in Hindi, Hindi plays both for adults and kids, Hindi singing competitions like Sa Re Ga Ma Pa brought out many hidden stars into the bright spotlight. Hindi Manch also presented a platform for many poets not just to read poetry but also to write new poetry and present it to community. The purpose of Hindi Manch has been to build this community, bring people together and channel an energy that was untapped before Hindi Manch. It has been a rewarding experience because I already see the results. It is music to ears when I see more than hundred kids portraying different roles in Hindi Plays on stage during the annual Baal/Yuva events. My heart gladdens when I hear some prominent community members giving credit to Hindi Manch for their new career paths.
So naturally, while it has been very satisfying to see the many positive developments happening as a result of Hindi Manch, the obvious thought that followed in my mind was, what’s next? In the last few years a thought that has been going on in my mind was – why only in New England? Why not expand this beyond the greater Boston area. In recent times we have received calls from Chicago, Florida and few other places asking us if we could start new Hindi Manch chapters in those cities. Additionally, I have been in search of new leadership at New England Hindi Manch for some time now.
IAGB:
All organizations stumble in the beginning and can have some growing pains. In the run up of Hindi Manch have there been any disappointments? Any challenges?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
While I concede that it is natural to have some level of conflict when such a large organization like Hindi Manch is being created and run, I feel both blessed and fortunate that Hindi Manch has not seen any serious or significant personnel issues. One reason could be that, the leadership at Hindi Manch is rich with experiences and the team consciously made sure that they successfully anticipate and eliminate conflict situations even before they come to fruition. Most of the programs and steps taken at Hindi Manch have been very calculated. A lot of care is taken into consideration when new people are given significant roles within the organization. Individuals who put the organization’s objectives in focus over personal objectives are chosen to contribute and lead in the diverse setting. The one big ongoing challenge is when people who are passionate about the cause of Hindi Manch but have difficulty in finding time and bandwidth to make a significant contribution.
Another important lesson I learnt from my previous experiences by working in many different organizations was that of humility. It is important to lead by example and one thing that I took extreme care was never to run after credit. This is a team effort and all the successes are on account of the team work. For me it is very important to give respect to everyone in your team. One another key factor is communication. There are challenges when not everyone is on the same page. But in the instance where someone’s idea is not co-opted, it is important to communicate to that individual the reason behind it. Additionally, I have also taken utmost care in trying not to hog the lime light. On most of the stage plays hosted by Hindi Manch, I try to stay on the sidelines. I prefer not to take the acting roles in the many Hindi Manch plays even though I love acting. I mostly limit my appearances to my role of President’s remarks.
IAGB:
The upcoming Hindi Manch Rashtriya Mahotsav
is well publicized here in new England community. That said is there anything in particular you would like the readers to know?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
The New England Hindi Manch is the largest organization around Hindi as the focus outside of India. To coincide with the 10
th
year anniversary of Hindi Manch, it was decided that we will celebrate our successes in the form of a 3-day event. We planned to have all the annual events that are normally organized quarterly such as Poetry and Literature, Drama, Music and singing, and Children and youth – all programs to be organized on a single weekend but on a much larger scale by expanding it to national level in terms of both participation and attendance. The event will host some well know celebrities such as Deepti Naval (actor and poet); Kavita Krishnamurty (Singer); Alok Shrivastava (Writer, Director and Producer) and Jugal Hansraj (actor) who will participate in various workshops planned around the three-day event.
Another significant event we are hosting at the Mahotsav
is the Leadership summit. The objective of this summit is to combine the energies and synergies of all the Hindi organizations from all over America. Many of us are working for the same cause in Florida, California, Illinois and many other places. The idea here is to combine forces and find a way as to how we can celebrate this cause at a national level preferably on a bi-annual basis. The goal is not to merge all these organizations but to form a new national level organization whose constituents will be each of these organizations.
IAGB:
How would you define the success of this Mahotsav?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
Success will be defined by three factors. One, the programs should be of high quality and the audience and participants should get the wow factor. Quality of programming is very important because I want the people attending these events to be impressed and enchanted and the one question that the people should ask is “when is the next Mahotsav
”?
The other important measure of success in my mind is that it should have the ‘national’ element. My goal is that at least 25 to 30 percent involvement should be at national level. Participants should be from all over US not just New England. The third factor obviously relates to the money. We have to meet our financial goals. It is a very big venture and lot of money is involved and we hope to meet all our fund raising goals.
IAGB:
Of all the roles you juggle such as husband, entertainer, community leader, etc. – which one do you treasure the most?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
The role I treasure the most is that of a friend. With Pratibha (my wife) I am her friend first and foremost. With Raghav (my son) too I am more of a friend than a dad. And same thing goes to my association with all the organizations I am associated with. All the team members contributing their time and effort to Hindi Manch consider me as their friend. I don’t sit on a pedestal as the Hindi Manch president and nor do they treat me as someone separate from themselves. Even as an entertainer – I treat my audience as my friends and that is how I connect with them. When I did my show the first time I knew most of the members in the audience will actually be my friends. Hence the reason I did my repeat show was to test out if an entirely unknown set of people will connect with me as a friend and love my art more than me personally. That was a true test and I really needed to discover the truth.
IAGB:
What is your guiding principle / philosophy?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
My guiding principle / philosophy is that I really believe I can learn something from everyone. It may be true that I may be better than someone else in one or the other area but at the same time I find that each and every one of them are better than me in some field where I am weak in. And I find a way to learn about that from them. But in order for me to learn I cannot have an ego about myself. This is the reason why you will find me going out and meeting up with people with a pure intent. I carry no agenda in my heart and purely seek skills, talents and attributes that I find others have to somewhat better extent than I possess.
IAGB:
What long term goals you are working on right now?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
Setting up and dealing with long term goals could be my weakness. My philosophy is that I like learning. I never did standup comedy growing up but I learnt and tried it successfully in the last few years. I love cooking, I love music, singing and dancing. Sometimes I feel I should become Mother Teresa of Hindi. There have been times when I seriously entertained the idea of starting a restaurant and express myself through my culinary skills. Then of course I want to pursue my career as an entertainer. So while learning new things has always been a passion of mine I have no idea what new things will come up in future and which ones will become my new passion. But all that said, based on the present circumstance and knowing what I know now – I will certainly want to keep pushing Hindi to even higher levels and try my hand at being a successful entertainer.
IAGB:
Switching gears, I would like to ask you some lighthearted questions so that the readers know you more intimately. Who is your role model?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
It will be unfair to name just one person. Like I said before there is so much to learn from and each individual has something to offer. For example, I appreciate the humility of Amitabh Bachchan, the grit of Sachin Tendulkar and so on.
IAGB:
Which is your favorite Hindi Movie?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
Anyone who has seen my car license plate would know this answer – Sholay.
IAGB:
Which is your favorite Hindi Song?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
I cannot pick one favorite Hindi song. Different songs are for different moods and each of them are special in their own ways.
IAGB:
Who is your favorite poet?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
Nida Fazli – because he writes simple poems. His poetry is something even a lay man can understand and yet it is always pregnant with much deeper meanings.
IAGB:
Who is one person that you would like to meet?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
Amitab Bachhan
IAGB:
Who would you like to wake up as just for one day?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
That would be as Preetesh everyday.
IAGB:
What is best dish that you make?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
I enjoy cooking but most commonly my friends love my shami Kabab (non veg) and ragda pattis (veg) the most.
IAGB:
Do you have any regrets?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
Not sure if it is a regret, but yes, there have been times when I have thought what if instead of putting my energies in ten different things and rather focus on one single activity and wonder where I would have ended up as.
IAGB:
If it was completely up to you, who would you give an award and in which category and to whom?
Preetesh Shrivastava:
I would present Awards to individuals in order to recognize their significant contributions for the community. The award should be more to motivate and emulate their work so that more will contribute with their time and energy for the betterment of community.
IAGB interviewing team:
Sanjay Kudrimoti
