Saree not Sorry in Diaspora Bagheecha Tee

My story with Diaspora began in 2017. This story takes me back to my son’s pediatric office, wherein routine wellness conversation led to something about South Asians having problems with lead in their blood and how the kids here need to go through additional tests for the same. I learnt on that day that one of the sources for such lead poisoning is from the store bought, mass produced turmeric, which is a staple in Indian kitchens. And there it was, a shocking reality that all the cheap spices that we take for granted from Indian stores need to be relooked at.

While I grew up in South India, most of our summers were spend drying turmeric tubers among other spices out in the scorching sun for paati (grandmum) to then blitz into turmeric powder for all sorts of applications at home. I remember that the entire home had a wonderful aroma the day turmeric powder was made.

Let’s come back to the Bay Area now, where the challenge of non-contaminated turmeric sourcing began. Soon enough, you can imagine with a quick internet search, I had ordered my first bottle of Pragathi Turmeric from Diaspora that evening. When it arrived home, the aroma from the bottle transported me straight back to South India!

In the years to come, I continued to enjoy and make good use of coriander seeds, cumin, ajwain and chilies, among other Indian pantry staples that Diaspora offers now. I have savored (and hoarded) lots of yellow and pink swag from Diaspora too.

Fast forward to Spring 2022: The lady in the pink Mysore silk saree modelling for the Bagheecha T-shirt for Diaspora is me. 😉 There has been a joy to see (and meet) this small but mighty team grow and I feel excited to have contributed to it in a small way.