Having lived in the DC metro area for over a decade, Monica Ahuja and Jason Kazi have both met and worked with a lot of creative people with the same passion and drive as themselves. Monica had attended many community events in New York and Chicago with various local platforms and felt like there was a missed opportunity in the greater Washington, D.C. area.
With this in mind, on May 2, 2018, Monica launched DCWaleDesi and Jason joined as the Community Manager in September 2018. Initially started as just an Instagram account to showcase the diversity of South Asians in the area, DCWaleDesi has evolved into an inclusive platform created to promote and foster collaboration among creative South Asians in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
Together, they have connected with South Asians to develop many unique community concepts including DesiGrooves (Bollywood fusion pop-up dance workshops), Connect (connecting creatives via Instagram), takeovers (offering subject-matter experts the opportunity to share their knowledge) and editorial photoshoots (themed shoots featuring local South Asian-owned businesses).
You can check out DCWaleDesi on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok.