I moved to Bangalore after doing my undergraduate and graduate studies in the US. I spent a year working in New York and then felt I wanted to come back to my roots. So I came to India to work in the area of development and economic policy.

I started Culture Move, an organisation that uses music and culture as a means to create social consciousness among the youth.

Unfortunately in India, the youth just listens to what is given to it, instead of taking what it wants and rejecting the rest. There is very little critical thought and evaluation. For instance, we have MTV coming to India and everyone jumps on to the MTV bandwagon.

With Culture Move, I want to build an alternative independent space that will inspire the youth.

India is my home and I like its diversity, cultural and intellectual wealth, the differences that co-exist and the visceral quality of life here.

We have so many different types of sub cultures, art and religion. Unfortunately, there is a trend towards homogeneity and cultural policing which is even finding its way into our academia now by the way we are trying to rewrite our textbooks.

The biggest problem we face today is the fact that India is split into two worlds. One half is those who are reaping the benefits of globalisation, the plethora of jobs and multinational pay scales and the other half is still dying of starvation and a heat wave.

Bridging the gap between these two worlds needs to be our priority now.

Religious fundamentalism is on the rise in India. We are a secular nation and that is our identity.

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On a more personal level, I feel the urban youth needs to feel more responsible for the future of the country. People like me have a lot of power but if we don't express our voice and all divert all our energies to personal enrichment or career goals then we are losing a lot of potential that is there in this country.