tabla! has been putting out more content on social media as it stays in step with digitalisation, and the tabla! talks podcast is the latest offering. The podcast aims to highlight perspectives of the Indian community on current affairs and trends.
This pilot episode serves as a post National Day Rally discussion, with a focus on the family support announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, as well as the emphasis on integration.
The three guests on this episode were:
Ms Nava Neetha – a social impact leader who has spent over two decades empowering youth, women, and communities across Southeast Asia. She is also the founder of Togather For Good, a collective that aims to create a more compassionate society, through initiatives relating to mental, social, and occupational wellness.
Mr Rajesh Misir – the vice chairman of the People’s Association Narpani Pearavai, or the Indian Activity Executive Committees Council, focusing on youth development and leadership.
Mr Srinivasan Venkita Padmanabhan – the treasurer and chairman of community engagement and memberships at the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
On families, the trio discussed what truly influences someone’s decision to be a parent as well as what economic impact could the new policies have on child-related goods and services.
Additionally, Mr Rajesh, a father of three who also looks after his parents, mentioned navigating the divide between ageing populations and new families. He considers himself to be in a “sandwich” between the two sections, and worries how the later people have children, the more “sandwiched” people in similar situations to him becomes.
The other major topic at hand was integration and immigration, and some of social media discourse against the Indian community in Singapore.
As someone who migrated to Singapore nearly 22 years ago, and who works in the grassroots to support integration of new citizens, Mr Venkat says Singapore is doing much better than other parts of the world with regard to integration. However, he also said that the new citizens need to be more culturally beneficial than economically, and existing citizens must step-up to help in this transition.
The guests were also asked what they hope to see discussed till the next rally. For Ms Nava, she wanted to see discussions on how Singapore’s values and identity would evolve long-term with the current rapid changes in the nation and in the world, and “what are the futures we envision collectively?”.
To watch the full podcast, head to https://www.youtube.com/@tablasph.
