Talat Mangla (Working Woman)
Talat Mangla is currently a student at Western Michigan University majoring in political science and accounting. In her spare time (or what little of it), Talat enjoys volunteering, reading and traveling. She's most recently been enraptured by old Alias season DVDs and Pistons playoff games. Email her at talat@niralimagazine.com.

Sindya Narayanaswamy (Coconut Trees and Owl Babies)
Sindya Narayanaswamy graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in computer science and a minor in business administration. After a two-year stint at the US Patent and Trademark Office, she has shifted from Uncle Sam to Mother India. Sindya is spending this year doing a public service fellowship with Indicorps in Bangalore, India. Amidst learning Kannada, washing her own clothes, battling inevitable stomach problems and attempting to do some social service, she hopes to write something coherent here and there.

Neha Singh (For a Greater Good)
Neha is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Third World Studies and a minor in biology at the University of California, San Diego. As much as she adores wearing flip-flops year-round and waking up to a gorgeous ocean view while her radio blares out personal messages from plastic surgeons offering discounts, she considers the San Francisco Bay Area her true home. Besides taking classes, she is a writer for UCSD's newspaper and is very excited to start writing for Nirali as well. When she is not dodging questions about her major, what exactly it is, and how much money (if any) she is going to make with it after graduation, Neha spends her free time combining traveling with public health-related internships, delving into South Asian progressive issues, reading, oil painting, poring over the latest issue of Vogue (her guilty pleasure) and dreaming of moving to Paris. You can reach her at nsingh@ucsd.edu.

Himali Weerahandi (On Location)
Himali Weerahandi holds a bachelor's degree in neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University. She is interested in social justice and in challenging ethnic and gender stereotypes through education. This summer, she will intern with CNN Medical News, followed by medical school in the fall. She loves reading stories about identity and she loves living in New York City. You can reach Himali at weerahandi@gmail.com.

Pavani Yalamanchilli (One Woman Show)

Pavani lives in Los Angeles and likes to take the occasional road trip up or down the coast. A Southern California native, she swears that she hardly ever says "Dude!" except maybe when the occasion calls for it (e.g., "Dude, like check out these delicious dosas."). Pavani caught a T-shirt at the taping of Rasika Mathur's Wild'N Out. Email us at nirali@niralimagazine.com and she just might send it to you.