OPEN HOURS
Every Wednesday and Saturday 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Also Open Tuesday, December 9th
and Fridays, December 5th and 12th, 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
The Museum will be closed December 24th and December 31st
Please email us for requests for visits by appointments at other times.
Who are we? Voices of the Indian Diaspora
Learn more about our participants:
Sanjay Chauhan is currently Chief Financial Officer of Pan Am Equities, a privately held diversified asset management firm in New York City. He has been a senior executive in the real estate industry for the last twenty years with experience as CFO, COO, Senior Advisor and Portfolio Manager with well-respected firms such as Urban American, Jonathan Rose Companies and A&E. In his current and prior positions, he has played an active role in capital strategies, staffing improvements, technology upgrades and growth support pivotal to the companies’ expansion in the industry. A substantial part of Sanjay’s work has been in managing institutional capital for mission-oriented firms focused on impact investing in the workforce and affordable segments of multifamily housing. Sanjay holds Masters degrees in Economics from University of Kent at Canterbury, and University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, where he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. Sanjay is also credentialed as a Certified Public Accountant in New Jersey, as well as a Chartered Financial Analyst. Sanjay also sits on the board of Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy, a not-for profit organization dedicated to historic preservation in Jersey City, where he also served as President for three years.
Nirupa Umapathy is a recovering workaholic, who was last a Managing Director at Whitebox Advisors and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. A native of Chennai, India, Nirupa calls Jersey City home. In 2017, Nirupa left financial services to re-discover joy and mission. In 2018, she founded a creative learning community for adults called Salons for Life, where adults gather to explore unstructured play, creative expression to center and connect. Nirupa freelances as a grant writer and teaches Pilates at a local studio in Jersey City. Nirupa is happiest when she is traveling and connecting with strangers over unexpected conversations.
Rimli Roy is an award-winning artiste, dancer, choreographer, educator, producer, director, and humanitarian from Kolkata, India. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of Jersey City nonprofit Surati for Performing Arts. For over two decades, Rimli has been a passionate advocate of Indian arts, narratives, and culture, captivating audiences through eclectic stage shows, educational partnerships, community festivals and traditional art forms training. Hailing from a lineage of renowned Indian artists, she began her artistic journey at age four. Rimli is trained in classical Indian dance forms such as Odissi, Bharatnatyam, and Manipuri, alongside Western classical pianoforte and Indian classical music. Her innovative work blends traditional and contemporary styles, including ballet, opera, jazz, and musical theatre, earning her international acclaim. Her ground-breaking production, Ramaavan - A Musical, received a National Endowment for the Arts award for musical theatre and toured multiple cities in India in 2024, invited by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Government of India. A recipient of prestigious awards from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Dance NYC, and U.S. Artists International, Rimli and the Surati team have performed at renowned venues such as the United Nations, The Kennedy Center, and The Lincoln Center, and have been featured on CNN, NBC, and Vogue.
Mamta Singh, relocated to the United States in 2008 from Uttar Pradesh, India. Soon after settling in Jersey City and giving birth to her son, Mamta experienced postpartum depression, intensified by the absence of family and support networks. This catalyzed her to create a support group that later became JC Families, which serves and connects more than 80,000 parents in the Jersey City area. As Founder and Executive Director of JC Families and Hoboken Families, Mamta oversees the largest parent society in the area, ensuring that families connect online and offline with local resources, events and each other to build an inclusive and vibrant community. Mamta also founded Indians in Jersey City. Between the two organizations, Mamta organizes 18 to 25 community events annually. As an extension of her deep commitment to volunteerism and community service, Mamta is running for Council Person in the 2025 Jersey City elections.
Riaz Wahid, originally from Tamil Nadu, India, has been a resident of India Square in Jersey City since 1995. Riaz runs a family-owned non profit, Mercy Coop and Cafe, which organizes daily meal distributions to the homeless. Through oversight of five weekly kitchens, Riaz provides groceries to refugees, seniors, and those with food insecurity. Riaz also supports an orphanage for the blind, orphanages for children with multiple disorders, and socio-economic development programs in rural India. A committed community leader and activist, Riaz played a pivotal role in the passage of state legislation that waived identification fees for the homeless, significantly easing their access to essential services. Riaz was instrumental in establishing the Kearny Warming Center to provide shelter during harsh winter months. He is a proud father of two children, who were born and raised in Jersey City’s public schools. Recognized for his community activism, Riaz has received several city and state awards and was listed in the 2018 Hudson County Power List. He currently serves as a trustee of a local mosque, As-salam Masjid Inc.