“Hindi film music has always been an integral part of my life”, says Amit Dang the handsome host of Sounds of India who recently relinquished his bachelor status and married Dr. Pragya Ahuja a physician from New Delhi. Amit Dang is the son of Harish and Binita Dang who are the founders of Sounds of India which has been New England’s favorite Indian American radio show for over thirty-two years. 

Amit graduated with a dual degree in Accounting and Finance from Babson college. Later while working at PricewaterhouseCoopers he completed his CPA.  He is currently working at Goldman Sachs in their financial reporting division of a recent acquisition (Allmerica Financial Life and Annuity Company).

Pragya was born and raised in New Delhi, India.  She graduated in 2006 from Maulana Azad Medical College, which is considered one of the premier medical institutes in the country.  She is in the process of completing the US medical exams and applying for a residency here in the US.

This delightful couple spoke to Lokvani about their wedding, their dreams and the radio show.

Your parents Harish and Binita are a beloved presence in the New England Indian American community? What was it like growing up in this family?

 Amit: It was very special. I am blessed with parents who always put family first.  My dad, despite his busy schedule never missed a single important event in my life. I had the typical Indian American childhood - I attended Shishubharati, learnt Tabla and had dreams for a successful career in the business world.

The one thing that was unique to my upbringing was that my parents ran a radio show. Thanks to the show, I grew up listening to a lot of Hindi Film music. When I was only ten, I became part of the Sounds of the India team. In addition to the radio show my parents also hosted music concerts. When I was sixteen, I had the privilege of emceeing the show that featured Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik.

Being a radio host and a concert host is a dream come true for most people. How did you enjoy growing up with this privilege?

Amit:It was a mixed blessing. I love music and choosing music for the show has always been something I enjoy very much.  I have always been concerned with my public appearance thus resulting in me shying away from emceeing or hosting large events.  Radio has always been a safe haven as I can keep myself hidden from the public eye.  Being a host of a concert is somewhat easy as I am usually focused on the spotlight versus the thousands of people in the audience.

Do you have other interests besides music?

Amit:I love baseball, tennis and golf.  My father when he first moved here saw that Boston was absolutely crazy for the Red Sox and the Celtics.  He brought up his children in such a way that they wouldn’t feel left out of the childhood experience.  During high school, I played baseball and basketball, as those were the sports that were strongest in the Boston area. 

Despite growing up in the United States, you went all the way to India to choose a bride. How did that happen?

Amit:I did not go to India to choose a bride. Pragya and I have known each other since we were kids. My family and I have visited India almost every year due to having so much family still overseas.  Being good friends with Pragya’s family we would make it a point to meet up with them during our visits. During my visit a couple of years ago, Pragya mentioned that there was a possibility of becoming a doctor in the U.S., which caused me to see her in a different light.  After a couple dates, we realized that we really were more than friends.  Talking to each other night and day and getting to know each other more and more we were growing closer and closer, and before we knew it, we were in love.   During my next visit to India, I successfully proposed and to my utter delight she accepted, and the rest as they say is history.

Were you concerned that there would be cultural differences?

Pragya: Despite growing up on different continents, we do not feel that there is much of a cultural difference. Our families are very similar.  We both come from very tight knit families.  For both Amit and I, our parents have been our role models.  Amit is very rooted in his Indian identity.  He cares so much about his family.  He has respect for everyone around him and treats everyone with utmost care. He has great love for all things Indian.  We share a love for music.  I am so impressed that he even understands Hindi and can speak it if he has to.

Pragya, you left home and came a long way to a place that is not very familiar to you.  What has the transition been like?

Pragya: I am very fortunate in that I came into my in-laws’ home.  They are wonderful. Since I have known them for so long, I have never felt that I was in a new home.  The extra effort they put to make me feel comfortable during my initial weeks here is something I will never forget.  Amit has a wonderful set of friends many of whom came to the wedding.  Since I arrived, the transition to adapt to America has been so easy with them throwing me a surprise welcoming, taking me out every other week, and looking after my comfort. 

Did many of your non-Indian friends attend the wedding?  How did they enjoy their trip?

Amit: Around twenty of my non-Indian friends came to the wedding.  Pragya’s parents put a huge effort to make sure that all visitors from the US had a great experience. They had arranged for a tour to Agra and Jaipur. We even had the opportunity to stay for two nights at Choki Dhani.
The festivities of course were elaborate in the typical Indian style with over 1,400 guests, which is unheard of in the States.  My friends tell me that it was the best vacation they ever had – perhaps something they could never have dreamed of.  I am very grateful to Pragya’s family for their efforts.

Pragya: The nice part about his friends being at the wedding was that they were so enthusiastic about it.  We had full participation in each aspect of the events from the dancing at the Sangeet, to the girls and guys getting Mehndi, to wearing sarees and kurta pajamas at the wedding.  That just added to the success of the wedding.  I got to know them well, and our friendship has grown ever since.

Amit, what was your favorite part of the ceremony?

Amit: The Baraat, of course! We Baraatis showed up according to American Standard Time rather than Indian Standard time, so we were an hour and a half too early .  This gave us a wonderful opportunity to sing and dance for that much longer.

Pragya: It was quite a sight to watch all the American boys and girls dressed in complete Indian outfits dancing away on Indian streets.  Dulharaja himself was dancing while seated on the horse.

Pragya, practicing medicine in the United States is a challenge for foreign medical graduates. Does that worry you?

Pragya: I have always been very ambitious, and I am willing to work hard in learning the medical system here in America.  Getting a medical degree even in India was not that easy, and I think having done that I hope I can take the next steps as a challenge as well.  While I am aware of the hardships, I am also very excited about the opportunity to work in a cleaner, safer, and higher quality work environment with the latest technologies, some of which is not available in India.

You both have accomplished a great deal already. What are your hopes for the future?

Both of us would like to work hard and achieve success in our respective careers. When we have a family we hope we can find the right balance between family and career.

So long as we are here in Boston we will continue to do the radio show. We also hope to leverage the show to do more community service. We may think of doing a Boston Indian Idol kind of event to help the local talent who are musically talented to take their music to the next level.

Lokvani wishes you the very best of luck for the future.
Thankyou

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