Young Indian Culture Group

Young Indian Culture Group (YICG) is a non-profit academy founded in

1993 to educate Asian Indians in New York on the cultural and spiritual
heritage of India. For this purpose, the academy organizes classes,
workshops, performances, outreach forums, specialty books, and festival
events. YICG sustains itself with contributions from donors and is based in
Herricks, NY. Rathi Raja is the founder.

Rathi Raja and the Establishment of YICG

Rathi Raja is a South Asian Indian storyteller and educator. She was born in
the district of Ambala in Haryana, India to parents from Kerala. Her father
was employed in the Air Force which meant the family had to shift location
frequently. So Rathi became fluent in Hindi, Tamil, and English and
developed an enduring interest in the multifariousness of Indian cultural
tradition. Despite having attended British schools, she maintained a keen
interest in the Hindu epics.

Rathi arrived in the US in 1981 with husband Ramani. After several years of
work on Wall Street, she moved to Manhasset in Long Island. There, Rathi
had a feeling that acculturation would affect American-born Hindus causing
them to lose vital information about their religion and culture. Realizing this,
she sought to arouse the interest of the children there by telling stories from
the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Panchatantra. Soon, she committed herself
wholly to educating Long Island children about their cultural, linguistic, and
religious heritage. The Young Indian Culture Group was an outcome of this
goal.
Rathi brought YICG into being, aided by two Long Island doctors Runi
Ratnam and Urmila Shivaram. In YICG’s maiden year, twenty five students
registered.

Activities
YICG ties up with state organizations, local libraries and schools, and other
cultural entities to further its activities. Its core areas are Indian art forms
and crafts, Indian languages, Yoga, Vedic heritage, and the Bhagavad Gita.
Courses are also provided in Indian cooking and mehendi. Classes in these
areas take place at the Herricks Middle School, 7 Hilldale Drive, Albertson,
NY 11507 on Saturdays.

The academy currently caters to students in Long Island and Queens.

Public Outreach
YICG students annually present two shows for the public. The academy also
organizes various outreach community projects.

Board of Directors
The following are the various members in YICG’s Board of Directors.
Rathi Raja Executive Director
Anjali Sajnani Associate Director
Jyoti Ramani Associate Director
Latha Desikan Associate Director
Nalini Chugh Associate Director
Raji Subramaniam Associate Director
Tanuja Reddy Deputy Director
Vasundhara Sureka Deputy Director
Vinitha Shetty Associate Director
Awards and Recognition
Rathi was recently awarded a Nassau County Community Service Award for
her endeavors.

References
Rathi Raja and the Young Indian Culture Group: South Asian Indian
Educator & Storyteller
Young Indian Culture Group
External Links
YICG

OFFICE AND RESOURCE CENTER

999 Herricks Road
Suite 110
New Hyde Park
NY 11040

YICG CLASSES
Herricks Middle School
7 Hilldale Drive
Albertson
NY 11507
Phone: 1-516-739-1575
E-Mail: yicgroup@aol.com