Indian American mother-daughter duo Monika and Natasha Samtani to host show on Rukus Radio

Rukus Avenue Radio, billed as the first mainstream South Asian radio station in North America, goes on air April 8.

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The Indian American mother-daughter duo Monika Samtani and Natasha Samtani will host a show amplifying women’s voices on the new South Asian American radio station Rukus Radio Avenue, which goes on air next week.

Rukus Radio, promoted as the first mainstream South Asian radio station in North America, will be launched on April 8. It is being launched by Rukus Avenue Music Group, which was also North America’s first South Asian record music label, in partnership with DJ Skee and Dash Radio.

The Samtanis are the co-hosts and co-founders of the platform The Fem Word. The duo will bring along their own unique creative style to the show, along with their impressive credentials.

Monika, based in Washington, DC, was the first South Asian female TV news anchor in the nation’s capital. Natasha has to her credit an impressive body of work in the music industry and has advocated for artists and creators.

The mother-daughter co-hosts and co-founders created The Fem Word, a global platform, to amplify women’s voices. “We are excited to dive in to the real, raw stories of women from all ages and stages,” they said in a statement. “The Fem Word is shifting the feminist narrative and broadcasting conversations that spark positivity and encourage women around the world to live their best life.”

The Fem Word’s new one-hour radio show premieres on April 9 and airs every Tuesday at 4 pm PST in North America, and every Wednesday 12 pm GMT in the United Kingdom and 4:30 pm IST in India.

Besides The Fem Word, the soon-to-be-launched radio station will have a plethora of content to keep the audiences engaged.

There will be over 70 original shows hosted by some of the most prominent South Asian music artists, DJs, journalists, comedians, activists and influences across the globe.

Among the many hosts will be Indian American Bollywood actor Omi Vaidya.  “The [Omi Show] will be a sometimes light, sometimes deep discussion of society’s present-day issues but through the lens of the South Asian experience,” Vaidya told American Bazaar last week. “But I also throw in hilarious stories, jokes, and we play fun old ’90s Bollywood songs to pair with the week’s topic.”

Rukus Avenue Radio will be available 24-7 through the Dash Radio app and at DashRadio.com commercial-free.

“There’s so much anticipation around this station and especially this business venture,” said Rukus Avenue Founder and CEO Sammy Chand in a press releasee. “We’re honored to be partnering with Dash Radio through the establishment of this platform, and are thrilled about presenting our South Asian culture to a worldwide market – the prospect of the social impact our community of over 70 celebrity hosts can have is very exciting to us.”

Dash Radio, founded by Scott Keeney, better known as DJ Skee, is the world’s largest all-original digital broadcaster, with a monthly audience of more than 10 million listeners.

“Dash has always been successful focusing on often overlooked genres,” said DJ Skee. “The potential for Rukus Avenue and the music of India is massive with an underserved market ripe for premium live audio content – we are excited to welcome them into the Dash family.”