Beyond the studio

In the summer of 2021, I sat under the shade of a neem tree, surrounded by rice fields, and filmed Avtar Singh's family as they explained why he had committed suicide at age 28. Avtar's story was one of many I captured that summer, when I traveled Punjab with my father, in an attempt to share their stories with the world through film.

While still in the US, I had read the statistics: almost thirty suicides a day in southern Punjab. Agriculture is declining, and climate change comes like a thief in the night, stealing water and wilting crops. But these statistics had not prepared me for the reality of actually meeting the widows and children left behind. I couldn't help but wonder, if my parents hadn't immigrated to the US from India, could I have ended up as one of those orphaned children? Sharing their stories with the world through my videos was not enough. I felt I had to make a difference in their lives.

I decided to raise money by selling something I had been making since fifth grade: homemade slime. I designed my own packaging, cleared space in my basement for a workroom, and gathered a team of friends to help me make and sell it at school, at street fairs, and online through a website I built and coded myself. Three slimes could support a family for a month, or send two kids to school for one. Over $10,000 raised, 100% of profits sent straight to families in Sangrur. I ran Slime for Good until 2024.