If you click on www.nariandco.com you will notice that the word “Nari” holds symbolic meaning in many languages. In Italian, Nari means to be “cheerful”, while Japanese derive Nari from Nariko which means” good deed”. In Sanskrit, Nari means a “strong woman”. True to the roots of the company's name, Nari and Co is a company created by two women who believe that everyone has a right to be healthy and happy. Meet Sheena Patel and Manoshi Vin who are the founders and who have combined their passion for wellness and philanthropy to create Nari and Co. Their first event is happening this Saturday in Boston at Mantra to aid the victims of the Mumbai attacks.

What was the motivation to start this company? When did you begin and how do you know each other?

Manoshi: it’s a rather interesting story; I have always wanted to give back to community as a whole. As a therapist I wanted to do something, but just wanted sure what it was- I have seen Sheena for years in the Indian circle but had never met her, then one day she pitched an idea for Netsap Boston, where I was on the board. As soon as I began hearing her philosophy about empowerment, I knew that was it!! She was going to help me formulate this organization and that was beginning of nari- everything else just fell into place.

 Sheena:  We came together as a team after I conducted a pitch to NetIP for yoga/stress management classes, one day. We met each other and talked about how we shared the same vision for helping other people achieve a better wellness for themselves. No introduction was needed, no background information was needed, we both just knew that we wanted to do something and take the next step to help others. Our first idea to help others was through conducting workshops in stress management around the Boston area for woman. But we quickly realized that we wanted to help people in a larger scale and then host the workshops on the side. The best way we agreed upon was to host events around the greater Boston area to give to charities of our choice that made an immediate impact.

 What is your mission and what do you hope to achieve?

 Sheena: Nari means both 'good deed' and 'strong woman' the perfect title for our company.  Nari's goal is to promote health and empowerment by combining workshops for both men and woman to help reduce stress and increase well being.  Nari & Co also organizes philanthropic events in the greater Boston area. Proceeds benefit global woman in need.

 Manoshi: We are true to our company's name. We are two independent women who come from families of strong independent women. We want to give back, we believe that everyone has an innate right to healthy and happy and that is what Nari stands for.

 Is this a full time effort and do you hold other jobs?

 Sheena: We both have full time jobs, but give ourselves 100% to Nari & Co. I am qualified to help you achieve your ultimate wholeness because of my background as a yoga instructor, teacher at MIT and IT consultant who is deeply rooted in Indian classical dance, yoga, Indian art and Ayurveda. I have  held teaching assignments since 2001 at Equinox, Gold's Harvard, Latitude and wellness sessions at my studio and at corporations. I lecture at MIT on mind/body, wellness and stress management.

Manoshi Vin : I am qualified to help you achieve your ultimate wholeness because of my background working with traumatized children and woman in the greater Boston area. I work with under privileged woman and children and specializes in working with minority and immigrant populations.We hold countless jobs between us but nari is more than job for me, it’s my passion.

Tell us more about the event coming up this Saturday at Mantra? Six degrees of Separation. About the charity ‘Revive’ that you are helping

Sheena: The event taking place this Saturday is at MANTRA's Om Lounge at 10pm hosted by Nari and Co in partnership with Revive Mumbai and Brandeis University to give back to the victims of the Mumbai attacks and eventually give a victim in need a 'peace scholarship' to Brandeis University.

You have invited 6 hottest entrepreneurs to the show. Could you tell us a little more about them?

Manoshi: we wanted to highlight young people who want to make a difference to Bostonians. We made an effort to highlight individuals who have made their mark in non conventional fields.

Sheena: We've hand selected six members of the Boston community that are making changes in their own fields of fashion, entertainment, health and so on. The first person we have selected is: Sarina Daryanani she represents the fashion change in Boston she has opened up a company to showcase pieces of her eclectic and creative style, David Q has been changing the international entertainment scene by hosting special parties since 2002, Gigi Shafai is a refreshing mix of fields specializing as a Pharmacist, but also one of the top salsa dancers in Boston, Vishal Sood is the head of Gourmet India representing the food industry's potential in the greater Boston area, Pallavi Chabbra is President of NetSAP 2009 and she represents the ever changing and diverse Indian population in the Boston area, finally Naman P who is the philanthropic in the group creating Revive Mumbai after his close friend passed away in the attacks...This event is thrown as a party for a good cause as well as to link up and meet the new and old faces of Boston. 

Any upcoming events that readers might look forward to?

Our plan is to have one event every two months. Look out for our next event in April. It takes time to go through the process of picking a charity or a person to represent at our events.

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