Our “Accidental Author” journey :)
Vivek and I call ourselves “accidental authors”!
The journey started with Bollywood and Culture Groove, a company I co-founded in 2010 to spread the joy of Indian dance and culture in Chicagoland. But right from the get-go, our kids’ classes were unique. Instead of only teaching dances, our curriculum included learning about the people from different regions of India that the dances came from. This concept was a fantastic hit with parents, educators, and kids alike!
It was in 2016 when Vivek suggested that we make the cultural learning aspect accessible to everyone in the world irrespective of their physical location. And that’s when the concept of writing books came about.
This was before big publishers were publishing many books on Indian culture. So we decided to publish ourselves. We knew absolutely nothing about publishing except that our content was extremely engaging. After all, we had been teaching this content in our classes for kids ages 3 and up for years!
We published our first book – Let’s Celebrate 5 Days of Diwali – in the Fall of 2016 and watched in wonder as it became hugely popular. The next year, this book reached a rank of #387 out of all 8 million books on Amazon at that time. Encouraged by this amazing phenomenon, we published 12 more titles covering Indian festivals, cities, activity books, and even one on Indian weddings.
Today, our books are available in 54 countries with almost 80,000 books sold worldwide. But the biggest joy is receiving messages and letters from little readers from all around the world.
What started as a small dream to share the joy of Indian culture has now spread to a proportion that we couldn’t have ever imagined. And we owe it all to the amazing support we have received from parents, educators, library systems, and more.
Navy Pier Performance Try-outs!
Welcome to BollyGroove Event Performance Try-outs!
You should try out if:
1. You have prior Bollywood dance performance experience
2. Can bring out technique, smile, and energy on stage
3. Are a responsible and committed person in general
Featured 5 Fun Kids Books to start the New Year!
Start off the new year with these five kids’ books about New Beginnings!
Let’s Celebrate Ganesha’s Birthday!
People often associate Ganesha with new beginnings.
Check out this festival book with adorable stories!
A Growth Mindset Book that Teaches Children that it’s OK to Make Mistakes and start fresh!
A little girl unsure of her talent discovers her passion for dance!
Perfect book about trying new things!
Sometimes a new beginning can be about the most ordinary things such as…
getting a new haircut!
2023 Chicago Kids Diwali Party!
Join Bubbles Academy AND Bollywood & Culture Groove for another year of the Ultimate Kids Diwali party!
Diwali is the festival of lights and is the most popular festival in India.
Location: Bubbles Academy, 2184 N Elston Ave, Chicago
Date/Time: Sat, Nov 11, 10 am to 12 pm
Join us for an afternoon of fun and excitement including:
* Diwali Storytime
* Make a cool Diwali Craft
* Diwali Dance Party!
Tickets are $25 per child.
Virtual Diwali Tour
We are so excited to announce the 2022 Virtual Author Tour.
With three Maya/Neel books on Diwali, now is the perfect time to schedule your Author Visit!
Let Bestselling Author and Presenter, Ajanta, take over for an hour and engage your students’ or coworkers’ imagination by sharing an inspiring presentation on Diwali, the festival of lights of India.
Using a combination of Joyful Movement, Indian music, and Stories, Ajanta will create an ultimate exciting and engaging experience!
Ajanta is the co-founder of Bollywood & Culture Groove and for the past 10 years, has endlessly worked towards spreading the joy of culture! She is the award-winning co-author of Maya/Neel book series. Her work has been featured on NBC, ABC, FOX, Elle Magazine, Neilsen Media, Sun-Times, Univision, Al Jazira+, and more.
Explore Maya/Neel Diwali Books
We hope to bring the magic and excitement of Diwali to your School, Library, or Organization.
Happy Diwali!
What People Say
Ajanta was amazing. The kids loved her. They were super engaged throughout the whole lesson. Very educational and entertaining!
We organized a virtual party for my daughter Sarah during the lockdown. Ajanta was amazing and the party was a great success! Children and families connected through Zoom and learned a traditional dance and it's meaning. Thank you for the great experience!
We no longer live in Chicago but my daughter and I both love the kids and adults Bollywood groove classes! The adult classes are a fantastic workout and I have not found anything as good in Atlanta. The kids dance classes are perfectly paced for this age group, interspersed with story telling and culture and a virtual recital at the end. Love, love, love Ajanta!
I'm not sure how I haven't written a review here before. I've been taking these classes for a year and a half now. I've never stuck with a workout that long. I love Ajanta. Somehow after dancing all day she still has more energy than I have when I wake up. I work out harder in BG than I do in any other workout I do; it's probably because I'm having so much fun that I don't even realize how hard I'm breathing. I highly recommend these classes.
My four-year-old daughter loves dance classes with Bollywood Groove! She has been taking classes for eight months - first at her school and now online. I highly recommend this program for kids and adults! It's a great workout with catchy music and awesome dance moves. Class also has a bit of education regarding India (the language, culture, etc). Truly a wonderful experience.
We had a virtual 5th birthday party last week put on by Bollywood Groove. The organization of the event was taken care of and we were provided simple instructions as to how to manage the party. The party itself was full of energy, perfectly themed, and fun for all! the birthday girl loved it, as did all of the attendees!
Wonderful Bollywood birthday party for my eight year old grandson via Zoom. Friends and relatives from all over the country were able to participate. And they DID because of the excellent example, enthusiasm, and creativity of the teacher! One party goer said that it was the most fun he'd had since COVID-19 quarantine began. I went all out and felt accomplished after the exercise.
By far the most energizing virtual workout I have been to all year! Ajanta was such a lively instructor and amazing at engaging the group. Such a fun way to get a workout in!
This place is so much fun. It doesn't even feel like you're working out because the music is lively and everyone is so into it. Definitely give it a try. You won't regret it.
This is a review for the zoom kids class. Love the choreography, music selections, your style of teaching. Ms Ajanta you are energetic, and we love your manner of explanation to the kids. We also love how you've incorporated story time regarding Indian culture during your breaks. My son doesn't know any Hindi but is able to dance to the songs and has learnt some awesome moves! This class has been enriching at so many levels but most importantly the kids love you and they have fun! You make the parents want to sit in and dance as well! I often find most Bollywood song choreographies very redundant but yours is unique and fun!
Bollywood Groove helped my company celebrate Diwali virtually with employees from across the country! The class was the perfect blend of cultural learning and dancing. Ajanta was able to tie in different parts of Diwali with each of the dance moves. Everyone who joined the virtual dance class loved Ajanta's high energy and how engaging she was. I definitely recommend Bollywood Groove for any parties/corporate events/etc. as a fun, lively, and educational event - that can be done virtually!
By far the most energizing virtual workout I have been to all year! Ajanta was such a lively instructor and amazing at engaging the group. Such a fun way to get a workout in!
Ajanta’s energetic workshop received nothing but positive exclamations from our Dell Team members! She makes diversity and inclusion through culture sharing engaging, fun, interactive and absolutely refreshing against our typical day-to-day.
Bollywood Groove has been AMAZING! We have been joining the virtual classes over the past month and the level of instruction is unmatched. My 3yo is blossoming!