Bharati S. Kemraj’s Biography

Photo courtesy of Bharati Kemraj

Born in Meten Meer Zorg, Guyana, Bharati Sukul Kemraj, commonly known as “Kavita,” migrated to the Bronx at the age of seven. She is the daughter of Chandra Sukul and Pandit Vishnu, a Hindu Priest. She has three sisters and two brothers. A graduate of Lehman High School, she graduated from Fordham University in 2006 with a B.A. in Communications and Media Studies.

In 2000, Bharati founded the BHARATI Dance Academy at the Vishnu Mandir Hindu Temple, where she is still the dance teacher and choreographer. In 2008, she founded BHARATI "Where the Magic of Exposure Becomes Reality,” a media production and public relations company.

At BronxNet TV from 2005 to 2010, Bharati covered local, national and international news, events and topics for the New York Emmy Award-winning live show "Open.” She also coordinated guests, wrote scripts, created graphics and trained students in all areas of production for the weekly program “Diálogo Abierto” and hosted the monthly program "WellUS: The Pulse of our Community.” She is currently the host and producer of The BHARATI Show, which first aired in 2011 and which focuses on news, activities and events happening in and around the Bronx.

Hired for her technical skills in 2012, Bharati became Community Board 11’s first-ever Community Assistant, who spent much of her time here helping launch and maintain the Board’s NYC.gov website among other duties. From 2012 to 2015, she served on Community Board 9, becoming, in 2014, its Treasurer and Chairperson of the Youth & Education and Planning Committees. In 2013, she graduated from the NYPD Citizens Police Academy.

As a consultant, Bharati has worked in several fields and offices including Power Marketing, LLC, Lehman College’s Urban Male Leadership Program, the Bronx Chamber of Commerce, Bronx House and Bronx YMCA. As the co-owner and publicist for EF Sports, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to elevating futures through sports, charity events and friendly competitions, Bharati believes that, “Life is not what we want it to be, but what we make of it. While there are many things here that will catch your eye, only a few will touch your heart. Pursue those things.”

Bharati has been featured in The New York Times, “The Debrief with David Ushery,” the Daily News, News 12, Bronx Times-Reporter and several other local print publications, blogs and social media sites. In 2012 and 2014, she emceed the Annual Bronx Week Parade. She currently serves as an advisor for Habitat for Humanity’s NYC Faith-Rooted Advisory Council and as a member of the Bronx Clergy Taskforce, Bronx YMCA Bon Appetit Fundraiser Planning Committee and Sonia Sotomayor Cornerstone Advisory Board.

In 2015, she left Community Board 11 for a position with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.’s Office.