Aruna Arya Gupta, the Indian-American philanthropist, author, poet, content producer, actress and entrepreneur, is visiting Siliguri, the city of her birth.

Based in San Francisco, Aruna, who shot to fame for her poems, bestsellers like Repentance and recent lyrical videos like Laazmi and Aja Shyam, is enjoying her stay in Siliguri and intends to be in India “till December” to promote her upcoming film on an OTT platform as well as work on causes dear to her heart, especially women’s uplift.

“Whenever I visit Siliguri, I go to a local blind school and a cowshed. Siliguri attracts me a lot as I was born here and have spent very special moments of my life here. Calcutta is another city that attracts me a lot,” she said, adding that she plans to promote “young talents of north Bengal” in the arts.

On Monday, Aruna attend an event hosted by the Lions Club of Siliguri GoGetter on the occasion of Independence Day.

The celebrity, whose poem “Sweetheart” was translated into “Laazmi” in Hindi and “Ferar Gaan” in Bengali, has turned into lyrical videos for a wider audience.

Her widely sold books include Repentance, Atonement and The Heart Has Its Answers.

She has started a production house named From Every Pore, which she said is a forum of expressions through stories, poetry and songs to highlight Indian culture and heritage and social issues.

Aruna has many projects on the floor, especially lyrical visual translations of her poems, and the film for an OTT platform.

“I have been working in India and across the world to support a number of causes for years and intend to continue my efforts. This time, I will be here till December to promote one of my upcoming films and also work for girls and women in different locations of the country,” she said.

Her passions include working for female education, rehabilitation of girls rescued after trafficking and supporting blind schools and orphanages.

On Tuesday, she spoke in detail of her endeavours.

Representatives of Lions Club of Siliguri GoGetter, the only all-women entrepreneurial Lions club of the city, were all praise for Aruna.

“She is a motivation for all of us. During her stay, we expect to hear more from her on how we can work for socio-economic uplift of women,” said a member of the club.