Global IndianstorySaurabh Nimsarkar: The designer behind LA’s first Transportation Technology Innovation Zone

Saurabh Nimsarkar: The designer behind LA’s first Transportation Technology Innovation Zone

Written by: Charu Thakur

(December 22, 2023) It was in 2020 that the Mayor of LA, Eric Garcetti, announced the city’s first official Transportation Technology Innovation Zone whose pilot project intended to be a zero emission, last-mile delivery service to aid in connecting residents confined to their homes with food from local businesses during the pandemic. Nagpur-born and California-based design strategist Saurabh Nimsarkar took it upon himself to structure LA’s first Transportation Technology Innovation Zone. “The brief given to me was to reduce the car usage in LA and at the same time, improve the connectivity of the people living in LA,” he tells Global Indian.

Calling it a “work in progress”, Saurabh underlines the impact that the transport technology zone created, especially in the middle of the pandemic. “We emphasised optimising last-mile delivery, specifically addressing the challenge of bringing groceries, food, and essential items directly to people’s doorsteps. The solution came in the form of autonomous delivery bots, which played a crucial role in ensuring the delivery of food to underserved communities,” says the transportation designer, who is currently working on autonomous air taxis.

Saurabh Nimsarkar

Curiosity led to creativity

Having grown up at his grandmother’s farm for the first six years of his life, Saurabh spent most of his time catching insects, making sand castles, and picking mangoes. “That made me a curious person as I didn’t grow up in a traditional education setup where you attend school till 3 pm. Instead, I spent a lot of time playing around the villages. This curiosity translated into the person I have become,” says the designer, who picked up sketching landscapes at a very young age. “I would pick up my sketchbook, and graphite pencils and move to the fields where I would sketch small insects and birds. That’s when I started gravitating towards my artistic instincts. Slowly, the hobby translated into a passion and I started sketching portraits and became good at it with every drawing.”

He had the skillset but didn’t know what to do with it. So, like every 90s kid, he took up engineering and enrolled in Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology for Metallurgy and Materials Engineering. “Those years at the engineering college established the groundwork for my journey as a designer.” Dissatisfied with his course, which he believed was only relevant to a select group of scientists, he found solace in dedicating time to sketching. Despite initially taking on a role as a software developer at Wipro, this experience broadened his perspective on design. “Even during my tenure as a software developer, my passion for design persisted. I spent time in the company’s library, immersing myself in design literature. This exposure fuelled my interest in pursuing design as a career. After thorough research, I decided to take the IIT-Bombay exam and successfully cracked it,” he elaborates.

Saurabh Nimsarkar | Global Indian

Saurabh dedicated two years to pursuing his master’s degree in mobility and vehicle design at IIT-Bombay, an experience which he says was nothing short of being in an army camp. “We went days without sleep to meet project deadlines. The program demands intense effort because you not only acquire new skills but also have to unlearn the logical thinking ingrained in engineers. As a creative individual, forging your path becomes essential,” he explains, emphasising the invaluable lessons learnt at IIT-Bombay, not only in the professional field but also in understanding the cultural aspects of design from professors and experienced designers. “I still try and use that knowledge in my work.”

The Global Indian journey

Armed with a new set of knowledge, he worked with Godrej for three years before flying to the US for his second master’s. He joined ArtCentre College of Design in California where he specialised in Transportation design. “I initially believed that design education in the US was exceptional, and I expected designers here to be at an unparalleled level. However, my perception changed when I realised that designers in India produce superior work. The disparity lies in our approach to publicising and branding our work; as Indians, we tend to lag in that aspect. Nevertheless, when it comes to skill sets and education, we are on par with our counterparts in the US.”

Moving to another country as a designer comes with its own set of parameters – one has to submerge in the culture and think about different social dynamics, before providing a solution. “I even had to learn the history of transportation and how it evolved in LA. The car culture is big in LA, each year they have car rallies. It’s a big part of their culture something that I learnt after coming here. It has been a rich experience for me as a designer.”

Saurabh Nimsarkar | Global Indian

The project that changed it all

However, it was Los Angeles’s first transportation zone that put Saurabh Nimsarkar in the spotlight. He calls it serendipity as the Nagpur lad, who was then working with Honda R&D, found himself at a conference where a chance encounter with individuals from the Mayor’s office led to a conversation that eventually resulted in a job offer. Seizing the opportunity, he joined as a design strategist for LA’s pioneering transportation innovation zone.

Nimsarkar | Global Indian

“I formulated a design research workshop that brought together participants from LA, local government entities, and technology providers. Uniting them under one roof, I outlined a workshop strategy aimed at devising solutions with a focus on people. I gave them canvases to work on. It enabled the creation of nearly 200 ideas, culminating in the issuance of a Request for Information (RFI). The insights gathered from the RFI process ultimately paved the way for the establishment of LA’s inaugural technology innovation zone, inaugurated by Eric Garcetti, the then Mayor of LA.”

Shaping the future

Having lived in California for six years now, Saurabh saw the rising number of recreational vans (RVs) on the road, owing to the high rents in the state. This led to the concept of ModLiv, an autonomous RV that will change the way people live in the future. “The RV concept is huge in California as most people cannot afford the steep rents. In San Francisco, the average rent is around $5000 per month while the average salary of a software engineer is $7000. Second-hand RVs, on the other hand, cost $10,000 which is a one-time investment and also provides mobility. This led to the premise of ModLiv as how people will navigate the space with their changing lifestyles and work from home in the future.” What sets it apart from other RVs is the novelty of being autonomous. “I plan to use it as a service through government initiatives and not a product, as homelessness is a huge problem in California.”

ModLiv

In these years in the US, Saurabh has become more open-minded and has learnt to have a beginner’s mind in every approach. “Solving the right problem is important to me. Also, do not have a cursory glance at the solution but understand the background and context.”

The designer is currently working for Wisk Aero, a company that’s making a four-seater autonomous passenger aircraft. “The USP of this is that you can use the third dimension – air – to transport people from point A to B in an efficient way. It’s like a passenger air taxi, and it’s going to be autonomous and one can roughly travel 50 miles in 20 mins. Autonomous is very specific to our company and that’s our USP.” He adds that the system is designed to be safer, eliminating the possibility of human error. While not fully autonomous, it incorporates human supervision for added security. “We are working on it, it’s a long way as it involves certain levels of regulation.”

As a transportation designer, who is into psychogeography, he calls advanced air mobility the future of aviation. “As for transportation, the future should be carless. However, people should be provided with alternate modes of public transportation equitably, of course, economics and sustainability factors to it.”

Follow Saurabh Nimsarkar on LinkedIn

Name*

Email*

Name*

Email*

1 Comment

Oldest

Newest Most Voted

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments

Tanmay

December 22, 2023 8:44 pm

What a fantastic journey you’ve had, Saurabh!
Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Published on 22, Dec 2023

Share with

ALSO READ

Mafat Patel: Building the Patel Brothers empire

(October 22, 2022) When Mafat Patel left home at the age of 23, back in the year 1968, his mother wept to see him go. Mafat had grown up sheltered, spending his childhood on a farm in a village named Bhandu, in Gujarat's Mehsana district. The farthest from home he had ever been was the neighbouring district of Patan, where he earned himself a degree in Mechanical Engineering. When a friend, who had just returned from the US, asked Mafat's father to consider sending his son, the old man jumped on the idea. As did Mafat. And so, in 1968, Mafat arrived in the United States of America, where he studied in Ohio. Global Indian takes a look at the story of Mafat Patel, his brother Tulsi and his sister-in-law Aruna and how they built the Patel Brothers grocery empire. There was no inkling then, in the minds of his family, or even in the farthest reaches of Mafat's own imagination, that he would go on to build an empire in America. Recently, as I chatted with a friend about the years she spent living in Hoboken, New Jersey, her mother demanded: "Did you tell her about the Patel Brothers

empire in America. Recently, as I chatted with a friend about the years she spent living in Hoboken, New Jersey, her mother demanded: "Did you tell her about the Patel Brothers supermarkets?" The chain of Indian grocery stores is an absolute go-to for every South Asian in New York, Chicago and Atlanta, a thriving business worth over $140 million. Mafat Patel, now in his seventies, still walks through the aisles, meeting his customers and addressing many by name as they sip on steaming chai or order hot chapatis.

After his business degree, Mafat moved to Chicago, where he had been offered a job in quality control at Jefferson Electric. "When I came here, there weren't too many Indian families. We were two roommates from India, here together. Both of us were vegetarian and it was difficult to eat. We would cook on our own." Although he had a good job and lived a comfortable life, Chicago just wasn't home. The already overwhelming loneliness was only heightened by the fact that he didn't have the one thing for which he wanted most - a hot, home-cooked Indian meal. "He would talk about how difficult it was, to come home in the cold and the rain on the bus and think, now what do we do about dinner," said a friend of Mafat, Ramesh Vitha, in an interview.

[caption id="attachment_30969" align="aligncenter" width="648"] Mafat Patel[/caption]

The Devon storefront

In 1971, Mafat's wife and children joined him in America. That year, he received an offer from a businessman named Ramesh Trivedi, who had a storefront on Devon Avenue that he was looking to sell. It was a dilapidated place but Mafat, whose business acumen kicked in instantly, leapt on the opportunity. He wanted to open an Indian grocery store. Mafat got in touch with his brother, Tulsi and his wife, Aruna, who left Gujarat and joined him in America.

In 1974, they got things up and running. "We started a small grocery store, in an 800 sq foot space," Mafat said, in a 2018 episode of Zee TV's Those Who Made It. "I was working and my brother was running the store. We did two shifts and Aruna was working from 10 am to 10 pm." Mafat's wife handled the domestic affairs and making sure the home ran smoothly. "If it wasn't for Aruna, we wouldn't be here right now. She was controlling the business then. We were two brothers and two sisters, all living together. We would stick together and worked very hard." Mafat would arrive at the store after work, interviewing suppliers late into the night. Early the next morning, he would go back to the office.

Cultivating relationships

The Indian diaspora was miniscule, limited to around 150 families. "We opened the store and would go one or two days without a single customer," Tulsi Patel said, in 'Those Who Made It'. They held things together, though, with impeccable customer service. Tulsi would carry huge bags of groceries in cloth bags and deliver them to customers. "There were about 150 families and whenever they called, even if they were 10 miles away, we would go, in rain or snow. That's how we maintained relationships," said Mafat. Tulsi recalls, "Even if it was after 10 pm, I would make the trip, up to the third floor, just to deliver milk."

They genuinely cared for their customers and that held them in good stead. Moreover, Mafat Patel was a far-sighted man - he predicted, correctly, that in 20 or 30 or even 40 years, there would be a lot more Indians in America and that they would need groceries.

As the business grew, Patel Bros needed external funding. That came from Ramesh Ajawani, a banker, whom the brothers still count among their closest friends. "He was still working as an engineer and trying to get a foothold in Indian groceries," Ramesh said. "He said he had high energy levels, could work 24/7 and had a lot of passion for what he wanted to do. I liked his entrepreneurial attributes and we started doing a lot more."

By 1976, Mafat recalls, they started expanding the business. "We bought another supermarket in Chicago. In 1977, we built other stores on Devon Avenue. In 1981, we went to Atlanta and a year later, to New York. Then the whole family came and we had lots of hands." Mafat stayed with his day job for 16 years, finally quitting in 1985 to devote himself full time to the import/export business. Patel Bros had arrived, bringing Indian grocery stores into the mainstream, to compete with mega stores like Walmart.

The next generation

Today, the reins are held largely by Mafat's son Swetal and his nephew, Rakesh. Swetal Patel was born to Mafat Patel and his wife in Chicago, growing up in a family of 10. Although business was thriving, life wasn't always easy for Swetal, Indians were still decidedly a minority in the US. Like most immigrants growing up in a foreign country, he struggled to balance two identities - the America he saw every day at school and the close-knit, Gujarati joint family to which he returned every day. He didn't want to carry Indian food for lunch every day, because of how it smelled, according to Intertwined Cultures.

Every day after school, all the Patel children would help out with the family business. As his American peers went home to a PBJ and chocolate milk, Swetal Patel helped his parents make bhel puri. Evenings and weekends were spent bagging groceries, talking to customers, sweeping floors and loading and unloading goods. He recalls helping customers wheel their grocery carts in winter, winding his way through the snow. Back home, his mother continued to hold the fort, keeping meals ready for the ever-growing family and for the stream of guests and visiting relatives.

[caption id="attachment_30966" align="aligncenter" width="696"] Swetal and Rakesh Patel[/caption]

Today, Patel Bros is every bit the organised supermarket. Back when Swetal lent a hand, though, the place was chaos. Even that lack of organisation held a sense of Indian-ness, the smell of spices pervading through the cloth bags, all stacked along the shelves as customers stood around and pointed to what they wanted. Every morning at 10 am, the store would open with an hour of 'bhajans'.

Branching out

They have thriving stores in 51 locations across America and the Patel Brothers haven't stopped there. They also own Patel Air Tours, Sahil, a clothing boutique for Indian weddings, Patel Handicrafts and Patel Cafe. In 1991, they also launched Raja Foods, a Patel Brothers subsidiary, which offers readymade foods like chapatis and samosas.

Much of their success, they will readily admit, comes from remaining connected to Indian family values. A large section of their employees still comprises members of the family. "I have brought more than 350 families here and they are all well-to-do," Mafat said, in the Those Who Made It episode. The families come there, learn the trade and in time, Mafat will help them set up their own store.

"Whatever you get in India, you will get in Patel Brothers," Mafat smiles. "People from everywhere come to Devon Avenue or New York and say, 'let's go see the Patel Brothers'. Asian immigrants know their needs will be met in a single store. We are essentially grocers. From ingredients like turmeric and red chilli powder, to snacks like khakras, gathias and theplas, we are a truly Indian brand and cater to almost all NRIs in the US."

Sana Javeri Kadri: Cultivating change in the spice industry with Diaspora Co.

(February 13, 2024) Entrepreneur Sana Javeri Kadri is the founder and CEO of Diaspora Co., a direct trade, single-origin spice company dedicated to improving the spice trade in South Asia. Beginning with just one spice (turmeric) in 2017, her company now sources 30 single-origin spices from 150 farms across India and Sri Lanka, aiming to create fairer opportunities for spice farmers. With offices in Mumbai and California, Diaspora Co. is at the forefront of ethical spice sourcing and building an equitable spice trade. “The original intent of colonial conquest of the Indian subcontinent was a desire for domination of the spice trade. 400ish years later, as a young woman born and raised in postcolonial Mumbai, working at the intersection of food and culture, I was slowly discovering that not much about that system had changed,” Sana writes on her Diaspora Co’s website. Mirroring the colourful packaging of products that her company deals in, her website too immediately captivates visitors with its colourful pages spreading radiance like Sana. The young entrepreneur has been empowering marginalised communities by channelling funds, equity, and authority into the hands of Indian and Sri Lankan farmers, with the aim of disrupting an outdated spice trading system.

like Sana. The young entrepreneur has been empowering marginalised communities by channelling funds, equity, and authority into the hands of Indian and Sri Lankan farmers, with the aim of disrupting an outdated spice trading system.

[caption id="attachment_49015" align="aligncenter" width="513"] Sana Javeri Kadri is founder and CEO of Diaspora Co., a direct trade, single-origin spice company making spice trade in South Asia better. Sana Javeri Kadri[/caption]

Through extensive taste testing, farm visits, and collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Diaspora Co. sources the finest spices from South Asia, bringing them to international markets.

Solving a big problem

In the conventional commodity trading model, crops from multiple farmers are mixed together at each stage, with quality judged solely on colour and size rather than factors such as cultivation methods, seed varieties, taste, and aroma. Farmers lack control as well as influence over both the price they receive and the ultimate quality of the product. “We’re here to say that the system is no longer good enough – we all deserve better,” remarks Sana.

The Diaspora Co. model guarantees that the spices are sourced from the latest harvest to maintain maximum potency and freshness. Her organisation claims to collaborate with small, multi-generational family farms, providing them with an average premium of three to five times the market rate for their sustainably-farmed single-origin spices. “Each spice takes us anywhere from a few months to several years to source, based on rigorous lab testing, in-field visits, and several tastings,” Sana shares. She is committed to sourcing the finest spices while supporting sustainable farming practices in a mission to revolutionise the spice industry.

[caption id="attachment_49014" align="aligncenter" width="794"] Indian Entrepreneur | Sana Javeri Kadri | Global Indian Sana Javeri Kadri with farmers[/caption]

Taking up the responsibility

The young entrepreneur has dedicated all her efforts to make her venture successful, driven by the deep desire to uplift the disadvantaged farmers. In 2022, much to Sana and Diaspora Co. team’s happiness, the spice startup raised more than two million dollars in funding from value-aligned investors like Meena Harris of media company Phenomenal, Pentland Ventures, Ben Jacobsen of Jacobsen Salt Co. and Shelley Armistead of hospitality group Gjelina.

“I’m responsible for 200 farmers who like to look to us for a majority of their income,” an elated Sana had shared after raising fresh funding in 2022. “There’s the world of valuations and growth. And then there’s a world of farms and farmers and things grown in the grounds. In raising this round, I had to constantly think about what honours both of these things.”

Diaspora Co. also appointed a new board of advisers including Ellen Bennett of apron company, and Hedley & Bennett and Food52 co-founder Merrill Stubbs. “I started this company not really to be a unicorn. Our numbers are great and we are profitable. The math makes sense. But I started the company for the impact and flavour and cultural piece,” she mentioned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJFdwd9GrUc&t=81s

Using global education to uplift natives

In 2017, at the age of 23, very confident about the potential for ethically produced high- quality spices Sana dipped her toes into entrepreneurship. Coming from a privileged family and growing up in an environment of entrepreneurship, choosing an entrepreneurial career path came naturally to her.

Sana grew up in a family of successful architects. Her grandfather, IM Kadri, is the veteran architect who founded I.M.K Architects in Mumbai. He has been a key figure behind the creation of iconic buildings across various cities in India, the United States, Russia, the Middle East, Hong Kong, and numerous other locations globally. Sana’s parents Rahul and Shimul Javeri Kadri are well-known architects too.

However, for Sana, the choice of business sector to indulge in came with her own experiences of life. When she was on a full scholarship at United World College of the Adriatic in Italy, she worked on an olive grove one spring and a vineyard the following year.

Later, when she went to study in the US, her on-campus job was on a farm, and that’s when she discovered that she wanted to work in the realm of agriculture. Around that time the US had just discovered turmeric latte (haldi doodh - the time-tested concoction to boost immunity in Indian homes). The youngster realised that the ethnic food and spices of South Asia - the region that she comes from needs more exposure.

[caption id="attachment_49019" align="aligncenter" width="478"] Indian Entrepreneur | Sana Javeri Kadri | Global Indian Sana Javeri Kadri[/caption]

For the sake of social change

Her family has always believed in social upliftment. “At age 12, my dad taught me the term ‘social change’,” Sana shared in an interview. She merged her discoveries with the values she grew up with to establish her spice startup for empowering farmers.

Motivated by her desire to utilise her privileged global education to create meaningful change as soon as she had finished college, Sana had purchased a one-way ticket to her home-town Mumbai. Immersing herself in seven months of thorough market research, which included over 40 farm visits, she had dedicated herself to understanding the intricacies of the industry. It was during this period that a meeting with professionals from the Indian Institute of Spices Research had reaffirmed her commitment to making a difference in the spice trade sector.

Sana began with a single spice - 350 kilos of turmeric that she sourced from a young farmer who had his farm at the outskirts of Vijayawada. Today Sana and her company deal in 30 types of spices, which they source from more than 200 farmers across India and Sri Lanka. Apart from whole spices, Diaspora Co. has also diversified into masalas and now have an impressive range of products in this segment as well.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Diaspora Co. Spices (@diasporaco)

“From our very first day, the big, audacious dream was to grow a radically new, decidedly delicious and truly equitable spice trade, to push a broken system into an equal exchange, and to have a lot of fun doing it,” shares Sana who is busy penning a cookbook of family dishes that are ‘heirlooms and generational gifts’ celebrating 25 family farms across India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Follow Sana Javeri Kadri on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook
Follow Diaspora Co. on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and its website

Reading Time: 5 mins

Kheyti: Earthshot Prize-winning startup revolutionising agriculture for small farmers

(September 11, 2023) As a teenager, Sathya Raghu Mokkapati saw a desperate and famished farmer eating mud to satiate his hunger in his village in Andhra Pradesh. That moment left an indelible impact on Sathya, who decided to do something for the farmers. 13 years later, he co-founded Kheyti in 2015 to bolster and amplify farmers' income via their inventive 'greenhouse-in-a-box' approach, which went on to win the Prince William's Earthshot Prize in 2022. Winning a £1 million prize was nothing short of a watershed moment for Kheyti as the spotlight was suddenly turned on the Indian startup, that designed the "greenhouse-in-a-box" for smallhold farmers. With India home to 100 million small-hold farmers and one of the most climate-affected nations in the world, the startup helps reduce costs, increase yields, and protect livelihoods in a region on the frontlines of climate change. Kheyti also trains and supports farmers to ensure their greenhouse is as effective as possible. [caption id="attachment_33509" align="aligncenter" width="804"] Kheyti's Kaushik Kappagantulu with the Earthshot Prize 2022[/caption] "We are honoured to be recognised by The Earthshot Prize this year. The world depends on its small-hold farmers and yet their lives are amongst the hardest on earth. Our Greenhouse-in-a-Box

536" /> Kheyti's Kaushik Kappagantulu with the Earthshot Prize 2022[/caption]

"We are honoured to be recognised by The Earthshot Prize this year. The world depends on its small-hold farmers and yet their lives are amongst the hardest on earth. Our Greenhouse-in-a-Box is empowering farmers in India today. The steps we have already taken at Kheyti are now building to change farmers' lives at scale," said Kaushik Kappagantulu, co-founder, Kheyti.

Moreover, Prince William surprised South Londoners this July when he served plant-based 'Earthshot burgers', whose ingredients were from a greenhouse in India by Kheyti.

The beginning

Before Kheyti, Sathya and his long-time friend Ayush Sharma, started Cosmos Green, a startup in the agri space. It was during the same time that the inception of Kheyti took root when the two embarked on a journey across hundreds of Indian villages in 2015 as participants in the Acumen Fellowship, a leadership development program. Their mission was to gain insights into the challenges confronting small-scale farmers, including issues like insufficient rainfall, untimely rains, erratic heat patterns, and the threats posed by pests exacerbated by high temperatures.

During those months, the duo along with co-founders Kaushik K and Saumya came across many farmers who expressed their desire to increase their monthly earnings. They found their solution in the greenhouse as farmers could cultivate premium crops like cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, and even flowers throughout the entire year, regardless of the dry season's drought. This led to the birth of Kheyti's 'greenhouse-in-a-box', an economical and adaptable greenhouse solution that consumes only 10 percent of the water compared to conventional greenhouses while yielding sevenfold more produce. Furthermore, it ensures a consistent and reliable income for farmers. This resilient greenhouse effectively mitigates heat, keeps pests at bay, and conserves water, thereby simplifying the process for farmers to boost their income.

[caption id="attachment_44729" align="aligncenter" width="732"] Kheyti | Global Indian Greenhouse-in-a-box[/caption]

The impact

Initially made out of bamboo to keep the costs to a bare minimum, the greenhouse structure was blown away in the first storm. They then settled for steel structure by taking the help of local banks to finance farmers for its $4,200 cost, while the startup provided them with seeds, fertilizer, and knowledge to help them plant the new crops. Over the years, they continuously worked to bring down the cost of a greenhouse to $1200, which is affordable by most farmers without financing. "No other company in agriculture has been able to deliver so much impact attributable to one product," co-founder Saumya said in an interview.

Traditionally used for growing exotic vegetables like broccoli, the startup has made the greenhouse effective for growing almost all Indian vegetables, including leafy vegetables and common ones like potatoes. Starting in 2015, Khyeti installed their first greenhouse in 2017 in Siddipet in Telangana, and have till now benefitted over 1000 farmers in six states.

30 Kheyti | Global Indian

By reducing the traditional one-acre greenhouse size to one-tenth, the startup has successfully lowered the cost from ₹30 lakh to just ₹60,000, ensuring accessibility and affordability. "Agricultural incomes are dependent on climate risk. Kheyti provides a model of farming which is economically viable and environmentally friendly too," Sathya said in an interview.

"Today, 1,000 farms have a Kheyti greenhouse, but this is just the start. By 2027, Kheyti wants 50,000 farmers to have a Greenhouse-in-a-Box."

Follow Sathya Raghu Mokkapati on LinkedIn
Follow Kaushik K on LinkedIn
Follow Kheyti on Instagram

Reading Time: 4 min

Gender equality proponent Ambassador Geeta Rao Gupta’s journey is empowering millions

(October 7, 2023) A man trying to cop a feel, a scared teenager struggling to find her voice, and several passengers ignoring the scene... While it is a scary situation, unfortunately, lots of girls across India battle these adversities daily to reach their schools or colleges. While some find the courage to speak about it, most remain silent. When about 10 minutes into our conversation, I asked renowned gender expert and the current United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues, Dr. Geeta Rao Gupta if she ever witnessed any such incidents, she quipped, "Growing up in New Delhi, I personally experienced the horrors that girls used to go through. They called it 'eve-teasing', and I feel that it is such a bad word for what actually happens to girls. But nobody ever talked about it, and it made me have an anger in my belly that I had to learn to channel." [caption id="attachment_45748" align="aligncenter" width="619"] Ambassador Geeta Rao Gupta[/caption] In a career spanning over four decades, Ambassador Rao Gupta has served as the former president of the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) and was previously appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as the deputy executive

r decades, Ambassador Rao Gupta has served as the former president of the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) and was previously appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as the deputy executive director for UNICEF, where she served from 2011 to 2016. During her recent visit to India, the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large took some time out of her very busy schedule to sit with Global Indian and share her journey from being a young girl with big dreams in New Delhi to being nominated by the President of the United States, Joe Biden to become the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues.

Inspired by her mother

Born in Mumbai in 1956, Ambassador Rao Gupta first moved to Delhi when she was about ten years old. It was quite early in her life that she became aware of the various inequalities prevalent in society. “My parents moved to Delhi when I was in fifth grade. So, most of my childhood was spent in the capital. Delhi was a very different culture from Bombay in those days. Growing up as a young girl in Delhi made me very aware of the inequalities that existed between women and men. But I grew up in a very progressive household, where my parents treated us siblings equally,” she shares.

Growing up in a gender-biased world, Ambassador Rao Gupta was inspired by the journey of her mother, which made her realise that gender doesn't define the limits of what she could achieve. "My mother was a physician and public health specialist," she says, adding, "Her boss had informed her about a 13-month-long Ford Foundation fellowship, which was offering a public health degree from the University of California, Berkeley. I was about seven years old at the time, my brother was nine, and my younger sister was about three. It must have been a difficult choice for her, but my father was very supportive of her decision [to accept the fellowship]. He knew that her exposure, learning, and taking this opportunity would transform our lives forever. So looking back, I can say that this decision changed my life in two ways. Firstly, the role modeling of the fact that my parents supported the professional advancement of my mother. That instilled in me the importance of being your own person. Secondly, my mother brought back several books, toys, and music that gave us immense exposure to the Western culture."

[caption id="attachment_45749" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Ambassador | Geeta Rao Gupta | Global Indian Ambassador with USA Vice President, Kamala Harris[/caption]

But, was her mother her only source of inspiration? As she shares, "My mother's sister was also a physician and demographer. In fact, she and my mother were two of the first trainers of family planning workers in India. However, apart from being a professional woman, she also acted in theatre. Even my grandmother was a full-time working woman.

A world tilted by discrimination

As Ambassador Rao Gupta finished school and stepped into college to pursue a bachelor's in psychology, she was introduced to a world of issues women faced daily - something so common that people do not bother discussing them. "Travelling to college in buses, I experienced sexual harassment, especially since I would fight back" she laughs, adding, "Also, this occurred not only on public transportation but also on the street, which was very common those days. Eventually, I realised that many of my classmates were facing the same situation. I remember one of my classmates telling me that she used to keep open safety pins in her hand when she got onto a bus so that nobody could come close to her without getting poked. So I did that for a while. However, that certainly wasn't a permanent solution."

[caption id="attachment_45750" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Ambassador | Geeta Rao Gupta | Global Indian Ambassador with women entrepreneurs in Bengaluru, during her recent India visit[/caption]

She decided that she would become a clinical psychologist to try and fix society. "I mean, I joke about it now, but it was a very serious commitment then that I would fix one person at a time. And I became a counselor and even did some voluntary counselling work while I was studying. The cases that came to me were inevitably about sex and rape. Frankly, most of them would be about women being traumatised by not knowing anything about sex or being newly married in overcrowded homes. Or it was about men who were confused about sex or were sexually stalking women and didn't know how to stop and were obsessed with it.”

Ambassador | Geeta Rao Gupta | Global Indian

Realising that the issue was too big to be fixed by just one person, Rao Gupta took to social psychology and went on to earn a Ph.D. in the subject from Bangalore University. So, when did she decide to move to the United States? "Now, let me tell you something I have never shared in any interview," the Ambassador quipped, "I was very keen to study clinical psychology abroad, so I applied to a U.S. university for a Ph.D. and was successful in getting admission. However, they wouldn't give me a fellowship for my tuition. My parents, being public servants, didn't have the money and said that they could give me a one-way ticket, but nothing else. It was just too scary for me to go off without any money in hand, and without a return ticket, so I applied for a Rotary Club scholarship. I got to the final round along with a young man who was an engineer. During the interview, a panel of four men asked me repeatedly whether I would get married and have children. And if that was my intention, then why would they spend the money on sending me abroad? I was informed that the candidate I was competing against was a civil engineer who would return and build bridges. He got the scholarship, and it was such a huge disappointment, but also made me so angry because it was so sexist," she shares.

The land of dreams

While it wasn't always her intention to move to the United States, destiny had other plans for her. "I was 23 years old when I got married, and we had no intentions of traveling abroad. My husband was working in the Export Import Bank of India, and at one point further in our marriage, he got a transfer to the United States when the Indian economy opened up," the Ambassador shares, adding, "It was supposed to be a two-year-long assignment. However, he never told me about this opportunity and even turned it down as I would have been on a dependent visa and wouldn't be able to work there. I had a chance meeting with his boss, where I got to know about this opportunity," Ambassador Rao Gupta shares smiling. "I told my husband that I had never travelled abroad - and we can't miss out on this opportunity."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbv3B4AI4Ts

However, when her husband flew to the United States, Ambassador Rao Gupta was eight months pregnant, and the airline didn't allow her to fly. Then, another incident made her aware of the gender bias in the country once again. “When I delivered my baby in India, in a hospital in an urban site, the nurse would not tell me whether the child was a girl or a boy, because I had delivered a girl child, and she was nervous that I would be so upset with the news that I would hemorrhage and my health would be at risk,” she shares, adding, “So they held the news from me till a few hours later, and told me that I had a girl child with great nervousness that I would be upset. When they saw how overjoyed I was and how pleased my parents and my parents-in-law were, the nurse came to me and said, “You belong to a very strange family. Were you raised in India?”

Ambassador Rao Gupta finally flew to Washington, D.C., four months after her daughter arrived. "For two years I was home with my baby, which was wonderful. However, soon I started getting restless because I wanted to work. And so, I joined the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), and that's how my journey began," she says, adding, "When I went there they had never heard of Bangalore in those days. They didn't know whether I spoke good English, and wanted to see if maybe I could write something and test my English. So, I started as a volunteer, working for no money."

[caption id="attachment_45751" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Ambassador | Geeta Rao Gupta | Global Indian Ambassador with student interns at G20[/caption]

But then how did she manage to stay in the United States? "Soon after joining, ICRW decided to sponsor me for an H-1B visa, and offered me a full-time job," says the Ambassador, adding, "I joined as a Research Associate, and eventually became a Project Director. Subsequently, they sponsored me for a Green Card. Meanwhile, my husband's assignment kept getting extended."

Five years later, however, her husband's company decided to call him back home. It was a difficult decision, but he decided to make a tough choice for the sake of his wife’s career. "At that point in my career, my boss had given me my first project directorship of a new programme called the Women and Aids Research Programme. I had gotten very involved in learning about women's vulnerability to HIV. And so, my husband said that he would go back to India and tell his bosses that he would be taking a sabbatical so that I could continue my job. And then after one year, we could all go home," shares the Ambassador.

[caption id="attachment_39735" align="aligncenter" width="649"] Gender activist | Geeta Rao Gupta | Global Indian Dr. Rao Gupta with Michelle Milford Morse, Vice President of the UN Foundation’s Girls and Women Strategy[/caption]

But of course, destiny again played its part. Her husband's bosses didn't agree to a sabbatical, and he came back to the United States after resigning from his position. It was a tough time for the couple; they didn't have much savings, had to shift their five-year-old daughter from a private to public school, and the bank - which owned all their household stuff - took it back. But the couple persisted, and her husband got a consulting assignment with the World Bank soon after. "I remember, one day he told me that from now on yours is the career and mine is the job," shares Ambassador Rao Gupta, who seven years after she got her H-1B visa was made president of ICRW.

Ambassador Rao Gupta and her “angels”

Navigating the path in an organisation in a new country, can be challenging. But Ambassador Rao Gupta benefitted by having several ‘guardian angels’ helping her. "When I moved here, there were not that many Indians in the United States. So, to fit in, I felt I had to cut my long hair and dress a certain way. But I had no clue where to shop and as a result, wore all the wrong types of clothes! Luckily, one day, when I was in the Xerox room, one of my senior colleagues was standing in the corner flipping through a women's clothes catalog, that now I know is not a catalog that she would ever buy clothes from. When I asked her what she was looking at, she showed me some of the clothes from the catalog and said how amazing they would look on me. I had no clue that she was telling me, “Don't wear what you're wearing," laughs the Ambassador.

[caption id="attachment_45753" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Ambassador | Geeta Rao Gupta | Global Indian Ambassador Geeta Rao Gupta with Indian PM Narendra Modi[/caption]

A few years later, while she was a co-lead on a project, the Ambassador was asked to present the results at an event and had to wear a business suit to the event. A little unsure, Rao Gupta went to a Casual Corner store. "A saleswoman helped me get the clothes. The next day people loved it so much, that I ended up wearing it even on the second day of the conference," she said, as her whole team burst out laughing.

Forging ahead

The former president of ICRW, and deputy executive director of UNICEF, was nominated to be the United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues by President Biden in 2021 and was confirmed by the Senate on May 10, 2023. Speaking about her goals ahead, the gender equality advocate says, "So, you know how people say at the beginning of speeches, 'I'm very honoured and feel very privileged'. For me, this is more than just words. It's tough to imagine the distance that I have traveled. I have a wonderful job. There are many champions of women within the department, and we need to partner with them to amplify the impact that the Office of Global Women's Issues can have."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD3PZx0hZws

As she signs off from the interview, Ambassador Rao Gupta has just one piece of advice for young activists, who want to create an impact and bring good changes to society. "Be persistent," she says, adding, "It's a tough road, but you have to be tenacious and keep at it."

Follow Ambassador Geeta Rao Gupta on LinkedIn and Twitter

Reading Time: 8 mins

The spiritual doctor: India’s top hair transplant surgeon Dr Pradeep Sethi connects giving back with spirituality

(April 21, 2023) Dr. Pradeep Sethi went from being a farm labourer, spending his childhood working in the fields to becoming one of India’s top hair transplant surgeons and the co-founder of Eugenix Hair Sciences, which boasts a long line of celebrity clientele. He’s also a leading philanthropist who has founded the Utkal Gaurav International School in his village Berunapadi in Odisha. The school aims to provide world-class education for free in India’s eastern hinterland, where opportunities are rare. Dr Sethi is in the process of bringing in top faculty from around the world to give international exposure to students, while laying emphasis on spiritual practices to ensure their holistic development. [caption id="attachment_37628" align="aligncenter" width="538"] Dr Pradeep Sethi[/caption] All through his inspirational journey, Dr Sethi, a true son of the soil, never lost touch with his village, which is situated 160-km away from Bhubaneshwar. Having benefited from education provided by various charitable trusts, he is now deeply committed to philanthropy and connects giving back with spirituality. He made headlines for his work with Utkal Gaurav International School which has been developed with a fund of ₹10 crore. The school was virtually inaugurated by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik last month.

-contrast="none">All through his inspirational journey, Dr Sethi, a true son of the soil, never lost touch with his village, which is situated 160-km away from Bhubaneshwar. Having benefited from education provided by various charitable trusts, he is now deeply committed to philanthropy and connects giving back with spirituality. He made headlines for his work with Utkal Gaurav International School which has been developed with a fund of ₹10 crore. The school was virtually inaugurated by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik last month.

Until 2020, the ground on which the school has been developed was just a large piece of farming land where I used to work as a daily wage worker. But, today, the same land houses the school.

"Most of my friends, who were initially my clients, have endorsed the idea of my school,” Dr Pradeep Sethi said, while speaking to Business Line.

The path of spirituality

Early in life, Sethi began gravitating to the teachings of spiritual gurus, especially Swami Paramhansa Yoganand, author of the iconic book, Autobiography of a Yogi. The spiritual teacher and author has laid emphasis on the importance of physical health and well-being, calling spirituality a holistic practice. Yoganand's teachings had a great impact on Sethi in his growing up years. The spiritual master’s emphasis on the interconnectedness of all things and the importance of service to others deeply resonated with Dr Sethi’s aspirations of life.

[caption id="attachment_37584" align="aligncenter" width="497"] Indian Doctors | Dr Pradeep Sethi | Global Indian Dr Pradeep Sethi with cricketer Ravi Shastri[/caption]

Autobiography of a Yogi is still Dr Sethi’s favourite, and he gifts the book to people as often as he can. "I have earned lots of friends through this book and I am sure when I die, I will be carrying lots of love, affection and friendship to the other world," he said.

The dream philanthropic project

Sethi’s own life has been transformed by the kindness of strangers and charitable institutions, and he never misses an opportunity to do good to others. With a deep urge to give back he provides free treatment to the needy, supports charitable causes and extends whole-hearted support to community outreach programmes.

During the launch of Utkal Gaurav International School, Sethi remarked, “I hope to arrange ₹100 crore for the final look of this dream project, in the next five years,” adding, “I want the kids of my school to get the exposure of the world. The difference between my village and developed countries like USA is all about exposure, and I want to do the hard work to reduce the gap between the developed countries and a developing small village.” Kids at the international school will be introduced to a wide array of fields including technology, sports and agriculture.

Some of my friends from Oxford and Harvard University are already taking classes online. Once the infrastructure is ready for the teaching staff to stay in, we will have teachers from places like the USA, UK and Australia visiting the campus.

Dr Sethi has plans to take the senior kids to international tours. “This would enable their growth and build in them the capacity to imagine the ideas that they can work upon to make the society better,” he said.

[caption id="attachment_37585" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Indian Doctors | Dr Pradeep Sethi | Global Indian Opening ceremony of Utkal Gaurav International School[/caption]

Dr Sethi's venture is backed by industrialists like Rajiv Bajaj from Bajaj Group, Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, Puneet Goenka of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, and Sandeep Raheja of Exide Battery. Many of Sethi’s clients including cricketers and actors have also extended their help for the project. “The amount does not matter, the feeling behind it matters,” Dr Sethi said.

Keeping in tune with the principles espoused by his spiritual guru Swami Paramhansa Yoganand, Sethi’ school does not just focus on academics but on the all-round training for a fit body, mind and soul. Yoga, meditation, purpose of life and how to maximise one’s potential find a significant place in the curriculum. “I look forward to the day when institutions all over the country and across the world replicate the model,” he said.

The course of life

Though Sethi worked as a farm labourer, he was deeply dedicated to his academics, and later was able to secure an admission at Navodaya Vidyalaya. Studying there, he did well in his senior secondary exams and got admission at the Government Medical College in Sambalpur in Odisha. He later went on to do his further studies at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi.

Passing out from there, Sethi started his practice from Rishikesh in 2008. The lack of opportunities in his area of specialisation led him to head to Rishikesh to get some spiritual relief and to try his luck there. Not getting a job immediately after passing out from medical college and moving to Rishikesh is something that he calls ‘blessing in disguise,’ because that prompted him to start his own independent practice.

Luck prevailed and Sethi’s practice became so successful that he expanded his business outside Rishikesh. Within a few years of starting his independent practice, he co-founded the state-of-the-art hair transplant chain Eugenix Hair Sciences, with his wife Arika Bansal who happened to be his batchmate at AIIMS. With seven clinics across India, Eugenix Hair Sciences has treated thousands of satisfied patients.

[caption id="attachment_37586" align="aligncenter" width="710"] Indian Doctors | Dr Pradeep Sethi | Global Indian Dr Pradeep Sethi and Dr Arika Bansal with their team[/caption]

To make others happy you will have to go out of your way. You will have to cause yourself discomfort and sacrifice your pleasures. If you go to that extent and serve society, only then you will be able to generate joy within you. That’s what I practice. I am very selfish. I want to make myself extremely joyful.

Dr Sethi is popular for his innovative techniques and advanced hair restoration methods including the DHT technique which he pioneered. He has conducted workshops and training sessions for the people of the medical fraternity in India and abroad and has contributed to the field through his research and publications in various medical journals. The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) has bestowed the prestigious Fellow of ISHRS title upon Sethi for his pioneering research. However, the illustrious doctor considers his practice and medical research his ‘secondary job’ while practicing the principles laid down by Swami Paramhansa Yoganand his ‘primary duty’.

Follow Dr Pradeep Sethi on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook

Reading Time: 5 mins