Global IndianstoryAtul Koul Randev: Tech executive to bestselling Indian author

Atul Koul Randev: Tech executive to bestselling Indian author

Written by: Vikram Sharma

(May 22, 2023) Atul Koul Randev, a tech industry executive at Signicat, has found success with his debut novel ‘The Hundred Million Bet.’ His book found a spot on the WH Smith Fiction bestsellers list and is a bestseller on Amazon, with a 4.6 rating. Global Indian looks at the Oslo-based techie’s journey to becoming a bestselling Indian author …

Most of Atul Koul Randev’s childhood was spent reading books: Enid Blyton, C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia), JK Rowling (Harry Potter) and Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time. He would wander around in the library for hours, picking and reading whatever he liked. After all, his mother was a librarian and a writer of short stories.

All of this reading started to flow into his school essays. Atul started writing some short poems and stories, which were appreciated at school and home. He left the country to study and work, going to France and Norway, but never stopped writing. “I’m a dreamer, writer and a poet, in the guise of a techie,” smiles Atul Koul Randev, author of the best seller ‘The Hundred Million Bet’ in an exclusive chat with Global Indian.

Indian author Atul Koul Randev

Atul, who is the Chief Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions officer at Signicat, a tech firm in Oslo, Norway, describes his book as a crime thriller at heart with strong doses of romance and philosophy. “We have a survival storyline combined with a heist where the hero (Caesar) stands to win or lose 100 million euros,” says the author about his book, which has been a bestseller on Amazon, rating a good 4.6, and has peaked at No.3 on WH SMITH Fiction best sellers list.

The Hundred Million Bet

Caesar, elaborates Atul, wins the money to begin with but the mafia boss that he’s beaten, wants his money back and would go to any lengths to get it.

“Life is never just action, it is never just a chase. There is a lot of thinking, questioning, and loving that we do in our lives, and Caesar is no different,” feels Atul, adding that the hero of his book needs to face and answer some questions related to what he values and why he exists before he’ll be ready to face the antagonists.

The response to the book has been very humbling, he says. “People liked the grey characters and found them relatable even though these people are living in the high-stakes world of 100 million poker games,” says Atul, who received most appreciation for the structure of the story told through several different timelines, characters, and in different cities.

“I planted a lot of easter eggs in the book, and a few astute readers have caught those and appreciated them,” smiles the 33-year-old, who has written a few short novels in the past.

The Hundred Million Bet Book by Atul Koul Randev

The techie life

Born in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, Atul’s school days was all about reading books, playing table tennis or cricket. An above average student when it came to academics, Atul studied mechanical engineering in YMCA University of Technology and Science in Faridabad.

He then worked as a software developer with Tata Consultancy Services, which took him to Oslo, Norway for a project in 2014. Thereafter, he moved to France did his MBA from HEC Paris in 2016. He returned to Oslo and worked with a Norwegian boutique consulting firm called Arkwright. Thereafter, he joined Bain & Company, one of the leading strategy consulting firms in the world, as a management consultant.

“At Bain & Company, I got the opportunity to work on key projects with some of the leading companies across the globe,” says Atul, who joined Signicat in May 2021 and rose to the position of Chief Strategy and M & A officer in April 2022.

Signicat is a Tech company bringing Digital Identity and Fraud management solutions to our customers which are mostly Banking and Financial services institutions.

“We are backed by a fund that gives us capital to invest in smaller companies. I lead a team that executes on that,” informs the techie, who has fairly intense workdays, which usually involves a few meetings with other companies that they may want to acquire at some point besides internal meetings and aligning with various teams on their views on these companies.

Life in Norway

Atul loves his life in Oslo. “I love food, so spend a lot of time in the kitchen with a glass of wine, and a cricket game on, cooking butter chicken or something else,” says the huge cricket fan, who does not miss a single game when India is playing.

Otherwise, he reads and writes a lot. “When it comes to reading, my guilty pleasure is fantasy,” informs Atul, whose favourite authors include Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, James Islington and J.K. Rowling. He also likes to read philosophers like Spinoza and Schopenhauer.

“Reading a good book is same as traveling for me. When I read fantasy, I get to step into a magical world,” says Atul, who is a fitness freak and loves working out on a gym regularly.

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A post shared by Atul Koul Randev (@atulrandev)

Future plans

“I’m working on a couple of other projects right now, that would likely come to life in one form or another over the next couple of years,” informs Atul, who is presently working on a short non-fiction project with his wife. In addition, he is in the early stages of writing his next book. “It would not be a crime thriller but would hopefully be a thrilling book anyway,” says the author, who binge watches slow-burn but high-intensity TV shows. Some of his recent favourites have been Succession, Severance, Dark, and The Haunting of hill house.

Atul Koul Randev makes it a point to visit India twice a year. “Now that my parents are retired, I try to get them to spend more time with us in Oslo,” says the techie, who, was among the scores of people who escaped death during the flash floods in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand in 2013. “Everything was destroyed and I had to sleep on the floor of a police outpost for 10 days in the middle of a valley. We had to hike through about a hundred kms of broken mountains to get home,” he recalls.

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Published on 22, May 2023

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Kamala-Harris.jpg" alt="" width="597" height="896" /> Kamala Harris, vice president of the United States[/caption]

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Since her attorney-general days, Kamala rallies for women’s rights — supporting women in our workforce, addressing the maternal health crisis, and defending reproductive rights. During one of her many famous speeches, Kamala told the Generation Equality Forum at a summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron that gender equality was paramount to strengthening democracy. “Use the tools for democracy, whether that is the freedom of speech or the freedom to vote. And if you do not yet have those freedoms, fight for them and know we will fight alongside you,” the politician said, adding, “If we want to strengthen democracy, we must fight for gender equality. Because here is the truth: Democracy is strongest when everyone participates, it is weaker when people are left out.”

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Leo Varadkar - Tánaiste and minister for enterprise, trade and employment, Ireland

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[caption id="attachment_23846" align="aligncenter" width="581"] Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste of Ireland[/caption]

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Harjit Sajjan - minister of international development, Canada

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[caption id="attachment_23847" align="aligncenter" width="726"] Harjit Sajjan, minister of international development of Canada[/caption]

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[caption id="attachment_23848" align="aligncenter" width="695"] Vivian Balakrishnan, minister for foreign affairs, Singapore[/caption]

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Nik Gugger - member of the national council, Switzerland

In 1970, a Malayali woman gave birth to a baby boy in Udupi, Karnataka, and told the doctor to give her child for adoption to a family that will look after him well, before abandoning the newborn. Five decades later that child, now known as Niklaus-Samuel Gugger, became the first Indian to be elected to the Switzerland parliament. Within a week of his abandonment, Gugger was adopted by a Swiss couple — Fritz and Elizbeth Gugger. His new parents took him to Kerala when he was just 15 days old, and they lived there for around four years before moving to their native in Switzerland.

[caption id="attachment_23849" align="aligncenter" width="635"] Nik Gugger, member of the national council, Switzerland[/caption]

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Soon after he finished graduation, he became a member of the central board of the Swiss Evangelical People's Party (EPP). From 2014 to 2017, he was a member of the Zurich Cantonal Council, and in the 2017 National Council elections, Nik Gugger made it to the first substitute seat. Currently, the politician is a member of the Foreign Policy Commission and also a member of the Council of Europe.

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The ‘Raman’ effect: The septuagenarian scaling the world’s highest peaks

(March 7, 2023) A cushy job in a bank was the last thing on Raman Chander Sood’s mind. To him, bankers were a bunch of sad-looking guys, who lived a cursed life, either counting currency notes or shuffling through the pages of large ledgers all day. An adventure freak, Sood always wanted to be an Army officer. If not, a doctor or a medical representative at least. However, that wasn’t meant to be and instead, destiny took him to the last place he never intended to go. He ended up as a banker for the next 40 years of his life! The mountains are calling… Adventure did come looking for him – only after his retirement, though. Today, the 70-year-old is doing things that people half his age couldn’t manage, like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, for instance. “I am 17 years old with 53 years of experience,” Sood corrects us, while connecting with Global Indian in the midst of his intense training schedule for climbing Mount Everest shortly. The septuagenarian successfully scaled Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in October 2022. At 5895 meters, it is the highest peak in the African sub-continent and the highest stand-alone mountain in the world and Sood

2. At 5895 meters, it is the highest peak in the African sub-continent and the highest stand-alone mountain in the world and Sood is the oldest Indian to climb it.

Prior to that, he trekked to the Everest Base Camp and climbed six peaks and passes in Nepal higher than 5000 meters within 10 days, becoming the first Indian of his age to have achieved this feat. He then went on to conquer Mt Yunam on the Manali-Leh highway, which was recorded by the India Book of Records. He is now undergoing intense training to climb Mount Everest and other mountains across the world.

Early life

Sood was born in the picturesque village of Nerwa in Himachal Pradesh in August 1952. His father was a Havildar in the Indian army and was part of emergency recruitment during World War II, while his mother was a housewife. Sood says adventures in his life started the moment he descended into this world in the middle of a rainy monsoon night. “When I born, I was not howling as is the norm. The midwife hung me upside down and gave me two solid slaps on my back. I started to howl with full force,” laughs Sood.

Life in Nerwa village was very simple but tough and demanding. “There was no road connectivity, no piped water supply and no electricity.”

Aiming high

When Sood was in 7th grade in the Government High School, he was fascinated by a chapter in Hindi book about Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary climbing Mount Everest for the first time in 1953. “I made up my mind to climb the highest peak on the earth one day,” recalls Sood, who at age 11, climbed Mt Churdhar (11965 feet), one of the highest peaks in the Shivalik Hills range.

Sood did well academically. His name figured in the Board of Honours of the School for several years, for standing first in 8th and 10th standards in the whole Center, which consisted of 3-4 High Schools in the surrounding area. After school, Sood joined RPCSDB College in Shimla. An active member of the college adventure club, he would regularly undertake short treks to nearby peaks in Shimla. He found a place in the college Basketball and Table Tennis teams as well.

Rising above challenges

His active participation in sports and other outdoor activities meant Sood couldn’t always keep pace with his studies. As a result, he missed getting a seat in the only Medical College in Himachal Pradesh, by a very narrow margin. However, he continued his education and did B.Sc. in Medical Sciences.

Sood then decided to join the Indian Army. He made two attempts for Selection through the Short Service Commission. While he qualified the written exam, he could not pass the Service Selection Board, which left him depressed.

Financial difficulties at home drove him to enrol his name in the local Employment Exchange and look for job avenues. He ended up filling up the application form for the post of a clerk at the State Bank of India. On May 30, 1972, Sood reported for work at the Mandi branch of the bank. He was 19 then.

Raman Sood | Global Indian | Travel

The adventure hunter

Being a born adventurer, Sood devised ways to make his life adventurous within the bank. The first opportunity came when SBI opened a branch at Kaza in Spiti valley on the Indo-China border. Situated at a height of 3800 meters (12500 ft), this was the highest branch of any bank in the world.

People receiving posting orders for Kaza would refuse to join and proceed on long leave. No sooner did Sood come to know about it, he offered to work in Kaza and joined the branch in November 1977. “In winter, temperatures dipped to -30 degrees centigrade and everything would freeze." He would trek to villages falling within a radius of 25-30 km and give loans to farmers for allied agricultural activities, which was a first in that remote area.

Young Trekkers

The bankers, including Sood, had formed the "Young Trekkers Club" and they would go on treks regularly. “This two year tenure at Kaza was the best and most enjoyable in my banking career,” says Sood, who married his colleague Anita, working in the Shimla branch of the bank, in 1980. The couple has two daughters.

As he climbed up the corporate ladder and his daughters Richa and Garima started growing up, Sood was forced to put trekking/ adventures on the back burner and submerged in routine life for the next 20 years.

Raman Sood | Global Indian | Travel

Life after retirement

It was only when he retired, the adventure bug inside him, which was hibernating for the past several years, woke up. A couple of years later, Sood and his wife undertook their first 21-day long pilgrimage-cum-trekking trip together to Kailash, Mansarovar in China and Mukti Nath Dham in Nepal in May 2014.

“All through my life, I had been regular with my exercise routine and maintained a healthy weight. I had no lifestyle disease and was not on any kind of medication. So, I was fit and raring to go,” says Sood, who retired from service in August 2012 as a Deputy General Manager after serving the bank for 40 years and 2 months.

In July 2015, Sood went on another trek to Shrikhand Mahadev, an 18570-ft high peak in the Kullu district, with his daughter Garima. However, it was a trip to Dubai to meet his elder daughter Richa in January 2021 that changed everything. “My 10-year-old grandson asked me what was the purpose of my life. He wanted me to find mine and work on it. It shook me completely,” he recalls. Sood decided to pursue his passion with renewed vigour.

Scaling Everest

As he was training himself to trek to the Everest Base camp, tragedy struck the family. Sood’s elder daughter Richa, who was already battling health issues, passed away due to Covid in Dubai in May 2021. The Sood family was shattered.

Months later, when a family member reminded Sood how happy and excited Richa was when she learnt about his plans to trek the Everest base camp, Sood decided to do it for her sake. In October 2021, he trekked the Everest base camp (EBC) successfully. “The Sherpas accompanying me were surprised to see me and told that they had never seen an Indian his age doing EBC. They nicknamed me "Baaje" meaning grandfather in their language,” smiles Sood, who is based in Mumbai.

As part of his preparations to climb Mount Everest, Sood recently attended a 12-day winter training camp in Ladakh, during which he stayed in tents at a height of 5000 meters in temperatures ranging between -25 to -30 degrees. “Only two (including him) of the 5 participants stayed till the end of the program in those harsh conditions, which gave me the confidence that I can face the most challenging climatic conditions during my future climbs.”

Fitness first, always

Sood’s training schedule is gruelling, to say the least. He hits the gym thrice a week, spending about 80 minutes per day doing rigorous workouts, jogs for 10-kms once a week, climbs stairs in a high rise covering a total of 200 floors, walks for 25-kms with a 13 kg backpack starting at 2 am and just about squeezes in sometime for swimming and yoga.

Besides Mount Everest, what else is coming? “In May, my wife and I are going on a 12-day trek to Annapurna base camp in Nepal. The next target is to climb the 6119 meters high Lobuche East peak in the Khumbu region of Nepal.”

Outreach

Mountaineering is a very costly activity, says Sood. “So far I have met the cost of all my trekking and climbing expeditions from my pension and life savings. But now, I am staring at a financial crunch and looking for sponsors to help me pursue my dream and spread a message that chronological age is just a number,” adds Sood.

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How Buddhism, India’s soft power, is the greatest cultural export to the world

(October 16, 2022) “The teachings of ‘Buddh’ (Lord Buddha) rather than the message of ‘yuddh’ (war) is India’s contribution to the world”, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 during his address on terrorism to United Nations General Assembly. Buddha and his teachings are precious because of their relevance to the world even 2,600 years later. His saying, “mind is the source of happiness and unhappiness” from thousands of years ago, is still considered the central mantra for inner transformation. Buddhism has been described by experts as India’s civilisational heritage which finds place in foreign policies across the globe. As it emphasises peaceful co-existence that most of the countries desire, the world has embraced its principles. According to Pew Research Centre, the think tank based in Washington DC, there are about 488 million worldwide followers of Buddhism which originated in India. [caption id="attachment_30691" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Buddhists in Australia[/caption] The soft power Using this rich historical cultural links with other countries, India has emerged successful in the non-coercive soft power strategy, using Buddhist principles in diplomacy. Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are. It solely relies on what you think - Gautam Buddha It was

align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Indian culture | Buddhism | Global Indian Buddhists in Australia[/caption]

The soft power

Using this rich historical cultural links with other countries, India has emerged successful in the non-coercive soft power strategy, using Buddhist principles in diplomacy.

Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are. It solely relies on what you think - Gautam Buddha

It was Joseph Nye, American political scientist and former United States Assistant Secretary of Défense for International Security Affairs who conceptualised the term ‘soft power’ in the 1990s. Since then, it has been part of foreign-policy discussions across the globe, with each country trying to leverage it. Nye believed that the conventional tactics of hard power of military prowess of any nation would no longer command power on a global scale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K2Ldcy27kk

The cultural export

It’s not just the recent government who has made efforts of incorporating Buddhist heritage to further diplomatic, cultural, economic, and strategic associations with other nations. If we look back to history, efforts to leverage this soft power were made a long time ago.

A conference was organised by Nehru in newly independent Sri Lanka, where the World Fellowship of Buddhists was founded in 1950. In the year 1952, India hosted the International Buddhist Conference at Sanchi that was attended by more 3,000 Buddhist monks, nuns and historians. At that time, it was the largest gathering of Buddhist preachers and followers in the world. From 1954 to 1956, the sixth Buddhist Council was convened in Burma. The tradition of holding conferences and convening councils has continued, strengthening the global network of Buddhism.

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A post shared by US Buddhism Association (@usbuddhism)

Interactions between people across national boundaries has been encouraged through conferences that draw global audiences towards this soft power of India. ‘Buddhism in the 21st Century’ conference that took place at Rajgir in 2017, and the conference, ‘Buddhist Identity in Twenty-First Century Asia,’ organised by University of Cambridge this year are few such examples.

[caption id="attachment_30665" align="aligncenter" width="1257"] Indian culture | Buddhism | Global Indian Buddhists of North America[/caption]

The Indian Ministry of Tourism has made efforts to transgress national borders by promoting significant tourist sites of Buddhism in the country, attracting people around the globe. The International Buddhist Conclave organised by the ministry every alternate year is attended by delegates from several countries with the agenda of international and domestic tours to further boost this common cultural link across the world.

Pan-Asian presence

The majority of the world’s Buddhist population today lives in Asia. Countries like China, Bhutan, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Mongolia and Sri Lanka perceive Buddhism as a significant part of their identity and national values. Countries like Japan, and South Korea are also connected to India through their embracing the Buddhist heritage. 

[caption id="attachment_30690" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Indian culture | Buddhism | Global Indian Buddhists in Mongolia[/caption]

Buddhism in west

In the US and Canada, the growth of Buddhism communities has been through Buddhist immigrants from all corners of Asia. There have been instances of expansion through indigenous converts and North American-born children of immigrants.

Such are the evergreen principles of Buddhism that it gets renewed within the interactions of newer generations. There is emphasis in the faith upon practice of meditation for mental well-being which is one of the most trending issues, east or west, irrespective of age.

[caption id="attachment_30680" align="aligncenter" width="954"] Indian culture | Buddhism | Global Indian Students in UK show interest in Buddhism[/caption]

A steady stream of books since mid-20th century and media, particularly the social media have enhanced this trend.

Britannica.com states:

Many other North American-born Buddhists of non-Asian descent have studied in traditional Buddhist countries, become ordained, and returned to the United States to lead and even found monasteries and Buddhist community centres.

Amalgamation of old and new to keep relevance intact

The encyclopaedia’s site further goes on to state that “some practicing Buddhists and scholars of Buddhism believe that the process of accommodation and acculturation in the West, and particularly in North America, is leading to a “fourth turning of the Wheel of the Dharma,” a new form of Buddhism that will turn out to be quite different from the traditional forms of Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana while incorporating aspects of each.”

[caption id="attachment_30709" align="aligncenter" width="1137"] Indian culture | Buddhism | Global Indian Dalai Lama at American Embassy School in New Delhi[/caption]

With newer generations turning to Buddha for well-being, this powerful social force of more than two thousand years spreading from its original homeland, India, to foreign lands is one of the greatest examples of cultural export. There is a strong reason to believe that the appeal of Buddha is not going to wear off, rather will continue far into the future.

Reading Time: 5 mins

Indian-origin Swiss parliamentarian, Niklaus-Samuel Gugger has scaled great heights against all odds

(May 19, 2022) Five decades ago, a Brahmin widow, Anasuya, gave birth to a boy at the CSI Basel Mission Hospital in Udupi, Karnataka. Unable to keep the child, she gave him up to Dr Marianne Pflugfelder, and trusted the missionary hospital to find the best place for him. While several orphan kids live an underprivileged life, he was rescued by a Swiss couple - Fritz and Elizabeth, who adopted and named him Niklaus-Samuel Gugger. [caption id="attachment_24686" align="aligncenter" width="647"] Niklaus-Samuel Gugger, member of the Swiss National Council[/caption] 52 years later, Nik Gugger is now the first Indian-origin politician to be elected as a member of the Switzerland's National Council, and was recently awarded as the best bridge building/networking Parliamentarian in Switzerland. "My biological mother, Anasuya, kept me safe in her womb for nine months. While I never saw her, I think that she must have been a very powerful, compassionate and loving woman. I highly appreciate her. She passed those qualities to me too," shares Nik, while speaking to Global Indian over a video call from Switzerland. "After I was born, two angels came to my bed and gave me the life I have today. My parents are the best

assed those qualities to me too," shares Nik, while speaking to Global Indian over a video call from Switzerland. "After I was born, two angels came to my bed and gave me the life I have today. My parents are the best parents any child could have asked for," he adds.

Despite living in Switzerland for about 48 years, Nik hasn't lost touch with his Indian roots. To honour his birth mother, Nik named his eldest daughter, Anasuya.

From the coast of Kerala to the Swiss Alps

After he was adopted by the Swiss couple, Nik stayed in Thalassery, Kerala where they were working for a development project of the Aid Organisation of the Swiss Evangelical Churches. Nik's father, Fritz, ensured that Nik had several beautiful memories from his childhood, and recorded videos of the little Nik running around at the NTTF compound, where they lived for four years. The videos, Nik shares, are still with him. "My parents taught me that one should never forget their roots. That is the reason, why I still feel so connected to India."

[caption id="attachment_24655" align="aligncenter" width="725"] A childhood image of Nik, with his parents and two sisters in the Alps, Switzerland[/caption]

Nik's parents moved back to Switzerland when he was four. However, all was not peachy after he shifted to Switzerland. Being the only Indian child in the neighbourhood, he did have his melancholy moments. "For the Swiss people, it was strange that someone adopted a brown-skinned boy. I was the only Indian-origin kid in my class as well," shares the politician, who also faced trouble with his employers and in politics later in the life.

With his father working with the deaf and dumb home Uetendorfberg Foundation, and later, his parents managing a retirement home, service to the society was a lesson learnt early in life by Nik. During his high-school years, the politician decided to pursue a dual-education as a mechanic in Fritz Studer AG, Steffisburg. After he finished his degree in mechanics, he took on various jobs - from a truck driver to a gardener - to support his higher education. "It is not uncommon here for students to work part-time, to pay for their studies. My parents taught several great lessons, but they weren't very rich," he adds.

Nik Gugger

A subsequent social internship in Colombia led him to become a youth and social worker. "This was during the time of narcoterrorist, Pablo Escobar in Colombia. I did an internship in social work and worked with the street children there," shares Nik, adding, "After few years of working, I studied social work and social management at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern, from 1995 to 1999." Nik, later, went on to pursue innovation management at the Center for Agogik ZAK in Basel and University of Amsterdam from 2004 to 2006 and Political communication at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.

A leader of the masses

In 1997, after the Luxor massacre - which claimed the lives of 62 people - Nik was approached by the members of Evangelical Peoples Party (EPP) to join their ranks, an invitation that he readily accepted. From 2002 to 2014, he was a member of the City Council of Winterthur. After working as a member of the Zurich Cantonal Council, from 2014 to 2017, Nik moved up to the National Council, in November 2017. "Much of my work has been around development of people and socio-political issues. My goal has been to integrate the weakest in the society through socio-ethical management and empowerment," he shares.

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Soon after the 2004 Tsunami struck, affecting the several countries including India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia, Nik was in the coastal city of Phuket, Thailand to work with the victims of the natural disaster. “Back then, Elvia Insurance and Swiss Foreign Department sent me to Thailand to rescue the victims, recognising my intercultural knowledge,” shares the global leader.

Interestingly, Nik was recently in news for protecting children in Switzerland from internet pornography - something he got to know about from several parents living in the neighbourhood. "One day my 12-year-old son came home from school and informed me that his classmates watch porn. That worried me a bit and when I looked into it, I found that there were no checks available before one could enter the websites. So, I called for action to protect the Swiss children. I hope that other countries will follow suit," explains the politician, who is also the patron for the much-talked about movie, Kavita & Teresa.

[caption id="attachment_24661" align="aligncenter" width="658"] Nik at the Swiss Parliament[/caption]

For years now, Nik has been involved in numerous projects for children and young people in India. In 2018, the Member of Parliament was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in Odisha. The Global Ambassador of the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology and the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, Nik also launched a fundraising campaign to enable ventilator purchases in Odisha and Kerala, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Nik was also working with Gundert Foundation in Thalassery, which gives modern education to children of all caste.

[caption id="attachment_24660" align="aligncenter" width="566"] Nik with Meenakshi Lekhi, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture[/caption]

The founder and President of Swiss Indian Parliamentary Group, Nik shares a cordial relation with all the Indian MPs. He was recently in India looking at possibilities for extensive collaboration in fields like healthcare, telemedicine and technological advancements. "We Indians have so much to give to the world. However, we have a lot to learn from the world as well. I have been working with many Indian ministers. With the Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Meenakshi Lekhi, I have been working extensively towards women empowerment. Also, I really hope that India incorporates dual education in its education system," he expresses.

[caption id="attachment_24659" align="aligncenter" width="707"] Nik Gugger, Global Indian Nik speaking at the 30th Independence Day at the Ukrainian Parliament, in 2021[/caption]

A proud Swiss, Nik stands firmly in support of Ukraine, as the war-struck nation continues to fight against Russia. "I am strongly against any aggression. There can be differences between two nations, but bombing is never the solution for that," expresses the politician who visited Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, in April 2022 by the invitation of the speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament.

A man who dons many hats

A social entrepreneur, Nik has worked extensively to coach the next generation. Nik is the co-founder and member of the board of directors of the consulting company Herzkraftwerk AG in Winterthur, which offers coaching for decision-makers from business and non-profit organisations. A life coach and motivational speaker, Nik is also the Vice President of the environmental organization BirdLife Switzerland. He is also the owner of famous Ayurvedic ginger drink in Switzerland – Zingi.

[caption id="attachment_24654" align="aligncenter" width="623"] Nik Gugger, Global Indian Nik enjoys skiing with his friends in the Alps[/caption]

A doting father of three, Nik has varied interests outside the world of politics. "I love to ski and go on motorbike rides with my friends, through Europe," shares the politician, whose wife, Beatrice, works as a pediatric nurse and is a very proud "wife of Indian-origin". The busy politician is currently working on a book about empowerment and life-balance, called Against All Odds, which is set to hit the bookshelves very soon.

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Reading Time: 8 mins

The stars who have taken India to the Oscars

(March 6, 2023) The whole world is humming 'Naatu Naatu' and all eyes are on Ram Charan and NTR. Shaunak Sen's All That Breathes has dominated the international film circuit - in 2022, it became the first film to win the Best Documentary prize at Sundance and Cannes. Kartiki Gonsalves' directorial debut, The Elephant Whisperers, took the world by storm after its release on Netflix. All three films have received Oscar nominations in 2023. Indian cinema has finally earned itself a front row seat at the Academy Awards this year. Global Indian takes a look at the Indians who have made it to the Oscars and the films that got them there. Bhanu Athaiya Academy Award for Best Costume Design for Gandhi "It took me 17 long years to set up 'Gandhi', my dream films and just 15 minutes to make up my mind that Bhanu Athaiya was the right person to create the many hundreds of Indian costumes that would be required to bring it to the screen," director Richard Attenborough said in his statement to The Academy. Bhanu Athaiya, one of the most important artists and costume designers of the time, made history for India in 1983, when

ector Richard Attenborough said in his statement to The Academy. Bhanu Athaiya, one of the most important artists and costume designers of the time, made history for India in 1983, when she became the first Indian to win an Oscar. 'Gandhi' swept the Oscars that year, winning eight awards, much like Slumdog Millionaire would do over 25 years later.

A member of the Progressive Artists' Group, Bhanu's artistic career unfolded alongside the likes of M.F. Husain, F.N. Souza and Vasudeo S. Gaitonde. She would often exhibit with the group, although she continued her work as a freelance fashion illustrator for women's magazines. She showed such a talent for it that she switched career paths, joining Guru Dutt's team. She has worked in over 100 films, with filmmakers like Guru Dutt, Yash Chopra, Raj Kapoor and Ashutosh Gowariker, as well as Richard Attenborough and Conrad Rooks.

In February 2012, Bhanu expressed her wish to return her Academy Award to the The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as she believed her family would not be able to care for it after her demise. In December that year, the Academy reported that the trophy had been returned.

Satyajit Ray

Winner of an Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award at the 64th Academy Awards

One month before his demise, a video message showing the visibly frail Satyajit Ray lying in a hospital bed and holding the golden statue, was played at the 64th Academy Awards ceremony in Dolby Theatre. Iconic Hollywood actor Audrey Hepburn had just announced the award, describing Ray's work as a "rare mastery of the art of motion pictures and his profound humanism which has had an indelible influenced on filmmakers and audiences throughout the world."

Ray's son, Sandip, told Firstpost, "The air was abuzz since end-1991 that several filmmakers in Hollywood, including Ismail Merchant, James Ivory and Martin Scorcese, were all gearing up to propose the Oscar for father." Later, they learned that Merchant and Ivory had left no stone unturned in their efforts. Finally, a telegram arrived from the actor Karl Malden, who was the AMPAS president at the time, announcing the award. Ray was ecstatic - he had fallen in love with cinema through Hollywood.

Audrey Hepburn, who announced the award, also sent Ray a telegram, saying she was "proud and privileged to represent our industry in paying tribute" to the giant of Indian cinema.

A.R. Rahman

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Original Score and Best Original Song, for Slumdog Millionaire in 2009

He's possibly one of the biggest names of all time in Indian cinema but even Rahman "felt like a gladiator" in the run-up to the Oscars. The composer, who released a video recently recalling the experience, said, "I wen tot all these amazing dinners before the Oscars. But still I was unsure, and the whole of India was cheering. When they announced my name for the score, I was like, 'Is this real? Or is this a dream?'"

Rahman hadn't prepared a speech and when he heard Penelope Cruz speak in Spanish, he decided to go with Tamil, saying, "All perfect praise belongs to God alone." The legend won two Oscar awards that year, for Best Original Score and Best Original Song, which he shared with Gulzar for Jai Ho. The Dev Patel-starrer that went on to win a whopping eight awards, the highest number received by a single film that year. Rahman has received a total of five Oscar nominations, receiving three in 2011 for 127 Hours.

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Gulzar

Winner of Best Original Song for Jai Ho

A colossus of Bollywood, the ever-modest poet-lyricist Gulzar said, that Jai Ho would not have won the award without the contributions of the maestro, A.R. Rahman. "It was because of A R Rahman the song won the award. Although Sukhwinder Singh also contributed to making the song a hit by putting a lot of energy into it," he said, a decade after winning the award.

As it happened, Gulzar and Jai Ho singer Sukhvinder Singh were both noticeably absent at the award ceremony and watched the Oscars glamour unfold on TV. Singh was even supposed to perform at the ceremony with AR Rahman and many eyebrows were raised. It turned out that Singh and Gulzar had failed to receive the official letter from The Academy.

[caption id="attachment_35847" align="alignnone" width="640"] Gulzar[/caption]

Resul Pookutty

"I dedicate this award to my country. This is not just a sound award but a piece of history that has been handed over to me." Resul Pookutty was all smiles as he received the Oscar award in 2009, as the sound designer for Slumdog Millionaire. Sharing the award with Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke, he dedicated the honour to his country. Pookutty is also a BAFTA winner and became the first indian to win the Cinema Audio Society award for best sound mixing.

Pookutty was born into poverty in Kerala. His father was a private bus ticket checker and a young Pookutty would walk six kilometres to school everyday, returning home in the evening to study in the light of a keroscene lamp. He attempted a law degree and dropped out before completing it, joining the FIlm and Television Institute of India in Pune instead. He moved to Mumbai after that and got his big break with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black, after which he received several big ticket opportunities as a sound mixer.

Life didn't go too smoothly for Pookutty after his Oscars honour, however, despite him being one of India's most celebrated sound mixers. In 2020, he took to Twitter to say that the Hindi film industry had turned its back on him after he won his Oscar, even calling it the 'kiss of death in Bollywood."