Global IndianstoryAkshita Bhanj Deo: Building sustainable tourism with social impact

Akshita Bhanj Deo: Building sustainable tourism with social impact

Written by: Bindu Gopal Rao

(August 31, 2023) Akshita Bhanj Deo and her sister are the directors of the 200-year-old Belgadia Palace in Mayurbhanj. Together, they’re working to build sustainable tourism with social impact. Akshita is also the manager of Dasra, which launched GivingPi, Inda’s first invite-only family philanthropy network, which has raised $300 million and impacted over 100 million Indians, with members that include Nikhil Kamath, Co-Founder, Zerodha and True Beacon, Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and Nisaba Godrej, Executive Chairperson, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd.

Born into the fading glory of India’s royals, among palaces falling to ruin, Princess Akshita Bhanj Deo sometimes compares her life to Downton Abbey. A descendant of the Bhanja Dynasty, her great grandfather is the late King Tribhuvan of Nepal. Raised in Kolkata, she studied at the prestigious La Martiniere for Girls and then at United World College of Southeast Asia Singapore. She was an athlete in school and college and a national-level equestrian, participating in dressage and jumping. After school, she went to college as a Davis scholar at Bard College in the US, where she studied Political Science and Human Rights with a concentration in Media in conflict areas. After college, she moved to New York City to hone her skills in communications, brand management and entrepreneurship while working at the International Rescue Committee.

Akshita Bhanj Deo, one of the directors of the 200-year-old Belgadia Palace in Mayurbhanj with her sister, Mrinalika.

Royal Call

Currently she is a TedX speaker and a manager at Dasra, Akshita is working to build a conversation around strategic philanthropy in India through GivingPi. In 2019, she moved full-time to Mayurbhanj, where she developed an interest in building social enterprises and refurbishing the historic Belgadia Palace on a startup model. “My sister Mrinalika and I restored our 18^th century ancestral home (The Belgadia Palace) to have tourism be a catalyst for sustainable development in Odisha’s largest district Mayurbhanj,” she says, in an exclusive with Global Indian. The idea was to use the property as a platform to divert funds into the district’s small and medium-sized enterprises and attract investment, by serving as a point of local contact between non-profits, the media, and entrepreneurs. Raising funds from guests who visited the palace, the sisters started the Mayurbhanj Foundation to help the local community in terms of healthcare, education, arts and culture, livelihoods, and sports. They hope to positively impact at least 10,000 people by 2025.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ancestry (@theancestrystore)

Partnering for Success

They have tie-ups with local communities to promote business and provide an alternative livelihood from eco-tourism by giving them access to market linkages with travellers. These include Project Chhauni (Arts), NGO Sangram (Livelihoods), Mayurbhanj Art Foundation (Arts and Culture), ORMAS Sabai grass SHGs (Livelihoods) and Thakurmunda Sports Academy (Sports). Since they opened in August 2019, they have had 1000 guests in 2.5 years and have conducted over 500 property tours on heritage conservation and heritage. With over 100 meet-and-greets with Dokra and Sabai Grass artists with ORMAS and 100 Mayurbhanj Chhau dance performances with their local NGO partner Project Chhauni, they have had three artist residencies, one international from an artist duo from New Zealand and one national with an emerging photographer from Bhatinda and a partnership with Frequencies Foundation and one with the BEADS Studio in Bhubaneshwar. They had two volunteer-led trips to empower the local community students with Living to Change and Youth for sustainability and one grant tie-up with the Mehrangarh Fort Museum and Trust supported by the Tata Trusts heritage conservation initiative. “We have also been actively supporting the local sports groups in Mayurbhanj and have tied up with NGO Sangram to support tribal youth. We run fundraising drives to deliver sports equipment and kits to the youth and hold workshops on conservation and livelihood capacity training since many live on the fringes of the Simlipal Elephant and Tiger Reserve and biosphere which witnessed the tragic forest fires this year,” Akshita adds.

Giving Back

Akshita manages Dasra, which launched GivingPi in July 2022, India’s first and exclusive family philanthropy network, an independent initiative under the aegis of Dasra and has managed to positively impact over 100 million Indians with the $300 million raised. GivingPi’s Founders Circle members include Nikhil Kamath, Co-Founder, Zerodha and True Beacon, Nisaba Godrej, Executive Chairperson, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd., Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, Sunny (Gurpreet) Singh, Founder, RoundGlass and Tara Singh Vachani, VP, Max India Ltd. “Public healthcare is a critical need in a developing district, especially in a state like Odisha which is so prone to natural disasters. So I worked for three years at the Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence in various roles from communications to special projects and one of the verticals the institute was focussing on was healthcare,” Akshita adds.

Entrepreneurial Journey

Having dabbled with different activities, she admits that getting a set of skilled team members to bring to a hospitality venture and retaining them as a boutique heritage hotel which is family run is a challenge. “To find the entrepreneurial minds who are open to growth and change and can be community ambassadors in rural areas is challenging but we try to bring in speakers and external collaborators who can help us train, build and skill a new young India. Invest in the best team and earnest professionals – you cannot be everything, all at once, but the strength of a team is unstoppable,” she opines. When she is not working, she indulges in sports, fitness, and being part of artistic or creative talks and dialogues. “I love to travel and have just got back from Vietnam and Nepal and can safely say that Asia is exploding with hidden spots to discover.” Looking ahead, she hopes to scale the Mayurbhanj Foundation to be self-sustainable and have a corpus that can provide jobs and help skill tribal youth every year. This is in addition to main streaming tribal culture, art, and ambassadors to be part of the global narrative on Indian Craftsmanship.

Follow Akshita M Bhanj Deo on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn

Name*

Email*

Name*

Email*

0 Comments

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments

Published on 31, Aug 2023

Share with

ALSO READ

Chef Gyanendra Gupta: Creating desi food with a twist at Raas, Delaware

Restaurant: Raas Founder: Chef Gyanendra Gupta Cuisine: Blend of Indian, vegan, Pan Asian and original creations Service options: Reservations required · Serves vegan dishes Address: 210 Savannah Rd, Lewes, DE 19958, USA (May 12, 2024) Chef Gyanendra Gupta’s restaurant Raas in Delaware is a happy blend of Indian, vegan, Pan Asian and original creations. His purpose is to introduce real Indian flavours to Americans, who think Indian food is mainly curry, and dismiss it as too spicy. Chef GG serves up creatively thought out delicacies like Tandoori stuff potato, Asian spiced salmon cake, biryani and Rigatoni Aglio Olio with Chicken Tikka Masala. Chef Gyanendra Gupta, the fourth sibling among five brothers, grew up helping his mother prepare food for family dinners. He starts the interview with Global Indian by saying, “I was a mama’s boy. She would dictate a paragraph for me to write while cooking; and when she’d check my spelling, I’d check on what was being cooked. None of my brothers had any interest in cooking but since I did, she took me to the markets, and I spent most of my time at home with her in the kitchen. I remember getting excited seeing the roti puff up

k on what was being cooked. None of my brothers had any interest in cooking but since I did, she took me to the markets, and I spent most of my time at home with her in the kitchen. I remember getting excited seeing the roti puff up on the gas burner as a child.”

[caption id="attachment_51601" align="aligncenter" width="458"] Chef Gyanendra Gupta, founder, Raas[/caption]

Indian Roots, Overseas Experience

Chef GG as he is known, grew up in Lucknow, and would even cook for his mother so she could eat with them instead of eating last. All this time spent with her led to him dropping out of medicine at the last minute and joining the Indian Institute of Hotel Management in Lucknow, which was just five minutes away from his home. This was in 1993 and during his third year, he got a job at the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai as a hotel management trainee. He recalls, “I worked there till 1998, after which I got a chance to work in the Caribbean islands with a London-based hotel group. They had hotels in Granada, St Lucia and many other islands. I used to train people there and on other islands also.”

In 2007, he moved back to India and joined the Landmark Group, a Dubai-based company that was trying to set up hospitality operations in India. He joined as Brand Chef and developed several brands and kiosks for the group in different parts of India including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune, to name a few. One of the restaurants in our franchise was Yellow Chilli by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and Chef Harpal Singh.”

This assignment gave Chef GG the background he needed in the backend logistics of running a business, which would later help him with Raas, the fine-dining Indian and Pan-Asian restaurant he now owns and runs in Lewes, Delaware. He says, “We had a 5500 sqft kitchen for R & D and we set up the first franchise for Gloria Jeans, an Australian coffee shop chain in Bandra, Mumbai. Though I quit after a year, it had been a great learning journey, where I understood the economics behind the business.”

Dream jobs galore

Other assignments at the Royal Orchid in Bengaluru followed and he was back with the Taj group for their launch of the brand Vivanta for the Taj in Goa. He says, “Though they had earlier launched Vivanta in Bengaluru, the Goa branch was the real launch and it was quite successful.” From there, in 2011, he moved to the Jai Mahal Palace in Jaipur, where he infused new energy into that property. Chef GG created an international menu, launched Frangipani, a Mediterranean restaurant along with Giardino, an Italian restaurant by the poolside, and elevated the culinary level by training his team at Jai Mahal Palace.”

“I believe every trainee has to be as good as you; and on every second Saturday of the month, anyone and everyone in the team had the liberty to prepare any dish they wanted. It was a wonderful exercise because even those who were not in the kitchen, would participate and make so many different items.” This property and the nearby Jaigarh Fort were the locations for several high-profile destination weddings, where the food was overseen by Chef GG.

[caption id="attachment_51600" align="aligncenter" width="547"] Raas, Chef Gyanendra Gupta, Global Indian Raas is located in a 100-year-old heritage home in Lewes, Delaware[/caption]

Then, in 2015, he represented India at the Mid-Atlantic Wine and Food Festival where 24 chefs and 70 winemakers from all over the world participated. He says, “I got a lot of exposure and met with a friend who was a medical student when I was a chef in the Caribbean at Dupont Hotel, Wilmington, USA. He showed me around the place, and I loved Lewes, which is a historic city with beautiful beaches in Delaware, the first State. He suggested I should open a restaurant here as no restaurants were serving Indian cuisine in that area, so the seed was planted in my brain at that time.”

In April 2015, Chef GG moved back to Taj Holiday Village in Goa but during a vacation in 2017, he went back to Delaware. He says, “That is when we decided to open a restaurant there and bought this historic building. It is a Queen Anne-style Victorian structure built in 1899 and we launched our first restaurant called Raas here.”

Dance of destiny

The website for Raas describes the name as a traditional folk dance from Gujarat in India – the garba and dandiya raas of the Gujaratis performed during weddings and Navratri. He has also added a medical acronym for Raas which is the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, the hormonal system responsible for blood pressure, fluid, and electrolyte balance in our bodies. Chef GG and his team renovated the building and launched in August 2019.

The restaurant, which was listed among the 100 best restaurants by Yelp and published in Forbes magazine, was also featured in the Wall Street Journal and has won many awards.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Gyanendra Gupta (@chef.gyanu)

He says he wanted to introduce Americans to Indian flavours as many of them consider Indian food as spicy and that it comprises of curry only. “We plated our food interestingly to intrigue their palates.”

Unlike other Indian restaurants of its kind, Raas has at least 17-18 starters and 28 main course dishes each on the menu. Most places list half that number of options. Chef GG runs a tight ship where he is on the floor meeting guests, explaining the food philosophy of his creations, and reiterating that all the calls to the restaurant are always forwarded to him. He says, “Within a few months of opening, Covid had us shut down, but we started takeout options, which kept us going.” Lewes in Delaware has a lot of folks who own second homes here as the city is barely three hours away from Washington DC and New York. Several of the city folk had never had Indian food before so it was a challenge to get them to try something new. “But I believe in Atithi Devo Bhava – the guest is god – so I interact with each guest and help them decide what they’d like to eat,” he adds.

Raas has some interesting options on offer in the fairly extensive vegetarian and non-vegetarian menu. They also have a full vegan and gluten-free menu which is in demand with locals. The Dal Lalla Mussa, Chef GG’s version of Dal Makhni is a popular favourite. As are the Saag Paneer Kofta, Lamb Shank Rogan Josh, Malai Chicken tikka Arancini, and Duck Breast Korma. He has dishes which are not on the menu but could be prepared on the guest’s request and the spice levels, even in the Pan Asian dishes are mild. He adds that 90 percent of his menu is gluten-free with the Chilli Olive Naan and Missi Roti as fast-moving items.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Gyanendra Gupta (@chef.gyanu)

Now that Raas is an established brand in Delaware, Chef GG is currently thinking of opening a branch in other parts of the US and in the Caribbean islands where he has spent a fair amount of time in the past.

As for global food trends, Chef GG believes that with current lifestyles being such that people eat out a lot, and the US being the multicultural hotpot that it is, people are open to trying food from different cuisines.

While travelling, Chef GG likes to eat at:

Cultured Pearls, a Japanese restaurant in Rehoboth, Delaware: Sushi Boat
Mediterranean Aroma, Rehoboth: Kebab Platter and Falafel
Touch of Italy, Rehoboth: Antipasti platter
Rasika, Washington DC: I love their lamb chops
The Capital Grille, Philadelphia: They do lovely steaks
Roadside Caribbean Jerk Barbeque on St. Lucian Island is his favourite among all of them

Follow Chef Gyanendra Gupta and Raas on LinkedIn and Instagram

Cities by design: Cambridge’s Dr Ronita Bardhan brings sustainability into low-income housing

(May 8, 2022) Over a billion people across the world live in slums – nearly one in six. Orangi Town in Karachi, Pakistan is by far the world's largest, with some 2.4 million inhabitants. More than a million residents crowd together in Mumbai's Dharavi slum, where development of low-income housing is overseen by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). Over the years, thousands of people were moved out of temporary dwellings into brick and mortar shelters. It’s a step up, one would think. It's not long before residents realise that their concrete tenements aren't all they're made out to be... “Poor design causes a multitude of problems with regard to health, well-being and socio-economic interaction,” says Cambridge University's assistant professor of sustainability in built environment - Dr Ronita Bardhan, in an interview with Global Indian. Sustainable, low-income housing is the architectural engineer's area of work - she has spent years studying rehabilitation projects at IIT-Bombay, Stanford University and Cambridge University. Her aim: Attempting to provide data and tech-driven, culturally rooted design solutions that work both at the individual and community levels. While cutting edge technology is the need of the hour, Ronita believes firmly that it should consider the socio-cultural context

ology is the need of the hour, Ronita believes firmly that it should consider the socio-cultural context within which it is being used.

However, faced with a problem of almost fantastic magnitude, authorities in slum rehabilitation projects around the world tend to rely on a purely quantitative approach. Working in isolation, without inputs from the health or energy ministries, the projects may fulfill the basic concern – shelter, but do little else.

Driven by data, transcending disciplines

Working out of the University of Cambridge, Ronita creates design solutions that marry engineering, AI and the social sciences. “Housing is not a noun, it's a verb,” says Ronita. “It decides the way a person lives, their health, and their economic outcomes. Housing policies don't cater to that, even though they should," she adds. She’s currently working towards four UN Sustainable Development Goals – 3 (good-health and well-being), 7 (affordable and clean energy), 11 (sustainable cities and communities) and 13 (climate action).

Ronita’s approach is a call for demand-led design. Her approach is data-driven, “it brings a hard-core engineering model together with the social sciences." Her work has taken her from India to projects in Indonesia, South Africa, Ethiopia and Brazil. She is the Director of Studies and Fellow in Architecture at Selwyn College. She also chairs the Equality Diversity Inclusivity Committee at the Department of Architecture and History of Arts.

Cry the beloved country

When she moved to Mumbai to join IIT-Bombay, she would often see sprawling apartment blocks whiz past her train window. She had no idea at the time why these buildings existed, apart from noting that they looked dense. These were the SRA's tenement housing projects set, where Ronita would begin her research work.

The houses contained a range of shortcomings; from poor ventilation that resulted in indoor air pollution, the absence of natural sunlight that led to greater energy consumption through artificial lighting and the absence of space for women and children to gather outdoors. In one study, Ronita found that indoor pollution levels in SRA homes were five times over the global standards.

Design solution to reduce indoor air pollution

A data-driven approach requires far more than merely handing out questionnaires. Instead, Ronita and her team work to collect several hours of data, gathered through a series of informal chats and unstructured interviews, while simultaneously monitoring the built environment using a range of environmental sensors. In an effort to examine the conditions of 120 households in Mumbai's chawls, “We stayed in the chawls, imitating the habits of the regular residents,” Ronita says. They placed sensors across the building to measure air quality, using the local mean age (LMA) of air as a parameter. They also considered the orientation and direction of the building, what surrounded it, area, thickness of the walls and the size of the windows.

"We want to develop strategies from these kinds of parameters," says Ronita. By taking into consideration the economic, physical, emotional and interpersonal aspects of the individual's life, the resulting design solution will help move away from the prevailing quantitative approach.

A rise in the incidents of tuberculosis in Mumbai’s rehabilitation projects led to further studies. They found the absence of sunlight allows the microbes to thrive, causing disease. It also led to increased energy consumption.

Gendered cities

In 2018, Ronita's study, published in Habitat International - a Science Direct journal, found gender asymmetries in slum rehabilitation projects in Mumbai. Participants are made to feel at ease through a series of unstructured interviews and it was found that women were now largely confined indoors. Where activities like childcare were once a shared responsibility, the new projects had done away with open, community spaces where women traditionally gathered.

The SRA has done much work to bring people out of slum dwellings. However, "designing houses based on the current policy has knock off effects on health and energy," Ronita explains. "There is no link between design and the actual lived experience. Houses are not just for shelter, they impact every part of our lives," she says.

[caption id="attachment_24294" align="aligncenter" width="567"] Data is gathered through a series of unstructured interviews and monitoring built environment through a range of sensors.[/caption]

Poverty of time

Confined to their homes and burdened entirely with domestic duties, fewer women were going out to find work. The vast socio-economic networks maintained in the old slum dwellings no longer existed without socialising spaces. The green spaces invariably become illegal parking spots, places for hawkers, or even dumping grounds.

"The women would once go out every day to visit neighbours who lived 15 houses away. Now, although that neighbour lives three storeys above, they don't meet for months. If women were spending 90 percent of their time indoors, they are now spending 99 percent," Ronita explains. It is a poverty of time that in turn, leads to fiscal poverty as well.

The quantitative approach

A quantitative approach can easily sideline individual and local needs. “In South Africa, the level of poverty is a lot lower but the problems are more to do with things like drug abuse. You don’t find that in India, especially among the women,” says Ronita. Instead, when she interviewed women in SRA housing in Mumbai, she found they were thrilled to have toilets inside their homes and private indoor spaces. However, there’s still a lot to contend with for authorities and urban planners alike. Ronita is among those calling for demand-driven engineering solutions, with built environments catering to the needs of the individual. It involves trans-disciplinary collaborations to arrive at practical solutions.

A holistic approach and tweaked building by-laws can make a world of difference. “It can be scaled,” Ronita agrees. “Builders should not be granted free land until they comply with the by-laws. These need revision based on contextual factors and should never mention minimum thresholds for set-backs. When compliance is based on a minimum threshold, only the minimum provided. Let's include elements like childcare facilities and socialising spaces within the legal framework,” she adds.

[caption id="attachment_24295" align="aligncenter" width="659"] Ronita with women residents of Mumbai's SRA housing[/caption]

Efficient utilisation of space and energy

When she first began her work in the field, Ronita says cooling units inside people’s homes were a rarity. Today, most have more than one energy-intensive cooling devices. Bills have shot up and with inadequately designed homes, they’re only likely to increase further. “We assume that this demographic doesn’t really consume energy. That is a fallacy,” she says.

For all this, the efficient utilisation of space is paramount. Ronita recalls doing her doctorate at the University of Tokyo, and the 25 sq foot apartment she called home. “The tenements in Mumbai are actually larger but they feel very cramped. Not once during my time in Tokyo did, I feel like I needed more space. It’s all about design. I would wonder if it could be replicated but then, all technology should consider the socio-cultural context within which it is being used."

Follow Ronita on Twitter and LinkedIn

Reading Time: 8 mins

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s success comes from empathy

(June 18, 2022) Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, the American multinational company is well known for leading with empathy. Ironically, it was lack of empathy that had nearly cost him the chance to join the organisation 30 years back. After a full day of interviews with various engineering leaders who tested his intellectual capabilities, Nadella had met the last interviewer of the selection process. Instead of giving him an engineering problem, coding scenario or grilling about his education and experiences the interviewer had asked him; what would he do if he sees a crying baby lying on a street. “I’ll call 911,” was Nadella’s reply. The interviewer was certainly not satisfied and pointed out that Nadella needs to build empathy, as the first thing that would be required in such a scenario is to pick up the baby. “Somehow, I got the job but Richard’s (interviewer’s) words have remained with me to this day. Little did I know then that I would soon learn empathy in a deeply personal way,” writes Nadella in his memoir Hit Refresh. The bestseller has a warm foreword by Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft. Global Indian turns it spotlight on the inspirational success story

" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Global Indian turns it spotlight on the inspirational success story of the Indian-origin CEO who lives in Bellevue, Washington.

[caption id="attachment_25810" align="aligncenter" width="1333"] Indian CEO | Microsoft | Satya Nadella | Global Indian Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella[/caption]

Writing about empathy in his memoir, Nadella remarks

“This unique quality will become even more valuable in a world where the torrent of technology will disrupt the status quo like never before.”

Joining Microsoft at the age of 25 after a short stint at Sun Microsystems, Satya Nadella climbed up the ladder to become the third CEO of the organisation in 2014. To work for a company filled with people who believe they were on a mission to change the world, was his reason to join the organisation in 1992. He never regretted his decision in the last three decades!

Making the best of what life had in store

Satya Nadella had been a good student but not an extraordinary one. “I was not academically that great. I didn’t go to the elite Indian Institute of Technology (IITs),” he mentions while informing in his memoir that he flunked its entrance exam. So, he went on to study at Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) instead. The young Nadella wanted to study computer science, but was not able to get into the stream. So, he instead took up electrical engineering with the hunch that it would help him get closer to computers and software. Fortuitously his hunch was right!

[caption id="attachment_25812" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Indian CEO | Microsoft | Satya Nadella | Global Indian Microsoft past and current CEOs: Bill Gates, Satya Nadella, Steve Ballmer on Nadella’s first day as CEO[/caption]

Today, the man who was conferred Padma Bhushan in 2022, is an inspiration to millions. His journey is a strong testament that if one makes the best of what has come one’s way, keep the passion alive for achievements, never let die the dream; then reaching where one intends to be is not impossible.

Leading with purpose

Reminiscing about his organization’s larger purpose Nadella writes:

“Microsoft has always been at its best when it commits personal passion to a broader purpose. Windows Office, Xbox, Surface, our servers and Microsoft Cloud – all of these products have become digital platforms upon which individuals and organizations can build their own dreams.”

Nadella has aligned himself well with his organization’s outlook putting the alchemy of purpose, innovation and empathy at the centre of all that he pursues – from the products that his team launches, the new markets that they enter to the employees, customers and partners they work with.

Childhood passions – cricket and computers

Nadella was born in Hyderabad in a Telugu family. His mother, Prabhavati Yugandhar, was a Sanskrit professor. As a kid, Satya was mesmerised by the charms of cricketers who hailed from the city, and wanted to be a professional cricketer. His father, Bukkapuram Nadella Yugandhar, an IAS officer, however was not keen on Satya playing cricket instead of focussing on his studies. Incidentally, Satya too, struggled to hone his skills in the game beyond a certain level.

So, the junior Nadella started working on a passion that came second on list after cricket – computers. Little did he know that his second-best choice would make him number one in life! Interestingly, the top CEO who is still obsessed with cricket attributes many of his leadership qualities to lessons that he learned as a cricket player.

[caption id="attachment_25815" align="aligncenter" width="761"] Indian CEO | Microsoft | Satya Nadella | Global Indian Satya Nadella enjoying the game of cricket[/caption]

A 15-year-old Nadella discovered that computer software is one of the most malleable resources after his father gifted him a Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer kit from Bangkok. The youngster realised that he can achieve multiple things with just a few lines of code.

By 1980s, Nadella was already good at writing BASIC code. After completing his B Tech, he headed to United States in 1988 to pursue his master's degree in computer science at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. This journey that he made from New Delhi to Chicago on his 21st birthday paved his way to becoming the CEO of one of the world’s largest companies.

A family man

The IT administrator of his family, Nadella has always been particular that technology for entertainment should be limited. As a father of three he has always been negotiating on how many movies, what kind of video games and the likes with his children.

[caption id="attachment_25816" align="aligncenter" width="758"] Indian CEO | Microsoft | Satya Nadella | Global Indian Satya Nadella with his wife, Anu and son, late Zain Nadella[/caption]

His life changed forever with the birth of his first born, Zain who passed away in February 2022. Zain was born weighing just three pounds, was visually impaired, and had limited communication capabilities. He had been suffering from severe cerebral palsy. This has had a profound influence on lives of both Satya and his wife, Anu. Since his birth, the couple have been leading, thinking and relating to people – all with empathy.

“Ideas excite me. Empathy grounds and centres me" - Satya Nadella

The father who never expected to grapple with such harsh turn of fate, cherishes every moment of his fatherhood nevertheless. The couple who are also childhood friends has been successful in keeping their private life, pretty private.

Life’s lessons transferred to good business decisions

The man who never conducts business as usual, makes use of life’s experiences as raw material for transformation. Many features of Microsoft products have been designed keeping in mind the ease of use by the differently abled for example the company’s new app, Seeing AI, helps people with visual impairment. "They can hold up their phone and it'll 'see' people — interpret their emotions, interpret a menu, cook with a recipe, go grocery shopping, read labels or help them walk into a conference room with confidence " remarked Satya Nadella in one of his interviews.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kexuG-YcQFA

Do you know?

Satya Nadella’s full name is Satya Narayana Nadella
At six, he lost his sister, who was just five-and-half months old
Satya Nadella studied in Hyderabad Public School (HPS). His father wanted him to do his 11th and 12th from an international school in Bangkok. However, Nadella did not budge because he loved HPS too much.
Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe, Ajay Singh Banga, CEO of Master Card, Kunal Bahl of Snapdeal are all alumni of HPS, Nadella’s school - a fact that he cherishes.
Years after passing out of Manipal Institute of Technology, Nadella rented a house in Sunnyvale, California with eight of his classmates from the institute, who happened to be there at the same time working in California. Together they recreated their dorm experience from college.
He gave up his Green Card (permanent residency) and went back to H1B (temporary professional worker status), in the initial days of his marriage because his newly-wedded wife’s visa was rejected. Those days visa waitlist for spouses of permanent residents used to be five or more years, while the H1B enabled spouses to stay in US while their husbands or wives were working there.

Follow Satya Nadella on LinkedIn and Twitter

Reading Time: 5 mins

Indian restaurateur turned ‘war hero’ Manish Dave’s Saathiya is ‘dal’ kitchen and refuge in Ukraine

(March 9, 2022) Indian restaurateur, Manish Dave had to leave everything dear to him back in Ukraine. His restaurant - a vibrant hangout in Kyiv flocked by Indians and Ukrainians alike, his home on the 12th floor offering beautiful views of a once-peaceful capital. And the company of warm Indians and Ukrainians, and his dreams of making it on foreign soil. As the Russian forces unleashed their brute force in Ukraine, Manish is staring at huge losses. [caption id="attachment_20996" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Indian restaurateur Manish Dave at Saathiya in Kyiv[/caption] Yet, what he did earn was respect, tons of love and blessings from people all over for his selfless service. From his soup aka dal kitchen feeding hungry souls, and his basement restaurant which was a refuge against the shelling. A dal kitchen for safety In the midst of deadly air strikes, raging gun battles and wailing air raid sirens, Manish turned saviour for many seeking shelter in the war-torn Kyiv. Tucked in the basement of a complex on Chokolivs’Kyi Blvd, 33, his eatery doubled up as a bomb-shelter-cum community kitchen, where the 52-year-old offered free food and safety to a group of 150. His selfless act earned Dave

aviour for many seeking shelter in the war-torn Kyiv. Tucked in the basement of a complex on Chokolivs’Kyi Blvd, 33, his eatery doubled up as a bomb-shelter-cum community kitchen, where the 52-year-old offered free food and safety to a group of 150. His selfless act earned Dave praise worldwide, and he was hailed as a war hero.

Indian Restaurateur | Manish Dave | Global Indian

“There was immense panic, and everyone was terrified as Russian forces started invading Ukraine. I told myself I had to help people, come what may. I opened my restaurant for those seeking food and shelter,” smiles Manish Dave, speaking exclusively to Global Indian, hours before he boarded an Indigo flight from Romania to New Delhi.

A friend in need

Before leaving Kyiv, Manish even handed over the keys of his restaurant to Ukrainian neighbours to be used if need arises. True to the name of his restaurant Saathiya -- Manish was every bit a friend in need.

Indian Restaurateur | Manish Dave | Global Indian

As the clouds of war began engulfing Ukraine, Manish, like many others, faced uncertainty. The first attack on Kyiv changed everything. Initially, he offered shelter to customers on February 24, the day the invasion began.

Subsequently, he put out a post on Telegram (below).

Indian Restaurateur | Manish Dave | Global Indian

Soon, a few Indian students reached his eatery located close to Bogomolets National Medical University hostel. The next day, there were 70. A few Ukrainian families including pregnant women, children and elderly also arrived at his doorstep, and were ushered in and made comfortable. From day 2 till March 2, Saathiya was a refuge to around 150 people.

“The basement served as the perfect bomb shelter,” informs Manish, from Vadodara (Gujarat). The restaurateur and his 12-member staff, all who had shifted to the restaurant from their home due to the war, served traditional dal (lentil) and rice -- piping hot, welcome in the freezing cold, quite like a soup kitchen, only this also kept them safe from the rampant bombings outside.

A refuge and a respite

At the crack of dawn, Manish and his staff set out to purchase rations - A risky affair, as grocery stores were 6 km to 8 km away. “Deserted streets, air raid sirens and distant sounds of intermittent firing and bombing gave us the jitters. Yet, feeding people was my topmost priority,” recounts Manish.

Indian Restaurateur | Manish Dave | Global Indian

“We served rotis, pasta and other European dishes on the first day. Making rotis for so many required a lot of flour, and was time consuming. We then switched to dal and rice. Indians loved it, and so did the Ukrainians,” smiles the man who created this “dal” kitchen. He also fed 40 other locals who had taken shelter in a bunker close to his restaurant. Feeding people for free, some people also donated voluntarily to buy ration.

When nationalities don’t matter, humanity does

As reports of death and destruction trickled in, a tense atmosphere engulfed the eatery-turned-bunker as many made exit plans. “The kitchen was running non-stop. We did everything we could to make everyone comfortable,” says the restaurateur, adding that most folk hardly slept, especially children.

In between, Manish would just about manage to squeeze time to talk to his daughter, Mahima, a senior crew member with Air Asia in Bengaluru. “She was worried, texting and video calling. I assured her I would be home soon, though, at that point of time, I had no specific exit plan,” he reveals.

Indian Restaurateur | Manish Dave | Global Indian

On March 1, after a bomb blast ripped through the TV tower, hardly 4 km away from Saathiya, Manish and his team decided to leave Kyiv. “The Indian embassy asked us to leave the city immediately,” says the Indian who also ran restaurants in Singapore and Armenia. The next day, he handed over his restaurant keys to his Ukrainian neighbour, bid her farewell. “I was pleasantly surprised when my Ukrainian neighbours all offered me a ride to Kyiv station. There were 13 of us, my Ukranian friends pooled in three vehicles to drop us safely,” says a thankful Manish. They boarded a crowded train to Chernivtsi the next day, and drove to the Romanian border, to safety.

How Saathiya opened and helped the war stricken

With thousands of Indian students studying in Ukraine, Manish decided to start his restaurant in Ukraine in October 2021. After pooling in all resources, he opened Saathiya on January 9, 2022. Soon, his eatery was a popular hub, particularly for Indians craving for home food. Little did he know that less than two months on, his world, and the world at large would come crashing down. “I took the basement on lease for a period of three years. I invested close to Rs 50 lakh,” informs a dejected Manish.

Indian restaurateur | Manish Dave | Global Indian

Clueless on what next, Dave hopes for peace, and getting back to Kyiv someday. “I shudder to think what kind of damage awaits Kyiv, my restaurant, and the people of Ukraine” says Manish, who lost his wife in 2004.

His resolve echoes that of the whole world, as everyone stands with Ukraine.

Reading Time: 5 mins

King Cannes: Chef Manu Chandra shines at top film festival

(July 12, 2022 ) When Chef Manu Chandra stepped down from the Olive Group after 17 years to branch out on his own, it seemed like a dicey detour. He didn’t let that stop him, founding Single Thread Catering in 2021. One year later, Manu took his new venture to the Festival de Cannes 2022, after the Ministry of External Affairs invited the culinary maverick to join their contingent at the India Pavilion. It didn’t end there. Manu was also asked to cater the inaugural dinner, a big order on very short notice – just the sort of challenge he enjoys. Giving local products an Indian twist, in an attempt to bridge Rajasthani and French cuisines, the menage-a-deux menu included Pyaaz ki kachori en Croute, made with roasted shallots and wrapped in croissant dough and served with chutney and creme fraiche. There were also the wildly popular Paniyaram Madelines, served with podi and coconut chutney and vada pav made with French brioche buns. “There’s an interesting backstory to the whole thing,” Manu Chandra tells Global Indian. “I’m involved with Diageo’s latest endeavor, their craft counsel. It’s an endeavor that aims to change how people perceive locally-distilled brands and Godavan, a single-malt made in Rajasthan, was one of their

Global Indian. “I’m involved with Diageo’s latest endeavor, their craft counsel. It’s an endeavor that aims to change how people perceive locally-distilled brands and Godavan, a single-malt made in Rajasthan, was one of their biggest, recent launches.” Shortly after the launch, they received a call from the Government of India, asking them to be pouring partners at the India Pavilion at Cannes, to showcase a story that is “so inherently Indian.” The Ministry also inquired if Manu would be open to coming along. “I jumped at the idea,” he says. “I can’t turn down a chance to go to the South of France for a couple of days!”

[caption id="attachment_29289" align="aligncenter" width="527"] Manu Chandra | Single Thread Catering | Global Indian Manu Chandra, founder, Single Thread Catering[/caption]

The big invitation

The journey ahead was fraught with surprises. When the list of names was sent to the Ministry, someone recognised Manu’s name and asked if he would be “open to doing some of the dishes at the India Pavilion.” It was short notice, but do-able and Manu agreed. “My thought process was to create something that represents the country in interesting ways – a confluence of traditional Indian offerings and a little bit of France, given I would be working with a lot of local ingredients. I wanted to play with form and make it something people would remember because it was a landmark festival for so many reasons. It was taking place after a long break, India’s 75^th year of independence and 75 years of Indo-French diplomatic relations.” The Ministry loved his suggestions.

The story doesn’t end here. Even bigger things were brewing – an extended invite at the festival. “Before I knew it, another request came in from the Ministry, asking if I would be open to the doing the inaugural dinner, as well.” Now this was a big ask – Manu would be very short on time. “As a chef, you tend to shine brightest in adversity. I took on the challenge and put together a menu that paid tribute to Rajasthan.” He explained the Rajasthani-French confluence on the menu and it was very well-received by the Ministry. Manu was told that he would be cooking for 25, and be provided a venue with a kitchen.

India Pavilion — the most buzzing pavilion!

As someone who’s hands-on, Manu believes he works best in situations where all hands are on deck. That wasn’t meant to be, for Manu’s visa was the only one stamped ahead of time. He arrived at the venue alone, standing before a team of French chefs eyed him with apprehension, “thinking the Indian chef would come with pots of curries.” They realized soon enough that it was all very French and very innovative. It was an adventure all through, which began with trying to source dosa batter in the South of France. “Not a joke,” Manu remarks. A Sri Lankan grandmother came to their rescue – “the only one who could make it.” Manu also worked with a local caterer in Nice.

Manu is a process-driven chef, with an eye for detail. He began with a mad rush for local ingredients, then putting them together, building flavours and creating presentations. His team arrived an hour before the dinner began. “It was like a suspense thriller,” Manu recalls. “I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to have to do 30 plates alone’.” It was an “exciting and daunting task,” but exhilarating, especially when the guests walked in – the invitees included A-listers like A.R. Rahman, Madhavan and Nawazuddin Siddique. The moment dinner was done, the team raced to begin prepping for the India Pavilion.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Manu Chandra (@manuchandra)

A menu that married comfort with contemporary aesthetics

“It was comfort food married with contemporary presentations, comfort married with using local products with that classic Indian twist. That manifested in a Baingan Bharta caviar passed through vodka and garnished with asparagus – this was popular with people from the Bangladeshi pavilion, who stopped to dig in and told Manu it reminded them of home. Snacks like kodubale, pepper cashews, small chaklis, and khakhras “sold like hot cakes,” Manu said. “We had guests from the Dutch, Irish, Ukrainian and Columbian pavilions alike. The India Pavilion was the most buzzing – we actually had a crisis situation in the pantry!”

Inside the mind of the master chef

“I’m philosophy-agnostic,” Manu says, about how he plans his menus. “I don’t want to be tied down to a single process when I think of food and menus. I believe evolution is key, to be able to engage with your customer on an ongoing basis.” There’s always “merit in repetition,” he says, but as a creative professional, that’s not always a priority. “I need to be able to create. I have always believed in that.”

Does he have creator’s block? “There are a lot of moving parts in the food business. There’s too much going on for that.” Perfectionism, however, is Manu Chandra's trademark. “It doesn’t always bode well for me as I scale because I want things to be done a certain way and so much is in the hands of others. Does that make me insecure? No. But it does make me worried.”

The Next Big Move: Single Thread Catering

Seventeen years of being closely associated with the Olive Group was followed by Single Thread Catering, a bespoke catering venture. “So far, our event have been well-received,” Manu says. “It’s a challenge to create something new but when you have an amazing team, the effort is worth it. Offering a consumer an outstanding meal is always worth it.”

Manu Chandra | Cannes 2022 | Single Thread Catering | Global Indian

At home...

At home, Manu prefers a homely bowl of curry and rice., “I like a bottle of red wine and a good OTT show. I don’t binge-watch because I’m an early riser,” he chuckles. He doesn’t always have the time to go home and cook, because he doesn’t have help at home. “My time in New York taught me self-reliance, though.” When he does cook, though, it’s a “nice curry, made in advance, with freshly-ground masalas and eaten at night with a steaming bowl of rice, which appalls my family in Delhi!”

Manu comes from a large family with lots of aunts who were accomplished in the kitchen. “They call and take tips from me,” Manu gloats. “I say, ‘Bua, you’re an amazing cook and there’s nothing I can teach you. Still, they continue to ask! It’s a big compliment!” More so because his decision to be a chef raised eyebrows at home. “There wasn’t a restriction as such but I knew they were thinking it – a son in the family wanted to work as a cook!” Today, they value and appreciate him, a sign that life has come full circle for master chef Manu Chandra.

Follow Chef Manu Chandra on Instagram

Reading Time: 6 mins