Global IndianstoryAnkur Chawla: Bridging hospitality and sustainability one plastic bottle at a time

Ankur Chawla: Bridging hospitality and sustainability one plastic bottle at a time

Written by: Bindu Gopal Rao

(October 10, 2023) On November 26, 2008, when Ankur Chawla, then a trainee at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai, heard the first gunshot, his first thought was, ‘Oh no, the champagne bottle has broken.” Because obviously, how many of us can recognize the sound of gunfire, he would reflect later. His second thought was, “That was an expensive bottle.” He walked towards the sound, running calculations in his mind to see how much of his stipend he would lose in case he had to pay for it. As he approached the scene, a man came tumbling from the side and collapsed on the floor, and Ankur could see a steadily growing bloodstain spread across his white shirt. Before Ankur could react, another man came hurtling down, “in a t-shirt, jeans and holding a gun.” That was the start of the harrowing terrorist attack, which he recounts in his book, “14 Hours: An Insider’s Account Of The 26/11 Taj Attack.” It’s a story he has told and re-told many times over, but Ankur Chawla has a lot more up his sleeve.

Now a veteran in the hospitality industry, and a noted sommelier, Ankur is also the CEO and Co-founder of Responsible Whatr, which is reportedly India’s first natural spring mineral water beverage, packed in sustainable aluminium cans. He embarked on this journey in 2020, with a profound vision for a sustainable future and a mission to combat single-use plastic pollution. “We collect the water from a natural spring, and it goes through seven stages of filtration. The water is then packaged in cans made from more than 70 percent recycled aluminium,” explains the entrepreneur as he sits down for an exclusive interview with Global Indian.

Ankur Chawla, Founder and CEO, Responsible Whatr

Laying the foundation

Ankur Chawla completed his education at The Institute of Hotel Management in Shimla and commenced his professional journey as a management trainee at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai. Following this, he pursued a Postgraduate Programme in Leadership and Strategy at IMT Ghaziabad. Currently, he has enrolled in a hybrid MBA programme at the Liverpool Business School in the United Kingdom.

“My journey into the world of beverages began with my academic pursuit, as I studied beverages through the WSET programme in London. I successfully completed both Level II and Level III of the programme, gaining exposure to Master Sommeliers and participating in prestigious international wine events like Vinexpo. I also had the privilege of travelling to various wine regions across the globe.”

Buoyant on beverages

Following his educational journey, he took on the role of Sommelier at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, where he also managed the renowned restaurant ‘Wasabi by Morimoto’. It was during this time that his entrepreneurial spirit began to take shape.

“My career path led me to become the Director of Beverages at JW Marriott New Delhi, where I had the opportunity to shape the Beverages programme. Additionally, I served as a member of Marriott’s Asia Pacific Beverage Advisory Board from 2014 to 2017, playing a global role. In this capacity, I was responsible for selecting and expanding the wine and spirits portfolio and conducted training sessions for the staff through tasting sessions. I also contributed to the conceptualisation of beverage promotions. My responsibilities extended to managing ‘Akira Back’ and overseeing the bars at JW Marriott Hotel,” says Chawla.

He began working for Taj in Mumbai before returning to Delhi. He quit his job in 2017 to launch a consulting business after working with some of India’s largest luxury hotel companies. The hospitality sector was just starting to understand the importance of sustainability and reducing plastic waste at the time. Glass bottles were the only alternative to PET bottles that people could think of because it was still early in the development of PET bottles. The journey began with the establishment of the plant, a process that spanned all of 2019 to secure the necessary permissions. He launched his venture, Responsible Whatr, in June 2020 with a vision for a sustainable future and an agenda to reduce single-use plastic pollution and provide a sustainable solution to the water industry.

Crossing hurdles

For someone who pioneered the concept of packaging water in cans, a departure from the traditional use of transparent bottles, the road has not been easy. “Overcoming the psychological resistance associated with this change and conveying the advantages of drinking from a can posed a significant challenge. However, through education and numerous workshops in hotels and relevant platforms, we are making progress in overcoming this hurdle. We are pleased to report that people are starting to appreciate and embrace this shift,” he explains.

Ankur Chawla | Global Indian

While he and his team were poised to commence their initial production in January 2020 the global outbreak of Covid-19 presented a formidable obstacle. “Our strategic focus had always been on the hospitality sector, which was hit hardest by the pandemic. Despite these challenges, we honed our skills in hands-on sales, including cold calling, and celebrated each sale, from individual cans to major contracts. The journey has been filled with excitement,” says Chawla.

Making it count

Post the pandemic, he believes that the lines between work and personal space have become a bit blurred. Keeping this in mind, maintaining work life balance has become even more important. “I personally love being a workaholic, however, I love spending time with my family. Other than that, I really enjoy public speaking so I love doing sessions. Moreover, I love exploring and speaking about and reviewing alcoholic beverages,” he says. For someone who believes that every experience teaches you a lot, especially the ones that you never expected, he admits that perseverance has been one of the top learnings for him.

“We started in the middle of the pandemic and things were not looking very rosy. Still, we kept going and I am glad today we are a stable company who has learned from the mistakes. Also, I believe business is all about relations and networking. One needs to give it enough time and due to embrace the same.” Looking ahead he says that his future plans involve expanding not just their product range, beginning with sparkling water, but also broadening their presence by venturing into new markets including focusing a bit on the export channels as well.

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Published on 10, Oct 2023

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From family kitchen to culinary empire: Food entrepreneur Chitra Agrawal’s flavourful journey

(August 13, 2023) Chitra Agrawal grew up in the US, with a mother who came from the South of India and a father who came from the North. Even with ample exposure to cooking styles and dishes from both sides of the family, the food entrepreneur did not plan to make cooking a career. [caption id="attachment_43597" align="aligncenter" width="601"] Chitra Agrawal founder of the brand Brooklyn Delhi[/caption] But, as a first-generation Indian American, Chitra asserts that she tried to find her own identity through food. She says in an exclusive interview with Global Indian, “I think a lot of first-generation kids have a hard time making sense of the two worlds they occupy, and for me, food was a way to connect with the older generation in my family because culturally, there was always a divide for me. Each time I asked to learn a recipe, it would unlock a story I would never have heard had we not been in the kitchen together cooking. I would then build on those recipes by putting my own twist on dishes like my recipe for a spicy tomato soup that I made using my tomato achaar or lettuce wraps with dosa potatoes and

me. Each time I asked to learn a recipe, it would unlock a story I would never have heard had we not been in the kitchen together cooking. I would then build on those recipes by putting my own twist on dishes like my recipe for a spicy tomato soup that I made using my tomato achaar or lettuce wraps with dosa potatoes and coconut chutney that I included in my cookbook,” the food entrepreneur says. In the book, which showcases recipes from South India, she summarises this journey of finding her identity, “Food was probably the first facet of my heritage that gave me great pride and even confidence in my identity, and that stayed with me.”

From achaars to gravies like tikka masala and cashew korma, author of the cookbook Vibrant India, the food entrepreneur’s brand Brooklyn Delhi is all about cooking Indian food with joy.

Finding her identity through food

Even while working, Chitra retained a strong interest in food. Speaking about her early days, the food entrepreneur says, “I started spending vacations at home following my parents around in the kitchen, observing, trying my hand at preparations, and taking copious notes. Trips to India became field studies, a way for me to gather as much knowledge as I could from elder family members. I spent nights poring over esoteric cookbooks I had brought back from India, cross-referencing recipes in old emails my mother had sent me when I was at college, and logging hours on the phone with my parents, as I tried to figure out the precise texture for a soup I was recreating from an old family recipe.”

[caption id="attachment_43598" align="aligncenter" width="667"] Food entrepreneur | Chitra Agrawal | Global Indian Brooklyn Delhi's pickle and simmer sauce line[/caption]

Chitra put in the due diligence that laid the foundation for Brooklyn Delhi. “I began to codify ingredients: the sweetness of grated coconut and jaggery; the sourness of lemon juice, tamarind, and cooling yogurt; the bitterness of ginger, curry leaves, and black mustard seeds; the heat of black pepper and chilli peppers; and just enough salt to hit the savoury note. In the process of learning these recipes, I was also learning more about my family’s history, something I always felt distant from growing up in America,” shares the food entrepreneur.

Building brand Brooklyn Delhi

Her journey into cooking quite literally started with her home experiments and hosting pop-ups with local farmers. The food entrepreneur recalls, “I hosted a great many pop-up dinners before I began Brooklyn Delhi, and partnered with NY farmers and collaborated with local chefs. I hosted an Indian Mexican supper club called Masala Loca with a Mexican chef and an Indian-Chinese supper club called Tangra with Diana Kuan, a Chinese-American cookbook author. For a Tangra dinner, I brought back vegetable seeds from India and my friend and farmer, Jason Gaspar planted them at the Wyckoff Farmhouse where we hosted a dinner featuring these vegetables - white cucumbers and bottled gourds and served the meal with beer brewed with curry leaves from Big Alice Brewing in Long Island City. These dinners were a great way to share my culinary perspective with an audience and the people that attended were my first customers at Brooklyn Delhi.”

[caption id="attachment_43600" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Food entrepreneur | Chitra Agrawal | Global Indian Brooklyn Delhi's roasted garlic achaar was born out of Chitra's love for Italian cuisine[/caption]

As her confidence grew with these pop-ups, Chitra experimented with her versions of dishes, using seasonal produce and drawing from the different culinary influences she had been exposed to. Living in different cities like San Francisco, LA and now New York was also a big influence on her and shaped the way she cooked. The food entrepreneur says, “Every place I have lived has taught me something, whether it was a new ingredient or cuisine which I have incorporated into my recipes. For instance, I grew up in Jersey and loved having Italian dishes with roasted garlic which was the inspiration for my roasted garlic achaar at Brooklyn Delhi.”

[caption id="attachment_43602" align="aligncenter" width="626"] Food entrepreneur | Chitra Agrawal | Global Indian Brooklyn Delhi at Holiday Bazaar[/caption]

She adds, “I was drawing from Italian flavours and even the greasy-spoon diners of my youth in New Jersey, Asian and Mexican flavours from my time in California, and my discoveries in my new home of New York. I was blogging regularly and realised that my readership had grown beyond my initial audience of my mom and a handful of friends. I was hired to teach my first private cooking class. Next, a chef friend of mine asked if I’d collaborate with her on a menu for an Indian-and-Mexican-themed supper club. From that point on, I was hooked!”

The pop-ups led to Chitra selling her prepared food at local markets in Brooklyn, teaching cooking classes with a focus on healthy and easy recipes. The food entrepreneur says, “A project that began with a goal to preserve my family’s culinary traditions had become a way for me to connect and engage with communities around me.”

[caption id="attachment_43604" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Food entrepreneur | Chitra Agrawal | Global Indian The brand's Mango Chutney is a hot favourite[/caption]

Sometime around 2013-14, she decided to launch her company and named it Brooklyn Delhi. It is an Indian condiments company she co-owns with her husband Ben, a food packaging designer and artist. It was, however, a challenging time. The food entrepreneur recalls, “At the same time we decided to launch Brooklyn Delhi, I also got a new job offer and landed the deal to write this cookbook. That was in 2013, and I was at a crossroads. There was no way I was going to be able to work at my day job, run a condiments business, and write a book. I couldn’t ignore the fact that my interest in food had grown past a hobby. After much agonising, I decided to leave my decade-long career in marketing to pursue food full-time. My parents were concerned, but I believed this was my chance. It was terrifying to give up my professional identity and the promise of a substantial weekly paycheck and benefits. To top it off, I was planning my wedding, in a town hundreds of miles from where I lived.”

Still, she went ahead and launched in 2014, with Ben designing the packaging, and her first product being achaars, which Chitra loves. The food entrepreneur says, “We launched with achaar and I also work with New York farmers to source thousands of pounds of produce to make achaars at Brooklyn Delhi. On our website, our bestsellers are our tomato achaar and roasted garlic achaar.”

Authentic all the way

Another challenge was the products themselves. Marketing pickles as achaars and not the local gherkins-dunked-in-saline versions was not easy. The food entrepreneur agrees, “I'd say the most difficult product to commercialise was my roasted garlic achaar. It is a lengthy process but the results are unparalleled and I'm very proud of it. I developed my tomato and garlic achaar with 75 percent less sodium than other brands in the stores, so the education goes both ways. With the South Asian community, I want to let them know that you can use these achaars more like sauces since they have less sodium, and with the non-South-Asian audience, I educate them via social media, emails, and in-person on what it is and how to use it. I update our blog with recipes too using the achaars weekly to inspire our customers.”

A recent addition to her oeuvre has been the cashew butter masala simmer sauce -- the first vegan product in her range. Chitra’s innovation is aimed at the growing trend of going vegan. She reiterates, “All of our sauces at Brooklyn Delhi are vegan but our cashew butter masala is the first vegan version of the butter masala available in grocery stores. I replace all of the dairy and butter in popular Indian sauces with cashew butter and coconut cream so that everyone can enjoy them whether you eat meat or not.”

[caption id="attachment_43594" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Food entrepreneur | Chitra Agrawal | Global Indian Slow cooked chicken tikka masala served with rice at Brooklyn Delhi[/caption]

She sources ingredients with integrity as well. Says the food entrepreneur, “We maintain a strong commitment to ethical sourcing and creating flavours that honour our Indian food traditions. Our products contain no preservatives, no artificial flavours, no high-fructose corn syrup. We reject fillers, emulsifiers, and additives commonly used in mass-market products. Instead, we meticulously source wholesome ingredients, often sampling over ten suppliers for a single ingredient to choose one that gives optimal flavour to our recipes.”

Looking back, the food entrepreneur believes that though she has never worked harder, she has never felt as fulfilled as she does now. And it is all thanks to a multicultural upbringing and a jar of pickles.

Places you would go to for:

Authentic Italian: Al Di La in Park Slope
Fine dine authentic Indian: I'm not really a fine dining type of girl, but one restaurant that I do adore is Jalsa located in Little Pakistan on Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn. Standouts on the menu are their spinach chaat, cauliflower keema, paneer nizami
Street food: NYC Dosas in Washington Square Park
Pan Asian: I had the most delicious meal at Bonnie's in Williamsburg and highly recommend it.
Your favourite Indian dish that you love to cook/serve and eat: I'm a sucker for saag paneer and I actually made a recipe hack for it using my coconut cashew korma.

Follow Chitra Agrawal on Instagram and LinkedIn
Follow Brooklyn Delhi on Instagram, LinkedIn, and their website

Reading Time: 6 mins

Manu Chopra: Bridging the digital divide and empowering rural India with AI

(November 11, 2024) The rise of artificial intelligence has transformed almost every aspect of modern life - redefining industries, reshaping economies, and raising questions about the future of work. From self-driving cars navigating busy streets to predictive healthcare, AI systems continue to alter how we live and interact with technology. But while tech giants benefit immensely, marginalised communities often get left behind in this wave of innovation. This is where Manu Chopra, the founder of Karya, is bridging the gap and changing the narrative. For him, AI isn't just about algorithms and data. It's a tool to uplift, to bring dignity and opportunity to India’s often overlooked rural citizens. Till now, this Stanford graduate has impacted over 35,000 people across 24 states in rural India through Karya's digital work. [caption id="attachment_59715" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Manu Chopra[/caption] "Our goal is to use technology as a means to provide opportunities to disadvantaged communities. We identify and train workers who need work the most and pay them 20 times the minimum wage, ensuring that our data solutions contribute positively to both technology and society," the 28-year-old wrote on his website. The idea for Karya was born out of a realisation that large technology companies

st and pay them 20 times the minimum wage, ensuring that our data solutions contribute positively to both technology and society," the 28-year-old wrote on his website.

The idea for Karya was born out of a realisation that large technology companies spend large sums collecting data to train AI systems, but these opportunities rarely reach the communities most in need. Karya addresses this issue by connecting rural communities to tech industry opportunities. Explaining how it works, Manu said, "Microsoft wants to make a language model in Marathi, one of the many regional languages of India. They reach out to Karya to collect thousands of hours of speech data in Marathi. Karya takes Microsoft’s big digital task and breaks it into micro tasks and we distribute these micro-tasks to our workers in rural India via their smartphone.” Apart from the employment, the biggest differentiator for these rural Indians is the pay. “We pay our workers 20 times the Indian minimum wage.”

From Shakur Basti to Stanford University

Manu grew up in one of Delhi's poorest neighbourhoods, Shakur Basti. It was in the dusty alleys of the basti that he found himself at a crossroads many times. Though poverty was a constant challenge, he channelled his interest in technology and education as a means of breaking the cycle. Growing up, he spent most of his afternoons coding in the community computer lab and dancing to Bollywood songs. "Through a series of scholarships, I became the first person from my community to go to a college in the US. In one generation, I went from Shakur Basti to Stanford," the Global Indian said.

His admission to Stanford University was a seismic shift not just for him, but for his entire community. Stanford marked a new chapter for him, where he deepened his knowledge of computer science and explored how technology could create social impact. At Stanford, he co-founded CS+ Social Good, a student group focused on using technology to address pressing social issues. The goal was to empower students to use technology for social good by inspiring action, fostering collaboration, and creating pathways for change. This initiative began a lifelong commitment to merging tech innovation with social impact.

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

Having gained knowledge and skill sets in the US, he wanted to make an impact back home. Despite work opportunities at big companies, Manu Chopra decided to pack his bags and return to India in 2017 to work as a research fellow at Microsoft to explore ways to tackle extreme poverty by giving the poor access to digital work. This led him to travel across the country where he sought ways to leverage technology to alleviate poverty, gaining new insights into India’s evolving landscape. “I expected it to be harrowing. Mainstream media (within India and especially, abroad) paints such a bleak picture of India as if nothing good has ever happened or will ever happen in India. I expected to feel jaded at the lack of progress, and to be disappointed at the lack of good work happening on the ground. Obviously, the opposite happened. Every single village I visited blew me away. The more I travelled within India, the more optimistic I became,” he wrote on his website.

Empowering Rural India through AI

One experience in particular stayed with him — a field visit to a data company, where he saw over 30 men earning as little as $0.40 an hour. “I thought, this cannot be the only way this work can happen,” Chopra said. Driven by a desire to create more equitable opportunities, he founded Karya in 2021 alongside Vivek Sheshadri, a former Microsoft Research colleague. Their mission: to use AI and data collection to benefit the very people traditionally left behind by the tech revolution.

Karya's main focus is on language. By highlighting India's linguistic diversity, Karya meets the data needs of large tech companies while also helping rural workers earn money. “What if we could bypass skilling?” Chopra asked. “Can we give people a livelihood and money for skills they already have? What is the skill that rural India already has? Their language.” This philosophy has driven Karya to gather information in regional languages—spoken, written, and visual—so that AI systems become more accurate and culturally inclusive.

Manu Chopra | Global Indian

AI for Social Good

They pay workers $5 per hour, 20 times the minimum wage, and also help them earn royalties whenever their data is sold, creating a source of passive income. Karya currently focuses on collecting data in Indian languages that are underrepresented in AI. This data will be used to develop AI systems that are accurate and fair for all. Their work includes collecting written, spoken, and visual data in regional languages across India.

In just two years, Karya has changed lives. Over 35,000 rural Indians have earned a collective ₹65 million, finding economic security and, perhaps more importantly, a renewed sense of self-worth. “I genuinely feel this is the quickest way to move millions of people out of poverty if done right,” Chopra told TIME.

“Wealth is power. And we want to redistribute wealth to the communities who have been left behind.”-- Manu Chopra

AI’s recent boom, especially in natural language processing, has placed projects like Karya at the center of global attention. Large tech players, including Microsoft and Google, have turned to Karya for speech data across 85 Indian districts, while the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation collaborates with them to reduce gender-related biases in AI datasets. As biases in AI systems continue to garner scrutiny, his work represents a conscientious approach to building ethical, inclusive datasets. In 2023, Manu Chopra was featured in the list of the TIME100 Most Influential People in AI.

In a time when AI seems far from rural realities, Manu Chopra’s Karya bridges the gap by connecting marginalized communities to the digital economy, bringing dignity, and creating new opportunities. His journey from Shakur Basti to Stanford and back to India shows the power of innovation driven by empathy and purpose. It reminds us that technology’s true impact isn’t just in what it can do, but in who it can help.

Follow Manu Chopra on LinkedIn

Sneha Biswas: The Harvard grad building a ‘global classroom’

(September 19, 2022) In January 2021, Harvard grad Sneha Biswas quit her job at Bain & Company in the US on the same day her husband quit his at McKinsey. The power couple quit their "fat (very fat)" paycheques, as Sneha put it, to return to India. Here, she founded Early Steps Academy, an online, live learning platform that's a combination of digital technology, good teaching and the case-study based education model she had picked up at Harvard University. Early Steps is aimed at making education more holistic, to fill the gaps that mainstream schools just don't have the time or bandwidth to provide. She wrote about her decision on LinkedIn and the post quickly went viral. Sneha, who is now also a LinkedIn influencer with an ever growing follower base, represents a growing coterie of global Indians who are giving up cushy lifestyles and high-paying corporate jobs for the risks of entrepreneurship and the desire to make a lasting impact. 'Confidence is key' Growing up in Jameshedpur, Sneha's mother, who was highly educated herself, always pushed her daughter to go beyond what was required. She participated in debates and other extra curricular activities and in the process

ushed her daughter to go beyond what was required. She participated in debates and other extra curricular activities and in the process of forcing herself out of her shell, which isn't always easy, she learned confidence. "The difference in confidence levels is what takes you further than everyone else," Sneha told Global Indian.

[caption id="attachment_29575" align="aligncenter" width="543"] Sneha and her husband quit their corporate jobs in the US on the same day in January 2021, to return to India and work on their startups[/caption]

Sneha excelled academically, making it to IIT Kharagpur but those formative years were crucial. "In school, I was trained to meet strangers, to participate in events and read the news. Learning is not just an overnight thing, it's a series of experiences and the exposure we receive. I was fortunate to have that in my early years." In her third year at IIT, she was chosen for a fellowship programme in the University of Oklahoma, and went to Norman, where she did an internship. "That was the first time I went abroad and met people from outside the country, I had spent all my life in India until then." A stint with Teach for India also brought her in contact with people from around the world. "I saw the power of working with different mindsets, backgrounds and creating solutions that have similarities across borders. I understood why we need to bring in diversity in terms of ideas, from people who have very different lifestyles."

Lessons in leadership and diversity

Sneha began working with an offshore oil company, Schlumberger, which has a presence in 80 countries around the world. She worked on in ships in the US offshore fields and then moved to Africa, where she lived in Mozambique and Kenya, to the UK and finally to Houston, where she worked in the company's headquarters as a strategic economist. "I feel that at the basic level, people are all the same. We want respect and a better life for ourselves. Of course, much of that depends on where you are from, infrastructure varies from country to country and the constructs of nations can either make your life hard or a lot easier. At the level of people, though, what we're looking for is very similar."

Travelling to over 35 countries, from the UK to a riskier life in pirate-infested Somalia, "you start to see the whole world as one," Sneha explains. "We learn to look past the obvious differences." Also, working in the oil services environment, work was more than just a job. Accidents can mean multi-billion-dollar losses but they can also mean the loss of life. "When you have 50-60 people reporting to you, you're managing their lives." She was young when she was took on a leadership role in Africa. "It's a tough place to be and a tough job to do." Africa was just opening up at the time and there were no precedents to follow, she was "building all the systems herself. It's very challenging and very enriching too."

Reinventing herself at Harvard

Her last assignment with Schlumberger was in Houston. That's when Sneha decided it was time to reinvent herself and arrived at Harvard Business School in Boston, for her MBA. The skills she learned there would go on to shape her as an entrepreneur, years later. "It was a privilege. I worked with the best professors and the best minds. You're not restricted to a particular country."

By the time she joined Bain & Company, she could see the startup ecosystem booming. "I felt like critical thinking, how to structure your thoughts and speak confidently - these things should be part of the core curriculum. I started thinking of how I could create that global education system."

The global classroom

Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Oxford- these are the names that spring to mind first when we think of world-class educational institutions. K12 schools don't really make that cut. "There are good schools and bad schools, but how many do we equate with excellence? I wanted to create that," she explains. Sneha knew that Early Steps would be an online platform. To her, it was the only way to create a 'global classroom'. "There is power in moving cross border and learning from diversity. Physical infrastructures can't really allow that."

At the academy, students from different cultures come together, transcending local educational methods, policies and approaches to learn a set of universal skills that will always stand them in good stead. The idea was two-pronged: One, to build a global classroom and two, to help youngsters build confidence. "Both are unique, there is no curriculum in the world that systematically does this."

Sneha returned to everything her mother taught her and shaped a model to bring those experiences together in a structured manner. She worked with professors who have been at educational systems from around the world, as well as harnessing her own experiences. "People creating curriculums have always functioned within a particular schooling system. Not many have had the chance to spend years in different parts of the world. I was able to leverage my experiences in that sense, I understood the nuances. I had been a trainee in Abu Dhabi, a faculty-nominated tutor at Harvard and worked with an ed-tech in China."

A brave new world

K12 models haven't changed since they were put in place over a century ago. As global borders blur, K12 schools continue to operate in silos. At the same time, the world is changing, industry now includes cryptocurrencies and space tech. Do our schools have what it takes to keep up? Will the children who graduate from them be able to operate in this new world with confidence?

"Knowledge brings confidence," Sneha remarks. "We help children develop the right skills that go beyond just knowing subject. What is critical thinking, how do you communicate concisely? How do you agree and disagree with people who are different from you? These are the skillsets we have systematically added to the curriculum." The idea is to make education relevant, useful and engaging - a system that is fun for the two billion school children worldwide. "Most kids don't enjoy the process of learning and we need to change this. It's not just about the bells and whistles of wanting to do something, it's about making the process itself fun and engaging for kids."

Follow Sneha Biswas on LinkedIn

Reading Time: 6 mins

Anu Sehgal: Promoting South Asian cultural literacy in the US

(March 29, 2023) When Anu Sehgal moved to the US in 1995, she found herself yearning for authentic Indian experiences. She devoured everything that came her way – exhibitions, film festivals and book readings. Anu, who is the founder of The Culture Tree, had spent fifteen years in the corporate world, working with organisations like Mattel, and Colgate-Palmolive in the United States, but always had a deep interest in the arts. The idea for The Culture Tree - an organisation to promote South Asian literacy in America - came to her only after she became a mother. “I saw a big need for quality and in-depth educational initiatives around South Asia. Whatever was being offered was very superficial,” says Anu, in an interview with Global Indian. [caption id="attachment_36655" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Anu Sehgal[/caption] The culture enthusiast took a plunge into entrepreneurship eight years ago, to address the needs of parents like herself, who were raising their kids in the US and wanted them to remain in touch with their Indian heritage. Over the years, the startup has blossomed into a successful venture, bearing the fruits of her ‘persistence, hard work and professionalism’. “I work pretty much with all the museums, libraries and

com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/card_Anu.jpg" alt="Indian Diaspora | Anu Sehgal | Global Indian" width="640" height="640" /> Anu Sehgal[/caption]

The culture enthusiast took a plunge into entrepreneurship eight years ago, to address the needs of parents like herself, who were raising their kids in the US and wanted them to remain in touch with their Indian heritage. Over the years, the startup has blossomed into a successful venture, bearing the fruits of her ‘persistence, hard work and professionalism’. “I work pretty much with all the museums, libraries and cultural Institutions in New York City, Connecticut and New Jersey,” Anu reveals.

Through literary events, puppet shows, dance workshops and more Anu, has been facilitating cultural literacy for South Asian youngsters in the New York metropolitan area. Broadly called the Tri-State area, the place is considered the largest metropolitan area in the world in terms of urban landmass.

Getting recognised for her initiatives

“If you think of kids’ educational programmes about South Asia in the New York City area, it will be The Culture Tree,” smiles Anu, who holds an MBA degree from the Yale School of Management and serves as the organisation's founder and president.

Her organisation has been awarded by the New York City Mayor's office four times. “Recognising the huge impact of The Culture Tree, former Mayor Bill de Blasio had even declared June 20, 2021 as The Culture Tree Day in NYC,” Anu says.

[caption id="attachment_36656" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Indian Diaspora | Anu Sehgal | Global Indian Former Mayor Bill de Blasio declared June 20, 2021 as The Culture Tree Day in NYC[/caption]

Recently, The Society of Foreign Consuls recognised Anu as one of the 15 trailblazing women from different countries working for community empowerment. She was honoured at a special event held at the Consulate General of India in New York.

Kahaani Rangeeli

Earlier this month, the entrepreneur launched her debut book Kahaani Rangeeli at the New York Public Library. Through readings held at different venues across the city, she showcased Indian literary culture to people from a wide variety of communities and ethnicities.

The children’s book was published by the Singapore based publisher T4Tales. “The book is based on the story of Lord Krishna and how he was teased for his dark colour. Apart from touching mythology, it addresses the issue of colourism that exists in America and also in India,” Anu says. The author is in the process of publishing two more books with T4Tales.

[caption id="attachment_36658" align="aligncenter" width="741"] Indian Diaspora | Anu Sehgal | Global Indian Anu Sehgal during a book reading session[/caption]

Creating an impact

The entrepreneur is excited about her collaboration with the Asia Society of New York City to help youngsters grasp the positive learnings of religions that originated in India. Through a series of curated events, the entrepreneur's underlying goal is to create empathy, respect and understanding towards Indian multiculturalism in America. “I will be not just focussing on the big festivals but also the lesser-known ones and their significance,” Anu says.

Recently, over 2000 people attended The Culture Tree's Holi celebrations at Seaport, Manhattan. The event was covered by major TV channels and newspapers. “For the last two years, our Holi event has been listed as the top event during Holi week by the New York Times,” she says.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cB4fEzB3nI

Promoting bilinguism

While cultural literacy is one track of The Culture Tree, the other is language education. The organisation has been running language classes both in-person and online in Hindi, Urdu, Gujrati and Punjabi for Indian American and Pakistani American youngsters based in North America and Canada.

In fact, her first initiative at The Culture Tree was to introduce second and third generation young NRIs to the languages of India so that they become confident communicators in their mother tongues.

“There is no limit to how much people can benefit in life when they are bilinguals. It helps them gain more awareness about their roots and heritage,” Anu shares. “Passing on knowledge of native languages to children can create better communication between generations. Learning another language in today’s global world creates lots of opportunities,” emphasises the entrepreneur.

[caption id="attachment_36657" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Indian Diaspora | Anu Sehgal | Global Indian The Society of Foreign Consuls recognised Anu's efforts for community empowerment at an event at the Consulate General of India in New York[/caption]

The Culture Tree focuses on increasing the conversational abilities through music, story-telling sessions, songs, art and more. “I have an excellent team of instructors who conduct classes for different ages and levels,” she says.

Both Anu and her team of teachers have undergone training at NYU’s bilingual STARTALK programme to learn the best teaching methods for Indian American and Pakistani American kids. “I now play an advisory role at NYU's bilingual STARTALK programme helping develop the programme and curriculum further.”

Making a difference

Anu aims to expand The Culture Tree’s reach in America and take it to other countries as well. “In fact, some development is already happening in this regard. This year we will have a puppet show, and my book’s launch in Singapore,” she shares.

[caption id="attachment_36659" align="aligncenter" width="856"] Indian Diaspora | Anu Sehgal | Global Indian Anupam Kher and Ustad Amzad Ali Khan were chief guests at one of the literary events of The Culture Tree[/caption]

‘Making The Culture Tree a hub for every South Asian,’ is the entrepreneur’s goal. The culture enthusiast hails from Meerut. She had pursued her undergraduate studies at Delhi University before moving to the US in mid-nineties.

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Reading Time: 5 mins

Global Indian gamechangers in science and technology

They're the movers-and-shakers at NASA and leaders in healthcare, space tech, engineering and gastronomy the world over. Global Indians are preceded by their reputation for excellence in scientific thought and research and have continued to prove themselves year after year, bagging the biggest honours the world has to offer them. We take a look at the gamechangers in science and technology in 2022. Dr. Ravi Margasahayam, Global Space Ambassador, NASA [caption id="attachment_30544" align="aligncenter" width="359"] Dr. Ravi Margasahayam (photo credit: Dr. Margasahayam)[/caption] He started his journey as a young engineering graduate from Bengaluru, and is currently the Global Space Ambassador for John F. Kennedy Space Center, NASA. In a glorious career spanning over three decades, Dr Ravi Margasahayam has played an instrumental role in launching over a hundred Space Shuttle missions, which took more than 700 astronauts to space, including Indian-born astronaut, Kalpana Chawla. He is the only person of Indian origin to work, manage, and conduct research on both launch pads – Complex 39A and 39B – the same from where NASA sent humans to land on the Moon. “I once met former President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and had the privilege of showing him around the John

nstrumental role in launching over a hundred Space Shuttle missions, which took more than 700 astronauts to space, including Indian-born astronaut, Kalpana Chawla. He is the only person of Indian origin to work, manage, and conduct research on both launch pads – Complex 39A and 39B – the same from where NASA sent humans to land on the Moon. “I once met former President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and had the privilege of showing him around the John F. Kennedy Space Center. He told me that he envied me, saying, ‘You did the one thing I couldn’t ever do – launch humans into space. You are an Astronaut Maker’,” shared the 69-year-old scientist.

In 2016, Dr. Margasahayam officially retired as the Co-Chair of the Ground Review Safety Panel (GSRP), which reviews safety for all payloads going to the International Space Station (ISS), from anywhere in the world. In 2019, he was nominated by NASA Astronauts and held the position of Solar System Ambassador for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, California. An eloquent public speaker, the NASA veteran has encouraged several young people to explore the secrets of the Universe.

“For me what matters is to inspire the next generation to ride on our shoulders and do better than us. We have opened a path to human spaceflight – live and work in space. What did not happen in 60,000 years, we have been able to do in the last 60 years. Humankind is much benefitted by space exploration, and we have a long way to go from here,” he said.

Dr. Kaushik Rajashekara, Global Energy Award winner

[caption id="attachment_32601" align="aligncenter" width="586"] Modern Indian Scientist Dr. Kaushik Rajashekara | Global Indian Dr Kaushik Rajashekara[/caption]

This scholar is working on making science-fiction show The Jetsons a reality. Dr Kaushik Rajashekara, one of the world’s leading experts in the field of transport technologies, is working on several futuristic projects that hold the potential to change the world and the way we travel. The recipient of the Global Energy Prize 2022 – the highest award in the field of energy – Dr. Rajashekara was one of the first engineers to work on conceptualising and also building an electronic vehicle, far before the technology became widely known.

“When I received the e-mail about my selection, I could not believe it for a moment. This award shows the importance of energy efficiency improvement and reducing emissions. I am proud of the contributions I have made to technologies that would improve the environment. Also, I have travelled to about 60 countries giving seminars on various topics at universities and conferences. It is humbling to recognise how many people contributed to my success, expecting nothing in return. ‘It takes a village’ is very true in my case, and I am fortunate that my village included some of the most encouraging and inspiring engineers in the field,” he shared.

Currently a Distinguished Professor of Engineering at the University of Houston, Dr Rajashekara wishes to pass on all the knowledge he has gained in the last three decades to new-age engineers to ensure that the evolution of science and technology never stops. “After 35 years of working in the world’s well-known Corporations, including ABB, GM, and Roll-Royce, I am very happy to be in the academic field. I am making use of every opportunity to educate and train the next generation of engineers. In a way, I worked all my life to be a professor and train others even when I was in the working industry,” the scholar said.

Professor Suresh Kumar Bhargava, scholar

[caption id="attachment_33366" align="aligncenter" width="394"] Modern Indian Scientist Professor Suresh Kumar Bhargava | Global Indian Professor Suresh Kumar Bhargava[/caption]

Oblivious to his nomination, Professor Suresh Bhargava was sitting in his office when he received a letter informing him that he was being conferred with the Queen’s Birthday 2022 honour – Member of the Order of Australia (AM). Though his initial reaction was that of surprise, the academician also felt extremely excited to be honoured by the Queen. “I have received numerous awards for my scientific research. However, this one was for my contribution to the betterment of my community,” shared Professor Bhargava, adding, “It is incredible when people recognise your contributions that created a positive difference. I was thrilled that my adopted country valued my three decades of hard work.”

The scholar, who started his journey from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, has worked as a professor at esteemed Universities in six countries, and won several academician awards, including the most prestigious award in engineering, the ‘CHEMECA medal’. A living bridge between India and Australia, Professor Bhargava holds 12 patents, including one for gold-based metallodrug for cancer treatment. Living by the principle that his research should contribute to enhancing the environment, the professor also developed a nanotechnology mercury sensor to monitor the toxic smoke emission from refineries for industrial use.

Priyanka Srivastava, NASA space engineer

[caption id="attachment_25761" align="aligncenter" width="381"] Modern Indian Scientist Priyanka Srivastava | NASA Engineer | Global Indian NASA Engineer Priyanka Srivastava with Mars 2020 testbed[/caption]

She was just a little girl when she came across a news about Kalpana Chawla, which motivated her to join the space industry. Today, that young girl – Priyanka Srivastava – is working as a Space Systems Engineer at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The Indian-American engineer was a part of the team that designed the famed Perseverance Rover – a car-sized Mars rover to explore the Jezero crater on the red planet. “No one in my family is an engineer. Ever since I was a child, I was fascinated with space. I would often wonder if there was another solar system like ours that existed somewhere else. Even back in my school, I was always sure that one day I will join the space industry,” said Priyanka.

In her six-year-long stint with NASA, Priyanka has worked on four flight missions. The engineer is currently working on a mission to an asteroid called Psyche, and is very excited about the project. "This asteroid is supposed to be a core of a previous planet. NASA is sending a spacecraft there so we can learn what this asteroid is made up of. Eventually that will help us understand Earth’s core better,” shares the NASA engineer. Priyanka is also working on a mission to Europa, the smallest of the four Galilean moons orbiting Jupiter. The mission will be launched by NASA in 2024.

Dr Keshav Singh, scientist

[caption id="attachment_32114" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Modern Indian Scientist Dr Keshav Singh | Global Indian Dr Keshav Singh[/caption]

In 2018, Dr. Keshav Singh, a professor of genetics at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, was experimenting with mitochondria in mice. The team introduced a mutation to induce dysfunction and, over the next few weeks, observed that the mice developed wrinkles and lost hair – their bodies were ageing. It was an exciting development – if the loss of mitochondrial function led to ageing in mice, could the opposite delay or even prevent it? So Dr. Singh restored the mitochondrial function in the now-wrinkled mice and sure enough, their skin cleared, and the hair grew back. It became the foundation for a startup – Yuva Biosciences.

Currently the Joy and Bill Harbert Endowed Chair and Professor of Genetics, Pathology, and Dermatology at the University of Alabama, Dr. Keshav Singh, the author of three books and over 100 research publications, is on Stanford University’s list of the top two percent of scientists in the world and one of Newsweek’s Innovation Heroes. For over two decades, Dr. Singh, one of Global Indian's gamechangers in science, has been at the forefront of mitochondrial research, working tirelessly to make a change. He even uses his talent for painting to create artistic renditions of mitochondria on canvas.

In October 2022, Dr. Singh and his team also received a grant from NASA, after a study showed that 57 astronauts suffered from mitochondrial anomalies after their stints at the International Space Station. The organisation has awarded Dr. Keshav a grant to do the animal studies – “We will take our mice and work at the NASA facility in Brookhaven, in a laboratory-created space environment,” he told Global Indian.

Dr Risha Jasmine Nathan

[caption id="attachment_26856" align="aligncenter" width="502"] Modern Indian Scientist risha jasmine nathan Risha Jasmine Nathan[/caption]

In June 2022, Risha Jasmine Nathan was named one of the world’s leading gastronomy gamechangers. She’s one of only four Indians on the 50 Next ‘Class of 2022’ list, which was unveiled at the first live awards ceremony in Bilbao, Spain. As we speak, Risha (pronounced with an ‘ai’, she emphasises), who recently resigned from her job as an assistant professor at Galgotias University in Noida, is preparing for her move to the UK, where she will begin work as a lecturer in forensic chemistry at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge.

The research that landed Risha on the global gamechangers list took shape when she was a PhD student in New Zealand. The idea came about as she completed her master’s thesis – “I had found a group of researchers using banana peels to remove lead ions from water,” Risha tells Global Indian. Qualified in analytical chemistry and toxicology, she decided to take the idea further through biosorption, pitching the idea at the University of Otago. Many a late night at the lab followed, as Risha experimented with orange, banana, cucumber, apple, kiwi fruit and potato peels to remove heavy metals from drinking water. It’s an experiment with countless applications, especially within the food and hospitality industries, where the bulk of the wet waste is generated.