Global IndianstoryMindy Kaling: The Indian American actor and producer who truly represents South Asians

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Mindy Kaling: The Indian American actor and producer who truly represents South Asians

Written by: Global Indian

(July 29, 9:10 am)

Being the first woman of color to break into an all-white men writers team at American sitcom The Office wasn’t an easy feat, but that’s Mindy Kaling for you – bold, fearless, and unabashed. For someone who began her journey at 24, the writer, producer, actor, and director has come a long way with immensely successful shows and films to her credit.

Thanks to Kaling, underrepresented minorities are finding a voice and visibility in US pop culture. So much so that the Indian American has become the poster girl for South Asian arts, culture, and even quirks, on every media platform available.

The 42-year-old’s inspirational journey hasn’t been an easy one.

An overlooked teenager finds solace in comedy

Born as Vera Mindy Chokalingam in Massachusetts to a Tamil architect father and a Bengali doctor mother, Kaling’s life in Buckingham Browne & Nichols School was quite a dampener because, in her words, she was an “average overlooked” student. With no “cool” friends to hang out with, she found solace in comedy shows on American TV. It was Comedy Central, Monty Python sketches, and Saturday Night Live reruns that piqued her interest in comedy.

I was all smiles because I got to go to school and be myself. #62MillionGirls don’t have that chance. Let’s end that. pic.twitter.com/GyVi7XPoWZ

— Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) September 27, 2015

But this wallflower truly blossomed at Dartmouth College. From writing plays and acting in college dramas to singing, Mindy spread her wings as she graduated with a degree in playwriting.

At 19, she got a summer internship at Late Night With Conan O’Brien. She reckons herself as the worst intern that the show had ever seen. “I treated my internship as a free ticket to watch my hero perform live on stage every day, and not as a way to help the show run smoothly by doing errands,” she wrote in her memoir.

The play that got Kaling The Office

The internship might have been a facade but Kaling was sure comedy was her true calling. Soon she packed her bags and moved to Brooklyn. But it wasn’t until 2002 that things started to move for Kaling when her comedy play Matt and Ben debuted at the New York International Fringe Festival. Such was the popularity of the play that in no time it was transferred to Off-Broadway venue in East Village. It was here that American screenwriter and producer Greg Daniels saw Kaling perform and offered her a writing gig for the first season of The Office.

Damn this is a #TBT pic.twitter.com/3xk6UL5lbr

— Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) September 8, 2016

Kaling was all of 24 when she became the only woman and the only person of color to join eight other writers on the show which was nominated for an Emmy. Along with her writing credits, Kaling made her TV debut as a super sassy and fearless Kelly Kapoor in the hit American sitcom. Kaling fully represented her Indianness with all its quirks on one of the most popular sitcoms of all time. With the progression of the show, Kaling also became an executive producer and director, besides 24 episodes to her credit as writer.

When sexism rocked her boat

Early on in this very show, Kaling faced sexism. Shortly after The Office was nominated for Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, the Television Academy told Kaling that she wouldn’t be eligible for an Emmy like the rest of the staff because there were too many producers on the show.

In a conversation with Elle, she revealed,

“They made me, not any of the other producers, fill out a whole form and write an essay about all my contributions as a writer and a producer. I had to get letters from all the other male, white producers saying that I had contributed when my actual record stood for itself.”

Her name was included in the final list, however, the show did not win an Emmy.

After being part of The Office for eight seasons, Kaling bid goodbye to the show. It was around the same time that the 42-year-old released her first memoir Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? A hilarious account of her highs and lows in life, the book soon made it to the New York Times best-selling list.

The rise of a pop-culture icon

While The Office opened doors of opportunities for Kaling, it was The Mindy Project that got her bigger recognition and fame. The 2012 show that ran for six seasons made Kaling the first woman of color to have her own network show. In no time, she broke the barriers of race and became an international pop culture icon. Such was the popularity that when the show moved from Fox TV in 2016 to Hulu’s version, Kaling was pulling in an estimated $140,000 per episode. Moreover, she earned the third spot on the Forbes list of the highest-paid actresses on TV in 2017.

A popular name on television, Mindy also dipped her toes in Hollywood with films like A Wrinkle in Time, Ocean’s 8, and Late Night.

Mindy Kaling and Sandra Bullock in a still from Ocean’s 8

Despite being in the entertainment industry for decades, Kaling felt like an outsider because of the constant reminders that she is different.

“We talk about how representation matters in Hollywood, so much that it almost loses its meaning. But it’s actually real. Growing up, I realized that there was no one who looked like me on TV, so I often found myself drawing parallels to people who are like me on shows like the Cosby family or characters on white sitcoms. You cannot imagine how excited I was when Bend It Like Beckham came out. The idea that I could actually see people from my community onscreen blew my mind,” she told IANS.

Though Kaling was representing Asians with her stories, the actor and producer revealed that her shows weren’t ethnicity-driven.

Never Have I Ever

With her 2020 Netflix show Never Have I Ever, Kaling broke barriers for Indians on the global stage. The popular series is one-of-its-kind that brought representation and diversity to the forefront, something that has always been a filler in most American sitcoms. Kaling has somehow shattered the glass ceiling by bringing South Asians alive on the screen like never before. Giving them a three-dimensional character has got her a huge thumbs up from fans and critics alike.

While Kaling is basking in the success of Never Have I Ever, she is ready to give Velma Dinkley an Indian twist in HBO’s Scooby-Doo spin-off. But this has got Kaling backlash from some fans who took objection to an “Indian” playing the part.

Responding to the backlash, Kaling said at Late Night with Seth Meyers,

“She’s such a great character, she’s so smart. And I just couldn’t understand how people couldn’t imagine a really smart, nerdy girl with terrible eyesight and who loved to solve mysteries could not be Indian. Like, there are Indian nerds. It shouldn’t be a surprise to people.”

Kaling has been a popular figure on American TV for a long time, but despite her fame, it has been a mixed bag for her.

“It really doesn’t matter how much money I have. I’m treated badly with enough regularity that it keeps me humble,” she told Elle.

Editor’s Take

For the longest time, Hollywood and American shows saw South Asian characters as caricaturish. Their unidimensional roles could be cringy and stereotypical at times. But it was Mindy Kaling that changed the game when she took the reins of The Office in her hands many years ago. Ever since the producer, actor, writer, and director has been making every effort to truly represent South Asians at their authentic best. The fact that she feels like an outsider even after all these years shows how migrants have to always put in extra effort irrespective of their vocation or the degree of success they have achieved.

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Published on 29, Jul 2021

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How racism and alienation fueled British Indian writer Sunjeev Sahota to scale literary heights

(July 28, 9:50 am) "I've got more interested in the form, the artistry, and wanting something new - not just in my writing, but also when I'm reading. I get very bored when I read novels that have nothing new in them. So, that's probably what drives me about what I write next. I try to reach beyond what's already illuminated, those darker kinds of places, through my writing." That's how Sunjeev Sahota, a longlisted author for the 2021 Booker Prize, describes the process of choosing stories for his books. In less than a decade, the Indian-origin British novelist has become a name to reckon with in the literary scene with just three books to his credit. For someone who started reading his first novel at the age of 18, and began writing one at 25, Sahota has impressed critics and book lovers with his poignant tales. His novellas are centered around the experiences of immigrants who struggle with a sense of belonging in their adopted homelands. https://twitter.com/CEOAnneFrankUK/status/1419552961945030658?s=20 His books weave in his Indian roots and resonate with a wide audience. With his second Booker Prize nomination for China Room, Sahota has yet again proved his mettle. Here's the inspiring

ker Prize nomination for China Room, Sahota has yet again proved his mettle. Here's the inspiring journey of this novelist.

The Asian in a white-dominated school

Sahota's grandparents emigrated to the UK from Punjab in 1966 and settled in the Normanton area of Derbyshire. It was here that Sahota was born 15 years later. Being brought up in a close-knit Sikh community, Sahota felt a sense of belonging among his people and his culture. But when he was 7, his father bought a convenience store in Chesterfield, and everything changed for a young Sahota. He went from being a part of an extended kinship network to being the only Asian in his secondary school. He became an easy target for racism.

In a conversation with the Guardian, he revealed,

"I remember in my first year when I was 11, there were a few fifth-years who seemed to target me. It only became physical once or twice, but there was lots of blocking in stairways. People don’t think of blocking as physical but it’s very invasive, and the worst thing is how much it makes you aware of yourself and your difference. Walking down the street, or into a room, you think, how are people going to react? What are they going to see first?"

Being away from his community and people, Sahota felt a sense of alienation and struggled to identify with white people.

It was an undergraduate course in mathematics that brought Sahota to Imperial College in London, which turned out to be an antidote to his lonely experience of growing up in Chesterfield.

https://twitter.com/ScurrRuth/status/1419928113862123521?s=20

Love affair with books

It was around the same time that Sahota's love affair with books and literature began. With three popular books to his credit, it's hard to believe that it wasn't until 18 that he started reading. It all began with his trip to India to meet his relatives in Punjab. At the airport, he picked up Salman Rushdie's Midnight Children which lured him into the world of literature.

"I don’t know how much I really understood on that first reading. But it did feel like a dam bursting. I felt quite overtaken by a sense of storytelling as a way of spending your life. And then I became a heavy, avid reader very quickly," he told BookPage.

This love for fiction fuelled Sahota's desire to write a novel. "I knew I wanted to write a big book partly because I wanted to do homage to the books that made me fall in love with reading, those big, immersive novels that I first got myself lost in," he added.

Sunjeev Sahota's book has been shortlisted for the 2021 Man Booker Prize

7/7 bombings and his debut book

Though Sahota had a deep desire to pen a book, he chose the insurance industry for his day job. For many years, he worked in the marketing department of insurance major Aviva. However, it was the 7/7 tube bombings in London 16 years ago that crystalized the concept for his debut book, Ours Are The Streets. The novella was a poignant and powerful story of Muslim radicalization with a British Muslim bomber at its center. Sahota found common ground between his feelings of alienation and that of the suicide bombers.

"There was an idea of belonging that seemed to connect with what I was feeling in my late teens – not that I would ever have gone down that route. But given a certain time and place, and given who you think your people are and what might be happening in the geopolitical sphere, a set of circumstances could trigger that sense of not feeling connected to the country. The biggest factor is not feeling English inside."

He wrote the book over a period of three years at his parents' home over weekends and evenings while keeping his day job. "Being brought up in the British Sikh community where shame and honor play such a big role and you don't air your dirty laundry, I felt I was exposing a lot, which is probably why I wanted to write it quite privately."

Released in 2011, Ours Are The Streets received a warm reception. So much so that poet and critic John Burnside called it a "moral work of real intelligence and power." Two years later, the author saw himself on Granta's Best of Young British Novelists list.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GehBAZu9RmY

The journey to Man Booker Prize nomination

It was in 2015 that Sahota's second book The Year of the Runaways hit the stalls. Based on the experience of illegal immigrants in Britain, the novel soon caught the fancy of many. Such was its effect that it earned Sahota his first nomination for the 2015 Man Booker Prize (now called The Booker Prize).

Sahota's novels have been a mirror to his ideology, emotions, and feelings that formed over the years in the UK.

"I'm a child of immigrants so inevitably that informs how I look at the world. I'm also from working-class stock, so class, too, is always somewhere in my mind. Those two things — the immigrant and the working class — are in all my novels to date because they're the two 'identities' that have most impacted my life and my life chances. Of the two, I'd argue that class has had a bigger effect on my life than race or my immigration status," he told the Indian Express.

While his first two books came at an interval of four years, his third novella, China Room, took five years to see the light of day. Taking inspiration from family folklore about his great grandmother, Sahota set China Room in the 1920s Punjab. The book revolves around Meher and her grandson - who are separated by time and space - but their stories are interconnected.

"I never felt I needed to draw stories out of people. I think because I am so interested, and such a lover of India, and because I speak the language idiomatically, there’s a way in," he told The Guardian.

Within two months of his release, Sahota's China Room has been longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize for its "brilliant twist" on the immigrant experience.

"All my novels to date feature protagonists yearning for freedom and connection, for a sense of self-worth and a place to belong, and no doubt this draws on my own vexed connection with the land of my birth," he wrote in a column for Literary Hub.

Editor's Take

Immigrants never have it easy in any country - they feel the conflict of being sandwiched between different cultures at home and at school/work. Booker Prize-longlisted author Sunjeev Sahota hits the head on the nail when he talks about the feeling of "not feeling English inside" as a teenager. A second-generation immigrant of Sikh parentage, the 40-year-old has been a voice of the immigrant working class in the UK through his three distinguished books. With each of his novella, he peels a layer that gives an insight into the world of immigrants. We wish him the very best for The Booker Prize countdown.

Reading Time: 6 mins

Jeeva Senthilnathan: The Indian American 2021 Global Teen Leader steering change

(October 4, 2021) An Indian girl is hoping to change the unbearable plight of being in Colorado - through leadership, mental health awareness, and as a voice against sexual harassment. Even though it has not been even sailing for Jeeva Senthilnathan, the 18-year-old from Chicago, Illinois, she has persevered. Today, as a global teen leader, game changer and leader for the community at Parker, Colorado, Jeeva continues to inspire. Winner of the Philanthropic Education Organization (PEO) STAR Scholarship, the National Honor Society Top 24 Scholarship (the only student from Colorado), and lauded by the Nile Rodger’s We Are Family Foundation, the introvert is an activist at heart . The girl who ran for Parker Town Council, and a former council member at one time is now focusing on helping Afghans in the US seek asylum, and getting them to register to vote. Among her most fulfilling endeavors, is starting Privando, an organization that works to solve the deep-seated malaise when it comes to sexual harassment and the rape crisis in India. She researched on mental health used electroencephalography (EEG) waves to identify cognitive abilities, levels of motivation, and consciousness in teenagers. Inspired by the emergency blue lights boxes used on

ation that works to solve the deep-seated malaise when it comes to sexual harassment and the rape crisis in India. She researched on mental health used electroencephalography (EEG) waves to identify cognitive abilities, levels of motivation, and consciousness in teenagers. Inspired by the emergency blue lights boxes used on university campuses to create a gadget that creates a network for women to receive help in life-threatening or unsafe situations, Jeeva tells Global Indian, “We mobilized young women in India from village huts to city slums to build a coalition that would not only fight against such incidents, but also create a private network for victims to heal. Privando has been able to obtain $5,000, and is currently working on developing wearable technology: it has saved more than 1,000 women from human trafficking.”

Indian American teen Jeeva Senthilnathan

Rooted in India

Her mother, a microbiologist from Chennai, and father, a software developer from Vellore, immigrated to the US in 1998. From Ohio, to Illinois, and finally Colorado, the Senthilnathans were in search of a job for her mother. Learning how it was to be discriminated due to race and color, her “very White school” lacked diversity. She was bullied frequently, and unable to cope, she developed hypothyroidism in second grade, was on medication, and battled depression in sixth grade. “I was quiet, known as the ‘goody-two shoes’ in school. I wasn’t good at public speaking as I lacked confidence,” she says. Taking the challenge head on, she started debating through high school, regardless of the brickbats, sneers, and laughs. Now, the bespectacled girl’s gentle smile exudes wisdom, “I worked hard on issues I cared about, and concentrated on no one but myself. I was my only competition.”

Today, she feels integrated (tied to her Indian roots) rather than assimilated (Americanized). Having parents that helped her believe, and persevere helped her change her circumstances, and life. She and her elder sister Lakshmi Priya saw their parents working long hours. “It helped me challenge myself. I understood the hardships they went through to give us better lives. I realized that I have to work hard to give meaning to my parents’ struggles. Now, I have decided to not work under anyone. I want to lead by becoming my own boss,” she declares.

Indian American teen Jeeva Senthilnathan

Turning the spotlight on mental health

Working on mental health started in high school, and while working at Colorado State Capitol in state representative Tom Sullivan’s office, Jeeva saw states passing a legislation on students having to take off mental health days. This made her question America’s standard of education.

“My research became even more important after my greatest mentor, best friend and big brother Jai Rajagopal lost his battle against depression during my first run for office. I will always be thankful to Jai because he lifted me to greater heights unequivocally, and took good care of me in the most difficult times. My first government job was also because of Jai, and I will remember him every time I run for a new office,” Jeeva says.

Covid warrior

During COVID-19 Jeeva started a donation drive to provide oxygen cylinders and oxygen tanks to prepare of India’s third wave, with the Privando team. Jeeva also helped fund students from the High School Democrats of America with online training on larger campaign positions and winning strategies with 10 hours paid work with the help of a grant from Blue Future, an organization that helps mobilize young people to work on campaigns within America. “I took leadership to provide students a stipend while working for a state race – House District 44 in Colorado. I wanted to provide a virtual opportunity for students who needed experience for college applications,” she adds.

Speaking against gun violence while she was working on her first campaign with Simone Aiken (who ran for House District 44 in 2018), and at Tom Sullivan’s office, she explains, “The Extreme Risk Protection Order, also known as ERPO and Red Flag Law, was the legislation inputted to take away firearms temporarily from the mentally ill. The legislation was opposed by Sullivan’s Republican colleagues, though Republican Sherriff Tony Spurlock favored it, and stressed the need for the legislation to assist the police force.”

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAePNe1hhpE[/embed]

Empowering women

The PEO STAR Scholar at Littleton (Colorado), is using Privando to empower women, and is the only student in Colorado to be the National Honor’s Society Finalist, a Top 24 Scholar, for which she was awarded $5,625.

As part of the Global Teen Leader program, she worked with over 40 global teen leaders in the summer of 2021 and bounced off new progressive ideas. Jeeva formed a deep friendship with Malawian Chmba Chilemba, Youth To The Front Manager, and facilitator for the Just Peace Summit. “She is an inspiration – so sincere, working hard to solve child marriages in Africa. She DJs in her free time,” she adds.

She is grateful that Colorado Early College Parker (high school) helped her focus on important matters – she received college credits, an associate’s degree for a guaranteed transfer at Colorado School Of Mines. “I was given $2,100 per semester as a full-time student allowing me to pay for half of my bachelor’s degree when I transferred my courses at CECP,” says the mechanical engineering student.

Eye on the future

A voracious reader, Jeeva loves sitting in libraries, devouring books, or watching Netflix. The adrenaline seeker can be seen car racing in Colorado. Next on Jeeva’s to do list is to continue to spread Privando’s reach, finish an MBA and Juris Doctorate. “I have a dream to run for Congress once I turn 25, in the House of Representatives.” Solemn advice? “This world is an ugly place, and our earlier generations created a competitive lifestyle. Students trying to find their way should not forget to live life to the fullest. Make families, education, and being your own boss in something passionate a priority. Stop comparing, focus on yourself. I would love to guide anyone (jeeva4parker.com).

High goals for a girl whose mentors – former state representative Jonathan Singer, Emily Hiltz, and Lindsey Rasmussen instilled in her belief and purpose.

Reading Time: 8 mins

Yogendra Puranik became Japan’s first Indian-origin politician. Here’s how

(July 21, 2021; 5.30 pm) Back in 2016, Tokyo’s Edogawa ward was contemplating the creation of a Singapore-like Little India in Nishikasai, an area that boasts a sizeable Indian population. A banker, Yogendra Puranik was the only Indian from a professional background at the meeting; everybody else was a restaurant owner. The imbalance wasn’t lost on Puranik, who also found that the Little India model was not socially healthy or sustainable since it didn’t factor in the community’s daily needs. Puranik strongly felt that public opinion should also be factored in since the plan involved an Indian street with at least 50 to 60 establishments spanning restaurants, groceries, and clothing along with a temple, and hospital. He told Japan Times that he didn’t think the plan was financially viable and had plenty of other ideas to put forth; but they were met with resistance. “My suggestions to the city councilor turned into an argumentative debate,” which spiraled out of control - the councilor threatened to have Puranik thrown out of Nishikasai. That was a turning point for him and he decided to join politics himself. Three years later, Puranik, who is popularly known as Yogi, was a councilor; the first person of Indian origin

nancially viable and had plenty of other ideas to put forth; but they were met with resistance. “My suggestions to the city councilor turned into an argumentative debate,” which spiraled out of control - the councilor threatened to have Puranik thrown out of Nishikasai.

That was a turning point for him and he decided to join politics himself. Three years later, Puranik, who is popularly known as Yogi, was a councilor; the first person of Indian origin to be elected to office in Japan. “I wanted to join the other side of the table so I could take the opinion of the foreign community to the city administration.” A naturalized Japanese citizen, Puranik announced his candidacy in the regional elections that were to be held in April 2019. The Indian-origin politician and member of the Constitutional Democratic Party won by a huge margin.

[caption id="attachment_5646" align="aligncenter" width="592"] How Yogendra Puranik became Japan’s first Indian-origin politician Yogendra Puranik after he was elected as councilor[/caption]

From Ambarnath to Tokyo

Born in 1977 in Ambarnath in Mumbai to Rekha, a teacher, and Sharad, a machinist in the Ordnance Factory, Yogendra Puranik studied at the Kendriya Vidyalaya School. When the family relocated to Pune, he transferred to the school’s Pune branch. He graduated from Sir Parashurambhau College in Science and also studied languages like Japanese and German from the Foreign Languages Department of Pune University. In 1997 he was awarded the Study Tour award, a scholarship from The Japan Foundation and that is when his interest in Japan began to develop. He then pursued a Business Management program from IIM-Calcutta with a focus on strategies for doing global business.

[caption id="attachment_5644" align="aligncenter" width="639"] How Yogendra Puranik became Japan’s first Indian-origin politician Yogendra Puranik with his mother Rekha and son Chinmay[/caption]

While he began his career in 1996 with a small-scale IT firm called Sutra Systems, he moved to Japan in 2001 where he worked with companies such as Infosys, Fujifilm and Polaris before switching to the banking sector in 2010 as vice president of operations strategy at Mizohu Bank. His last position was at Rakuten Bank as vice director of corporate planning before he took the plunge into politics.

In summer 2001 he married his Chinese girlfriend and they had a son together, Chinmay. However, the couple divorced shortly thereafter and ever since Puranik has raised his son as a single parent with help from his mother, who now runs an Indian restaurant in Kasai.

Giving Back

Puranik moved to the Nishikasai area in 2005 for the sake of his son’s cultural education and because he needed support from the Indian community as a single parent. He eventually became involved with both the Indian and Japanese communities through cultural festivals and voluntary activities. As a result, he became a sort of liaison between his Indian and Japanese neighbors.

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZvxmdbu8mA[/embed]

When the earthquake struck Tokyo and devastated northern Japan in 2011, Puranik and other volunteers stepped in to help neighbors and victims of the disaster. “We also started a helpline for Indian people and I shared my personal phone number,” he told Japan Times. Within a few days he had answered over 200 calls about radiation, food and water safety. His work here cemented his standing as a social volunteer.

It was shortly after this that he decided to settle down in Japan and got citizenship. Puranik also runs the Edogawa India Culture Center, which hosts free classes on yoga, languages, cooking, art, and music.

Three years after the Little India incident, Puranik is a councilor; the first person of Indian origin to be elected to office in Japan.

“I want to be an assemblyman who can connect everyone regardless of nationality, age, or even disabilities, through my 20 years of living in Japan.”

Reading Time: 8 mins

Sirisha Bandla: The second Indian-origin woman to fly to space

As a child, Sirisha Bandla was always fascinated with the sky. Perhaps that is what drove her to delve into the mysteries of deep space. Today, the 34-year-old astronaut is the second Indian-origin woman, after Kalpana Chawla, to travel to space aboard Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity. Bandla will be one of the six crew members aboard the spaceship which is set to take off on July 11 from New Mexico. Bandla presently works as Vice Present of Government Affairs at the British-American spaceflight company owned by Richard Branson. When the flight was announced last week, Bandla took to Twitter to announce: [embed]http://twitter.com/SirishaBandla/status/1410946704875130882?s=20[/embed] Journey to space Born in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, in a Telugu family, Bandla’s dreams got wings when her father Muralidhar Bandla, an agriculture scientist, migrated to the US; she was 4 at the time. The family settled in Houston, Texas and their many field trips to the Johnson Space Centre, proved to be a catalyst for Bandla’s love for space. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, in 2011. Incidentally, former astronauts Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan, and Gus Grissom are some of the notable alumni of this university. Bandla then obtained an MBA from George Washington University in 2015 before joining Branson’s Virgin Galactic where she rose to her current position. She had earlier worked as Associate Director for Commercial Spaceflight Federation, an industry association of commercial spaceflight companies. [caption id="attachment_4426" align="aligncenter" width="505"] Sirisha Bandla with her fiance Sam Hu[/caption]

esh, in a Telugu family, Bandla’s dreams got wings when her father Muralidhar Bandla, an agriculture scientist, migrated to the US; she was 4 at the time. The family settled in Houston, Texas and their many field trips to the Johnson Space Centre, proved to be a catalyst for Bandla’s love for space.

She completed her Bachelor of Science in Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, in 2011. Incidentally, former astronauts Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan, and Gus Grissom are some of the notable alumni of this university. Bandla then obtained an MBA from George Washington University in 2015 before joining Branson’s Virgin Galactic where she rose to her current position. She had earlier worked as Associate Director for Commercial Spaceflight Federation, an industry association of commercial spaceflight companies.

[caption id="attachment_4426" align="aligncenter" width="505"] Astronaut Sirisha Bandla Sirisha Bandla with her fiance Sam Hu[/caption]

In an interview with Astronautical, Bandla said:

“I was one of those kids that wanted to be an astronaut and go into space, and that’s something that I never grew out of.”

She initially wanted to become an Air Force pilot and eventually a NASA astronaut; however, her poor eyesight threw a spanner in the works. “In 2004 SpaceShipOne won the Ansari X Prize and became the first private vehicle to travel into space multiple times. That accomplishment really put me back on my path; it showed me that NASA was not the only way, and that I could still follow my passion,” she said.

While in college, Bandla was part of the Purdue Zero-Gravity Team and had the opportunity to fly one of her experiments in microgravity. She now helps in coordinating the Mathew Isakowitz Fellowship Program, an internship, mentorship, and networking opportunity for exceptional college students who are keen to pursue careers in the commercial spaceflight industry.

Bandla is also on the board of directors for the American Astronautical Society and Future Space Leaders Foundation and is a member of the Young Professional Advisory Council at Purdue University. Strongly connected to her Telugu roots, Bandla has been actively associated with the Telugu Association of North America (TANA), the oldest and biggest Indo-American organizations in the American continent.

To Earth with Love

[caption id="attachment_4430" align="aligncenter" width="548"] Astronaut Sirisha Bandla Sirisha and four other will fly along with Richard Branson[/caption]

As part of her space voyage, Bandla will be in charge of the researcher experience profile on the Unity 22 mission. This will be Virgin Galactic’s fourth crew-manned flight to space. Branson had announced the flight earlier in June; meanwhile Jeff Bezos, Amazon and Blue Origin’s founder, will fly into space on his New Shepard rocket on July 20. Both the billionaires, are competing in the race to take paid passengers on short flights to the edge of space. According to UBS, the space tourism market size could be around $3 billion per annum by 2030.

Commenting on how the space industry is evolving, Bandla told Astronautical:

“I think the big pull about commercial space is that it’s an industry that is its own marketplace, so it’s going to need specialized lawyers and people in charge of branding, marketing, and outreach. It’s a lot more than just engineering. In the future, I hope to see the space industry grab more of these diverse types of people and pull them into the industry.”

Reading Time: 10 mins

EastEnders to Tenet: How Indian-British actor Himesh Patel took over Hollywood

(September 28, 2021) Who would have thought that a boy from the small English village of Sawtry would get to work with Hollywood biggies like Danny Boyle and Christopher Nolan? But that's Himesh Patel for you. A British-Indian actor who broke into the white industry, first with his TV stint and later with a glorious film debut. The 31-year-old, who has been smashing stereotypes with each of his appearances, has become a champion of inclusivity and diversity. But getting to where he is has been a long journey for Patel. For someone who began working as a teenager in a British soap operas, this Global Indian took a leap of faith into filmdom and in no time has become a breakout star. A teenager hero Born in a typical Gujarati family in Cambridgeshire to postmasters, who owned a newspaper-and-magazine shop, Patel loved watching television as a kid and soon began impersonating his favorite TV and film characters. It was while attending Prince William School in Northamptonshire that he was cast in a school play at the age of 11. The play turned out to be a game changer for this kid as his teacher saw potential in a young Patel and

g>Prince William School in Northamptonshire that he was cast in a school play at the age of 11. The play turned out to be a game changer for this kid as his teacher saw potential in a young Patel and asked his parents to sign him up to a local theatre group, the Key Youth Theatre in Peterborough. This love for acting and theatre helped him secure a seat at The Young Actors' Company in Cambridge, where he took film classes too. Living in a small village, drama school was his weekly refuge from isolation. "My weekly haven, to go and have some fun and just learn all the different things that go into being an actor," he told Gentleman's Journal in an interview.

His talent was talked about far and wide, and at the age of 16, he received a call for an audition for the British soap opera EastEnders through an agency in The Young Actors' Company. Patel was able to impress the casting director with his acting prowess, and soon won the part of Tamwar Masood and made his first appearance on Eastenders in 2007. In 2011, Patel won his first Inside Soap Awards with Meryl Fernandes for Best Wedding in EastEnders. The same year, he co-wrote episode one of series three with co-star Charlie G Hawkins. Such was the popularity of the show and his character that in 2013, he filmed an internet spin-off of EastEnders titled Tamwar Tales - The Life of an Assistant Market Inspector.

[caption id="attachment_11710" align="aligncenter" width="583"] Himesh Patel in a still from Eastender.[/caption]

While Patel continued to cast his spell in the series for nine years, he simultaneously worked in short films to broaden his horizon. His 2014 short film Two Dosas won many awards at international film festivals including Best Short Comedy at the London Short Film Festival and Best Comedy at the Aspen Film Festival.

In 2016, Patel returned to the television with Channel 4 sitcom Damned and the next year brought with itself a new show titled Don Juan in Soho. The same year, his fans saw him in an episode of BBC comedy Climaxed.

The breakout role

It was while doing a play in New York Patel received a mail that was set to change the course of his life with his smashing film debut. But an oblivious Patel didn't know it at that time. The mail was from his agent for a Danny Boyle film with a musical element asking him to tape a monologue from a play and a performance on a Coldplay song. Though performing in front of Boyle and Richard Curtis was scary, but Patel knew he had to give his best shot. In an interview with Curzon Blog, he said, " It felt very daunting. It was scary when I knew I was going to meet Richard and Danny; it was probably the most high-profile audition I’d had at that point, so the stakes were high. But I didn’t want that to overwhelm me to the point where I didn’t enjoy it. It’s a privilege to get to walk into a room with those two so I just enjoyed it as much as I could and I think that did me well in a way because its what’s channeled through their music, that joy."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3VeHyedL1U&t=74s

A champion of diversity

His role of Jack Malik in Yesterday, a struggling singer-songwriter waiting for his big break, struck the right chord with the audience. His warmth and charm won over the people across the globe in a film that was about The Beatles. The film was not only a turning point for Patel but all South Asians in Hollywood as the film took a major step towards diversity and inclusion. "The fact that we can finally pass as regular Americans and play mainstream roles without highlighting our individual cultural or ethnic background is a strong step towards the right direction,' he told HT Brunch.

Patel, who grew up at a time when inclusivity was also invisible in Hollywood, found it confusing to not see any Indian faces in mainstream pop culture. "My parents spent most of their childhood in India and came to the UK in their early 20s. I was born in the UK. You live in two worlds and you try to share one with the other. But it is never easy. It was a challenging and confusing time. I definitely faced the gap,' he added. But things have started to change for the better for South Asians, and Patel himself in a true example of it.

[caption id="attachment_11712" align="aligncenter" width="470"] Himesh Patel with Robert Pattinson and John David Washington on sets of Tenet. (Image Courtesy: The Times)[/caption]

The super success of Yesterday landed Patel a role in Christopher Nolan's sci-fi Tenet. Working with a stalwart like Nolan was a great learning experience for this British-Indian actor who was on his toes training under a visionary filmmaker. If Patel's Tenet was minting money at the box office, his small tube appearance in The Luminaries got him a huge thumbs up from critics and fans alike. The 31-year-old, who fell in love with acting as a child, has carved a niche for himself in Hollywood.

Follow Himesh Patel on Instagram and Twitter.

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