Global IndianstorySupermodel to Emmy-nominated TV host: How Padma Lakshmi became a brand in herself

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Supermodel to Emmy-nominated TV host: How Padma Lakshmi became a brand in herself

Written by: Global Indian

(August 26, 2021) The 80s was a different era for a teenager of Indian origin to find a footing in America. With deep-rooted colorism and cultural bigotry, things weren’t too rosy. But Padma Lakshmi wasn’t the one to bow down to any of it. She not only became the first Indian supermodel to walk for some of the biggest names in the fashion industry across the globe but also authored her first book in her 20s.

In the following years, the 50-year-old maneuvered from modelling, acting, and writing to hosting, and the multi-hyphenate has become a brand of sorts in herself in the last few decades. Here’s the story of this Global Indian who stood against racism and made peace with her scar that finally led her to a life of vanity.

Chennai-New York-Chennai: A childhood between two cultures

Born in Chennai in 1970 into a Tamil Brahmin family, Lakshmi’s parents divorced when she was just 2. To escape the stigma and hostility, her mother Vijaya moved to the US, while Lakshmi stayed behind under the care of her maternal grandparents for two years. At four, when she reunited with her mom in New York, little did this kid know that her baby steps into a new country would open up a world of possibilities. She spent most of her young life traveling between the US and India, existing between two cultures.

However, growing up as an Indian in a white country in the 80s wasn’t easy for a young Lakshmi. In her memoir, Love, Loss, and Where We Ate, she mentions that India was mostly perceived as a third-world country back then and she gradually learned that for many Americans her skin color was associated with stinky food, strange clothes and malaria-infested third-world slums. Such was the pressure to fit in that it made her change her name temporarily from Padma to Angelique during the four years of her high school.

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In a conversation with the People, Lakshmi said,

“I think everyone has experienced feeling like an outsider. And it’s something that I’ve carried with me – it’s like this invisible shadow that’s there because I was always flitting between cultures, so I was never really at home in one, and never really an outsider in the other.”

The accident that left a scar

At 14, she underwent a life-changing moment when her family found itself in a horrific car accident. Though the three of them survived but not without scars. With a fractured hip and a shattered right arm, the accident left a seven inch long scar on her arm. For the longest time, Lakshmi harbored the dreams of becoming a model but the scar cast a shadow on her goal, or at least she thought so.

“Now that I had a caterpillar of scarred skin crawling down my arm, it seemed ridiculous to imagine that any agency would be interested in such an imperfect specimen. It angered me that people saw me as a ruined beauty,” she told The Guardian.

Lakshmi was so conscious of the scar that she would often cover it up with makeup.

It was while studying in Spain in the 90s that she caught the eye of a modelling agent at a Madrid bar. He made her meet celebrated photographer Helmut Newton, and that was beginning of her modelling career. Newton was someone who helped Lakshmi get comfortable in her skin, and especially with her scar. It was the same scar that singled her out and made her a star in the modeling business.

The scar that made Padma Lakshmi conscious initially

Modelling: The new beginning

Lakshmi was among the first Indian faces to model for big brands like Armani, Versace, Roberto Cavalli and Ralph Lauren. She soon found herself on the covers of Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar and Allure. “I was the first Indian model to have a career in Paris, Milan and New York. I’m the first one to admit that I was a novelty,” she told Evening Standard Magazine. Modelling assignments took her around the world and helped her pay off her student debt from her time at Clark University. While her popularity grew with each of her modelling projects, she felt that her career wasn’t personally rewarding. “I know that my looks are really the alchemy of my parents’ genetics and have little to do with me or my accomplishment of my own,” she said.

The branching out of a fledgling

It was then that she branched out into writing when she got her first publishing contract in her 20s. It was the inquisitiveness of the people about what a model eats that led to her first cookbook, Easy Exotic: A Model’s Low-Fat Recipes from Around The World. A compilation of recipes and short essays, the book got Lakshmi the best debut award at the 1999 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

For someone who was already modelling and had a book to her credit, Lakshmi dipped her toes into acting with Italian pirate movies like The Son of Sandokan and Caraibi. In 2002, she made a special appearance as a princess in TV series Star Trek: Enterprise and a few years later, she appeared in ABC’s Biblical TV series The Ten Commandments.

Along with her acting career, Lakshmi donned the hat of a host for shows like Padma’s Passport and Planet Food where she whipped up dishes from across the world. But it was Top Chef that changed the game for Lakshmi. In 2006, Lakshmi replaced host Katie Lee Joel, and the show’s ratings shot through the roof helping Top Chef earn an Emmy nomination. The very next year, she cemented her position as a chef when she came out with her second cookbook, Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet. Interestingly, Lakshmi’s food career arose from her modelling career and not a culinary school. On her travels, she would often explore the local vegetable markets and ask waiters at the five-star restaurants for recommendations. That’s how she fell in love with food.

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Giving Back

Lakshmi is more than a brand that’s about glamor and gloss. The 50-year-old is also an activist who is involved in spreading awareness about women’s reproductive health. In 2009, she co-founded the Endometriosis Foundation of America, a non-profit organization that’s focused on increasing awareness, education, research and advocacy against the disease. Her foundation was instrumental in the opening of the Centre for Gynepathology Research.

“I suffered from endometriosis all my life and was never treated for it properly. When I got better and saw how normal women lived during the periods, it got me terribly angry inside. It made me realize that there is misogyny even in healthcare,” she told Hindustan Times. Her foundation educates boys as well as girls.

“They need to understand the disease too, You cannot just educate half the population and expect overall change. The basic problem today is that girls have become liberated, but boys have not caught up,” she added.

Apart from this, Lakshmi is also the American Civil Liberties Union ambassador for immigration and women’s rights. In 2019, she was appointed United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador to shine a spotlight on inequality that can affect the people in rich and poor countries alike.

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From being a glamor girl to a multi-hyphenate star, Lakhsmi’s journey has been one of self-discovery. From someone who hated her scar as a teenager to making it big in the world of fashion to authoring books to hosting an Emmy-nominated reality series, Lakshmi has come a long way. The model, actor, author and host is a perfect example of anything is possible till you follow your dreams and take every chance that comes your way.

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Published on 26, Aug 2021

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Sanjena Sathian: The Indian-American novelist redefining identity through her work

(October 8, 2021) What it means to be both Indian and American? An unnerving question that has kept a generation of Indian-American kids grappling with a feeling of otherness in a country they find at times hard to call home. Being divided between the expectation of their immigrant parents and their own free will, it's the crossroads they often find themselves at. And novelist Sanjena Sathian explores this very notion in her debut book Gold Diggers. A melting point of ambition, American dream and alchemy, the book redefines identity. The 29-year-old, born to immigrant parents who moved to the US with an American dream, had to unlearn a lot to find herself and her identity in the chaos. This in turn led to the emergence of his first book that had put her into the longlist for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize. Not just this, Mindy Kaling is ready to put this piece of work on the small tube with the screen adaptation of Gold Diggers. Sathian's entry into the world of writers has been with a bang but she had to do a lot of soul searching to reach here. Pressure to overachieve Born and raised in

had to do a lot of soul searching to reach here.

Pressure to overachieve

Born and raised in Georgia by South Indian immigrant parents, Sathian grew up in metro Atlanta and attended the The Westminster School. Being the grand daughter and great granddaughter of respected Malayalee translators, a young Sathian always dreamt of becoming a writer. She would spend hours scribbling stories in her diary. When she wasn't writing, she would be competing as a policy debater in high school, eventually winning the national championship as a senior.

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"Once I started winning, I couldn't get enough of it. I became addicted to the hope of winning, and then actually winning — like my existence was confirmed if I won a debate. I sort of became a flat creature if I lost because I didn’t know what to do with that loss," she told Lareviewofbooks in an interview.

Like every second-generation American, Sathian, too, had her eyes on the Ivy League, courtesy the expectation of her parents who wanted her to make it to one of the elite colleges in the US. But internally she often struggled as she felt she was failing to meet the heavy expectations of her family and teachers. And this would put Sathian under immense pressure to overachieve. "It’s comical that I wore this talismanic Harvard sweatshirt and it’s comical how obsessed I was with winning debates. But it’s also tragic that I robbed myself of an inner life and made it really painful for myself to underachieve," she told the New York Times.

Questioning her choices

She didn't land up in Harvard but at Yale University where she earned a BA in English and studied literary journalism and fiction. It was here that she received multiple grants to report from three continents and was awarded the English Department’s highest honors for each of her two senior thesis: one on the novels of Zadie Smith, the other a series of linked short stories.

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Despite her good grades and a great portfolio, Sathian struggled to find a job as a journalist. New York Times revealed that she once called her dad to discuss the possibility of switching to a career "where it's possible to be mediocre." She eventually became an Indian correspondent, based in Mumbai, for a California-based digital publication Ozy. After staying in the role for two years, the 29-year-old felt that writing was her true calling so she returned to the US and dove straight into the two-year Iowa Writers' Workshop residency in 2017.

The book that changed it all

The seed of her debut novel Gold Diggers germinated during one of the workshops at Iowa. What began as a failed short story became an obsession for Sathian, who was keen to explore the characters and the concept of conceit. Soon a handful of pages turned into a full-fledged novel, and Sathian's first book was born.

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Sathian's debut book, which was longlisted for the Centre for Fiction's First Novel Prize, tells the story of a teenager who struggles with balancing his own ambitions and those of his parents, and finding his own way to be brown in America. Being herself the daughter of immigrant parents, Sathian beautifully depicts the crossroads at which often most second generation Americans find themselves.

American dream

"I grew up being told that there were 'real Indians' like my parents, and then ABCDs (American Born Confused Desis) like me. I think that's just a ridiculous way to teach someone to think about their identity — as though the fact that I'm born in America inherently makes me confused. What it does is give me a multiplicitous identity, which is something that writers like Smith and Rushdie have engaged with much more richly. So the book is concerned with identity, but in ways that are less basic than 'Am I Indian or am I American or both?', she told the Hindustan Times.

Being raised in the US in a family that was fixated with the American dream, this Global Indian realized that the concept was ingrained deeply in the minds of the people who left their homelands to find a better life in the US. But the writer calls American dream a dangerous idea that is playing with the ideals and aspirations of the immigrants and their families.

"The American dream is a fiction that we Americans feed ourselves to believe that there is such thing as hmeritocracy in this country. This is an appealing idea because, as in books like The Great Gatsby, Americans are taught to believe that it’s possible to remake ourselves entirely, to come up from nothing and wind up rich or famous or wildly successful. Of course, that’s a compelling idea -- so many of us want more for ourselves and our families. And that idea is what brought many Indians of my parents’ generation to the US, especially those who left in the 1960s-80s when the Indian economy was closed. But the American dream is also a deeply dangerous idea because it presupposes that those who aren’t wealthy somehow just aren’t striving enough," she added.

Gold Diggers: From book to TV

It's this very notion of identity that has made Sathian's novel a hit with booklovers. Such has been the success of Gold Diggers that even Mindy Kaling's production couldn't turn a blind eye to this bestseller. Kaling, who is championing diversity with her shows like Never Have I Ever, is keen to adapt Gold Diggers for television. And it is this very feat that has put the Indian-American novelist on the list of new talent to look out for.

Passing the knowledge

Sathian, who has tasted success with Gold Diggers, is imparting her knowledge in the field of writing with the Bombay Writers' Workshop that she started in 2020. "My hope is to bring the kind of creative writing education and community I got at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop to artists of all ages and skill levels writing literary prose in Mumbai. The bulk of writing is a solitary act, and you can’t really teach someone how to do that. But I can help writers who want to better their sentences or learn more about story structure or just read others’ work. Last year, the online course was pretty incredible — a talented bunch of people in both India and the diaspora. I always hope to pay it forward by passing on to other writers whatever small knowledge I’ve gotten from my teachers and friends."

Reading Time: 7 min

Veena Nair: Indian-origin educator wins PM’s prize in Australia

(December 8, 2022) When Melbourne-based Veena Nair got a call from Australian Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic, she thought it was probably a scam. So much so that when she decided to call back thinking that he wanted to comment on one of her LinkedIn posts, she was taken by surprise when informed that she had won the 2022 Prime Minister's Prize for Science. Just to be assured, the Indian-origin mustered the courage to ask, "Are you sure?" And sure, she is. The head of technology at Melbourne's Viewbank College, Veena has been awarded for demonstrating the practical application of STEAM to students, and how they can use their skills to make a real impact in the world. "To be recognised in the Prime Minister's prizes for science, I am deeply humbled. I am very grateful to my school, to my colleagues, to my students, and my family," Nair said in a video message, adding, "Many people know about STEM — science, technology, engineering, and maths, but STEAM is with an A, which is for Art. Art brings out-of-the-box thinking, and it brings in creativity because students need STEAM skills to innovate, to become resilient, and to take

silient, and to take risks."

[caption id="attachment_32550" align="aligncenter" width="688"] Veena Nair has won the 2020 Prime Minister's Prize for Science.[/caption]

With 20 years of experience in teaching science-based subjects across India, UAE and now Australia, Nair is a leading educator in STEAM who "has endeavoured to develop student and staff capacity in new and emerging technologies like 3D printing and designing, wearable technologies, and social entrepreneurship based on UN SDG through the Young Persons Plan for the Planet (YPPP) program," says her LinkedIn profile.

In fact, in the last two decades, Veena has helped increase the number of students who receive first-round offers to study engineering and technology at university, especially young women from diverse backgrounds.

[caption id="attachment_32549" align="aligncenter" width="473"] Veena Nair Indian Origin Veena Nair is a Melboune-based science teacher.[/caption]

After finishing her BSc in Physics and B.Ed in Science and Mathematics from the University of Mumbai, Veena began her teaching career in Maximum City, where she provided computers to low socio-economic schools and taught students how to code. This love for teaching then took her to UAE, and later to Deakin University in Australia for her M.Ed in Maths.

Veena, who currently teaches Systems Engineering at Viewbank College, says that the gender gap in STEAM is challenging for her. "My classes are currently 70-30 in favour of males; my goal is to raise it to 50-50. I work to get the fear out of the female students. Give it a shot, I tell them,” she told Indian Link in an interview. Interestingly, it is 3D printing that she has been using to initiate girls in science, and she says by making science fun and enjoyable, she is making more young women opt for the subject. "Every industry uses 3D, I tell them; try it, it’s a skill you can use whatever workplace you find yourself in," the Global Indian added.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHUJC1mJAw4[/embed]

However, it's Superstars of STEM - a program - that's closer to her heart as it gives a platform to selected science personalities trained as ambassadors to regularly present on stage or in schools. "Representation matters and we have some wonderful role models from our community – Madhu Bhaskaran, Onisha Patel, Veena Sahajwalla. They are great inspirers towards science, for our girls especially,” said Nair who was awarded the Educator of The Year Award by the Design and Technology Teachers' Association of Australia. Nair also supports the Young Persons’ Plan for the Planet program, a STEM-based enterprise development program that allows students to engage with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as changemakers at a global level.

Nair believes teachers should "bridge the gap between curriculum and pedagogy" and encourage students to take up science by connecting with new technology. "Students are already tech-savvy, and if you don’t provide the new platforms, they won't engage," she added.

Follow Veena Nair on LinkedIn

Reading Time: 4 min

First among equals: Who is Rishi Sunak, the man leading the race for UK’s PM?

(July 16, 2022) "Rishi is one of the most decent, straight people with the highest standards of integrity I have ever met in British politics." Former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, who was one of the candidates eliminated in the first round of voting on July 13, threw his weight behind former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, for whom he was full of praise. With Priti Patel bowing out of the Prime Ministerial race and Attorney General Suella Braverman winning a paltry 27 votes in the second round of voting, Conservative Party MP Rishi has emerged as the Indian-origin strongman, topping the first round with 88 votes. Global Indian takes a look at Rishi's life and his rise in politics. A glowing article in The Tatler, describes Rishi from his days waiting tables at an Indian 'curry house' named Kuti Miah. The restaurant's owner was friends with Rishi's parents, Yashvir and Usha. Which is not to say that Rishi Sunak comes with a tear-jerker of a rags-to-riches, immigrant in the UK origin story. Far from it. Born to a physician father, while his mother ran a pharmacy, his life was decidedly upper-middle class. Far from his exotic, immigrant status giving him

Rishi Sunak comes with a tear-jerker of a rags-to-riches, immigrant in the UK origin story. Far from it. Born to a physician father, while his mother ran a pharmacy, his life was decidedly upper-middle class. Far from his exotic, immigrant status giving him a leg-up, Rishi's upper crust life has made him 'less relatable' among the hoi polloi, which could prove to be a disadvantage. What's more, the re-emergence of an old clip, in which he says, "I have friends who are aristocrats, I have friends who are upper class, I have friends who are, you know, working class, but... well, not working class," could hamper his prospects. However, for a man who has overcome great odds as a candidate of colour in a conservative party, it might not be too big a hurdle to overcome.

[caption id="attachment_27001" align="aligncenter" width="830"] Rishi Sunak. Photo credit: Rishi's website[/caption]

Despite early hurdles, Rishi was quickly picked out as a rising star - according to The Tatler, this quality was spotted early on, even by his former boss at Kuti Miah. That year, in 1998, as the then 18-year-old Rishi was all set to enter Oxford University, his boss remarked, "You're going to be someone, Rishi." Sure enough, the fiercely patriotic young man, who grew up, thanks to his parents, immersed in the local community, never looked back.

Head boy to hedge funds

His broad grin, which he flashes generously, belies the seriousness that lies beneath - Rishi's flawless record goes back a long way, he was Head Boy at Winchester College, an independent boarding school for boys and also editor of the school paper. He went on to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Lincoln College, Oxford, where he first dipped his toes in politics, as an intern at the Conservative Campaign Headquarters. He graduated in 2001, which was also the year he gave the fateful interview about his 'working class friends' to Middle Classes: Their Rise and Sprawl.

After graduating from Oxford in 2002, Rishi joined Goldman Sachs, where he worked for three years as an analyst. He, then, moved onto The Children's Investment Fund Management, a hedge fund firm and became a partner in 2006. That year, he moved to America to get his MBA from Stanford University, as a Fulbright Scholar.

It was at Stanford that Rishi would meet his future wife, Akshata Murty, daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayan Murty, marrying her in 2009. As the media is only too happy to point out, the couple is the 222nd richest people in Britain, with a combined fortune of £730 million as of 2022.

[caption id="attachment_27002" align="aligncenter" width="724"] Rishi Sunak | Global Indian Rishi Sunak with his wife, Akshata Murty[/caption]

In the political fray

Rishi's entry into politics began in 2015 when he won the constituency of Richmond, North Yorkshire in the general elections, becoming the Conservative Party's rising star almost instantly. His entry, however, was not well-received by other conservative candidates, who resented this apparent upstart claiming territory they believed to be theirs. His victory was even more noteworthy because he contested "as a rank outsider," according to the Business Standard, "in the 97 percent white, prosperous rural Conservative bastion of Richmond in Yorkshire, where, the joke goes, there has been no immigration since the Norman conquest in 1066." However, his right-wing economic views - Rishi is an enthusiastic believer in free markets and a vocal critic of Brexit - helped him secure a historic win.

In 2018, Rishi was inducted in the UK government by then British Prime Minister Theresa May. At 37, Rishi was a Conservative party MP (Richmond, Yorkshire) with great promise, entering the government as the parliamentary-under-secretary of state in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Incidentally, he was joined by another Indian-origin MP, also a pro-Brexit campaigner - Suella Braverman, who was Suella Fernandes at the time.

Rishi went on to make several contributions in the House of Commons, on issues like digital economy, social mobility and foreign direct investment. "From working in my mum's tiny chemist shop to my experience building large businesses, I have seen how we should support free enterprise and innovation to ensure Britain has a stronger future," Rishi told the media back in 2018.

Rishi Sunak | Global Indian

On a sticky wicket?

As a conservative candidate of colour, Rishi Sunak's position is always likely to be precarious. Will he usher in a post-race era, or speak up for the hyper-local, ethnic problems that minorities face in the UK? Always fiercely patriotic, his loyalty to the UK cannot be called into question. However, he remarked, to the Business Standard, "British Indian is what I tick on the census, we have a category for it. I am thoroughly British, this is my home and my country, but my religious and cultural heritage is Indian, my wife is Indian. I am open about being a Hindu." Although he is given to phrases like "Oh crikey," he does speak a smattering of Hindi and Punjabi.

In 2019, Rishi became the first Indian-origin to be named Chancellor of the Exchequer, taking over 11 Downing Street as one of the most powerful people in England. His term was, admittedly, fraught with controversy - he was charged with breaking lockdown laws, for instance. And the debate around wife Akshata Murty’s non-dom status (it exempted her from paying some ₹196 crore in taxes) continues to rage on.

On July 5, 2022, Rishi resigned from his post as Chancellor of the Exchequer, withdrawing support from PM Boris Johnson over a sexual harassment scandal within the government. He did, however, refuse to badmouth Boris, calling him, "one of the most remarkable people I've ever met." He said, in no uncertain terms, that "he would have no part in a rewriting of history that seeks to demonise Boris." With that final, noble gesture preceding his entry into the prime ministerial fray, perhaps Rishi Sunak will have his own chance at rewriting history after all.

Follow Rishi on Instagram and Twitter

Reading Time: 6 min

Ashish Vazirani: The Indian American management consultant who’s Biden’s top choice for key Pentagon role

(September 28, 2021) Last week, US President Joe Biden announced that he was nominating Indian American Ashish Vazirani to a key national security role at the Pentagon. Slated to be appointed as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Vazirani will be one of the 40 plus Indian Americans working in the Biden-Harris administration. Vazirani, who is currently the Principal of A2O Strategies, LLC, had earlier served in active duty with the US Navy as a submarine officer. Coming from a military family, Vazirani had served in the Navy as Lieutenant from 1986 to 1993 before switching to a management consultant role. He spent 22 years with leading high tech and pharmaceutical companies such as Roche Pharmaceuticals, Analytika, Dendrite, MarketBridge, ZS Associates and National Academy of Sciences, where he worked to create transformational change while delivering customer-centric solutions and profitable growth. Indian roots Vazirani, who was born in India, moved to the US at the age of 3, where his step father, John Fales Jr, was a Vietnam-era Marine who had been wounded in combat. He went on to get his Bacherlor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, before his Masters in Engineering from McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University in Illinois. Following this, Vazirani joined the US Navy as submarine

lass="size-full wp-image-11665 aligncenter" src="https://www.globalindian.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Ashish-Vazirani4.jpg" alt="Indian American Ashish Vazirani" width="367" height="550" />

Indian roots

Vazirani, who was born in India, moved to the US at the age of 3, where his step father, John Fales Jr, was a Vietnam-era Marine who had been wounded in combat. He went on to get his Bacherlor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, before his Masters in Engineering from McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University in Illinois. Following this, Vazirani joined the US Navy as submarine officer in 1986 where he served until 1993.

By 1993 he had enrolled for an MBA at Kellogg School of Management and then embarked on a career as a management consultant with ZS Associates. Soon jobs with other notable companies such as Roche, Dendrite, and MarketBridge followed where he helped these technology and healthcare companies transform their GTM Strategy.

[caption id="attachment_11666" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Indian American Ashish Vazirani Ashish Vazirani from his US Navy days[/caption]

According to his LinkedIn, two decades in, he realized that he was ready to pursue something new and wanted to focus on his priorities: Faith, Family, and Country. That was when he got the opportunity to work with the Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) and National Military Family Association (NMFA). In 2017 when he was appointed as Chief Development Officer at ASYMCA, Vazirani took over the organization’s financial growth by developing lasting engagement with donors and helped drive programs for young men and women of all five Armed Services (Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard) and their families.

In 2017, this Global Indian also joined A2O Strategies as Principal, where he provides advisory services to commercial and non-profit, high growth and large enterprises, on the development, implementation, and execution of growth strategies.

A bend in the road

Two years later, in 2019 Vazirani took over as Executive Director of NMFA taking over from Joyce Raezer. This was in addition to his role at A2O. The former Navy Lieutenant’s experience and the fact that he came from a military family himself – his father and son are both marines – made him the right fit for the job. According to Vazrina, his father continued in public service even after he left the military when he became an advocate for sensory-disabled veterans like himself. All of this urged Vazirani to do his bit for military families as well. In an interview with Military Families, Vazirani had said, “I think when I reflect on the time that I was in the submarine force, when we went to sea as a crew of 120 something people, one, you just recognize the importance of teamwork and the importance of relying on individuals who have expertise in particular areas and how those experts come together and coordinate as a team. Because you can’t just get the mission done by yourself.”

[caption id="attachment_11667" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Indian American Ashish Vazirani Ashish Vazirani with his son[/caption]

He provided strategic and operational oversight and direction for all aspects of NMFA’s advocacy and programming to support military families. During his tenure, NMFA regained its four-star charity rating and expanded programming, included a child care fee relief program.

In April 2021, he also joined the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation as a member of the board of advisors where he continues to serve.

Family ties

While Vazirani’s stepfather was a Vietnam-era marine, his son is an actively serving marine as well. Vazirani grew up in Maryland where he and his wife Deborah continue to live.

Follow Ashish Vazirani on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Reading Time: 5 mins

EXCLUSIVE: Scientist, innovator, TEDx speaker, trainee pilot – how teenage prodigy Gitanjali Rao is raising the bar

GLOBAL INDIAN EXCLUSIVE “I know a lot of people say that kids are the future, but I want to spread the message that we are here now, and we can make a difference.” - 11-year-old Gitanjali Rao in 2017 Meet Indian American teen scientist and TIME’s First Kid of the Year, Gitanjali Rao. She is wise, confident, knowledgeable, self-assured and loves reading Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s websites. A chat with her is refreshing: Lucid thoughts flow almost as if scripted. It’s hard to fathom how a 4 foot something girl with sparkling eyes oozes such clarity. Picture a pre-teen walking into the Denver Water Treatment plant with a lab coat over gummies, and holding forte among science professionals. https://twitter.com/AttorneyCrump/status/1356357624376287233?s=20 In an exclusive interview with Global Indian, She radiates poise as she speaks on her first prototype in use – Tethys, which detects lead contamination in water and shares that information through Bluetooth. Her occasional giggles make this child scientist more endearing. Today, at 15, she has 11 innovations to her name, of which three are in the prototype stage with one released. Innovation-driven by empathy Gitanjali, named after Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s famous book of poems, has an altruistic sense of scientific purpose that takes one aback. In 3M’s Not the Science Type docuseries, she says: “All of us can make a difference. It’s just about finding

trong> with Global Indian, She radiates poise as she speaks on her first prototype in use – Tethys, which detects lead contamination in water and shares that information through Bluetooth. Her occasional giggles make this child scientist more endearing. Today, at 15, she has 11 innovations to her name, of which three are in the prototype stage with one released.

Innovation-driven by empathy

Gitanjali, named after Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s famous book of poems, has an altruistic sense of scientific purpose that takes one aback. In 3M’s Not the Science Type docuseries, she says:

“All of us can make a difference. It’s just about finding that one thing you want to change, and changing it. I want to use science to inspire kindness. Find yourself with it.”

https://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor/status/1334727929037606912?s=20

Wearing multiple hats

A weighty quest for science guides the toothy teen scientist. She is described as a Forbes 30 Under 30, America's Top Young Scientist, TEDx Speaker, STEM Promoter, TIME Top Young Innovator, author and student. Moreover, she is a proficient glider, pianist, classical dancer, fencer, and a (self-proclaimed) average cook. This quest started with her proclivity to ask questions. Years on, those very questions led her to solutions. First, she tackled water scarcity and contamination that led to the Tethys prototype at just 11.

[caption id="attachment_5592" align="aligncenter" width="426"] Meet Indian American teen scientist and TIME’s First Kid of the Year. At the age of 15, Gitanjali Rao she has 11 innovations to her name. At the age of 15, Gitanjali Rao has 11 innovations to her name.[/caption]

The technology, Rao says, can be easily enhanced to other contaminants. “More students, especially in the recent Regeneron Science Talent Research, Stockholm Junior Water Prize, etc have taken the same technology and enhanced it for other contaminants or water purification with doped nanotubes. Arsenic, Mercury and Cadmium are a few,” she tells Global Indian in an exclusive interview. Further, she has provided some Brazilian students her solution for further research.

“I am in the process of working with American Water Works Association to explore influencing state and federal policies on water testing,” says Rao.

She paid for Tethys materials through her Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge prize money, which she won when she was barely 12.

Addressing the opioid crisis

Rao became fixated with another question – how to address the opioid crisis - when a family friend was prescribed opioids after an accident. She developed Epione – a tool to diagnose prescription opioid addiction using an ELISA-based protein detection method. Epione works on a fluid sample and uses protein expression from the mu-opioid receptor gene to find out if a patient is at the onset of addiction. “The device uses standard colorimetry processes to identify addiction status. Results on a mobile app show the status of addiction, and includes a map of the nearest addiction centre,” Rao adds about this early-stage research.

[caption id="attachment_5611" align="alignnone" width="852"] Gitanjali Rao enjoys talking about science with kids.[/caption]

Parental guidance

Rao feels her upbringing - thinking, trying and ideating differently were encouraged - made problem-solving a habit. She probably inherited intellectual rigor from her parents - Rama and Bharathi Rao, who migrated from Mangalore to the US and have strong academic credentials. Her parents instilled the freedom to choose and that she says taught her to be resourceful and take risks.

“If I felt like learning to fly a glider, I had to earn it, find a scholarship. If I wanted to attend a space camp, I had to search for scholarships and apply. To learn more about a concept, they would help me search for an expert, article or professor. They ensured I was safe, and allowed me to take risks.”

Today, she has a student’s flying license and can fly a glider.

[caption id="attachment_5593" align="alignnone" width="1010"] Gitanjali Rao learning how to fly.[/caption]

The Raos knew they were raising a special kid very early on. As a 10-year-old, a parent can expect the kid to ask for a new video game or a toy but the Raos had to service a carbon nanotube request.

'Kindly' to prevent cyberbullying

Among the other technologies that Rao has developed is Kindly, where she started with the question of how to prevent cyber threats. Kindly is an anti-cyber-bullying app that detects words related to cyberbullying using machine learning and natural language processing. As trailblazers go, her meeting with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella helped guide her with the initial prototype for Kindly. In an awe-inspiring meeting, Nadella was “kind enough to meet a 13-year-old, listen to her ideas and support,” she says.

Kindly has a Beta standalone app and browser extension now, and she has partnered with UNICEF to roll this out as a product that can be used worldwide to measure the number of preventable cyberbullying events.

Promoting STEM education through innovation workshops

A three-time TEDx speaker and winner of the US President’s Environmental Youth Award, Rao is hoping to solicit new innovators to address the world’s problems through her innovation workshops. She has already reached about 50,000 students in 26 countries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBEPYDLD3vg

“I hope to reach out to 50,000 more by 2021-end in partnership with MJP Foundation for schools in Cambodia, Royal Academy of Engineering for students in the UK, Transformation Ghana, and individual schools in India,” says the girl, who is now working on parasitic water contamination detection using genetic engineering. The key is to inspire girls to be unafraid of science and technology and help them connect it to real impact. But challenges abound. A workshop for girls in Gaza was canceled due to security issues. In Afghanistan and Chile, her struggle was to help people understand her accent.

“In a refugee camp in Kenya, some students had to walk 45 minutes just to listen, and had to leave before dark.”

The students at Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp started their own STEM classes using Rao’s book (A Young Innovators Guide to STEM – 5 Steps for Problem Solving).

“Schools in India that reach out and facilitate are much easier, though I have to tune my message for kindness, empathy, and collaboration.”

The TIME accolade has amplified her voice to influence and introduce innovation into the early education system. Since April 2018, Gitanjali has been working with UNICEF and was recognized as one of America’s Top Youth volunteers by Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. She even donated to UNICEF’s India COVID-19 response.

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

A family girl

She is often teased by her family that she might be “Kid of the Year” but she still has to do her chores and clean her room. Her friends can’t fathom how America’s top kid scientist forgets adding key ingredients like melted butter while baking.

Her Indianness comes out in glimpses - eating hot bhajiyas on a rainy day. Or sipping on borrowed chai from her mom with a Parle G biscuit or rusk. Due to the pandemic, Gitanjali missed her yearly visits to India to see her maternal grandparents in Navi Mumbai and paternal grandfather in Hyderabad. But she’s thankful they are in the US now.

Mentored by icons

Having good mentors is an important crucible in any Global Indian’s journey. Rao speaks of being under the tutelage of Dr Kathleen Shafer from 3M (Tethys), Dr Selene Hernandez (Denver Water), and Dr Michael McMurray who guided her on genetic engineering concepts. Moving forward, her goal is to reach out to the US Department of Education to bring innovation into daily curriculum, which means innovations in education.

[caption id="attachment_4066" align="alignnone" width="425"] Jayshree Seth with Indian-origin teen innovator Gitanjali Rao When Global Indians meet: Gitanjali Rao with 3M's chief science advocate Jayshree Seth in 2018[/caption]

Marvel’s hero project

Gitanjali was featured in the web series Marvel’s Hero Project as Genius Gitanjali for her valuable contributions to society.

“I think that being a scientist is like being a superhero, because superheroes save people, and want to do what is best for their society – scientists do the same exact thing,” she earlier told Google.

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