Global Indianstory Global Indian ExclusiveEmpowering voices: Shreya Gupta, the young author making a global impact

Empowering voices: Shreya Gupta, the young author making a global impact

Written by: Team GI Youth

(August 19, 2023) What were you up to when you were just a sprightly 12-year-old? Chances are, your greatest accomplishment might have been mastering that perplexing Rubik’s Cube or perhaps navigating the treacherous realm of pre-algebra. But, Canada-based author Shreya Gupta is different. This 12-year-old dynamo isn’t just diving into the realms of adventure between school bells; she’s crafting her chapter of inspiration, compassion, and change.

Author | Shreya Gupta | Global Indian

A burgeoning author, Shreya’s words have not only penned stories but have etched a tale of benevolence. The recent winner of the prestigious Diana Award, the author raised over CAD 12,000 through the sale of her books and donated the amount to a charity supporting girls’ education in India. She also gave about CAD 1,000 for Kids Help Phone in Canada. The young Canadian has worked hard on driving an anti-bullying campaign at her school and is also involved in events like the TCCSA RBC Future Launch. “It’s amazing to see kids being inspired by my book,” the Global Indian said in an interview while talking about her charity through books sale, adding, “I want all of my future books to raise awareness about bullying because it’s such an imperative message. I hope to inspire my readers and help them learn to cope with bullying and gain self-confidence.”

Inspired by India

Born in Cambridge, Canada to Indian immigrants, Dr. Sunjay and Sonia Gupta, Shreya has always loved reading the book. The author, who is passionate about making education accessible to young girls in developing nations, Shreya is also one of the toppers of her class at the Grand View Public School. “My goal is to inspire young girls around the world to always chase their dreams, no matter what. Unfortunately, I have been bullied myself. This is a big reason why I wanted to spread awareness about the issue. In my spare time, I enjoy sketching, reading, and writing stories,” shared the author, who also won the Mom’s Choice Award for her first book.

Her book, Flamingo Feet, is about a young girl named Aria, who has always dreamed of being a jazz dancer. When some kids bully her and call her “flamingo feet”, Aria drops out of the dance competition. “I take jazz dancing lessons which inspired me to write Flamingo Feet. I wrote it to help kids stand up to bullying and learn how to stay confident in themselves no matter what,” the author expressed.

The author went on to write another book, called The Flip Side. “I wanted to write about another issue that has been affecting youngsters. So, this book is about a young girl, called Autumn, who has just recently moved to Toronto and started at a new school. She has always loved creating animations about her pet hamster named Nibbles. When Autumn gets cyberbullied for her animations online, she gets very hurt and discouraged. The story is about how this young girl fights the odds to shape her dream,” she said.

The little philanthropist

While writing a book was born out of her passion, what could have inspired a young 10-year-old to do charity by selling her books? Well, the answer is a ‘trip to India’. “While I was in India there were a lot of kids who were coming up to me selling pens for money so they could get food. This made me very sad that many kids did not have access to basic needs like food and clothing. I wanted to do something to help out. My grandfather runs a charity that helps girls access education in developing countries like India. I decided this was a great opportunity to get involved with the charity and write a book to raise money for it,” shared the author.

Shreya with her family

Currently working on her other book, Shreya is very happy with the success of her books. “Both children and adults love my book. I feel so honoured. I wasn’t so sure that I would earn anything from them, but when I started getting the cheques, I decided that I would rather donate the earnings towards a charity called Positive and Progressive Educational Support Canada. The charity helps girls in India access education, food, and other resources that they wouldn’t normally have access to,” the author said, who is also inspiring her friends to start writing short stories.

Follow Shreya Gupta on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and her website

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Published on 19, Aug 2023

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An Indian ballet star in the Miami City Ballet, Amiruddin Shah pirouettes to glory

(May 22, 2024) An excited Asif dances his heart out to the beats of the dhol at a Dahi handi celebration in Mumbai, reprimanded by his uncle for participating in a Hindu festival. The opening scene of Yeh Ballet, a Netflix biographical film of an Indian ballet dancer, Amiruddin Shah, speaks volumes about a boy from the slums of Mumbai who made it to London’s Royal Ballet Theatre. “It’s true. My uncle was against a Muslim dancing at a Hindu festival. But I kept doing what I liked,” smiles Amiruddin, who is today a corps de ballet member at Miami City Ballet, in an exclusive with Global Indian. Rags to riches – A ‘balle’ to ballet The 20-something’s rags to riches story is inspiring. From doing odd jobs in Mumbai’s slums to becoming the first Indian ever to be selected at the Royal Ballet Theatre, Amiruddin's story is about patience, perseverance, and resilience. Amiruddin’s story unfolded in the Sanpada slums. His father left his village in UP over three decades ago to eke a better life in the City of Dreams. Struggling to make ends meet, the children chipped in. “From selling eggs to slippers, shoes, mango pickles on the

slums to becoming the first Indian ever to be selected at the Royal Ballet Theatre, Amiruddin's story is about patience, perseverance, and resilience.

Amiruddin’s story unfolded in the Sanpada slums. His father left his village in UP over three decades ago to eke a better life in the City of Dreams. Struggling to make ends meet, the children chipped in. “From selling eggs to slippers, shoes, mango pickles on the roadside, I did everything,” recalls the Indian ballet star, the youngest of five brothers and two sisters.

Despite studying at a government school, he hardly attended classes. “We went to school because free meals were provided. Not too great, they sufficed, and many families sent their children for that full meal, and to keep them away from trouble,” says the boy, who grew up amidst violence. “When you see people dropping dead in street fights, you begin to look at things differently,” reminisces the Indian ballet star.

With no clear interest in studies, it was dance that called out to the young lad. “I was sort of dyslexic and never understood how to write or count. It seemed too difficult - I felt comfortable and at ease with the arts. Dancing made me feel alive,” chirps the street dancer.

Then came a Danceworx jazz and contemporary dance programme for underprivileged students. His older brother Nizamuddin introduced him to it, and he even impressed the instructor. This led to him trading places with his brother who was already enrolled. “Both couldn’t be a part of it due to financial constraints, so my brother stepped down,” says an emotional lad, who felt trapped seeing his brother give up his place.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRq_32JmczQ[/embed]

The right place, at the right time

That was when Israeli-American ballet master Yehuda Maor spotted his natural talent and persuaded him to ditch hip-hop for ballet. “He kept looking at my arched feet while (I was) stretching, and knew I was made for ballet,” reveals Shah. New to ballet, he hated every moment, especially, comprehending English commands as he didn’t know the language. “It was nerve-wracking to be doing a dance form I had no clue about,” adds Shah.

The initial years of training were exhausting as Yehuda was a taskmaster. For someone who began ballet at age 12, Amiruddin was working hard to make up for lost years. “Yehuda was packing all those years of (lost) training. It was so intense that I hated him,” he laughs. Today, he calls Yehuda his mentor, someone who changed his life for good.

In less than three years, Shah had aced the language of ballet. Spreading his wings, he won a scholarship to study at the Joffery Ballet School in New York but couldn't make it as his visa was rejected. Demotivated, his fortunes changed when he won a one-year scholarship at the Oregon Ballet Theatre.

“My study expenses were covered, I needed money for lodging and food. We needed $20,000 - Yehuda paid half, and the rest we raised through crowdfunding in six months,” recalls Shah. In the US, his excitement soon faded as he had to learn the Balanchine method, a technique quite different from what he knew. Adjusting to American ballet was tough, “They were so quick on the toes, and it felt like the dancers were flying. The speed was killing me. It wasn’t the right institution so Yehuda and I decided to quit the school,” he adds, very disheartened at quitting.

Back to basics

Back in Mumbai, he continued practicing with Yehuda but with a new perspective and zeal. He was then selected by the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in New York on a half scholarship, but with his funds depleted due to the Oregon Ballet School stint, he had to bow out.

News of an Indian boy making it to the American Ballet School spread like wildfire. “BBC called me the Billy Elliot of India, and it went viral in the UK. The director of Royal Ballet Theatre saw the news, and offered me a full scholarship in 2017,” smiles the first Indian to ever receive the Nadia Nerina Scholarship (for talented students from beyond EU for three years), and first Indian to study at London’s Royal Ballet Theatre.

Studying in the same ballet school that trained the likes of Sergei Polunin gave Amiruddin goose bumps. “He is one of the best ballet dancers in the world, and at just 19, he became Royal Ballet’s youngest principal dancer. This was enough validation and motivation,” enthuses the 20-something Indian ballet star, who finished a higher level of education in arts & ballet from the University of Roehampton.

Royal Ballet was intense. He repeated a year due to constant injuries, and lack of nutrition. “The body has to look a certain way for ballet. Since childhood, with no nutritious food, it showed in my stamina, led to injuries. I had to give myself a year to heal,” says the Indian ballet star, who performed in Giselle, Sea Interludes, and Elite Syncopations during this period.

Shah also started The Art Door, an app platform to help global artistes collaborate virtually or physically. “Art has the power to change the world and it’s important that we have a platform to join forces.” It helps artistes create high-quality professional digital artworks.

From the slums of Mumbai to London’s Royal Ballet Theatre, his perseverance is inspirational. Director Sooni Taraporevala was totally awestruck, and turned his captivating story into a Netflix original film in 2020. “I am grateful to her for bringing alive my story but I wouldn’t have given her my story if it wasn’t for my brother Nizamuddin acting in the film,” says the boy, who admits he still hasn’t watched the film as he doesn’t connect with his past anymore.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpeOrmjRK90[/embed]

It was also Shah’s way of giving back to his brother who had exchanged places with him a long time ago.

A member of the Miami City Ballet, he was a soloist lead in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC in November 2021. “It was a profound moment,” gushes the Indian ballet star.

From Mumbai to Miami, the Indian ballet dancer has come a long way because he believed in himself. Sharing some wisdom, he says, “Have more faith in yourself than anyone else has in you. Talent can be missed twice, but not thrice.”

Follow Amiruddin Shah on LinkedIn

Reading Time: 10 mins

Aryan Sharma and Ayush Pathak: The AI whizkids being funded by Sam Altman

(December 14, 2023) Around eight months ago, two teenagers, Aryan Sharma and Ayush Pathak were both contemplating college plans. Aryan had even received a scholarship from a foundation in the US and anyway, both the teenagers were adept coders and earning a fair bit of money. Enough money, actually to fly to San Francisco and attend conferences, where they were soon crossing paths with some of the Bay Area's tech and VC titans. In comparison, college seemed a lacklustre option. They actually wondered if the experience might hold them back. Why not take a deep dive into entrepreneurship instead? That's how they got to building Induced AI, which, very simply put, presents a solution for businesses to streamline their backend workflow processes using bots. Less than a year in, they have raised $2.3 million in seed funding, and count OpenAI's Sam Altman as an investor, along with Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman. [caption id="attachment_34641" align="aligncenter" width="601"] Aryan Sharma and Ayush Pathak, the co-founders of Induced AI[/caption] The journey of a lifetime How did the Global Indians come so far, so quickly? For starters, both Sharma and Pathak were learning coding by the time they were 13 years old. They didn't

ong>The journey of a lifetime

How did the Global Indians come so far, so quickly? For starters, both Sharma and Pathak were learning coding by the time they were 13 years old. They didn't grow up in the Bay Area or in Bangalore, although they were both based in India. "I would listen to podcasts and read about the AI and tech startup ecosystem. I started writing code very early and was doing remote work when I was still in school," Sharma says. When he could afford it, he made another, very bold move - he bought a flight ticket to San Francisco. "I was going to a lot of events and meeting people and investors, who would eventually become part of the company."

The Bay Area, he found, was very welcoming, even to someone as young as him - it might even have worked in his favour. "Everyone is open to taking meetings," Sharma smiles. He discovered that ambition and hard work do pay, and age doesn't always have to be a factor. Sharma and Pathak also decided that college was off the cards, at least for the moment, even if they could have taken their pick of institutions. Sharma, who seems more given to media appearances and interviews, says his parents were both doctors, who were concerned with his decision but decided to support him.

When they weren't in Silicon Valley, they were writing cold-emails and sending DMs on Twitter. "I have embarrassing emails I sent out at 14," he laughs, during an interview with Varun Mayya and Tanmay Bhat in Overpowered. "I woud say 'I'm a big fan, I watch all your videos, do you have any advice for me'?" He recalls one response, which read, "Don't send emails to people, that's my advice. Go read up and start building things." He had als interacted with Sam Altman during this three year networking period and expressed an interest in working with him, "even as his secretary." OpenAI, he says, "had been releasing papers way before ChatGPT but Sam was too busy then with OpenAI and Helium."

Even in 2022, though, Sharma didn't really know how things would pan out. He was interested in a range of subjects, from AI to Space and Biotech. It was Altman who gave him advice then, saying, "This is all useful but the most high-leverage thing is AI and you will come back to this at some point." It did in fact turn out that way. In early 2023, Sharma and Pathak teamed up to form InducedAI. Now, they are also part of AI Grant, the AI startup accelerator created by Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross. Induced AI made it into Batch 1, along with companies like Perplexity, Animato and Replicate.

How does it work?

Induced AI helps businesses automate repetitive tasks typically handled by admin back offices. Users input workflows in English (known as a text workflow), which the AI then converts into pseudo-code for automation. The platform uses bots, each equipped with its own email and phone number for handling tasks like verification processes, including OTPs and other forms of authorization. These bots run on the cloud, ensuring full access without affecting the user's computer. "Say, a company has a 15-member team spending a lot of time on tasks like form filling or data entry, which could typically be outsourced to a backoffice," Sharma explained.

All this works on Chromium-based browsers (like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, etc.). And none of the work being done is actually visible to the user - for instance, if the bot is running a search operation, the user will not see a search bar with keywords being typed in. Induced AI has modified the browser's rendering engine, which usually turns website code into what you see on your screen, to work better for background tasks. They've tweaked how the browser responds to changes on websites and improved the way it communicates internally and with other systems.

"We control the browser layers remotely, which leads to more reliability compared to running as an extension," Sharma explains. "By controlling the browser, we also control everything that Chrome has access to." This enhanced control allows for more consistent and dependable automation processes.

For example, consider a task like searching for shoes on Google. Induced AI breaks this task into "chunks," then performs 'inference' to determine the necessary steps at each stage. The user just needs to provide the overall task description. Once the steps are outlined, the system autonomously executes the process, from opening the browser to carrying out the search. To the end user, it's akin to giving a command to Alexa to "play my favorite playlist," where Alexa autonomously locates and plays the playlist.

[caption id="attachment_34642" align="aligncenter" width="602"] Aryan Sharma[/caption]

RPA tech

However, Induced AI is tailored for back-office tasks, enhancing business workflows' cost-effectiveness and efficiency. It uses a 'headless' browser operation, meaning the browser works in the background without displaying web pages on a screen. It navigates and interacts with websites, but invisibly. "It's not meant to book a flight ticket or write an email," Sharma says. "It's designed for specific processes and tasks, like generating leads at 9 am every day, or collating insurance claims.

This is done through RPA (Robotic Process Automation), which usses 'bots' to automate repetitive and rule-based tasks within business processes. They emulate human actions and interactions within digital systems, applications and data and can carry out certain tasks as a human user would, following a set of predefined rules and logic. An added advantage is that it is non invasive and easily deployable along with being scalable and flexible.

The path ahead

Aryan now spends much more time in the Bay Area and Induced AI has signed up a handful of small to mid-sized customers, he told Tech Crunch.

"Induced is the definition of RPA 3.0," said investor SignalFire in a statement. "Not only are they taking a huge leap forward in providing true human-like interaction and efficiency, they democratize access by allowing users to describe their workflows in natural language and execute parallel agents any back-office workflow.

Follow Aryan Sharma and Ayush Pathak on LinkedIn.

This 15 year old mountaineer is the youngest to summit Europe’s highest peak in 24 hours

(August 9, 2024) Padakanti Vishwanath Karthikey used to be a lazy kid, for whom being healthy was not a priority. But that was until the day he, as an 11 year old, accompanied his sister Vaishnavi on a trek to Mt Rudugaira in Uttarakhand. He trekked till the first camp but had to return due to Acute Mountain Sickness (ACD). Nonetheless, this experience turned his life around and sparked an interest in mountaineering. The 15 year old mountaineer has since gone on to hold three world records, and is the youngest person to summit Europe's highest peak Mt Elbrus in 24 hours, a feat he accomplished on India’s 75th Independence Day. “My mountaineering journey started because of my sister and I motivate myself to be better everyday. I want to be an inspiration for many people and also seek inspiration from them to do new things,” smiles mountaineer Vishwanath Karthikey, in a chat with Global Indian. [caption id="attachment_38746" align="aligncenter" width="267"] Mountaineer Vishwanath Karthikey[/caption] Taking on the icy Mt Denali In his most recent expedition, the teen mountaineer embarked on an arduous journey up Mt. Denali, the highest peak in North America, which stands at over 20,000 feet above sea level. He reached the

lobal Indian" width="267" height="475" /> Mountaineer Vishwanath Karthikey[/caption]

Taking on the icy Mt Denali

In his most recent expedition, the teen mountaineer embarked on an arduous journey up Mt. Denali, the highest peak in North America, which stands at over 20,000 feet above sea level. He reached the summit, conquering both physical and personal obstacles along the way.

Karthikey started the Mt Denali expedition on June 10 and reached Anchorage the following day, where he spent the night and shopped for essentials. “We took the West Buttress route to the mountain,” says the teenager, who reached the base camp by June 15.

From there, he climbed for 4-6 hours straight and reached camp 1 where he and few other mountaineers pitched their tents, cooked food and melted ice for water. “We stashed our non essential items into the snow and marked the spot so that we wouldn't lose it. Our climb started again the next morning, and went on for around eight hours.”

Karthikey says it was a tiring journey as he had to pull his sledges too. “No pain, no gain, so we went on and reached the camp site,” says the three-time world record holder, who reached the summit by June 24.

Two days before reaching the summit, he was extremely dehydrated as he was not able to consume the water, which felt too hot while drinking, and also tasted foul to him. “Despite this and the low temperatures, I made it to the summit,” says Karthikey, who underwent strength, agility, stability, endurance and cardio training for this climb.

Mt Elbrus

The journey began with two months of rigorous training, as Karthikey prepared to climb Mt Elbrus in 2022. In his first attempt, he returned from the lower camps of the mountain. “I was successful in summiting Mt Elbrus on my second attempt. It was a very special expedition for me as I summited it on India’s 75th Independence Day,” smiles the teenager who became the youngest in the world to accomplish it in less than 24 hours.

He describes the Mt Elbrus climb as a wonderful experience. “I got to meet many new people, my cousin was accompanying me and there were two more people of my age group,” he says.

However, it wasn’t always smooth. The mountaineers faced terrible weather conditions on this climb. “The wind speed was 40-50 km/hr with a -30 temperature. We weathered these conditions and reached the summit,” Karthikey recalls.

Within 15 days of this climb, Karthikey went on to climb two 6000 meter peaks, Mt Kang Yatse 2 and Mt Dzo Jongo. “It was exhausting but I managed and became the youngest person to do it within 72 hours,” says the class 11 student of Resonance Suchitra campus, beaming with pride.

The following year, he climbed Mt Kang Yatse 1 and once again became the youngest person to do so. He is also the youngest person from Asia to climb Island Peak in Nepal.

Hyderabad's teen mountaineer

Born October 2008 in Hyderabad, Karthikey studied in DRS kids till LKG and shifted to St Peters high school, Bowenpally from where he completed his class 10. “I was a below average student before starting mountaineering but after starting it, my scores increased immensely,” says Karthikey, who is the son of P Rajendra Prasad and P Laxmi.

He enjoys various sports and came in second at the state-level weightlifting competition and third in powerlifting.

Mountaineering

Karthikey’s mountaineering journey began at the age of 11. “My sister was googling something when she found out about mountaineering and shared it with my mother, who arranged a trek for my sister as she knew some mountaineers. I wanted to be part of it and convinced my parents to send me with her,” recalls Karthikey, who has also climbed the Friendship peak in Himachal Pradesh, Dzo Jongo peak in Ladakh, Nangkartshang peak, Kilimanjaro in Africa, Tereskol in Russia among others.

After his first climb to Mt Rudugaira in Uttarakhand, Karthikey went to NIM (Nehru Institute of Mountaineering) for a 10-day adventure course, which only propelled his internet in mountaineering. It is there that he first experienced jumaring, rock climbing and rappelling.

Daily routine

Fifteen-year-old Karthikey is up by 4:30 am everyday and heads straight to the gym. “I directly go to college from the gym as my college timings are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. I study for about two hours in the evening and go to bed by 10 pm,” says the mountaineer. When he’s preparing for an expedition, he alternates between a 5km and a 10km run each day over the final month before his departure.

His plans are ambitious. “My next mountaineering expeditions include Vinson Massif, Antarctica’s highest peak, and Aconcagua, South America’s highest and then Mt Everest,” says Karthikey, whose ultimate goal is to join the armed forces.

The young mountaineer likes to do wave boarding, skating and playing games with his friends. “I don’t watch TV on a daily basis. I like to listen to Arijit Singh songs and 2000-2010s hits,” informs Karthikey, who also enjoys public speaking to motivate people.

With a relentless spirit and a commitment to pushing boundaries, Karthikey continues to pursue his dreams of scaling some of the world's highest summits, inspiring others with his courage and perseverance along the way.

Karun Kaushik: Indian-American teen helping fight pneumonia with a cost-effective AI solution

(May 21, 2024) 2020 had just begun and things were getting difficult for California boy Karun Kaushik as a delayed pneumonia treatment due to an inaccurate diagnosis nearly cost him his mother's life. The harrowing experience put him face-to-face with Covid-19 and the grim reality of pneumonia - a global killer that took the lives of 2.5 million people in the world, out of which 600,000 were children under the age of five. The startling statistics led the Indian American teen to think on his toes as Covid-19 had only exacerbated the situation. With many relatives in India, he was concerned about the hospitals in India as he knew from visits that they had nowhere near the resources or technology necessary to save lives like his mother's. As the world went into lockdown and Covid-19 swept across the globe, the 17-year-old spoke with radiologists in India, who confirmed that overwhelming patient volume and impossible working conditions were creating diagnostic bottlenecks, resulting in unnecessary deaths. That's when the Indian-American teen decided to focus on developing a solution to remove the ever-building backlogs. He spent months learning Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create X-Check-MD, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) software that

ence (AI) software that can diagnose Covid-19 and pneumonia with 99 percent accuracy in under one minute. It won him the Gloria Barron Prize 2022 for Young Heroes.

We’re wowed by 2022 Barron Prize winner Karun, who created AI software that can diagnose Covid-19 and pneumonia with 99% accuracy in under one minute. His tool is part of Democratize Health, the nonprofit he founded to save lives in impoverished regions. Grateful for you, Karun! pic.twitter.com/VFM9ODc7cu

— Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes (@BarronPrize) December 13, 2022

This innovation led to the birth of Democratize Health in March 2020, a non-profit initiative to empower healthcare workers in underprivileged communities with fast, affordable, accurate, and remotely accessible artificial intelligence-based diagnostics solutions. "It's easy to feel hopeless at times with the issues the world is facing but, in my opinion, hope is our strongest resource and weapon," Karun said in an interview.

So how does X-Check-MD work? It allows doctors to take a picture of an X-ray with their mobile phone’s camera, upload it to a globally accessible website, and receive a diagnosis within seconds, thus making the process faster, and cheaper than traditional methods where the typical turn-around time for diagnosis is 4-18 hours by radiologists. The 99 percent accuracy reduces the chances of misdiagnoses due to human errors such as visual and cognitive fatigue under overwhelm. It also eliminates the diagnostic backlog which is common in developing countries while helping reduce delays in treatment.

[caption id="attachment_26431" align="aligncenter" width="687"] Karun Kaushik is the founder of Democratize Health[/caption]

Democratize Health also educates impoverished communities about environmental risk factors, preventative measures like vaccines (as 71 million children didn't get the full pneumococcal vaccine in 2018), and available treatment options. So far, it has impacted more than 3,000 people in India, and the non-profit believes that it has the potential to save the lives of 800,000 children worldwide who die from pneumonia each year.

Since this Global Indian provides the technology to doctors and hospitals for $2.75 per scan in India, he is hopeful it can help prevent deaths from pneumonia, 90 percent of which occur in the world’s poorest regions. Currently, he is working to expand global outreach for Democratize Health and build diagnostic solutions for more diseases. Karun, who was selected as a 2021 Global Teen Leader by the We Are Family Foundation, wants to ensure that no one’s health is left behind, regardless of their geography or socioeconomic status. "I want to drive change to make a better world."

Reading Time: 4 min

Who are the rising global stars of the Telugu diaspora

(May 26, 2023) With their indomitable spirit, and deep-rooted cultural values, the Telugu diaspora has not only achieved unprecedented success but has also become an inspiring symbol of the Indian diaspora’s triumph. Following the footsteps of elders, the youngsters of the diaspora have been making a remarkable mark in various fields, showcasing their talent and accomplishments to the world. From academia to sports, entrepreneurship to activism, the young achievers have proven that age is no barrier to making a significant impact. Global Indian looks at the young trailblazers who have defined the success inspiring not only their peers but also people from diverse backgrounds highlighting the potential and brilliance that lies within the Indian diaspora youth: GItanjali Rao Innovator In 2021 the then 15-year-old Indian-American innovator Gitanjali was named Times first ever ‘Kid of the Year’ for her work in technology to tackle issues ranging from cyber bullying to contaminated drinking water. The youngster is Forbes 30 Under 30, America’s Top Young scientist. She has more than a dozen innovations to her name. Her first prototype in use – Tethysdetects detects contamination in water and shares that information through Bluetooth. [caption id="attachment_30410" align="aligncenter" width="384"] Gitanjali Rao[/caption] “All of us can make a

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Innovator

In 2021 the then 15-year-old Indian-American innovator Gitanjali was named Times first ever ‘Kid of the Year’ for her work in technology to tackle issues ranging from cyber bullying to contaminated drinking water. The youngster is Forbes 30 Under 30, America’s Top Young scientist. She has more than a dozen innovations to her name. Her first prototype in use – Tethysdetects detects contamination in water and shares that information through Bluetooth.

[caption id="attachment_30410" align="aligncenter" width="384"] Gitanjali Rao[/caption]

“All of us can make a difference. It’s just about finding that one thing you want to change. I want to use science to inspire kindness,” Gitanjali said in an interview with Global Indian. The youngster’s father hails from Hyderabad. She is closely associated with the city due her grandparents whom she meets almost every year.

Apoorva Panidapu

Mathematician

Popularly referred to as the human calculator, the seventeen-year-old high-schooler of San Jose, California wears many hats. Apart from being a math genius, she is well-known for her abilities in STEAM – an educational approach that incorporates the arts into the more-familiar STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) model. The student, teacher, mathematician, artist, social entrepreneur, and a keynote speaker loves helping kids around the world and is a recipient of the Diana award. “I have helped raise more than $50,000 to support children around the world by using the gifts in math and art,” Apoorva told Global Indian.

[caption id="attachment_30406" align="aligncenter" width="361"] Apoorva Panidapu[/caption]

The prodigy has received several global awards in mathematics such as the prestigious Davidson Fellow Laureate, Steven S Strogatz Prize for Math Communication, Spirit of Ramanujan Fellowship, and 2020 Global Child Prodigy Award. She has also received six Presidential Volunteer Service Awards in the US between 2016 – 2022 for her social work initiatives. Apoorva’s parents hail from Andhra Pradesh. The engineers moved to the US more than 20 years ago.

Netra Venkatesh

Social entrepreneur

When the pandemic was at its peak, Indian-origin Dubai-based teen, Netra Venkatesh realised the potential of the webinars and how they connect the world. She was a student in grade IX then and wanted to harness the concept to connect people from far and wide. Soon she launched her social startup SpunkGo, an all-girls global organisation to make knowledge accessible in far-flung areas and managed to reach out to girls in 20 countries.  “Even when the world has got back to its pre-pandemic way of functioning, the webinars are going to be staple as people have gotten habituated to impart and access knowledge through this medium. It is not going to die down,” Netra told Global Indian.

[caption id="attachment_30407" align="aligncenter" width="363"] Netra Venkatesh[/caption]

The non-profit has partnered with Canada based Simbi Foundation. Under this partnership, members of SpunkGo global voluntary programme conduct book narration sessions for displaced children staying in Bidibidi and Palorinya refugee settlements in Uganda so that they can learn by listening. Netra’s organisation also supports the less fortunate in partnership with Shower’s Education Centre & Orphanage, Dandora Slum, Kenya, The Al Noor Centre, UAE, and Hope Foundation, Chennai. The youngster's parents hail from Andhra Pradesh and had moved to the Gulf before her birth.

Meghna Gaddam

Youth parliament member

New Zealand based Meghana is a member of the Youth Parliament, part of a novel method of functioning in the New Zealand government where youngsters get the opportunity to assist a minister. Citizens elect close to 120 MPs, each one of whom works in close association with a nominated Youth Parliament member. Meghana is assisting Waikato’s MP Tim van de Molen.

[caption id="attachment_30408" align="aligncenter" width="265"] Meghna Gaddam[/caption]

Nominated for the role in 2022, Meghana’s responsibilities include helping the MP deal with issues related to the youth and to act as their voice within the parliament. She has been working with the MP with a focus on shelter for people, especially in the wake of Covid-19 induced poverty and homelessness. Though born and brought up in New Zealand, the youth icon of the island country hasn’t forgotten her Indian roots. Visiting her native place, Tanguturu in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh with her parents has been an annual affair.

Sirihaasa Nallamothu

Researcher

After several weeks of research and studies, Illinois based Sirihaasa was able to make a breakthrough, winning the prestigious Cutler-Bell Prize in High School Computing, which empowers students to pursue computing challenges beyond the traditional classroom environment. Sirihaasa, who has also received a cash prize of $10,000 for her project, is the first person to undertake such a ground-breaking initiative.

[caption id="attachment_30409" align="aligncenter" width="342"] Sirihassa Nallamothu[/caption]

Born to Telugu immigrants from Andhra Pradesh, the youngster has also founded Girls Who Code and Dream Coders clubs at her Middle school, teaching girls in grades 5-11 across the country Python, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Java. Fuelled by an unwavering passion for coding, she embarked on a transformative journey, not only as a dedicated instructor but as a visionary architect of a comprehensive coding curriculum that propelled her peers into the realm of technological prowess.

Key Takeaways:

Embracing multiculturalism: Diaspora kids often face challenges of navigating between multiple cultures and identities. They learn to thrive in different contexts and develop a unique set of skills that enable them to navigate multicultural settings.
Appreciation for diversity: Diaspora kids often embrace and celebrate their heritage while also incorporating aspects of the local culture. They become bridges between cultures, promoting understanding and fostering inclusivity.
Academic excellence and ambition: Driven by their families' emphasis on education and their own aspirations for success, they often excel academically. Their accomplishments serve as a testament to their determination, and the opportunities afforded by their multicultural upbringing.
Identity and empowerment: Diaspora kids often navigate the complexities of identity formation, reconciling their heritage with their experiences in the host country. Their achievements empower them to embrace their dual identities and become ambassadors for their heritage.

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