(December 9, 2023) At 13, Akash Manoj lost his grandfather to a silent heart attack. Despite being a diabetic and someone with high blood pressure, he was a healthy person. But seeing him collapse and die, owing to a silent heart attack is one of the most heart wrenching moments for him. “Silent heart attacks happen to people who have underlying conditions like diabetes and these patients have nerve damage that blocks out all the alarm signals that the heart is sending,” Manoj explained in an interview. That’s when he began research in the space as he decided to go on war against a deadly killer as it becomes fatal for patients without any noticeable symptoms. Moreover, the silent heart attacks account for 50 percent of all heart attacks across the globe, and more than 8 million people die each year due to silent heart attacks. “I took time off to read as much as I can on the heart during my school. I was just wanting to find a solution.”
This prompted him to work for three years with varied government and private labs to come up with a skin patch that can detect a silent heart attack six hours before it happens. His breakthrough innovation – which could revolutionise healthcare – won him an award at Intel ISEF 2018 and has received clinical validation from the Tokyo University of Science, London’s Royal Society of Medicine and Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
“It is a watch-like device that you wear around your wrist and place a patch near your chest. The non-invasive device will identify the alarm signal your heart is sending through a unique bio-electric system that I have developed so you don’t need a blood test at all,” Akash, who is the President’s Gold Medal recipient, had told in an interview.
The patch work emits a small amount of positive charge, which attracts the negatively-charged FABP3 protein, a biomarker for heart attacks. If analysis shows an increased level of the protein, a heart attack is underway.
Akash Manoj receives Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar
Akash, who calls himself a cardiology researcher, uses a cardiac biomarker called heart-type fatty acid binding protein in his preventive technology “which is released up to six hours before a heart attack, thereby giving us a way for early detection. If the levels are beyond the recommended threshold, that would mean you are at risk of a potential heart attack, so you need to rush to the doctor for immediate medical care”.
The student at medical school in Prague, Czech Republic began studying on the subject in school after his grandfather’s death. He was in eighth grade when he started visiting the library at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, which is quite from Hosur, his hometown in Tamil Nadu. But he was determined to understand more about the heart and find a solution. “Journal articles are expensive, so visiting the libraries was the only way I could do it. Otherwise, it would have cost more than a crore (of rupees) for the amount I read. I was always interested in medical science and I liked reading the journals…cardiology is my favourite,” he told a daily.
After years of research, he made a breakthrough with a non-invasive device which is inexpensive, portable and wearable by at-risk patients at all times. “It requires no blood test and works 24/7 collecting and analysing data at preset intervals, he said in a TedTalk.
The device is being tested on patients with health issues. “We have seen positive results so far, but any tangible conclusions can only be made after the study has been completed,” Manoj said, adding that the device might be available in the market in the next few years. “I am also working with key stakeholders in the wearables industry to integrate this system into watch-like wearable devices,” he said.
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(August 2, 2023) She remembers sticking her head out of the school bus window on her way home, to catch a glimpse of the HCG in Bengaluru, the oncology hospital that came up with cyberknife technology and hormone therapy to cure cancer. Such was Swetha Kannan's passion for cancer research, that in Grade 7, she decided to become an oncologist. "The disease was so mysterious; there's so much you don't know about it. I was curious as to why we don't have a definitive cure for cancer," Swetha tells Global Indian. But little did Swetha know that a few years down the line, the deadly disease would come knocking on her door. Her world came crashing down at the beginning of 2018 when her grandmom was diagnosed with uterine cancer. Being her primary caregiver, Swetha understood the importance of psychological well-being in cancer patients. This prompted her to start the Lalitha Foundation (named after her grandmom) in 2019, dedicated to the betterment of the lives of cancer and post-sepsis patients. The initiative, which has positively impacted hundreds, won her the Diana Award 2023. "I thought I was daydreaming. It was a pleasant surprise," she smiles. [caption id="attachment_32352" align="aligncenter" width="512"] Swetha
[caption id="attachment_32352" align="aligncenter" width="512"] Swetha Kannan is the founder of The Lalitha Foundation[/caption]
A personal experience led to her purpose
Having personal experience with mental health struggles, Swetha recognises the lack of awareness and the struggle of opening up, especially in India. "I have anxiety and panic disorder. For me, it was living through these experiences that taught me how important it is for you and the people around you to know what's happening to you, and know that there is support," says the changemaker, who spent three months with her grandmom while the later went through umpteen tests and a surgery.
Those months were taxing not just physically but mentally for both Swetha and her grandmom. "Part of my panic and anxiety disorder arises from the fact that my body went through so much physically and mentally in such a framed period. I was taught to give her blood thinning injections after the surgery, and I thought I was infecting my grandmother and it's not okay. The worst part was that we didn't know what stage the tumour was." Understanding the problem, she founded the Lalitha Foundation with the mission to create awareness around both cancer and mental health widespread across communities in India, especially among underprivileged people. "The second was to find ways to make access to care more equitable."
She realised that one essentially needs to be in an urban setup to either get cancer treatment or be screened for mental health. "The mortality rate of cancer in rural India is double that of rural India, even though the incidents of cancer in urban India are much higher. The statistics rang alarming bells because people don't choose what community or social status they are born into. Having someone have to fight so much harder for something so basic as healthcare based on factors that they didn't even choose for seemed unfair," adds Swetha. This nudged her to make awareness reach places that they needed to. "The mission was to let people know that having cancer or mental illness is not the end of the world. You need to know your symptoms and take action for your good."
Swetha, who a few months after her grandmom's surgery interned at HCG Bengaluru, came across patients from rural areas who were at the mercy of doctors and had no idea about the right treatment or awareness about the disease. "Simple things like awareness about the disease can go massive miles in improving or stabilising one's psychological wellbeing in the long term. You know what's happening to you and you feel in control."
How a teenager transformed lives
In 2019, Swetha was elected to be a fellow of the Clinton Global Initiative in LA. Only nineteen at the time, she began the Lalitha Foundation, to create awareness on mental health and cancer. She began by reaching out to medical students and doctors and using YouTube and WhatsApp to spread the word. "Within a few weeks, I had 300-400 sign-ups," she smiles. The next step was to impart training to the volunteers. Her mentor at The Clinton Foundation suggested creating a Google classroom with training materials including videos, podcasts, and reading. There were assignments to gauge the understanding of the issue on the part of the volunteer. "I can't have a volunteer talking to a patient who has no idea what he's saying." Later, the very few specialists in mental health like therapists and psychiatrists were recruited to train generic healthcare professionals like nurses, and general practitioners on the basics. "As volunteers, their job is to educate patients and tell them to access support, but they can't mediate support," says Swetha who has volunteers in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Punjab, and West Bengal.
Changing lives
It's been over three years since the Lalitha Foundation came into existence, and the nonprofit has created awareness on mental health and cancer, trained volunteers, done in-person programs with the support of the Clinton Foundation, and raise funds to provide free psychotherapies. "More than the impact in the commercial sense, I have seen families being more supportive and patients talking openly about mental health to their oncologists. That's the kind of impact we have made. We have created shared and safe places for people to open up. It's about telling people that your health is not a one-dimensional entity," says the 24-year-old changemaker who had a profound conversation with Sri Sri Ravi Sankar. "He said, 'A strong mind can withstand even the weakest of body but a weak body can't withstand even a very strong body.' And I couldn't agree more."
The Lalitha Foundation which currently operates in India is planning to expand in Africa, with a focus on countries like Uganda and Tanzania. "The stigma for mental health in India stems from different socio-cultural aspects than one in Africa. So, currently, we are in the process of understanding what the mental health situation in Africa is like," adds Swetha, who is pursuing a PhD at University of Cambridge. Ask her about her thesis, and pat comes the reply, "My project is looking at tumour immune interactions in Burkitt's lymphoma. It has two subtypes - Endemic which is more common in Africa. It's a paediatric cancer and kids with this cancer almost always die as they don't have access to intensive care. While sporadic is more common in kids in developed countries like Europe and the prognosis is okay but kids who relapse almost always die. It was only last year that I realised that paediatric cancers are extremely under-researched and also underfunded for research." Before her Ph.D., she did her BSc (Hons) in Immunology from the University of Edinburgh and her MPhil in Medical Sciences from the University of Cambridge.
Dealing with her grandmom's cancer to starting The Lalitha Foundation, Swetha calls it a transformative journey. "As a 19-year-old when my grandmom was diagnosed, I used to think Why Me? I was disconnected from reality as I was working like a machine and wasn't processing anything on an emotional level. In retrospect, it was the most transformative part of my life. If not for this, forget Lalitha Foundation, I wouldn't have grown as a person," she says, who has now translated her passion into purpose in the field of oncology.
The girl, who sings and writes poetry to unwind, says that her biggest learning in the journey has been to trust the process and let go. "The things that don't work are just distracting you from your bigger goal and the role you have to play in this world."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-3jjohf8WU
The Lalitha Foundation gave her a purpose, and Swetha is on a mission to transform the lives of cancer patients and their caregivers. "We teach people to love themselves and be kinder to themselves. You don't fight cancer but you heal from it, and you can only do it with love and kindness along with the treatment. Things might not be okay right now but some day things will be better," she signs off.
(January 14, 2024) In 2019, Akila's cinematic debut in director Arul's spine-chilling thriller 'Kadampari' marked her entrance into the world of Tamil cinema. Although she had found success, Akila wanted more than the glamours of stardom. After the film’s release and other projects like pageantries and stage shows in India, Akila returned to the US, where she had been raised, and enrolled in the US Army Combat Training. “Soldier, paralegal, educator, singer, model, actress - these are the various jobs that I have held to date which may seem excessive; however, I believe each one of these roles is my passion and has moulded me into an individual I am proud to be today,” shares the multifaceted youngster as she connects with Global Indian. [caption id="attachment_35242" align="aligncenter" width="466"] Akila Narayanan[/caption] Apart from being a U.S. Army paralegal, and an AIT Honour graduate, Akila has earned honours like the FETNA Women Achievement Award 2022, Visionary Celebrity Award for Young Talent 2018, Queen of Madras 2017, Miss Worldwide India 2017, Miss Tamil Nadu 2016, and Miss Teen India USA 1RU 2016. With an interest in both Indian and Western classical vocals, pop, rock, jazz, and R&B, Akila has performed in award shows,
rned honours like the FETNA Women Achievement Award 2022, Visionary Celebrity Award for Young Talent 2018, Queen of Madras 2017, Miss Worldwide India 2017, Miss Tamil Nadu 2016, and Miss Teen India USA 1RU 2016.
With an interest in both Indian and Western classical vocals, pop, rock, jazz, and R&B, Akila has performed in award shows, fashion shows, corporate events, beauty pageants, and concerts throughout South India.
A Bharatnatyam dancer with training for 13 years under the tutelage of guru Sridevi Tirumalai, Akila has also done photoshoots in both the US and India for brands like Pothys, VBJ Jewellers, Lemuria, amongst others before becoming a full-time civil paralegal and a part-time paralegal at the US Armed Forces. Her choices of occupation seem quite unusual and at the same time make her career graph look unique.
From acting, singing, and pageantry to law
Growing up in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, Akila’s childhood was immersed in the arts and academia.
After high school, she moved to India for a few years to pursue her dreams of singing, modelling, and acting in the entertainment industry. She completed her BA in music specializing in Western classical and musical theatre voice at the KM Music Conservatory run by AR Rahman. The institution is affiliated with the Middlesex University in the UK. She has also earned a certification from Berklee College of Music.
Talking about what nudged her to the field of law after all that she says, “I had started teaching music at a school during my time in India. Teaching made me realise the deep divide in education systems between the rich and poor and created a desire in me to become an international public interest attorney to help bridge the gap.”
The youngster is currently pursuing her master's in international educational development from Columbia University at present and plans to enrol in a law school after her master's is over in May 2024.
She has done a paralegal certification from Boston University which has enabled her to work as a paralegal professional.
Beyond the glitz and glamour
The actor-turned-soldier recently went through six months of rigorous training for the U.S. Army after being selected as a part-time paralegal specialist there. “I was pushed to the edge physically and mentally. I learned combat skills, rifle marksmanship, land navigation, how to survive in the field, how to throw grenades, and more,” she mentions.
She provides paralegal support to unit commanders and the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate in a wide range of legal matters which include criminal, international, civil, contract, and fiscal law.
Talking about the selection process in the US Army she mentions, “It is difficult. There is this test called the ASVAB that you need to get a certain score on to be selected for the paralegal specialist job. There are also physical fitness requirements that you must pass during training to graduate and become a soldier.”
Her fitness test involved deadlifting at least 120 pounds, running two miles within 22 minutes, doing push-ups, doing a plank, a power throw, and an event called sprint-drag-carry. Along with the fitness test soldiers must complete ruck marches.
“Ruck march means walking 5-12 miles with 35-50 pounds on your back. We also had to qualify for the M4 rifle. There are 40 targets and to qualify, soldiers must hit at least 23 of them,” she says.
The six months of training tested her limits and reshaped her perspective. “I did things I never thought I could do,” she says.
The love for law
The paralegal certification, the opportunity with the US armed forces, and her civil job have already laid a sound foundation for a full-fledged career in law for Akila.
“As a paralegal specialist in the Army, I gained extensive experience in legal research, drafting legal documents, and assisting with investigations and trials. I have been responsible for managing case files, preparing witnesses for testimony, and assisting attorneys with trial preparation,” she shared adding, “I have developed a strong sense of professionalism, teamwork, and leadership.”
Her responsibilities as a real estate paralegal span a wide spectrum, from managing high-volume transactions and ordering title searches to writing title commitments, preparing contracts, and closing documents, and coordinating closings with clients and lenders. She has assisted attorneys in all aspects of real estate transactions.
Purposeful ventures
Akila is in the US Army Reserve. Being part of the army reserve means she can be deployed to any country at any time within her eight-year contract. “I always have to be ready to be deployed anywhere to serve my country,” she says.
After her Army training, she came back home and went back to her civilian job as a real estate paralegal as being in the reserve is like a part-time job. “I have ‘drill’ weekends once every month and annual training two weeks every year. During drill weekends I do my paralegal specialist job and other army-related training such as going to the shooting range, doing field exercises, practicing first aid on casualties, and more,” she shares.
Musician at heart
Akila has always maintained her deep connection to music and has even managed an online music school, the Nightingale School of Music. She had begun singing at the age of four, after being introduced to Carnatic music. Whenever there were choirs and musicals in her school, she always was a part of those.
She loves educating children about the world of music. “No external achievement of mine can hold a flame to the joy that I get looking at children with constant smiles and enthusiasm for music,” she remarks.
Films are not ruled out
Although she plans to focus on law, she has not ruled out the idea of acting in Tamil films again. “I just want to focus on my studies right now, but my love for acting still calls to me,” she says.
Quite by chance, Akila had got a role in the Tamil horror movie ‘Kadampari’. “It happened by chance. I was participating in a lot of pageants in India when I moved there which made my social media presence higher. The director of the film found me through social media,” she says. “I had never really acted before but I’ve always loved watching horror movies so acting a possessed character, kind of came naturally.”
Being a master at time management
The multifaceted youngster is a master of time management and sometimes ‘compromises on doing fun things’ that most people in their 20s get to do like going out on weekends or traveling.
“I have always done so many things at the same time. In undergrad, I was doing my BA in music and teaching music at the International Village School while working in the Indian entertainment industry as a singer, model, and actress. Now during graduate school, I am doing my MA in International educational policy while working my 9-5 civilian job and my weekend army job.,” she says adding, “I think it’s all about time management.”
Her job keeps her occupied from nine in the morning to five in the evening. After that, she attends her classes until 9 pm. “So, by the time I get home, it is too late to do assignments, homework, and readings. Hence my weekends are filled with doing assignments,” she shares.
Finding support in the family
Akila’s family is her biggest support. “My parents gave me the best gift they could give their child: the freedom to follow their dreams. My parents have always gone above and beyond to help me with my career and I am doing everything I can to make them proud,” says the youngster who was born in Coimbatore and moved to the US when she was two.
[caption id="attachment_35247" align="aligncenter" width="423"] Akila Narayanan with her sister[/caption]
She considers her younger sister who is a pre-med student to be her best friend. “We love shopping for clothes, doing funny dances, and going to bookstores together,” she mentions.
Future plan – to be of use to others
Akila holds a deep inclination towards serving her community. She also nurtures the desire to start an NGO that advocates for and provides quality education to marginalised students in India. “Having a law degree will help me run this NGO,” she believes.
“I find great joy and pride in serving the nation and being a role model to young Indian American girls who aspire to join the military,” she signs off.
(December 23, 2021) Driven, zealous and supremely skilled, 15-year-old golfer Avani Prashanth is a teen wonder whose achievements have now made her the number 1 amateur player in the country. The Bengaluru-based ninth grader recently won the Global Prodigy Award 2021, which recognises the top 100 child prodigies around the globe from different verticals. Thrilled to bits about her latest recognition, Avani tells Global Indian, "It feels great to win this award as so many children who are talented in diverse fields had applied for it. I will be heading to Dubai for the award ceremony in February 2022." [caption id="attachment_8763" align="aligncenter" width="530"] Avani Prashanth with her winning trophy at All India Ladies Amateur Championship[/caption] Road to No. 1 Avani is now the best ranked Indian golfer on the World Amateur Golf Ranking at 136th position globally, and is the number one amateur golfer in India. The All India Ladies Amateur tournament which was held in November, which Avani won, propelled her to the number 1 spot in the country. "This is a prestigious tournament which is played over a period of seven days, and I had to play nine rounds of golf. I'm the only player to have won
The All India Ladies Amateur tournament which was held in November, which Avani won, propelled her to the number 1 spot in the country. "This is a prestigious tournament which is played over a period of seven days, and I had to play nine rounds of golf. I'm the only player to have won both the match play and the stroke play, and this rare double victory is all the more special as no one else has won it in the last decade," beams the teenager who is eyeing the Asian Games for more silverware, and busy training under her British coach.
Avani topped off this major victory with another laurel by winning the IGU All-India Junior Golf Championship in Ahmedabad a week ago. The golfer is also a two-time winner on the Women's Professional Golf Tour of India. Some of the other milestones in this fervent youngster's journey are being the best-performing Indian female in the US Kids World Championship held at North Carolina and also at the European Championship held at Scotland.
The road to number one has been filled with arduous work and perseverance for Avani. Her tryst with golf happened when she was barely four. "My father, who used to play golf, wanted to take my granddad to learn the sport. On that particular day, I excitedly asked my father to take me along too, and he did and also gave me a junior club to play with. Although the coach was reluctant about teaching a four-year-old, he was amazed by my hand-eye coordination at such an early age. When he and my dad returned after three hours, they saw that I was still practising with the club. They were convinced that I was born to play golf," reminisces Avani, who first trained in Gurgaon, post which she went to Nigeria and then finally moved to Bengaluru six years ago. "Bengaluru is where I honed my golf skills properly. I currently train at the Karnataka Golf Association and also at the Eagleton, The Golf Resort and Sir Laurence Brotheridge, my coach from the UK, trains me online."
Balancing act
A ninth grader from Greenwood High School, Avani credits her school management for their constant support. "My principal Aloysius D'Mello and my teachers are really supportive and accommodative. They let me give my exams according to my schedule and don't pressurise me even if I am unable to write the exams along with the other students. Recently, I wasn't able to give my term 1 exams with the others as I was busy playing tournaments, so they created a separate question paper for me, and allowed me to take the exam later," says a thankful Avani.
Of course, having supportive parents who root for you consistently can make a youngster's journey towards their goal all the more easier. "My parents Surekha and Prashanth have been very encouraging and supportive. My dad never thought twice about taking me on a tour to Scotland when I was just six, and spending money on the best equipment and coaches to train with. In fact, my dad is my best friend," shares Avani. Her father works in the pharmaceutical industry and her mother, a home maker travels with Avani on her golfing exploits.
Despite not being able to indulge in typical teen activities like most other people her age, Avani maintains that she doesn't miss out as she loves playing golf. "I also get to travel across the world for tournaments while playing my favourite sport, so I have the best of everything," smiles the tiny golfer who idolises American golfer Nelly Korda who won the LPGA seven times.
Making golf more accessible
Golf in India is still a growing sport, and not accessible to everyone because of how expensive it is. While Avani was lucky to have the best training facilities, not every aspiring golfer has that privilege. In order to make the sport more accessible to youngsters, Avani says, "They should create more driving ranges as most of them are currently in private clubs, which you need to be a member of, to be able to undergo golf training. Increasing the number of driving ranges will expose more youngsters to golf and also make the sport more accessible to them."
[caption id="attachment_8783" align="aligncenter" width="440"] Avani Prashanth is an amateur golfer.[/caption]
As for her future plans, the go-getter has her eyes set on the Asian Games. "My goal for 2022 year is to break into the top 50-100 in the world and win a gold at the Asian Games in China, that will be held in September 2022," she signs off.
(January 4, 2022) In early 2020, Indian girl mountaineer Kaamya Karthikeyan travelled halfway around the world to reach Mendonza in Argentina -- the base town for Mount Aconcagua. Accompanied by her father, an Indian Navy officer, the mountaineer was to obtain a special permit from the Aconcagua National Park to scale the highest mountain peak of the Andes mountains. Yet, within hours of her arrival, she was confronted by a mountain of challenges, not just the permit. As a minor, the authorities wanted a resolution from the court. "Will a 12-year-old be able to climb this mountain peak?” the court enquired, ordering a series of medical tests. Stranded for 14 days, experiencing red-tapism on foreign soil, finally luck favoured Kaamya. The judge went on leave, was replaced, and he fortuitously was a mountaineer himself! He swiftly went through Kaamya's credentials and granted her a permit. Challenges overcome, Kaamya made India proud by becoming the youngest in the world to summit Mt Aconcagua. [caption id="attachment_9220" align="aligncenter" width="470"] Kaamya Karthikeyan at the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro[/caption] The 14-year-old Indian mountaineer “Whenever I felt tired, I did not look at how much more was left. I looked back at how much I had climbed and put one step in
" height="627" /> Kaamya Karthikeyan at the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro[/caption]
The 14-year-old Indian mountaineer
“Whenever I felt tired, I did not look at how much more was left. I looked back at how much I had climbed and put one step in front of the other. I was right in front of the pack, happily chatting with the guides ,” smiles Kaamya Karthikeyan in an exclusive chat with Global Indian.
Born in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) in August 2007, Kaamya was barely three when she started accompanying her parents on trails in Lonavala, where her father Navy commander S Karthikeyan was posted. By seven, she was trekking the Himalayas. Her first expedition above 6,000 meters to Mount Stok Kangri in August 2017 made her the youngest girl in the world to have scaled a peak at those dizzy heights. “Scaling this peak three days short of my 10th birthday was special. I had been to the base in 2012 when my dad was climbing it, and had wondered when I would climb it too. There I was, after five years,” says Kaamya, now 14, and a class nine student at Navy Children’s School in Mumbai.
[caption id="attachment_9222" align="aligncenter" width="596"] Kaamya Karthekiyan with her parents at Mt Stok Kangri[/caption]
Her father had completed his mountaineering courses and was training in and around Lonavala. Both Kaamya and her mother would accompany him on easy trails, and that is where her love for the wild was cemented. Once her Navy father started leading expeditions, his daughter wondered why mountains attracted her father so much to leave the family for days on end. She asked her mother, and “she told me to find out first-hand. So I did my first Himalayan trek in Uttarakhand,” says Kaamya, whose mother Lavanya Karthikeyan heads a Kindergarten school.
She explored beautiful treks across Chandrashila, Kedarkantha, Roopkund, Brighu Lake, Har-ki-dun and Sar Pass. In May 2017, she trekked to the Everest base camp. After climbing Stok Kangri, the Indian girl mountaineer asked her father what next. He questioned whether she even realises that she had climbed a peak higher than the highest peaks in five of the seven continents!
Mission SAHAS
“That is when we got the idea of Mission SAHAS,” informs the teen. Under the umbrella of Mission SAHAS, Kaamya climbed the highest peaks of Africa (Mt Kilimanjaro), Europe (Mt Elbrus - where she set the world record for being the world’s youngest to ski descent from the peak), Australia (Mt Kosciuszko) and South America (Mt Aconcagua). “I also climbed Mt Mentok Kangri in Leh in 2019, summitting my second 6,000 metres plus peak as a practice climb prior to climbing Aconcagua,” informs Kaamya, who is an avid runner, cyclist, skier and scuba diver.
Conquering Aconcagua has brought laurels her way - The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar for her remarkable feat, and she was the first to virtually interact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2020. “I was elated. The PM advised me to treat this award as a stepping stone for future accomplishments and not as an achievement by itself,” says the girl whose newfound interest is debating, and has tried to get into the national debating squad, and is also the first runner-up at Mindwars -- a debating TV championship.
Training hard, and long
Training for such expeditions is tough. Kaamya would run over 10 km or cycle for 20-25 km four days a week. On other days, she would do indoor exercises or climb stairs at her 21-storeyed apartment complex in Mumbai (helped train her muscles). And on weekends, a trek on the Sahyadri mountains helped with balance training.
Gulmarg has been her winter training ground for the past six years. “In early 2021, I had the opportunity to train with the Army’s High Altitude Warfare School where I practiced techniques like walking with trekking shoes, skis and sledge pulling,” informs the hardworking girl who has also participated in the junior national skiing and snowboarding championship in Gulmarg.
In the tough terrain of Arunachal Pradesh, she also did a basic mountaineering course from the National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports.
The future is bright, and peaking
Kaamya’s schedule is packed in 2022-2023. “I hope to climb Mt Denali (the highest peak in North America), Mt Vinson Massif (highest in Antarctica) and ski to the South Pole. That would leave Mount Everest and a ski traverse to the North Pole for me to complete my mission and become the youngest in the world to have completed the Explorer’s Grandslam at just 15,” she pipes.
Before her expedition to Mt Elbrus, she had the opportunity to meet legendary naval mountaineer Captain MS Kohli, the leader of the first successful Indian expedition to Everest in 1965. “He told me whenever I felt tired on a mountain, I should always look back instead of looking ahead -- advice that has greatly helped me,” says Kaamya who is also learning Bharatnatyan, and is a grade 2 and grade 5 pass piano player (Trinity College of Music).
The will to succeed
“I enjoy the journey, not just the destination. I love being in nature’s lap and pushing myself. I like the competition within - it keeps me going,” says the girl whose mother was her trekking-partner early on, and now with climbs getting tougher, treks with her father. She thanks her school for being supportive too.
Mountain climbing has its own perils, and Kaamya recalls an avalanche hit her group during her recent expedition on Mt Trishul in October 2021. “Sadly, we lost a few close friends but thankfully we returned safe. It has made me more respectful of the mountains, and more determined. Mission SAHAS is my way of paying tribute to the lost souls,” she says.
[caption id="attachment_9226" align="aligncenter" width="1080"] Kaamya Karthikeyan training in Gulmarg[/caption]
Not sure how she finds time for normal girly activities amidst peak hunting, she loves reading adventure/crime thrillers, the Famous Five series by Enid Blyton, and Agathe Christie. Her idea of a birthday celebration is to take her friends for a hike! “The path to the summit is not easy. But if I can do it, so can you,” smiles the mountaineer who always carries a small idol of Lord Krishna, and always bring down something special from each expedition as a souvenir.
(March 22, 2023) In 1990, when former US President Barack Obama was in his second year at Harvard Law School, he created history by becoming the first black president of the Harvard Law Review – a monthly journal comprising 2500 pages per volume published every month from November to June. This year, history has been made once more by Apsara Iyer, who became the first Indian-origin female to be elected the president of the prestigious journal in its 137-year history. The second year student succeeded Priscila Coronado and has begun her full-time volunteer position as editor-in-chief, supervising the law review’s team of nearly 80 editors. “Since joining the Law Review, I have been inspired by her (Priscila Coronado’s) skilful management, compassion, and capacity to build vibrant, inclusive communities. I am so grateful that we ‘Volume 137’ inherit her legacy, and I am honoured to continue building on this important work over the next year,” said Apsara after being elected. [embed]https://twitter.com/Harvard_Law/status/1622264234221486080?s=20[/embed] Overseeing a rich legacy Launched in 1887, by former Supreme Court judge Justice Louis D. Brandeis, the Harvard Law Review is an entirely student-edited journal. It is the world’s most impactful student law journal, among the 143 published around
) skilful management, compassion, and capacity to build vibrant, inclusive communities. I am so grateful that we ‘Volume 137’ inherit her legacy, and I am honoured to continue building on this important work over the next year,” said Apsara after being elected.
Launched in 1887, by former Supreme Court judge Justice Louis D. Brandeis, the Harvard Law Review is an entirely student-edited journal. It is the world’s most impactful student law journal, among the 143 published around the world.
According to the Review’s website, “the journal is designed to be an effective research tool for practicing lawyers and students of law.” Apart from student contributions, the review features write-ups from professors, judges, and solicits who contribute articles, analysis of leading cases, comments on recent decisions by courts and developments in the field of law. The students on the team follow a rigorous editorial process to produce the hefty annual volume.
Apsara’s academic journey
The Indian-American law student graduated from the Yale University in 2016 with a B.A. in math, economics, and Spanish. She went on to do an MPhil in Economics at the University of Oxford as a Clarendon Scholar.
She enrolled in Harvard Law School in 2020 and became a part of the editorial team of the Harvard Law Review.
“Apsara has changed the lives of many editors for the better, and I know she will continue to do so, “said Priscila, Apsara’s predecessor. “From the start, she has impressed her fellow editors with her remarkable intelligence, thoughtfulness, warmth, and fierce advocacy. The Law Review is extremely lucky to have her lead this institution,” she added.
The Global Indian is associated with the International Human Rights Clinic of Harvard and is a member of the South Asian Law Students Association.
The art crime investigator
A deep interest in indigenous communities and archaeology led Apsara to join the Manhattan District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit (ATU), after she completed her MPhil.
At ATU, she became deeply engaged in investigating art crime and repatriation, coordinating with international and federal law-enforcement authorities to repatriate more than 1,100 stolen works of art to 15 countries.
“Several of these objects were from India,” she said, in an interview with Mid-Day, “I was the lead analyst on many investigations concerning trafficking networks operating in India and Southeast Asia,” she revealed.
[caption id="attachment_28637" align="aligncenter" width="886"] Apsara Iyer with ATU team[/caption]
Among her first cases at the District Attorney’s office was one involving a Nataraja idol, stolen from the Punnainallur Mariamman temple in Thanjavur. “Over the next three years, I worked tirelessly with the lead prosecutor to uncover new evidences, witnesses, and investigative leads. Our work single-handedly resulted in the return of the Nataraja to the Government of India,” she explained. “In such cases, I have seen first-hand how the communities had maintained hope and prayed for years for the relics to be returned,” she added.
The Indian-origin law student’s favourite memories from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit are of organising repatriation ceremonies to return stolen objects to their lawful owners.
At the intersection of archaeology and law
Apsara’s interest in history and antiquities was first kindled in high school, when she worked on an archaeological excavation site in Peru. When she joined Yale, her research was focused on the value of cultural heritage.
“During one of my field research projects in India, I had the opportunity to visit a site that had been looted. I distinctly remember that while I was at the site, someone asked me, ‘What are you going to do about this?’ she recounted in the Mid-Day interview. “This wake-up call led me to work in law to address the issue of antiquities trafficking,” she revealed.
[caption id="attachment_28639" align="aligncenter" width="754"] Apsara Iyer with ATU team[/caption]
Apsara’s commitment towards fighting illicit antiquities trafficking has been so strong, that she even took a leave of absence from Harvard Law School in 2021-22 to return to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, where she worked on an international antiquity trafficking investigation case as the deputy of the ATU.
In the future, Apsara aims to work at the intersection of law and archaeology. “I would love to continue working in this space (archaeology), probably in a prosecutorial role, possibly in an international court,” she had said, in an interview published in Harvard Law Today, a news portal of Harvard Law School.
Born to Tamil parents who moved to USA before her birth, Apsara grew up in Indiana. Apart from being exemplary in studies she is good at art and is a trained boxer.
Swetha Kannan is the founder of The Lalitha Foundation[/caption]
Akila Narayanan[/caption]
Akila Narayanan[/caption]
Akila Narayanan[/caption]
Akila Narayanan with her sister[/caption]
Avani Prashanth[/caption]
Avani Prashanth is an amateur golfer.[/caption]
Kaamya Karthekiyan with her parents at Mt Stok Kangri[/caption]
Kaamya Karthikeyan training in Gulmarg[/caption]
Apsara Iyer[/caption]
Apsara Iyer with ATU team[/caption]
Apsara Iyer with ATU team[/caption]