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[caption id="attachment_38601" align="aligncenter" width="457"] Naren Manikandan[/caption]

Love for building things

Hailing from Tamil Nadu in India, his parents, who are nurse practitioners, moved to the UK where Naren Manikandan was born. At the age of six, he and his family relocated to Tennessee in the US which he called home for several years before moving to North Carolina. "Obsessed with Lego while growing up, I always found myself building things. But once an uncle of mine introduced me to Quantum Mechanics which sparked my interest in astrophysics initially and eventually transformed into a love for computer science. I was intrigued that I could do so much with a computer," he says, adding, "I once tried to automate my blinds through my Arduino set. It was a fun project."

Growing up, he loved creating ideas, refining them, and eventually building them. It was online resources that came to his rescue and he learnt a great deal from them. "I also joined a Robotics team in school that helped me pitch ideas to businesses and developed speaking skills as well as creative thinking. Eventually, everything led up to Parkware - an idea I was holding onto for a long time," adds the rising 12th grader at Research Triangle High.

The journey of Parkware

He explains that in Morrisville the land is expensive, thus leading to smaller size homes with a limited parking space. "At times, we borrow parking spaces from friends but I wondered why we should restrict it to just friends. Before Covid, our community and neighbourhood hosted many events, and people would easily give their unused parking spaces to others. But Covid changed it all. We saw less sharing and fewer community events," says Naren, who values a strong sense of community. "It greatly helps the person organising an event. For me, it's a sort of public duty. It's not just about providing a solution but also helping neighbourhoods support each other."

[caption id="attachment_38602" align="aligncenter" width="698"] Multiple cars parked on the sidewalk in his neighbourhood[/caption]

Having seen the problem from close quarters, he knew that the neighbourhood was in dire need of a solution. It was in the summer of 2023 that Naren started working on Parkware, leveraging his programming knowledge to build the application. He began by asking neighbours on WhatsApp group chats about their parking woes and conducting surveys on parking needs. "This helped me understand the issue better and identify potential solutions. It was Airbnb's model that rang in my head while looking at this problem - this could be an Airbnb for parking. During vacations or office hours, many parking spaces are unused, so why not divert them to people who need them during those times?" he explains. By August 2023, he had the app ready to be tested in his neighbourhood and gather some feedback. "This year we got the opportunity to present it to the local government," shares the proud teenager.

Currently operational in his neighbourhood in Birkshires, the app is available on Android and iOS. "If you have an event coming up, you can raise a parking space request by providing details about the date, time, and number of spots required. People near the location will get a notification about the request, an can offer their free parking spaces," explains Naren, emphasising that it's an on-demand service. People don't need to list their parking spaces on the app; instead, they receive notifications through an event link shared by the event organiser. "You don't necessarily need to install the app. You can visit our website to create a link, and share it with your neighbourhood through WhatsApp or Facebook, which is later updated on the provider's end."

During this over-a-year-long journey, Naren had his moments of self-doubt and was constantly distracted by new ideas. "Being persistent was one of the biggest challenges. You can explore new things but it's equally important to stay focussed on something you are truly passionate about until you see some results." It was a sense of duty that kept Naren pushing forward because he knew the problem still existed. "There was a purpose driving me. I knew I could make an impact since it's an issue in my neighbourhood."

[caption id="attachment_38603" align="aligncenter" width="789"] Naren Manikandan pitching Parkware to the Morrisville Smart City committee[/caption]

Future plans

Ask him about the revenue model, and the teen is in two minds. "We could either adopt a commission-based business model where the organiser pays the provide for the parking spot, and we take a commission. Or we could position this as a community service project to help neighbourhoods, with the potential of local government involvement later on."

Naren plans to expand Parkware to cities and towns across the US facing parking problems. "As a community-based project, we can propose Parkware as a solution to local governments in cities with parking issues and potentially integrate it with any existing apps. Moreover, we can target committees and city planners looking for solutions," says Naren, who envisions the app being used beyond neighbourhood parking for events like sports games. "Often sports stadiums have expensive parking fees but nearby neighbourhoods have open spaces that could be used for overflow parking." Expanding to India is on his agenda, with modifications tailored to local needs. "I have a lot of connections in India, plus I visit it a lot."

[caption id="attachment_38604" align="aligncenter" width="605"] Naren presenting at the Emerge Conference after receiving 1st place in the Thinkubators competition[/caption]

With his eyes set on a major in computer science, Naren wants to continue building projects. Taking inspiration from the biographies he reads, he has realised "whether its apps or inventions or innovations, they are done by people who are exactly like you. Everyone starts from basics and nothing is unreachable. You can make a difference."

The teen, who practices Kalaripayattu, an Indian martial art, and also plays basketball, advices youngsters to stay focussed. "It's not a straight path, and don't expect it to be. But if you stay consistent you will get somewhere. Don't just keep looking at the results but also look at your progress. If you have a good purpose, keep going," he signs off.

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wp-image-9313 aligncenter" src="https://www.globalindian.com/youth//wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IMG_31791.jpg" alt="Indian Teen | Yathaarth Murthy | Global Indian Youth" width="417" height="640" />

Onward on, one anthem at a time

Anthem spurting became a passion for the student of Vidyashilp Academy. “It lit a spark and there was no turning back,” he says. Soon he was spending hours pouring over anthems of different nations. While he understood the gist of a few, he enjoyed the lyrics and tunes too.

While Yathaarth, the only child of architect parents, found the accents and pronunciation a bit difficult, he kept at it. “The first few tries were difficult. As I continued to practice, I got a hang of the pronunciations too. Before I knew it, I was able to sing more than 100 anthems,” says Yathaarth. Incidentally, the term “anthemologist” was something he coined to describe his unique feat.

[caption id="attachment_9312" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Yathaarth Murthy with Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai[/caption]

It was around this time in 2017, that he told his mother about wanting to apply to the Limca Book of Records. To his surprise, he had in fact made the record. That’s how a young Bengalurean came to hold the Limca record for singing the highest number of anthems – 112 at the time. “When I first picked up learning these various anthems, I didn’t think I’d one day become a record holder or a TEDx speaker,” says the class 10 student. Yet, he soon broke his own record when he learnt all 260 anthems, and once again set a new Limca record in 2019.

Saving the environment, one lake at a time

As a primary school student, Yathaarth used to love watching TedX videos and wanted to be on the hallowed platform himself. His dream soon came true when he was invited to deliver his first TED talk in 2018 at age 12. “My first talk was about my journey as an anthemologist,” says the youth who has so far given four TED talks, the most recent in December 2020. The topics have been varied: environment, anthems, and on pursuing one’s dreams.

After he’d set his second Limca record, Yathaarth wondered, “What next?” “How could I give back to the community and do something meaningful? It was around then that I began learning more and more about the environment and climate change. I watched Greta Thunberg’s speeches. Shortly, I began working in the environment sphere in my own small way,” he adds.

Soon, Yathaarth was holding climate strikes and working on a school project for the World Federation of UN Association which earned him more accolades in 2019. “I worked on a project with four friends. We decided to revive Manae, a 4.5 acre lake on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The city was once filled with beautiful lakes, but today most are highly polluted or encroached upon,” says the environmentalist, who launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise Rs 8.27 lakh for the lake’s revival. He worked with Anand Malligavad, also known as the Lake Man of India, to revive the lake and would often visit the lake in his free time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IVIcvIMKhU

“When we first visited the lake, we could see the barren lakebed and there was barely any flora and fauna. Today, the lake is thriving and hosts various birds like peacocks, has beautiful flora and is the water source for a neighbouring village,” beams the boy who still visits the lake sometimes. His work to revive this lake earned him a spot on White Canvas’ India 20 Under 20 list.

Making time count

Anthems and the environment apart, Yathaarth Murthy is also a basketball and music lover. As he gears up for his board exams, he has already begun planning for a future as a diplomat representing India at the United Nations. “I’ve chosen sociology, global perspective, history, and environment management, so I can apply to colleges abroad, and work towards working with the UN,” says the teen who spent the better part of the pandemic trying to conduct relief work. From distributing food to the needy through the iCare brigade to organising Housie for a Cause, and diverting funds towards Covid relief, Yathaarth has been busy doing his bit to spread cheer in otherwise dismal times.

Follow Yathaarth Murthy on LinkedIn