Global Indianstory Global Indian ExclusiveGrammy whammies: Notes from 12 Indian musicians that shone at the awards

Grammy whammies: Notes from 12 Indian musicians that shone at the awards

Written by: Amrita Priya

(April 8, 2022) When Ricky Kej’s soulful notes coupled with Steward Copeland’s eclectic music gave Divine Tides an ethereal essence, one was transported into a reverie of beautiful music. Winning the Grammy in the best new album category at the 64^th annual Grammy Awards ceremony at Las Vegas in April, brought back the spotlight on Indian talent and how it has shone on the world stage. Falguni Shah took home the statue in the children’s music album category. It is shocking though that melody queen Lata Mangeshkar never won a Grammy. Global Indian turns the spotlight on the 12 outstanding musicians from India who have been honoured with the Grammy since 1959. Some are multi-Grammy winners too. Here’s the GI list of maestros…

Pandit Ravi Shankar, sitarist and composer

Shankar (7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) got nominated for the Grammy awards six times, and won it five times, out of which two were posthumous honours. The sitar maestro was recognised as the world’s best exponent of north Indian classical music in the second half of the 20th century. He developed a distinct style establishing confluence of north Indian classical music with rhythm practices of Carnatic music. Shankar was fond of closing his performances with a piece inspired by the light-classical thumri genre.

The stalwart introduced at least 31 new ragas, including Ahir Lalit, Bhawani Bhairav, Bairagi Rasiya, Yaman Manjh, Tilak Shyam, etc. He also introduced a new percussive sitar technique called Goonga Sitar, in which the strings are muffled with a cloth.

Zubin Mehta, conductor of eastern and western classical music

Mehta (born 29 April 1936) has been nominated an impressive 23 times between 1969 and 2007, winning five times. He is currently the conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO). Several orchestras throughout the world have bestowed on him the title of honorary conductor.

Recently, Mehta made extensive number of tours with the Bavarian State Opera. Mehta and philanthropist Josef Buchmann have founded the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music as a partnership between the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Tel Aviv University. Mehta is the school’s honorary president and has remained actively involved since its inception.

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Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram, percussionist

Vinayakram (born 11 August 1942) has been revered as the god of ghatam (earthern pot) as his renditions with Carnatic music explore the versatility of the ghatam, making it immensely popular. He won in the category of Best World Music Album in 1991 with Ustad Zakir Hussain for their work, Planet Drum.

Vinayakram is the principal of Sri Jaya Ganesh Tala Vadya Vidyalaya in Chennai. The academy was established by his late father and teacher in 1958 and Vinayakram has been taking the legacy forward guiding and producing new stars of Carnatic percussion.

Ustad **Zakir Hussain, tabla maestro**

Hussain (born 9 March 1951) wears many hats. He is a tabla maestro, percussionist, music producer, composer and film actor. He has been nominated thrice for Grammy bagging the award twice.

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A post shared by Zakir HQ (@zakirhq9)

The founding member of Bill Laswell’s World Music Supergroup Tabla Beat Science was amongst many musicians invited by President Barack Obama to the International Jazz Day 2016 All-Star Global Concert at the White House. He has been performing at concerts across the globe.

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Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Hindustani classical music instrumentalist

Bhatt (born 27 July 1950), plays the Mohan veena (slide guitar). He was nominated twice and won the Grammy once. Many western musical instruments like violin, harmonium, mandolin, archtop guitar, and electric guitar have been accepted in the Indian classical music. Bhatt developed and named his hybrid slide guitar as Mohan Veena. It has been accepted in the list of Indian classical instrument as well.

https://t.co/tppIxgwGqH
My most Prestigious Awards..Name and details of the Prestigious awards are given in description box

— Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (@VishwaMBhatt1) December 13, 2021

He is also known for fusion and pan-cultural collaborations with western artists such as Béla Fleck and Jerry Douglas. He returned to stage after a crucial head surgery last year.

Follow Vishwa Mohan on Twitter

AR Rahman, music composer

Rahman (born 6 January 1967) has been primarily working in Hindi and Tamil films since his film debut Roja in 1992. He has been nominated to the Grammy twice in the same year (2008) for best compilation soundtrack album and best song written for visual media for Slumdog Millionnaire, and he won in both the categories. The film fetched him an Oscar as well.

Grammys😍 pic.twitter.com/wM0q42kOFG

— A.R.Rahman (@arrahman) April 3, 2022

In 2009, he was featured on the Time list of the world’s 100 most influential people and in 2017, he made his debut as a director and writer for Le Musk. He has recently released a modern-day anthem, Moopilla Thamizhe which is composed, arranged, and produced by him celebrating Tamil culture and the achievements of the people of the state in various fields.

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Sridhar, sound engineer

Sridhar (born 1958 – 1 Dec 2008) was known for his work with AR Rahman. He won the Grammy in 2008 under the best compilation soundtrack album category for the movie Slumdog Millionnaire with AR Rahman and PA Deepak.

Remembering the great sound engineer H Sridhar sir on his Birthday#HSridhar #ARRahman pic.twitter.com/yig0axV9Xw

— ARR (@arr4u) May 31, 2018

In his career, he engineered over 200 films and worked closely with Indian directors of repute. Incidentally, he engineered all songs and background scores for the renowned music director AR Rahman. He had pioneered the use of digital sound for Indian films in the DTS format. He had also engineered and mixed albums for international artists.

PA Deepak, mix engineer and record producer

Deepak (born 10 January 1982) won the Grammy for the movie Slumdog Millionaire with AR Rahman and H Sridhar. He started his career as a guitarist and later became a recording engineer.

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A post shared by P.A.Deepak (@padeepak)

Apart from being a full-time mix engineer, he does music programming and plays various string instruments out of pure interest and passion. He has been collaborating with various renowned artists and performing as a music producer and mix engineer.

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Tanvi Shah, recording artist

Tanvi (born on 1 December 1985) is the first Indian woman to win a Grammy. She sings in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, and Afro-Cuban. She experiments with a wide range of music with her band. Her adaptability has been proven in her collaborative work with international music producers such as Jeremy Hawkins (USA), Gio Ortega (USA), David Batteau (USA), Che Pope (USA), and DJ Salah of Germany.

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A post shared by Tanvi Shah (@thetanvishah)

She has donated her song, Zindagi, produced by JHawk, to the End Polio campaign album that features international artistes such as, Ziggy Marley, Itzhak Perlman, David Sanborn Donovan and members of the Congolese band.

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Gulzar, lyricist

Gulzar (born 18 August 1934) wears the hats of a poet, lyricist, screenwriter, author, and film director. He picked his first Grammy in the category best song written for visual media for Slumdog Millionaire with AR Rahman and Tanvi Shah. He also won an Oscar for it too. Gulzar made his debut as a lyricist with the 1963 film Bandini and has since worked with many music directors – from RD Burman to AR Rahman. Gulzar has prolifically written lyrics and dialogues for several popular Doordarshan TV series including Jungle Book, Alice in Wonderland, and Hello Zindagi. His latest work as lyricist is for Darlings, a comedy drama releasing this year.

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A post shared by GULZAR (@gulzar.official)

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Ricky Kej, music composer

Kej (born 5 August 1981) is not only a music composer but also an environmentalist. He was nominated for the Grammy twice and won both the times, one in 2015 for Winds of Samsara and another in 2022 for his album Divine Tides in the best new age album category. The talented artist has performed at venues in over 30 countries including at the United Nations headquarters in New York and Geneva. Kej was named a UNCCD Land Ambassador at the COP14 to raise public awareness about the challenges of desertification, land degradation, and drought.

Won the Grammy Award today for our album Divine Tides 🙂 Filled with gratitude and love this living-legend standing with me – @copelandmusic . My 2nd Grammy and Stewart's 6th. Thank you to everyone who ever collaborated, hired, or listened to my music. I exist because of you. pic.twitter.com/Pe4rkOp0ba

— Ricky Kej (@rickykej) April 4, 2022

He also serves as a UNESCO – MGIEP Global Ambassador for Kindness, ambassador for the Earth Day Network and UNICEF Celebrity Supporter. Kej has performed in three large-scale virtual concerts between April and July 2020 due to the pandemic restrictions with audience of over 75 countries with an estimated viewership of over 200 million people.

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Neela Vaswani, artist

Neela Vaswani (born 11th September 1974) is an American writer of Indian origin, and professor of creative writing, literature and cultural studies. She narrated the audio version of I am Malala winning Grammy for it in 2015.

She lives in New York City, and is the founder of Storylines Project that she started in partnership with New York Public Library. Before the win Neela did not even know that it is possible for a children’s audio book to be nominated for such a prestigious award.

Falguni Shah, vocalist and composer

Falguni blends ancient classical Indian melodies with contemporary western sounds. She has won the Grammy 2022 under the best children music album category for her album A Colourful World. Since 2020, Falu also teams up with bassist Yasushi Nakamura, drummer Clarence Penn and guitarist, and vocalist Clay Ross to form the American Patchwork Quartet.

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The Quartet interprets timeless songs in a modern 21st century perspective, leveraging immigrant histories and backgrounds. The group has been tour performing arts centres around the world, till date.

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Published on 08, Apr 2022

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The learning code: How Stanford alum Aashna Shroff focuses on incisive education for all

(March 9, 2022) As a female Stem student, entering the hallowed corridors of Stanford University, Aashna Shroff was surprised to find that she was outnumbered by her high-achieving male peers. Understandably daunted, Aashna found that her peers and faculty at Stanford were awake to the problem. Professors and colleagues actively advocated for women in technology, unlike in India. This ability to acknowledge a problem, find a solution, impressed Aashna enough to want to give a little back. She and a few classmates from Stanford founded Girls Code Camp, an initiative to teach lower-income students how to code a few years ago. Aashna, worked with 12 schools, 30 classrooms, to enhance education in Hyderabad, making it a more practical and problem-solving methodology for over 1,200 students. Today, Shroff, now 26, continues to work with 30 children in bastis around her city, transforming education to create innovative minds. She is also working with 900 students in 10 schools. The girl who learnt to code Growing up in Hyderabad, she schooled at Chirec International School. The perfect all-rounder, she had a learning temperament. “I was basketball team captain, choreographed school performances, built rockets, and was just excited to learn,” says Aashna Shroff, in

owing up in Hyderabad, she schooled at Chirec International School. The perfect all-rounder, she had a learning temperament. “I was basketball team captain, choreographed school performances, built rockets, and was just excited to learn,” says Aashna Shroff, in an interview with Global Indian Youth. In high school, her sister, studying at MIT, would send her lectures and material being taught, which Aashna devoured almost ferociously. “I think those videos are what spurred my interest in education,” Aashna says.

Hugely grateful to her parents (in the fashion industry), who moved from Guwahati to Assam before she was born, she says, “They’ve worked immensely hard to give my sister and I a life of privilege and comfort. I’ve had front-row seats to see how hard they worked to send us to better schools so we could pursue our passions.”

Innovation at Stanford

When Aashna studied computer science economics at Stanford University, it brought her face to face with innovation. There, a younger Aashna explored all the computer science courses Stanford had to offer till 2017. “It was at Stanford my identity as a woman in stem became apparent,” she explains. Being a minority in a class with highly accomplished young men was overwhelming. “However, I was fortunate enough to be a part of several classes and clubs where professors and peers advocated for women in technology,” she explains. This enforced her belief about what good learning looks like – “the best learning experiences are those when students are equipped with agency, a sense of purpose and peer communities,” she adds.

During her time there, she worked at the robotics lab when she became curious about a haptic device students were working on. “I got to help in a haptic device research project which was used to help medical students perform ear surgery,” she recalls.

When young girls code

The “stark difference between two learning styles” made Aashna “determined to take action, to give young women in India the chance to be the next technological change-makers.” Thus, as an undergrad, she and a group of Stanford students came back to her high school in Hyderabad and taught a few eighth grade girls how to code. It soon transformed into a huge project. Getting an impetus when Aashna and her team won a $100,000 grant - from external organisations, CSRs and the Haas Center for Public Service. The Girls Code Camp was started in 12 more schools, and hundreds of middle school students were imparted knowledge.

The tinker revolution

In her “hands-on tinkering” camps, Shroff witnessed some low-income students tinker with technology to solve problems. During her masters, Shroff also travelled to Brazil and India on behalf of Stanford to research and build affordable tools that foster technological curiosity while combining it with students’ intellectual passions, culture, and local knowledge about how to build and make things.

“My work during my masters, with my advisor Paulo Blikstein, reiterated how one can design learning experiences and tools to enable students to problem solve, take risks, and influence and inspire others,” she says, adding, that she kept in touch with a student through email, who today, has a master's degree in computer science, and wants to start a Girls Code Camp in her community. “This is exactly what I’d hoped for – for students to be impacted in such a meaningful way, and then pass it on,” Aashna remarks.

Return to India

Armed with new technologies and learning approaches, when she came back to Hyderabad, the pandemic upended life. Not for Aashna though, who during lockdown taught students from a neighbourhood basti who were out of school during the pandemic. She worked with about 30 children from various grades. This was also when she confronted her biggest challenges. “I’m currently working with about 30 classrooms (900 students) in 10 schools that are a mix of government and affordable private schools. Students who are behind never get a meaningful education because of the obsessive focus on passing exams, so teachers have limited time, and motivation,” laments the coding pro who loves walking her dog, and doing CrossFit.

Now focused on fixing the foundational literacy problem in India, school by school, Aashna is spreading hope. “I have created different levels of learning within a single textbook, so students can access the same content but at their own pace,” she explains.

Currently testing her content programme in schools, she plans to build a reading app to help students have fun while reading. “Think of it as your buddy who listens to young readers and offers them help as they read,” says Shroff.

Tech to solve real-world problems

Her ultimate goal is to design educational technology to nurture real-world problem solving and innovation for students of low-income backgrounds -- for the inventors who never stepped into a classroom, creators whose inventiveness is unexploited, and curiosity-seekers who are eager to re-discover and re-invent the world. And she’s already doing an incredible job.

Follow Aashna on LinkedIn and Twitter

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Jash Kalyani: A Change Agent in Promoting Culture, Community, and Inclusivity

(July 17, 2023) How many 22-year-olds can claim to have helped implement policy changes in their universities and local communities? For Aurangabad-born Jash Kalyani this is a reality that he embraced early in university career. Now a senior analyst in the product management division at Royal Bank of Canada, Jash continues to further his dream that was born out of a passion for promoting culture, community and a sense of inclusivity. From helping his Canadian alma maters Huron University and Ivey Business School institute policy changes to encourage EDI on campus, to collaborating with the city council for the City of London as a community connector, and publishing case studies on the subject, Jash is intent on being a change agent. Born in Aurangabad, Jash, an only child, lost his father when he was 9. Raised by his mother and grandparents, the lad found himself wanting to achieve something from an early age. “I was never given a path as such, but my mother and grandparents were confident in my abilities. My mother was convinced that I’d do well in whatever I chose. That worked well in my favour as it boosted my confidence levels,” says Jash, who moved to Dubai

, who moved to Dubai after his class X to join his mother. “She was already working in Dubai at the time and I decided to pursue my A levels there.”

[caption id="attachment_31955" align="aligncenter" width="505"] Jash Kalyani with his family at his graduation.[/caption]

By age 17 Jash moved to Canada to pursue his graduation from Huron University College where he studied political science in years 1 and 2. “I’d say Canada shaped my adulthood while India shaped my childhood. Canada is where I got my driver’s licence, got my first car and many other firsts,” he says, adding, “I got a job on my first day of college as a line cook in the university cafeteria. I wanted to build work into my schedule from day 1 and not after I graduate.”

During his time at Huron Jash also founded the Huron Indian Cultural Association (HICA) in 2018. The Association continues to thrive today and is a means for students to celebrate and share Indian culture with the Huron community. Over the last five years, the association has grown to become one of the largest student clubs on campus and at roadshows is the first to be showcased by the university. “I wanted to build a sense of community on campus and that’s how the club came about. Huron is a traditionally Anglican school and with HICA we celebrate Diwali in the chapel and Holi on the campus. The aim is to help students find a community outside of home and has now become one of the first things an Indian student coming here looks for.”

[caption id="attachment_31957" align="aligncenter" width="507"] Jash Kalyani during his city council work[/caption]

In the meanwhile, Jash also began working as a community connector with the municipal committee for City of London. “Here I worked with young and marginalised people. It involved a lot of grassroot work and over the course of three years I’d spoken with as many as 1,500 people,” says Jash. By the time he got to year 3 Jash began to get more involved in the aspects of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). It was also around the time the George Floyd incident occurred. “I was able to hone into EDI around this time and turned my focus towards it. For the first time, I also realised what it really meant to be a South Asian in Canada.”

The youngster also faced racism and used that as a learning experience to pivot his work. “I was sitting at a cafe and eating when a white guy called the cops on me for not wearing a mask. There were plenty of others there without a mask because we were all eating. But he targeted me as a ‘brown person’,” says Jash, adding, “It was scarring.”

The incident prompted Jash to speak to his university about what it was doing to make people feel safer and if it was systemically addressing racism. “That led to me doing an internal review for the school and a case study on Huron in which I got students to participate and suggest strategies.”

[caption id="attachment_31958" align="aligncenter" width="512"] Jash Kalyani at his graduation.[/caption]

As he moved to Ivey Business School, Jash wanted to continue his work in EDI and be a change agent. “I wanted to use educational platforms to talk about EDI and tied up with Ivey to build something into their curriculum. That’s how I ended up publishing an EDI onboarding module for the school with other students. The idea was to make EDI part of the student experience,” he says. He went on to intern with the Royal Bank of Canada, and was eventually hired by them.

Jash Wins Ontario Remembrance Award

In recognition of his contributions Jash was awarded the Ontario Remembrance Scholarship by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities and Western University in 2021. Jash was one of the four students to receive the award which was instituted in the memory of the four Iranian students who lost their lives on board Flight 752.

“Over the years I find myself becoming more interested in pedagogy and how EDI can be built into the curriculum. To this end, I have published two other case studies and also worked with the City of London on what it can do from a civic engagement perspective for people with marginalised identities,” he says. The school also funded him to go to Kenya and teach an entrepreneurship elective at MOI university.

[caption id="attachment_31956" align="aligncenter" width="501"] Jash Kalyani in Kenya.[/caption]

When he graduated business school in 2022, Jash took up his first job with Mondelez which proved to be a great learning experience. He later took up a role as senior analyst with RBC where he works in product management and credit card strategy. “That apart I’m also involved with several non-profits. I continue to publish case studies for the school and am currently designing a digital capstone experience with insendi, a British Educational Consulting Company, meant for students at Ivey for next year,” says the youngster. “I’m also working for a boutique consulting company that works in the EDI space and am going to flying school to become a recreational pilot,” he smiles.

Follow Jash on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Dev Sharma: British-Indian teen leading the fight on food justice and climate action

(November 1, 2024) In the House of Commons, 18-year-old Dev Sharma delivered a message that's become a rallying cry for climate and health action: "Let’s clarify, we did not cause the current climate disaster, but we are facing the health effects — even if we may not have started this catastrophe, we must be the ones to resolve it. We’ll demand answers from the producers of fossil fuels." Dev, one of the 250 Youth Parliament members gathered to debate health and policy issues in the chamber, raised his voice against more than just climate change. In 2023, he called for better action on food poverty, making it clear that for his generation, these issues are inseparably linked. Raised in Leicester's Rushey Mead area, Dev's journey into activism started early. His community’s struggles with health inequities and food poverty hit close to home, especially when Dev began noticing the of junk food advertising aimed at young people. "I feel like I’m being bombarded with junk food ads on my phone and computer, and it’s overwhelming," he wrote for The Food Foundation. "They are everywhere, popping up when we’re watching videos, when I’m gaming with friends, and we don’t have an escape,

ads on my phone and computer, and it’s overwhelming," he wrote for The Food Foundation. "They are everywhere, popping up when we’re watching videos, when I’m gaming with friends, and we don’t have an escape, especially not at the moment when we are living on our screens." The flood of junk food ads pushed him to do something bigger, something that would take his voice from his community to the halls of Parliament.

By 15, Dev had won the Diana Award for his efforts in food activism, and he soon saw an opening to make a more concrete change. Recognising the influence of junk food ads, especially online, he launched a campaign targeting then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock, calling for an end to junk food advertising that targets children. The campaign took off, fuelled by support from the public and celebrities like Jamie Oliver. Ultimately, Dev’s online letter-gathering turned into a landmark achievement: the UK government announced a ban on online junk food advertising in June 2021. The world’s first ban of its kind, it was even included in the Queen’s Speech, marking a major win for Dev and youth advocates around the country.

[caption id="attachment_40127" align="aligncenter" width="498"] Dev Sharma[/caption]

As the pandemic hit and the UK went into lockdown, Dev’s advocacy didn’t slow down. With schools closed, many children who relied on free school meals faced a tougher time getting nutritious food. Partnering with footballer Marcus Rashford, Dev called on the government to extend meal support during holiday periods. His voice became one of many in a rising wave of young activists demanding that policymakers step up. More than a million people signed the petition, and in response, the government extended free school meals through the holidays — a step that helped ease the burden on countless families.

Dev’s work has helped prompt other important policy changes. For the first time in over a decade, the UK government increased the value of the ‘Healthy Start’ benefit — a scheme that provides nutritional support to young families — from £3.10 to £4.25, allowing more families to afford healthier options. Today, Dev is the chair of Bite Back 2030, a youth-led organisation advocating for systemic changes in the food industry. "After research found that 15 billion ads were being seen by children and young people, there was a consultation launched by the Government to ban junk food," Dev shared in an interview. "The Government asked for the public's opinion on the matter. But I felt like the voices of young people weren’t really being heard. So, I wanted to do something about it.”

Dev’s impact now reaches beyond his local community and resonates with the larger British-Indian diaspora. For Dev, being a British Indian is about carrying forward a legacy of resilience and community support, values he channels into his advocacy work. The British Indian community has long been a part of the social justice fabric of the UK, and Dev’s activism highlights how new generations are building on that legacy, particularly in issues that affect minorities and underrepresented groups. By tackling food poverty and demanding clean air for his generation, he’s brought these urgent issues to the forefront of government policy discussions.

International platforms, too, have noticed his work. Dev has spoken at high-profile events like the UN Food Systems Summit and the Global Obesity Summit in New York. Closer to home, he recently led the UK Government’s first youth inquiry into the cost of living, an examination of how rising costs are impacting young people across the country. "The health of one in three children is already at risk from the food they eat," Dev noted, as he argued for lasting changes that prioritize child health.

The personal moments also drive his mission. Studying for his GCSE exams in 2021, Dev found himself bombarded by fast food ads on YouTube. That was when he realised he wasn't alone — millions of young people were seeing the same ads, feeling the same pressure to choose unhealthy options. That moment led him to work with Bite Back 2030 to launch a campaign that didn’t just raise awareness but fought for tangible change. "Each time a member of the public signed the letter, an automatic email would be sent directly to the Health Secretary," he explained, adding that the campaign’s success brought the issue to the attention of MPs, who eventually agreed to ban the ads.

[caption id="attachment_29293" align="aligncenter" width="699"] Dev Sharma won the UK Parliament Award[/caption]

Even in his achievements, Dev remains focused on what’s next. He was recently asked to switch on Leicester’s Diwali Lights, the largest Diwali celebration outside of India, symbolizing his role as a leader not just for British Indian youth, but for all young people who want to make an impact. He’s spoken at international gatherings, worked with government officials, and continues to drive campaigns that change lives.

Dev Sharma is a young leader pushing the limits of what youth activism can achieve. His work is proof that young voices are key to tackling today’s toughest challenges. With the determination to take on everything from junk food advertising to climate action, Dev represents a new wave of British Indian activism that’s reshaping policy and inspiring a generation ready to make a difference.

Follow Dev Sharma on his website, Twitter and LinkedIn
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Shaamil Karim and Yash Rathod: The teenage entrepreneurs making NFT mainstream

(May 9, 2022) Who could have thought that the last unreleased song of legendary singer SP Balasubrahmanyam would be an NFT? That’s what Chennai-based startup Diginoor pulled off - and how! What sets it apart from any other NFTs (non-fungible tokens) auctioned so far is that 51 percent of the copyright was transferred to its buyer making him eligible to make the song available to a larger public and adapt or reproduce the song. Sold at a whopping $150,000, it has pulled Diginoor into the big league. "India has never been a collector's market, and this is what we intend to change with Diginoor," says Shaamil Karim who launched Diginoor along with Yash Rathod in 2021 to make NFT adoption mainstream. The teenage entrepreneurs, who met in school, have auctioned 75 NFTs so far and sold over 50 of them. What began with an NFT of Rajinikanth in Sivaji: The Boss has now grown into an entity of its own; with Diginoor eyeing expansion in Bollywood and Punjabi cinema. “The Indian production houses saw the opportunity to monetise content with NFTs,” Shaamil tells Global Indian in an interview. [caption id="attachment_16191" align="aligncenter" width="835"] Yash Rathod and Shaamil Karim[/caption] Technology for the future

r">Global Indian in an interview.

[caption id="attachment_16191" align="aligncenter" width="835"] Yash Rathod and Shaamil Karim[/caption]

Technology for the future

The Manama-born returned to India at the age of five during the 2008 financial crisis, after his mechanical engineer father shifted base to Chennai. Being raised in a family of engineers, the 18-year-old was always fascinated by technology. Even as a third-grader, he would go to the local shop owners in his locality explaining to them the importance of having an online presence. "I started creating websites quite early. Frankly, I wanted to earn pocket money. I wanted to know how to earn exponentially without giving it too much time," says Shaamil, for whom financial freedom was paramount. However, he gradually understood that there was a lot "more potential in finding happiness from building products," and that’s what got him hooked.

Seeing his dad try his hand at various businesses, he understood the requirement for 10x capital to set up a factory or a shop. "But the beauty of technology is that even working from your room, you have the potential to strike billion-dollar opportunities. You are making millions out of nothing," says the entrepreneur, who started Diginoor with Yash right after finishing Class XII.

Were his parents skeptical of him skipping college? "If we can sell the idea that NFT is the future to 60-year-old producers, then we can convince our parents too,” Shaamil replies. “I think communication is the key. Parents understand your passion." Shaamil is grateful that his parents are not paranoid about him skipping college, for he has a full scholarship awaiting him indefinitely, from an Ivy League college.

Foraying into novelty

During their 12th grade, Yash and Shaamil, who have known each other since middle school, caught on to the potential of NFTs. Still a novel concept in 2020, they took it upon themselves to learn everything about it. "In 2019, we stumbled upon cryptokitties, a blockchain game where players can buy and collect one-of-a-kind animated cats. And we got a handful for free during NFT airdrops. But it wasn't until a year-and-a-half that we decided to go all out in the NFT space after our board exams got cancelled," says Shaamil.

Shaamil and Yash could see the potential that cinema held in the NFT space. But it was an uphill task to convince production houses to collaborate with Diginoor initially. "This was a time when you typed NFT on Google, it would say 'did you mean NEFT'," laughs the teen, whose company needed capital and advisors. "By then, the value of cryptokitties had risen over 30 times. So we sold them to fund the project. At the same time, we cold emailed 100 production houses, and some big houses like AVM Productions reverted. It was like a domino effect from there on," adds the teenage entrepreneur.

Unlocking the potential

Diginoor made a bang on impression with their first NFT on Rajinikanth - a scene from the 2007 film Sivaji: The Boss. "As stubborn teenagers, we waited to put out the best as our first NFT, and the response was overwhelming. Our focus is to make NFT adoption mainstream in the cinema industry. It's a mission-driven company that wants to unlock the true potential of NFTs," says the teenage entrepreneur who believes that the first NFT helped immensely in creating awareness. "Rajinikanth NFT got us the right attention," adds the teenage entrepreneur, revealing that Diginoor had the first-mover advantage as well as disadvantage. "Creating a market with no textbook example to follow was quite a challenge," reveals Shaamil who has been using deleted scenes, iconic scenes, and exclusives for NFTs.

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Shaamil calls the last year "an MBA of sorts" where he learnt practically the "hard stuff about being an entrepreneur." However, as a word of caution, he advises people that entrepreneurship is a challenging process and not as "glorified" as it looks. "If you find a 9-to-5 bad, then let me warn you that entrepreneurship is 24*7. We had to do a lot of trial and error to find our path. But it was an opportunity to make mistakes at an early age so that I can prepare myself better," adds Shaamil.

Expansion plans

The brainchild of Yash and Shaamil, who used to study for his preliminary board exams in the morning, do pitches in the evening, and code at night, Diginoor now has 22 employees. The fund seeding of $1 million in January 2022 helped them inch closer to their mission by providing the capital to expand the team. "For us, funding isn't the badge of approval. It's just a way of getting us closer to our mission," says Shaamil, who heads the marketing and operations. Yash, on the other hand, is the head of the tech. The teenager entrepreneurs who have forayed into the world of NFT now want to push the envelope through expansion. "We are now eyeing Punjabi cinema and Bollywood. The reason that Netflix didn't work in India is that it didn't cater to regional content. We don't wish to make the same mistake. That's why we plan to cater to all market segments with Diginoor," says the teenager entrepreneur.

The teenage duo wants to unlock the "new utility for NFT as an investment opportunity," and not just see it as an art form. Shaamil wants the youth to "follow their heart, do things, make mistakes and not look for advice." The Barcelona FC fan, who loves his work, likes to unwind by sleeping.

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Amaira Gulati: The young golf star from Mhow is all set to play in the US

(December 3, 2022) At seven, Amaira Gulati is a golf star who has already played in 35 tournaments as a professional golfer. She first began playing at the age of four, after watching her parents play in their free time. “I was five when I started playing it professionally,” Amaira told Global Indian. A grade-two student at Emerald Height International School, Mhow, Amaira registered a remarkable win in the recently held US Kids Tour Event held in Delhi. This win has culminated in her being selected for the US Kids world championship to be held next year in North Carolina, USA. [caption id="attachment_24961" align="aligncenter" width="772"] Amaira Gulati[/caption] Early start When Amaira’s parents Colonel Baljeet Singh and Harpreet Kaur discovered their child had an unusual talent for the sport, they believed that with training from a young age, she could be a good golfer. “I was trained under Gyan Sir and Sharaf Sir. My Golf caddie, Ajay Bhaiya, also teaches me,” Amaira says. Her father’s frequent job postings, in places like Shahjahanpur, Hissar and now Mhow near Indore, means Amaira’s training regimen is often disturbed. Still, her passion is so unwavering that she manages to keep pace with the

w.globalindian.com/youth//wp-content/uploads/2022/12/banner_amaira.jpg" alt="Indian Sportsperson | Amaira Gulati | Global Indian " width="772" height="640" /> Amaira Gulati[/caption]

Early start

When Amaira’s parents Colonel Baljeet Singh and Harpreet Kaur discovered their child had an unusual talent for the sport, they believed that with training from a young age, she could be a good golfer. “I was trained under Gyan Sir and Sharaf Sir. My Golf caddie, Ajay Bhaiya, also teaches me,” Amaira says.

Her father’s frequent job postings, in places like Shahjahanpur, Hissar and now Mhow near Indore, means Amaira’s training regimen is often disturbed. Still, her passion is so unwavering that she manages to keep pace with the game.

The first tournament abroad

The youngster has been a part of and won major under-8 tournaments in north India. She is the leading player of the Indian Golf Union’s north zone 'E' category, having won all its nine tournaments this year.

Whether it is the Delhi Golf Cup, Chandigarh Golf Cup, Albatross Golf Event, Shubhankar Sharma Invitational, or Hyundai National School Championship, the youngster has won in all the tournaments that she has played in 2022. However, winning in the US Kids Tour Event is special. The seven-year-old is all set to make her foreign debut and will play abroad for the first time at Pinehurst, also known as the ‘cradle of the American golf’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vh8iPycS4k

Amaira competed with golf players of Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Korea and Japan to find the coveted spot at the event organised by US Kids Golf, the leading brand for junior golf equipment that conducts tournaments across all continents. The season winners of all continents have been invited to play at the annual world championship to be held in USA.

Fruit of hard work

Talking about one of her first tournaments, when she started playing professionally, Amaira recalls, “It was fun but when I didn’t get the trophy, I started crying and asked my father why I didn’t win.” The tournament was in Chandigarh. “My father said, if you want the trophy you will have to work harder. I did so and kept on winning after that,” she remarks.

Practice happens after school and the young golfer rarely misses a session. Nearly 10-days in a month are spent travelling across North India for tournaments and Amaira tries to make the most of this, too, learning as much as she can from the coaches she meets. She follows what she has been taught by the experts in those places, during her routine practice sessions back home.

[caption id="attachment_24964" align="aligncenter" width="846"] Amaira Gulati with the prizes she has won so far[/caption]

Amaira’s parents support her fully, as does her school, which helps her keep abreast of what she misses when she’s on tour. “When I come back from tournaments, my teachers support me in my school work and help me with what I do not understand.”

Going with the flow

In her free time, Amaira loves dancing, singing or swimming. She also adores maths. “I want to become a renowned professional golfer like Aditi Ashok. She is my role model,” says the rising golf star, about the trailblazer of women’s golf in India.

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