Global Indianstory Global Indian ExclusiveIndia shines in the 2022 Rhodes Scholars’ list

Global Indian Exclusive

India shines in the 2022 Rhodes Scholars’ list

Written by: Darshana Ramdev

(May 28, 2022) One of the world’s most prestigious academic programmes, The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students, giving them a chance to study at the University of Oxford. Established in 1903, it is the oldest postgraduate award and its scholars have made their mark around the world, becoming politicians, academics, scientists, authors and entrepreneurs. Famous Indian-origin Rhodes Scholars include Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, economist Sanjeev Sanyal, member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India, physician and Pulitzer-Prize winning author Siddharth Mukherjee, former deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Kannada playwright Girish Karnad.

The 2022 scholars are a diverse and versatile lot, including doctors, scientists, researchers and innovators. Global Indian takes a look at some of the Indian and Indian-origin scholars who will head off to Oxford this year.

Ritika Mukherjee

Ritika Mukherji

Ritika was 19 when she was selected a Rhodes Scholar 2022, making her the youngest Indian to win the prestigious scholarship. She is one of the five winners from India. “I am interested in sleep physiology and the metabolic level studies of sleep patterns and related states,” she told Rediff.com

She’s currently working on a project that “studies sleep patterns of Northern elephant seals who come to breed on the beaches of California.” The project is in collaboration with a team at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Encouraged by her teachers at Miranda House, along with a host of mentors and seniors, Ritika learned her academics and a set of professional work ethics, too. She is also the founder of InVoIMEnt (Internships, Volunteering, Mentorship, Entrepreneurship), to create opportunities for Indian undergraduates to be exposed to quality work experience. The young researcher intends to return to India and continue her study of interspecies sleep differences and hopefully, make a positive impact on animal conservation efforts.

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Varad Puntambekar

Varad Puntambekar

Varad joined the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in 2015, with an all-India rank of 15 in the entrance exam. After completing his MBBS, Dr Varad Puntambekar chose to work with community healthcare, becoming a public health fellow at SEARCH, instead of the tried and tested route through private hospitals.

He became part of NIRMAN, a programme under Society for Education, Action and Research in Community Health and arrived in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra for the first time. It was his chance to work at the grassroots and better his understanding of solving issues at the community level.

As a public health fellow, Varad has been part of preparing community guidelines for Covid-19, improving vaccine coverage in rural areas, providing clinical services in OPD and IPD, helping improve the quality of mental healthcare and training community health awareness on de-addiction in villages. He believes that working at the grassroot level is crucial for every doctor, in order to explore healthcare challenges in remote locations.

Varad has developed an innovative device to help screen congenital heart defects and hopes to pursue research on interventions for maternal and infant well-being at Oxford.

Follow Varad on LinkedIn and Twitter

Maya Burhanpurkar

(Featured in the banner photo. Picture courtesy: Maya Burhanpurkar / Popular Science )

In November 2015, 400 PPM, a documentary on climate change, saw a quiet-ish online release. The narrator, Maya Burhanpurkar, then still in her teens, stands beside an ice fjord in the Arctic, capturing it melt on camera. The film also featured prominent Canadians like author Margaret Atwood, former astronaut Colonel Christopher Hadfield, the explorer Wade and Nobel Laureate Dr Brad Bass. The documentary was awarded the international Gloria Barron Prize and has been seen by over two million students around the world.

Today, at 23, Maya Burhanpurkar will head off to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar this fall. The news came in late 2021, along with a congratulatory call from the prize committee, which included Donna Strickland, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics. Maya graduated summa cum laude with highest honours, a Technology and Innovation Fellow at Harvard Business School. She has also worked in investing, from early-stage VCs to public global macro and her academic background includes machine learning, autonomous technology, theoretical physics and fair AI.

Growing up in Ontario, Canada, Maya was ten when she built a microbiology lab in her family basement, where she would conduct her scientific experiments. In 2012, as she entered her teens, Maya’s project on Alzheimer’s disease won her the platinum award at a student-level science fair in Canada.

At Oxford, Maya plans on doing two master’s degrees, one in Advanced Computer Science and the other in Philosophy of Physics.

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Adrija Ghosh

Adrija Ghosh

A student of National Law University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, Adrija Ghosh works as a research consultant on projects related to the death penalty at Project 39A, part of the National Law University Delhi. Her areas of interest include equality law and human rights law. Her research has involved the constitutionality of the marital rape exemption and the culture-based justifications for its retention. She also worked on citizenship rights issues, focussing on the Foreigners’ Tribunals in Assam.

Adrija always knew she was academically inclined, she says in an interview. ( https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2021/12/20/in-conversation-with-adrija-ghosh-on-winning-rhodes-scholarship/ ). At law school, she enjoyed research and writing, engaging logic and reason to build arguments.

She hopes to build on the research she has undertaken in India and on her skills as a lawyer, to use as tools to protect the rights of individuals and minorities.

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Aditi Sriram

Aditi Sriram

Growing up in North York, Ontario, in what Aditi has described as “a racialised community in Toronto,” she would see the disparities between the schools in her neighbourhood compared with others. As a child of immigrants, it was plain to her that their community fell short in terms of amenities. It stoked her interest in financial regulation and economic policy. This October, the Indian-origin scholar will head to Oxford University, one of 11 Canadians selected for the Rhodes scholarship. There, Sriram is looking at a masters of Public Policy and a master’s of science in public policy research at Oxford.

Currently an analyst at Good & Well, an impact investing firm, Aditi graduated from the University of British Columbia’s Global Resource Systems Programme in 2016 as a Scace Loran Scholar. During her time at UBC, Sriram helped implement a mental health programme on campus, worked with non-profits in Africa and the UK, engaging with sex workers and injection drug users. She also travelled to France to study French and attended the International Students Summit on Food, Agriculture and Environment.

“I was initially interested in our education and social welfare systems and why those systems were failing our most vulnerable,” she told the Loran Scholars Foundation. “The realisation that there is a strong profit motive for inequality to persist is my motivation to study public policy.”

Sriram hopes to use her knowledge of economics and public policy to streamline the distribution of financial benefits across socioeconomic classes both locally and internationally.

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Published on 28, May 2022

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Ishaan Leonard Rao: The young piano prodigy bridging cultures and genres

(June 27, 2023) Ishaan Leonard Rao was two years old when he hummed ragas with Pandit Ravi Shankar. He was much too young to remember the experience, but it’s an anecdote he has heard many times over the years from his parents. As it happens, quite a few of Ishaan’s early musical experiences predate his memories. The young piano prodigy is the son of two virtuosos - his father, Pandit Shubhendra Rao is a sitarist and a long-time disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar. His mother, Saskia Rao-de Haas is trained in both the Western and Hindustani styles, and designed the Indian cello, which she uses in her Hindustani concerts. [caption id="attachment_31469" align="aligncenter" width="697"] Ishaan Leonard Rao. Photo (and featured image) by Bandeep Singh[/caption] The young piano prodigy is not really given to talking about his achievements, which already make up quite a long list. He has trained in the piano for 12 years, and in the sitar for seven. “I was five when I fell in love with the piano and decided to make it my instrument,” he tells Global Indian. This month, during his break from Berklee, Ishaan will begin his solo tour across India, performing five concerts across

love with the piano and decided to make it my instrument,” he tells Global Indian. This month, during his break from Berklee, Ishaan will begin his solo tour across India, performing five concerts across Bengaluru, New Delhi and Mumbai. The tour will take him to some of India's most prestigious cultural venues, including the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, the NCPA in Mumbai, the India International Centre in Delhi and the Bangalore International Centre.

"This programme will have a classical piano repertoire, with Hindustani and Carnatic-inspired music," Ishaan says. "And some jazz I picked up last year at Berklee, along with some South American influences. I have really tried to show who I am as a musician," he adds. His journey is only just beginning, but Ishaan is already crafting a style that is uniquely his own, inspired by his deep knowledge of Hindustani and Western classical music, as well as the many influences he encountered travelling with his parents as they performed around the world. In this concert, he will also combine elements of modal jazz, which has been studying at University, with ragas, as he explores John Coltrane (Naima), Dave Brubeck (Rondo A La Turk).

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A post shared by Ishaan Leonard Rao (@ishaanleonardrao)

A childhood steeped in music

Growing up in Delhi, music was always "a given for Ishaan Leonard Rao, which is not surprising, all things considered. “I didn't know anything else through my childhood," he remarks. Music isn't merely a part of Ishaan’s world, something he loves or is good at - it is life itself. He was listening to music even before he was born and doesn't even recall the first time he picked up an instrument. By the time he met Pandit Ravi Shankar, he had learned around 15 ragas, even though he was still a toddler. "My parents had taught me ragas by then, not necessarily in a regimented way but I had learned how to identify them.” When they sang him to sleep as a child, the lullaby would be based on a particular raga. It came naturally to him too.

"The unique combination of Hindustani and Western classical music has shaped me so that I can understand music quite intuitively. Indian music teaches you how to train your ear in relation to other notes, if you hear a 'sa', you know every other note in relation to that. Western music shapes your understanding of absolute pitch." Although he's comfortable with sheet music, the piano prodigy is happiest playing by ear.

That wasn't all. Ishaan would also accompany his parents across the world, and has been meeting people from different cultures and heritages for as long as he can remember. "Hindustani and Western classical music are the most familiar to me but I have never really confined myself to a genre," he says. From the time he was born till about the age of 15, Ishaan was on the road with his parents for a "good three to five months of the year." Having a South Indian father and a Dutch mother also lent itself to cultural exploration - "I grew up speaking Kannada with my father and Dutch with my mum. And then I was travelling a lot. I became used to different cultures, am cognizant of my cultural heritage and find it very easy to acclimatise and feel at at home in either part of the world." It lent itself also to his explorations as a musician.

[caption id="attachment_31452" align="aligncenter" width="363"] Pandit Ravi Shankar with Ishaan[/caption]

A love story with the piano

Ishaan began training in the piano at the age of six, and showed great talent for it. “I have had four teachers along the way - Justin McCarthy, Raj Bhimani, Svetlana Radashkevich and Dimitris Lambrianos,” he says. He has also has also taken master classes by Polish pianist Raphael Lustchevsky, French pianist Martine Dellenbach and Dutch pianist Marianne Boer. Ishaan dedicated himself to the piano, going to class once a week and spending a couple of hours a day practicing. By the time he entered his teens, he knew beyond doubt that he wanted to be a pianist, not just a musician. "I'm really focussed on my instrument and I'm still in that process of completely mastery. That's not something you ever really achieve, but you work as hard as you can to get there," he says. And while he doesn’t claim mastery, Ishaan went on to become the youngest Indian ever to finish the ABRSM Grade 8 exam and the youngest to receive the ARSM performance diploma at the age of 12.

The young piano prodigy gave his first concert at the age of nine, performing the first movement of a Mozart sonata and a piece by Chopin. It's a big achievement for someone so young, but he quickly says, "They weren't particularly complex pieces. As a child, you tend to progress quite quickly through technical difficulty. Bringing out the music from that is as much of a journey," he explains. "Being a classical pianist is about a lot more than technical mastery. He went on to perform in India, France and Australia before making his New York concert debut at the age of 14, as part of the Chhandayan All Night Concert at the Society for Ethical Cultures.

Bending genres, breaking rules

He names Chopin, Debussy and Bach as composers he admires deeply but Ishaan doesn't want to confine himself in any way. It's why he chose Berklee College over a conservatory like say, Juilliard. "I love the traditional piano repertoire but I don't want to be confined to it. I'm in the process of developing my own musical voice, I would say." At Berklee, he has trained in modal jazz, and is also in a Klezmer ensemble.

His parents always encouraged the exploration. "When I was growing up, I quite liked just following the path that was set for me. I didn't realise that I instinctively wanted to go outside the path and break those rules. But you have to know the rules to break them. Over the last year, even though my primary focus has been on my classical repertoire, I feel a lot more comfortable with my own expression through them, rather than playing them the way they are supposed to be played." This exploration also includes adapting the piano to ragas, although he does so differently from his mother, who designed the Indian cello to create an instrument better suited to playing Hindustani classical music.

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A post shared by Ishaan Leonard Rao (@ishaanleonardrao)

Ishaan Leonard Rao's musical journey is a testament to his exceptional talent, dedication, and diverse musical influences. From his early exposure to Hindustani and Western classical music to his explorations in jazz and fusion genres at Berklee College, Ishaan has developed a unique musical voice that reflects his deep understanding of different traditions. His commitment to his instrument, the piano, is evident in his achievements and performances at a remarkably young age. With a blend of technical mastery and artistic expression, the piano prodigy is poised to make significant contributions to the world of music and continue to carve his own path as a musician.

Follow Ishaan's work on his website and on Instagram.

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.

Young mountaineer Arjun Vajpai: Conquering peaks and inspiring dreams

(August 8, 2023) Stranded under heavy snowfall for a span of seventy-two hours at an altitude of 7,000 meters, Arjun Vajpai experienced a loss of sensation along the left side of his body. Left to his own devices, as his Sherpa guides had already left due to his ill-fated first attempt to conquer Mount Cho Oyu in Nepal back in 2012. The young mountaineer, however, is not your typical teenager. Just two years prior, in 2010, he had achieved an unparalleled feat in the world of mountaineering – successfully reaching the summit of Mount Everest – thereby becoming the youngest Indian ever to accomplish such a remarkable feat. Further cementing his legacy, the mountaineer went on to claim the title of the youngest individual to conquer Lhotse in 2011, as well as becoming the youngest mountaineer to triumph over Mount Manaslu. [caption id="attachment_32453" align="aligncenter" width="382"] Mountaineer Arjun Vajpai[/caption] Having faced numerous challenges before, Arjun embarked on the excruciating descent from Mount Cho Oyu, a grueling journey that required him to crawl for 17 hours, relying solely on his right arm and leg. Undeterred by previous setbacks, he made a triumphant return in 2016, conquering the peak he once struggled with.

ey that required him to crawl for 17 hours, relying solely on his right arm and leg. Undeterred by previous setbacks, he made a triumphant return in 2016, conquering the peak he once struggled with. At such a young age, Arjun stands as the world's youngest mountaineer to have summited six out of the 14 highest mountains worldwide. Global Indian takes an in-depth look into the remarkable journey of this exceptional mountaineer.

Adventurous streak

The mountaineer was born in 1993 to Col. Sanjeev Vajpai and Priya Vajpai, and his passion for trekking and mountaineering traces back to his early childhood. “I was an athletic kid throughout my school years. You name the sport - volleyball, football, hockey, basketball, shot put, long jump, karate - and I have played it. Very early on in my life, I realised that if I wanted to do something in life, it would be with these set of hands and legs,” the mountaineer said during an interview.

[caption id="attachment_32459" align="aligncenter" width="683"] Arjun Vajpai at the Kanchenjunga base camp.[/caption]

Speaking about his first introduction to the mountains, he shared, "In my sixth grade, I was visiting my grandfather’s house in Pune for summer vacations. We went for a short hike to the Sahyadri Hills. Since it was my first climb, I reached the top and when I saw the sunset, I just asked myself, “If it looks so beautiful here, how beautiful must it look from the highest point on this planet?”

And there was no turning back for the mountaineer after that. He nurtured this interest from a tender age and honed his skills through training at the prestigious Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi.

More than a record

Arjun's true passion lies in scaling mountains. For him, records are not the ultimate goal. “It makes me feel super happy but I’m not someone who chases records,” Arjun said in an interview, “It’s a moment of pride, not just for me but for the country, to hold a title and each time motivates me to climb more and take India’s flag to some of the highest peaks on earth. I want to be the youngest in the world to do all 14 peaks above 8,000 metres.”

Meticulous planning is the foundation of every expedition for this young mountaineer. He initiates the process by envisioning the route, delving into archives, and immersing himself in learning about the mountain's intricacies. The mountaineer thoroughly studies the experiences of past trekkers who have conquered the same peak, gathering valuable insights for his own journey. “I also make a mental note of how many ropes we are likely to require as it helps me get a feel of the mountain mentally,” he said.

Recently, the young mountaineer encountered a setback during his expedition on Mount Annapurna 1. Frostbite in both feet forced him to make the difficult decision to turn back, just 150 meters shy of the summit. Undeterred by this challenge, the mountaineer remains resolute and optimistic. In one of his Instagram posts, he pledges to return next season and conquer the mountain with renewed determination. "I’m safe and down at Pokhara today. Feet still hurt a little but the summit still echoes in my heart so close," he wrote.

Adding to his list of accomplishments, the young adventurer, Arjun Vajpai, founded the Arjun Vajpai Outdoor Academy with a noble mission. His aim is to instill a love for adventure sports in young children and promote a healthy and active lifestyle among them. In a media interaction, Arjun expressed his desire to provide a platform for kids to pursue sport climbing or wall climbing as a competitive sport, especially with its inclusion in the Olympics.

Through his academy's efforts, they have successfully installed over 200 climbing walls in various schools and colleges across India, fostering a culture of athleticism and exploration. Beyond this, Arjun's profound affection for mountains led him to create a warm and inviting homestay named "Vaikunth Home" in Almora. The cozy, red-roofed retreat serves as a haven for those seeking to immerse themselves in the tranquil beauty of the mountains.

Follow Arjun Vajpai on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter

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Finding his tempo: The rise and rise of tabla maestro Truptraj

(March 5, 2022) A tabla gifted to his father by a friend caught Truptraj Pandya's eye even before he had learned to walk. The instrument lay unused in a corner of the house. By the time he was 15 months old, he was already playing it, showing, even then, a prodigious talent for music which his parents noticed and encouraged. Today, at the age of 15, the young tabla maestro is well on his way to becoming the face of India's tabla landscape and has given over 200 public performances. He has been a guest of honour at major events and seminars and created a buzz in the media - local, national and international. In 2019, dressed in maroon attire, he stood proudly before Prime Minister Narendra Modi to receive his Bal Shakti Puraskar. Truptraj Atul Pandya is a master percussionist He is an established radio and TV artist as well, who has given more than several live performances. Proud that he has been conferred the Bal Shakti Puraskar. pic.twitter.com/iZu8ThvxH0 — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 24, 2019 Fame and accolades have not robbed the young tabla maestro of his humility - he is modest and friendly during his interview with Global Indian.

Finding a guru

When Truptraj was about two years old, his father took him to attend Ustad Zakir Hussain's concert. The maestro took notice of the young prodigy and helped him out, connecting him to his disciple, Dhyaneshwar Popalghat, from the Ustad Allarakha Institute of Music for proper guidance. "My taalim started when I was about three and my association with my Guru still continues, even after 12 years," Truptraj smiles. He is now undergoing advanced training under Pandit Nayan Ghosh and has also been blessed by legends like Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasiya and Ustad Iqbal Ahmad Khan.

[caption id="attachment_11917" align="aligncenter" width="519"] Little Truptraj with Guinness Book of World Records certificate[/caption]

Encouraged by his parents and his Guru, Truptraj made his bid for the Guinness World Records when he was six years old. Even that, he believes, could have happened earlier. "My father applied for it a little late because he wanted to be sure that it was more than just a short-lived interest to me." His father's fears were unfounded, for Truptraj's love for the tabla has only grown stronger with time. The young tabla maestro devotes himself to perfecting his craft, leaving the details of managing his schedule to his father.

[caption id="attachment_11934" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Truptraj Pandya[/caption]

A student and a star

Truptraj is in the middle of the all-important Class X and exams are around the corner. Nothing holds him back from his riyaaz, however. "I might cut short the duration of my practice if I have exams but I never skip it," he says. The Covid-19 lockdown left him with ample time on his hands, with classes taking place from home. And the ace performer doesn't just juggle school and music, he also loves sports, serving as his school's basketball team captain for four years until 2019.

"My teachers and friends are very supportive," he says. "I have always taken proper permission from school before traveling for live performances. They make sure I don't miss out on notes and important assignments," adds the young maestro.

[caption id="attachment_11944" align="aligncenter" width="574"] Truptraj with President, Ram Nath Kovind[/caption]

In fact, no school event is complete without the musical stylings of Truptraj Pandya. "My teachers give equal opportunity and support to every pupil and my friends aren't my friends because of the tabla, our friendship comes from the heart," he says. The young maestro remains unconcerned by the looming exam season - he knows he has studied enough to do well. "My last performance was in December but if something comes up, I will take the opportunity," he says, now seasoned at juggling his many priorities. His favourite subject, he says, is history and he prefers documentaries to reading a textbook.

[caption id="attachment_11930" align="aligncenter" width="649"] Truptraj's family[/caption]

Follow your heart, he tells teens

Being on stage across India, with lakhs of people watching him, gives Truptraj a thrill like no other. "This is just the beginning, I have a long way to go," he says, modestly. "I love stage performances, though. I feel a little nervous just before I begin but once I begin playing my tabla, my fears vanish. The music takes over me and I'm confident that I won't let the audience and myself down," he says.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4X_cIb18K8[/embed]

"Do what you love" is his advice to other teenagers. "Don't give into pressure at home or from family, if you do, you will only get tired and quit someday. But if you do things that you love, you will not get tired of it, you will always be hungry for more. You will remain motivated and passionate. Practice more and be patient," he signs off.

Follow Truptraj Pandya on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

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Seher Taneja: The teen innovator on a mission to revolutionise healthcare

(June 7, 2022) For a young seventh grader, losing seven close family members to heart ailments within a year was a traumatising experience. Her grief soon turned into a quest to discover the root cause. The findings led to a startling revelation - the lack of heart donors. The obliviousness towards organ donation as a whole prompted Seher Taneja to start Abhigyata in 2018. "When I started researching, I didn't know much about organ donation, and I realised I wasn't the only one. On digging deep, I found that for every 50,000 heart transplants needed, we don't even get 10. It shook me, and I decided to create awareness," Seher tells Global Indian. What began as a dialogue with family and friends has now turned into a movement of sorts that has reached over 10,000 people. Her first presentation was at her school (Springdales, Delhi) to "plant the seed of organ donation in young minds." The 17-year-old believes that it's important to change the mindset from a young age. Calling the problem deep-rooted, the teen changemaker says that talking about death is almost considered blasphemy. "There is so much stigma around death that it isn't easy to make people open

[caption id="attachment_17787" align="aligncenter" width="433"] Seher Taneja[/caption]

Personal tragedy led to a mission

Born to a paediatrician father and an anaesthesiologist mother, Seher comes from a family of doctors. However, the tragedy that struck home led her on a mission to create awareness on organ donation. "I knew I needed to be well-read and well-versed on the topic, I couldn't misstate facts. That's when I came across a program by Dr Smita Mishra," reveals Seher who calls Mishra her mentor as she helped her understand the myths and the statistics around organ donation. "I started with high school students between 9th and 12 grade. But by 2019, I wanted to create a ripple effect, that's when I came up with a proper plan to reach out to different schools in Delhi," says the changemaker, who began building a team with an army of volunteers. Covid-19 took Abhigyata online to a larger audience in 2020. "Our first webinar had Vasanthi Ramesh, the director of NOTTO (National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation), and Pallavi Kumar of MOHAN (Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network) as the speakers. The session was aimed at helping youngsters clear their doubts and also to bust myths around organ donation," says Class 12 student who also collaborated with various NGOs during that time. "With the pandemic taking a toll on mental health, the webinar was a blessing in disguise as it helped me channelise my energy into something productive," says the teenager who won the Student Leadership Award 2020 by the Indian Academy of Paediatrics.

Innovator | Seher Taneja | Global Indian

Empowering youth during the pandemic

The initiative led her to win the Diana Award in 2021 along with the Tale of Humankind. Started in 2019 to engage and empower the youth, it has worked on 10 campaigns so far ranging from mental health to climate change to menstruation and gender equality. "We are bridging the gap between where we are and where we want to be, with the help and guidance of experts from their respective fields. We want to bring a sense of purpose in youngsters with our initiative," says Seher, who has learnt to be more empathetic in the process. The innovator adds that the years have made her more accountable for her actions toward the planet.

Innovator at heart

The social changemaker is an innovator at heart. A STEM girl, Seher has a handful of innovations to her credit including the mobile toilet - a sensor-based automated technology to improve sanitation in an eco-friendly manner. But it was SWAR - smart gloves that convert sign language into text and voice - that earned her a spot in the Top 20 at the ATL Tinkering Marathon 2019 and was later selected for Atal Incubation Centre's Student Innovator Program 3.0. Again, SWAR was conceptualised at home where she witnessed her grandfather struggling with hearing loss. "He was retreating into a shell and was uncomfortable making any conversation. To help him, I started researching more on it and found startling facts in 2018. India is home to 18 million people with hearing impairments with only 250 interpreters. Since the majority doesn't understand sign language, it creates a divide," explains Seher who wanted to bridge the gap with her prototype. "The sensors on the gloves help convert sign language into text and speech by using a smartphone," describes the teenager who has filed for the patent.

The idea didn't just impress commerce and industries minister Piyush Goyal, it also found her a place in Startup India. "I am reaching out to corporate companies. SWAR will be launched in the market soon," says an excited Seher who is moving to the University of Pennsylvania to pursue the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology. With an aim to revolutionise the healthcare sector, she plans to launch her startup in near future. "It's time we stop blaming the people in power and become a shareholder in bringing about change," says the innovator, who loves chilling with her parents and friends.

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