Indian-origin Laiba Basit sets Guinness record as the youngest female author to publish book series
Written by: Darshana Ramdev
(November 28, 2022) Laiba Abdul Basit remembers the very first book she ever read. “It was 101 Stories for Girls,” she tells me. A prolific reader by the time she began school, the now eleven-year-old Laiba Abdul Basit entered the Guinness World Records in 2022, as the youngest female author to publish a book series in English, having brought out her second book at the age of 10 years and 164 days. The author of the Order of the Galaxy trilogy, Laiba broke the record held by Saudi Arabian author Ritaj Hussain Alhazmi, who was 12 years old when she published her series.
Laiba is a girl of few words, pausing to write in her book from time to time as she speaks with Global Indian. She appears stoic even about her Guinness achievement, admitting later, “I don’t know if I like being famous, really. I’m scared of cameras.” The family was away on a trip in Calicut when they received the news. – “We went back home, to my father’s ancestral home in Kerala and everyone was so happy. It was a very joyous night.” Media attention was plentiful, thanks in part to Laiba’s grandfather, who worked as a journalist in Qatar and talked about his granddaughter online.
Laiba Abdul Basit, Guinness World Record holder
A born wordsmith
Born in Kerala, Laiba grew up in Doha, Qatar, where her father, Abdul Basit, works in the oil sector and her mother, Thasneem Mohammed, runs a business. “I started writing through reading,” she says. “My mother taught me the alphabet and how to read before I joined school.” She’s still a prolific reader, listing Enid Blyton, JK Rowling and Roald Dahl as her favourite authors. Her grandfathers, KM Abdur Raheem and Mohammed Parakkadavu were cultural and social activists in the Gulf Cooperation Council.
By the time she was in the first grade, she began writing herself, scribbling short stories, ideas and phrases in a notebook, and even on pieces of paper that she stuck to the walls of her house. “I was in first or second grade when I decided to write my own stories,” Laiba says. “I showed my teacher some of the short stories and she told my parents about it. After that, my parents started taking an interest.”
Penning her success
When the first lockdown was imposed in 2020, Laiba switched to typing instead and finished her first book, ‘The War for the Stolen Boy’. It took her about a year and a half to write. The series tells the story of four siblings who go out on intergalactic adventures. “I was inspired by writers like Morgan Rice and JK Rowling to do my own thing,” Laiba remarks. “I had also developed an interest in astronomy at that time. Since I didn’t know much about space, I thought I would go with fantasy.
When The War for the Stolen Boy was complete, Laiba and her father approached a university press in Doha. Unfortunately, the publishing process had slowed down due to the pandemic. “I found out about Kindle direct publishing and three hours later, the book was ready.” The second book was taken up by Dr Sabrina Lei, Director of the Rome-based Tawasul Europe Centre for Research and Dialogue. “It took me about six months to write. I remember finishing it at 4 am and rushing to wake my father to tell him. He thought he was having a dream,” she laughs. The third book in the series, The Book of Legends, was published by Lipi Publications.
Looking ahead
Laiba was recognized by the Indian Embassy in Doha
The Guinness World Record holder is already working on her fourth book, an epistolic novel about two friends who live sixteen hours from each other. The story is told entirely through their letters and she is looking for international publishers. All this is made possible by her parents, who have been extremely supportive of their daughter. “They deal with all the documentation and everything required for publishing. They help me edit my novel as well,” Laiba says.
In her free time, she enjoys roller skating, these days inside the apartment as FIFA fever grips Doha. What does she want to be when she grows up? “Math is my favourite subject,” she says, thoughtfully in response. “I want to keep writing but I would also like to try something new.” Breaking into a grin and finally giving me a glimpse of the child within, she adds, “I want to be a leader when I grow up. I want to be President.”
(December 11, 2022) It was just to attend a rehearsal for the upcoming event that Padma Vibhushan, Pandit Birju Maharaj - one of the most eminent Kathak exponents - had come to Delhi that day. However, the events that unfolded gave the country a young and exceptionally talented Kathak dancer, Vriti Gujral, who is now taking this Indian classical dance form to the world. Impressed by the grace of then eleven-year-old Vriti, Pandit Birju Maharaj invited the young artist to perform during his show at the World Cultural Festival - a solo, seven-minute-long Kathak recital. [caption id="attachment_25245" align="aligncenter" width="479"] Vriti Gujral, Kathak exponent[/caption] The dancer, who is 16-years-old now, has since performed on various national and international stages and has won numerous awards, including the prestigious Global Child Prodigy Award. "I have been performing kathak for the past eight years. So, it is like a part of me now. It’s not that when I practice kathak only then I’m into dance, but I instead carry it into my everyday life. I have learned many things from the dance form, and it undoubtedly affects my life," the young Global Indian said during an interview. Born to dance Vriti's journey as a
instead carry it into my everyday life. I have learned many things from the dance form, and it undoubtedly affects my life," the young Global Indian said during an interview.
Born to dance
Vriti's journey as a dancer started at the age of six, when her mother enrolled her in a music institute. "My mother always wanted me to explore myself in areas beyond academics as well. So, she took me to an institute where they gave three classes - western dance, piano, and kathak. I liked the other courses, but I was fascinated by them when I saw dancers wearing ghungroo and performing kathak. That was precisely what started the spark in me. When I started learning it, I became more passionate about it. I began exploring other aspects of kathak, such as the chakras, footwork, and abhinaya," the young dancer shared.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tglveOAA2I
Soon, the youngster took to various stages and won the hearts of many maestros. However, it took a major turn in 2016, during the auditions for World Cultural Festival. Over 37,000 artists performed in Delhi during this festival, however, it was Vriti who grabbed the attention of Pt Birju Maharaj. However, all was not so rosy. The long rehearsal hours took a toll on the young dancer's health. But, Vriti was determined to brave all the odds. On the day of her performance, the dancer went on the stage with a bandaged blister, her feet throbbing in pain. "I remember my blisters were painful. But once I was on the stage, and the spotlight fell on me, I forgot all about it," she shared. Her performance at the Vasantosav festival ended with thunderous applause and earned her invitations to several other dance festivals.
Following her passion
Vriti's perfection of mudras and flawless expression earned Vriti a scholarship from the Centre of Cultural Resource and Training (CCRT), India. In 2020, the youngster received the Global Child Prodigy Award, for her exceptional dancing talent in Kathak. A student of esteemed kathak exponent, Pandit Barun Banerjee, Vriti dreams of becoming a professional dancer, just like her idol Pt. Birju Maharaj, and take kathak to a level where today's generation can not only enjoy it but also aspire for it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp77ohIOGcg
"I want to be a professional classical dancer and a choreographer. I aim to take the Kathak dance form to the biggest international stages. We know that the young generation finds it difficult to relate to kathak and thinks it’s boring. I wish to break these stereotypes and ensure that they relate to it as it’s our heritage, and we have to take it ahead," the young dancer said.
(June 22, 2023) His dad was a cab driver, his mum managed to find work driving a bus. It was a time of hardship and great tenacity, as cricketer Jason Sangha's family worked against the odds to create a life for themselves in Sydney, Australia. Despite their financial constraints, Jason was encouraged to follow his great love - cricket. In 2017, Jason Sangha made his first-class debut for Cricket Australia XI, in a pre-Ashes game. During his second match, he scored his maiden first-class century, becoming the youngest player to score a first-class century against England, second only to cricketing god, Sachin Tendulkar. In December 2017, he was named the Australian team captain for the 2018, U-19 Cricket World Cup, becoming tournament's lead run-scorer, with 229 runs. A right-handed batsman and right-arm leg break bowler, the Global Indian now plays for New South Wales and Randwick Petersham in the New South Wales Premier Grade Cricket. And Sangha was always gifted, standing head and shoulders above any crowd, learning to face the highs and lows that come with being exceptional. "If he was a thoroughbred, his breeding would be Joe Root out of Virat Kohli," said Australian cricketer turned commentator Kerry
, his breeding would be Joe Root out of Virat Kohli," said Australian cricketer turned commentator Kerry O'Keeffe, who spotted Sangha's genius early on and made sure he found a spot on the Australian test team. As for Sangha himself, he has been through far too much already, from battling mental health issues, financial hardship, dealing with the pressures of his chosen vocation and learning to belong in a place where he would always feel different, to be swayed too much by life's highs and lows. "It's a rollercoaster," he often says. "Cricket is a rollercoaster."
[caption id="attachment_31329" align="aligncenter" width="445"] Jason Sangha[/caption]
Jason Sangha's story begins, not with the discovery of his own talent, but in Punjab with his father Kuldip, and in Sydney, where his mother Sylvia lived. His father, Jason writes, was the national 200m and 400m champion, who even competed at the Asian Games. However, sport being quite a political issue in rural Punjab, meant Kuldip's talent lost out to those who held political sway. Kuldip and Sylvia had an arranged marriage, she flew down to Punjab to meet her husband and the couple went back to Sydney together. Kuldip left his athletic dreams behind and found work as a cabbie, while Sylvia was a bus driver.
"Money was always tight," Sangha says. "What little was left over after living expenses was usually sent back to dad's family in India. But they got by." They gave birth to their first child, Sharon, in Rooty Hill Place, their first residence in Sydney, then went to Kemps Creek and finally, to Coogee, where Jason Sangha was born. They went on to set up their own restaurant, 'The Flavour of North India' and expanded to four outlets around Cronulla, Coogee and Maroubra.
"For as long as I can remember, we always had relatives staying with us, many from dad's side of the family in India," Sangha wrote in Athletics Voice back in 2017. As it is in an Indian home, the relatives pitched in, and the extended family formed deep bonds. He recalls his parents' selflessness - "Mum always put others ahead of herself. She made sure everyone ate before she did. Dad was the same. The two of them would work long hours then, as soon as they got home, they'd set about making sure everyone else was alright."
In those early days, Sangha wasn't too interested in cricket, he preferred basketball, because of his hero, LeBron James. He liked the rugby league and soccer, "pretty much everything other than cricket." When he was nine years old, he watched Adam 'Gilly' Gilchrist take Monty Panesar to the cleaners and feeling very impressed, enough to try his hand at the sport. As it happened, the family lived near the Coogee Oval, they could even see it from their apartment. So, the young Sangha would watch cricketers playing for Randwich-Petersham, and dream about being among them some day. And like so many other Indian kids, he would use a tennis ball to play cricket with his two cousins. He even remembers his neighbours in South Cardiff telling him he would play for NSW one day, as they watched his father bowl to him in backyard.
Just as things seemed to be picking up in the young boy's life, the financial crisis hit, leaving the family in pieces. They were forced to sell and had no choice but to move to Newcastle to start over. "Mum and dad protectedus from the news. It wasn't until three or four years later that I found out the real reason why we left Sydney," Sangha recalled. As it turned out, Newcastle wasn't so bad after all. Granted, Sangha was the "only brown person in school," but had no trouble making friends. The city also had a small but thriving Sikh community, where Sangha learned to stay in touch with his cultural roots.
The whole 22 yards
By the time the family settled into Newcastle, Jason Sangha had established his love for cricket. He began playing junior cricket at Warners Bay in Cardiff and after one year, made it to the local team. He recalls his coach, Bob Holland, very fondly, saying, "he helped convert me from a quick bowler into a leg-spinner." One year later, Sangha was 12 then, he moved up to grade cricket. This was an intimidating experience, "surrounded by all these grown men at Wallsend," Sangha says. His peers stuck by him, though and he ended up playing the last two games of the season that year.
He was noticed by the first-grade captain, Brett Jackson, who became his batting coach. He was a hard taskmaster, though and Sangha definitely had moments when he wanted to give up, even telling his mother, "I don't want to train with him anymore." His mum simply told him to toughen up. The evening before the first game of the first-grade season, Jackson told him, "Also, I forgot to tell you: You're playing." Sangha was 13 years old, and had made himself known as something of a prodigy.
Jason Sangha was sixteen years old when he got his first contract with NWS. He got his contract, and with it, quite a bit of fame. The media was quick to point out that his was the youngest Blues' signing since Josh Hazlewood.
The mental health descent
As has been the case with Sangha, life was unpredictable. What seemed like a rapid rise to success ended up being one of the most challenging years of his life, filled with mental health struggles, and the pressures of so much success at such a young age. "You're not a normal 16-year-old kid anymore," he would remind himself. "you're a pro." It was too much to take. His performance at school dropped because he was spending so much time away. Sangha even tried to give up school, although that idea was quicly shot down by his Indian parents. The situation got so bad that Sangha would wake up on game-day and think, "I'd be happy to nick off early and sit the rest out." Although he scored a century in one game, the rest of his scores remained in the single digit. Suddenly, Sangha hated cricket.
His best friend, Joe Hart, and his family, rallied around him. His mum also moved the family back to Sydney, where she had set up a meeting for Sangha with Waverley College. So he and his mum set off for Sydney again. "We stuffed everythign we could into a car and headed to a flat in Belmore Road in Randwick," Sangha writes.
Things weren't easing up. Sangha's schedule remained very intense - he would be in the gym at 6 am three days a week, finish training, come home for breakfast and get to school. After school, he would to the nets in Moore Park to practice, do his homework and go to bed. Everybody had high expectations of the precocious young man, and he struggled to cope.
After he missed his sister's wedding, things hit crisis point. His mentor and manager, Bill Anderson sat with him that day and told him to take a break. As always, his friends, family and peers stood by him. Eventually, Sangha was hit by another truth - "I have been so selfish," he thought. "I haven't even thought about the impact I've been having on other people around me."
The turning point
The impact of Jason Sangha's mental health struggles on his family inspired him to make a ch ange. He walked to the Sikh temple in Blacktown, something he hadn't really done since moving back to Sydney. Through a series of small steps, he found his way out of the darkness, and also passed high school with flying colours.
In 2017, Sangha was chosen to captain Australia at the ICC Under-19 World Cup, along with Austin Waugh, son of former skipper Steve. He is also touted as one of Australia's most promising young players and in 2022, was named captain of Sydney Thunder ahead of the Big Bash League. Unfortunately, Sangha broke his collarbone during the first game, leading to a big loss for the team, who were bowled out for a doube digit score by the Adelaide strikers.
Sangha's story is one of perseverance and triumph over adversity. From humble beginnings in a financially constrained family, he embraced his passion for cricket against all odds. Battling mental health issues, balancing the pressures of success at a young age, and finding his place in a competitive sport, Jason Sangha has shown remarkable strength and determination. Through the highs and lows of his journey, he has emerged as a promising young cricketer, captaining Australia at the U-19 World Cup and earning recognition in the Big Bash League. And he has learned, the hard way that life is full of ups and downs and understands how to take both in his stride with hope and equanimity.
(December 13, 2023) Arundhati Banerjee, the trailblazing Miss Teen Diamond Australia 2019, and the Lifetime Miss Diamond Ambassador shattered norms and made history as the first Indian-origin teenager to claim the prestigious title. Beyond pageantry and modelling, she champions causes, excels as an Indian classical dancer, and advocates for women's rights and sustainability. Recognised as the 'Emerging Leader (2020)' by the South Australian Government, Arundhati has passionately fundraised to support individuals with Down syndrome. Rooted in her Indian heritage, the 20-year-old who is pursuing education at Griffith University in Australia, has made the Indian diaspora of the country proud by her accomplishments. As a fashion model, Arundhati has been on the cover pages of renowned magazines in Australia, the United States, India, and Africa. She has showcased her dancing talent at numerous national and international festivals across Australia such as the OzAsia Festival, International Indian Film Festival in Melbourne, International Folkloric Festival to name a few. [caption id="attachment_34610" align="aligncenter" width="637"] Arundhati Banerjee[/caption] Breaking barriers In 2019, Arundhati Banerjee became the first Indian teenager to win the Miss Teen Diamond Australia title. The Miss and Mr Diamond International & Australia goes beyond the conventional beauty pageant concept. It serves as a
_n-683x1024.jpg" alt="Indian Model | Arundhati Banerjee | Global Indian" width="637" height="955" /> Arundhati Banerjee[/caption]
Breaking barriers
In 2019, Arundhati Banerjee became the first Indian teenager to win the Miss Teen Diamond Australia title. The Miss and Mr Diamond International & Australia goes beyond the conventional beauty pageant concept. It serves as a community hero initiative, aiming to establish a platform where individuals of all ages can fundraise and advocate for causes dear to them. Securing seven additional titles within the pageant, aside from claiming the overall title, Arundhati became the first Indian-origin teenager to achieve this prestigious honour, all while balancing her commitments as a high school student during that time.
“I went in with the purpose of just spreading love and gratitude and to gain some experience. I was very fortunate to win and I'm very happy that I'm able to say that I'm Miss teen Australia 2019,” she said in an interview. She was later selected as the Lifetime Miss Diamond Ambassador in 2021.
Arundhati achieved another significant milestone in 2021 by securing a place among the top 30 contestants in the prestigious Australian Super Model of the Year (ASOTY) competition. “I joined it for the message that it conveys – the message of sisterhood, diversity and inclusivity and speaking about the issues of those who are discriminated on basis of colour and creed,” she said adding, “After weeks and months of selection process I was lucky and fortunate enough to be selected as one of the 30 contestants and work as a network of sisters for rebuilding the society as women working together instead of pitted against each other. That’s what attracted me to associate myself with the pageant.”
In a remarkable achievement, Arundhati who is also a trained Indian classical dancer and performer, was honoured with the 'Emerging Leader (2020)' award by the South Australian Government on Australia Day for her contribution in the fields of art and humanitarian services. While the youngster cherishes all her accomplishments, it is the prestigious Emerging Leader award in Australia that she is proudest of. “Being a woman of colour, getting that award was really very special to me and initially I couldn’t believe that I have really got it,” she remarked adding, “I want to open more doors for others to rise in life with my titles”.
Modelling for giving back
In the course of her journey in pageantry, the Global Indian has successfully fundraised more than AUD $3850 for the charitable organisation, emotion 21, dedicated to aiding young adults and children with Down syndrome. She is also associated with CanTeen, Cancer Council, and Foodbank.
Arundhati serves as the brand ambassador for the boutique firm Bridal Fusion Mascia, aligning with her core values of inclusivity, diversity, and body positivity. Passionate about sustainability, she advocates for eco-friendly fashion and slow clothing through her partnership with South Australian brand NoRuYeLo, promoting a message of saying 'No to Rubbish, Yes to Love.' Additionally, she has been at the ramp for Lorna Jane at BU Fashion to support fundraising efforts for victims of domestic violence. Committed to giving back, she volunteered with the Rotary Club's Cold Plunge initiative, dedicated to raising funds for the homeless.
Before securing the Miss Teen Diamond Australia title in 2019, Arundhati had triumphed as the winner of the Miss Glamour Genic-Supreme Talent competition in 2018.
Recognised as a dedicated dancer and 'Arttrepreneur,' she is also the founder of the dance academy, AIDA Bharatanatyaved in Adelaide, South Australia. Proficient in three classical Indian dance forms - Bharatanatyam, Kathak, and Odissi - Arundhati has tried to make these art forms popular. “I feel happy that through my dance I am able to showcase the beauty of my Indian roots and culture to a multicultural audience in Australia,” she remarked.
Her expertise in Indian classical dance was honed under the tutelage of esteemed gurus, including the renowned Padmashree Shobana Chandra Kumar, an award-winning actress, dancer, and choreographer, from whom she learned Bharatanatyam.
Since most of her gurus are based in India, Arundhati’s dance classes have mostly been on zoom or Skype. The youngster is grateful to her gurus’ patience in teaching her in online mode. However, since she had moved to Australia from India at the age of 11 owing to her father’s transfer, she had picked up the basics of dancing before migrating.
Spreading positivity
Arundhati looks at her achievements as a starting point for her greater goals. Her aim extends beyond personal success. The multi-talented youngster wants her efforts to positively impact the community and serve as inspiration, especially for young people, so that they get encouraged to aim higher.
“I want to instigate change, build something meaningful, and leave a lasting impact, creating a legacy for future generations to surpass,” she says.
The fashion model believes in the inherent beauty of individuals regardless of their appearance – colour and body type. “Clothes fit you, you don't fit the clothes,” she said, advocating the idea that clothes should complement one's body rather than the other way around, especially when women are increasingly facing challenges finding clothes that suit them.
In love with her ‘Indian-ness’
“I was born in India and spent the first 11 years of my life there before I moved to Australia,” tells Arundhati who embraces her ‘Indian-ness’ with élan, and ‘loves everything about India’. “My love for theatre, music and other forms of art stems from my cultural roots.”
The Indian-origin youngster received recognition for her contributions to promoting art and multiculturalism, and was honoured with the Multicultural Award by the International Film & Entertainment Festival Australia at the New South Wales Parliament. Additionally, her impactful involvement in arts and fashion earned her the Highflyer Achiever - NRI Award at the Milestone Global Awards.
(February 25, 2023) The news was as exciting as it was historic. One of the most prominent basketball teams in the USA, Dallas Mavericks, had picked Satnam Singh to be their team member, making him the first Indian-born player to be selected in an NBA draft in 2015. Little did the world know that Satnam's entry in the NBA would open doors for an aspiring Indian American basketball player, Ryan Agarwal, who at the time was just another sixth grader at a Dallas middle school. Now a Stanford freshman, Ryan is one of the only Indian-American players on the Division I level and wishes to represent India in the American basketball landscape. "Even as I play today, I just have to keep in mind the fact that I help represent such a big community, and only a few people have the ability to do what I’m trying to do,” the basketball player said in a recent interview, adding, "It’s amazing to see how many people support me and have my back." The Stanford player, who is also deemed as the rising star of US basketball, is fully aware that his game could push him to be greater on the court,
ing, "It’s amazing to see how many people support me and have my back." The Stanford player, who is also deemed as the rising star of US basketball, is fully aware that his game could push him to be greater on the court, but it doesn’t pressure him. "Basketball is just kind of fun for me. I don’t really feel like it’s a burden on me," the Global Indian shared.
A star in the making
Ryan's parents had emigrated from India, and he was born in a Dallas suburb. While the young kid never saw someone playing basketball or considered it as a career path, it was the selection of Satnam in the Dallas Mavericks that encouraged him to start playing. In 2017, Ryan and his cousin had a chance to watch Satnam in an NBA G League game, and it was there that Ryan realised he wanted to play just like him. And once he had made up his mind, there was no looking back. The youngster started playing at his school and was soon picked up to be a part of the local team. Standing at 6’7 and a slender 175 pounds, the Indian American player is a certified bucket.
[caption id="attachment_27827" align="aligncenter" width="651"] Ryan with his family[/caption]
While he loved playing the sport and spending several hours mastering the skill, Ryan credits his parents for supporting him throughout the journey. Even though they were initially unsure about the rigorous world of recruiting and elite sports, watching their son play gave them immense confidence. Eventually, Ryan shared, that several families started reaching out to them to ask for advice, partly on how to encourage their children in sports and get them noticed by college coaches. "I’m blessed with the parents I have, because they put me in every sport possible to just try to see what I love, which honestly, not a lot of Indian parents do,” Ryan said, adding, "I think that’s the biggest thing for me. If it wasn’t for the support from my parents, who knows where I would be.”
More mountains to climb
The 18-year-old, who is a part of the Standford team now, understands how rare it is to see Indian basketball players playing at the Division I level and also realises his responsibility to encourage other South Asian kids, who aspire to be basketball players. "We didn’t really have a lot of players that were Indian-American playing Division I basketball that we could all look up to,” Ryan told in an interview, adding, "In AAU travel ball, I didn’t see any Indians at all. Even in Texas, playing travel ball against other teams, I didn’t see a lot. It was just kind of on my own team if anything.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acCnKfoOb-U
However, the teen player didn’t shy away from a certain amount of pressure that comes with people judging an entire culture based on his play. In fact, a few months back, Ryan also shared a video highlighting the efforts of his coaches and relatives who helped him during his journey, saying that he wants "to set an example for a whole heritage and prove that we can do it, too.”
So far this season, Agarwal has come off the bench for Stanford in nearly two-thirds of its games, averaging roughly eight minutes when he plays. Rivals.com once ranked Agarwal as a top-20 shooting guard, but Stanford Coach Jerod Haase believes that Ryan is a more complete player because of his size at 6-foot-6 and his passing ability. "I want to continue getting better and better and ready for the next level. I’ll be in the gym probably more than ever with my trainers and by myself," the player shared.
(December 15, 2022) A rebellion put Indian American Indrani Das on the path to research brain injuries, something that led her to win a quarter-million-dollar at the Regeneron Science Talent Search award as a 17-year-old. While most Indian parents coax their children to become doctors when they grow up, Indrani's parents weren't the same. With their roots in Kolkata, the banker couple had warned their daughter against opting for science. They even told her to not be a doctor. "Don’t become a doctor, it’s long and expensive. So, I decided I wanted to be a doctor,” she said. This passion led the Harvard University graduate to a medical-oriented project that focuses on her new approach to neurological damage. Always fascinated with brain injuries after learning about their irrevocable and devastating effects, she decided to learn more with her full-fledged project. As a senior at the Academy for Medical Science Technology in New Jersey, she explored how brain damage occurs and examined ‘astrogliosis’, a process that can lead to the excess production of a toxin that can damage neurons. She was keen to understand the nuances of how brain damage occurs and if she could figure out a way to slow
re out a way to slow or reverse the process. "My work centers on repairing the behaviour of supporting cells to prevent neuron injury and death. It was really that shock of what it can do to a person that pushed me to work," she explained.
[caption id="attachment_25387" align="aligncenter" width="683"] Indrani Das is an Indian-American young scientist[/caption]
This very work led her to win $250,000 at the 2017 Regeneron Science Talent Search, which is nicknamed the Junior Nobel Prize. "These diseases are so prevalent, so debilitating, it matters to me that I continue to work on this," she added. Her purpose is to treat traumatic brain injury which can lead to stroke, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's diseases. "In all these injuries, there is an insult to brain tissue which on the one hand causes neurons to die, but on the other hand causes supporting cells to calm these neurons. In my model, I found one of the problems which contributing to the disease condition, and then I also helped to treat it," she added.
The New Jersey resident was only three when she heard about the Regeneron Science Talent Search, as her love for science began blossoming at a young age. Seeing her fascination for dinosaurs and discovery at a young age, her parents suggested she submit her fossil findings to the competition. Years later, she not just applied but also took home the top prize for promoting neuron repair. But it wasn't a cakewalk for the Indian American who went through a process of reading scientific literature and running small experiments over many years to finally work on the subject.
[caption id="attachment_25388" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Indrani Das won the 2017 Regeneron Science Talent Search[/caption]
It was at the beginning of her high school as a 14-year-old that she began working on the project with only a rudimentary understanding of biology. The lack of in-depth experience with molecular biology and neuroscience was one of the biggest challenges for Indrani, which was exacerbated by the absence of "any one source for basic information." "What set the tone for my work was the learning curve I went through in the following months and years. I spent hours each day reading research journals to come to an understanding of the problems in a brain injury that I wanted to study, and used my growing knowledge base to help me conduct more and more refined experiments," the Global Indian said in an interview.
Being educated at the Bergen County Academy for Medical Science Technology, one of New Jersey's top public schools, she would often push her limits by conducting her research projects. That's when she wanted to focus on the brain. "Neurodegenerative diseases ruin a person's quality of life, they take away from (a person's) basic humanity. It was that impact I wanted to understand and to study and to try and repair,” she told CNN. With the help of mentor-cum-biology teacher Donna Leonardi, she embarked on her research journey, and began learning how cells lived and died by growing and manipulating cell cultures. She's also a member of the Stevens Lab at Boston Children's Hospital, where she works on synaptic pruning, a critical process in brain development.
[caption id="attachment_25389" align="aligncenter" width="601"] Indrani Das with her parents[/caption]
Indrani, who aspires to be a physician-scientist, is grateful to her parents for letting her follow her passion. "I’ll never forget my parents’ stories of how they worked full-time day jobs while securing additional degrees by night, and saved religiously for over a decade before my birth to provide me with the most comfortable life possible. I wouldn’t say that I’ve chosen a different path from my family, but that my choices reflect the evolution of theirs. We’re living the American dream," she added.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVRNZzQZezQ
Indrani, who has plans of wrapping up her Ph.D. program in the next 10 years, advises youngsters to not be limited by their circumstances and to break bigger goals into small steps. "At the end of the day, it’s not who you know, how much you know, or what you have that determines whether you achieve your goals – it's how much you are willing to go through. If you aren’t losing your drive to excel, you’re winning the game."
Jason Sangha[/caption]
Arundhati Banerjee[/caption]
Arundhati Banerjee[/caption]
Arundhati Banerjee[/caption]
Ryan with his family[/caption]
Indrani Das is an Indian-American young scientist[/caption]
Indrani Das won the 2017 Regeneron Science Talent Search[/caption]
Indrani Das with her parents[/caption]