Ishaan Patel: Indian-American’s nonprofit aids unprivileged kids in India & US
Compiled by: Team GI Youth
(November 26, 2023) Only two percent of humanitarian aid goes towards education – this was something that Connecticut-based Ishaan Patel found out at the age of 11 after having learnt about her aunt’s volunteering to teach impoverished children in Jaipur, India. Getting to know about schools where children were eager to learn but lacked the essential tools, they needed to do their work left Ishaan shocked. “She showed me pictures and told me stories about underfunded schools. The students attended class with no desks, no pencils, and no books. I was amazed and thought about all of the things available in my school. At the private school I attend (Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford, Connecticut), lessons are taught on smart boards, and assignments are completed on laptops. When I saw the pictures from India, I wanted to help,” the Indian American wrote in Childhood Explorer. This passion for helping children led to the birth of Planting Pencils, a charity that raises money and collects school supplies for underserved and underfunded schools in the US, India, and Africa.
Ishaan Patel launched Planting Pencils
Growing up in Connecticut, his doctor parents who emigrated from India in their childhood told Ishaan of the hardships they faced in India as children, and always encouraged him to help others. And he found the first window of opportunity, he couldn’t help but take a leap of faith. Coming from a privileged background, he understood its meaning and knew that he needed to make an impact. “We are the next generation and I see it as the job of privileged students to help those who are not privileged,” he added.
After hearing the stories of children in impoverished schools in India from his aunt, the Global Indian was keen to help. But how was still a big question for him, as he thought he was too young to make a difference? However, a summer in 2015 spent at a leadership conference at Stanford University and a financial camp on Wall Street turned the tide for him and made him understand that he had the power to make a difference despite being young. That’s when he began researching and was surprised to find out that more than 700 million adults in the world are illiterate and do not have the skills or awareness to improve the living conditions for themselves or their families.
Ishaan Patel with his mom who helped him with the launch of Planting Pencils
The startling facts nudged the Indian American enough to start Planting Pencils in 2015. He began by designing a website, and creating a permanent collection site at a Staples store in West Hartford to ensure steady donations of pencils, pens, crayons, rulers, used calculators, and computers. His mom helped him to raise funds by setting up donation boxes in different locations and through fundraising events. “ReBoot Computers in my home town agreed to collect and refurbish donated old computers so we can give them to students who cannot afford to buy their new ones. In honor of Read Across America Day on March 2nd, we delivered the charity’s first donations to two non-profit schools in Hartford, Connecticut,” said the Indian American.
In just a year, Ishaan’s work was recognised by the Milan Cultural Organisation in Hartford, and later, the Syracuse University Graduate Student organisation chose Planting Pencils as the beneficiary for its annual weekend fundraising MBA Olympic games. In a few years, Planting Pencils have helped underprivileged children across the US, India, and Africa by providing them with supplies.
Ishaan Patel
Ishaan, who is currently an undergraduate student researcher at Baylor University, plans to build a school in India sometime where he will provide food and water. “I believe that if students are healthy and comfortable, they will benefit even more from the internet access and computers I plan to provide for them. If we provide food and water in the schools, students wouldn’t have to worry about those needs during school or back home. If people are educated, they’ll be able to be self-sufficient,” he added. The Indian American believes that the Chinese proverb “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day but teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime” illustrates that education is a priceless commodity, and gives one the power to change one’s destiny. “I believe that we can make a difference – one pencil, one book, one child at a time.”
(February 22, 2023) When Prakrithi Suresh was barely two years old, her parents were overjoyed to hear her humming the Carnatic song she had heard her father practice. Carnatic music had been in her family for generations, starting with her paternal grandfather. They were trained vocalists although none had pursued it as a career. Prakrithi’s hereditary inclinations were celebrated and encouraged by her parents and when she was three-and-a-half years old, she began her training. [caption id="attachment_27731" align="aligncenter" width="722"] Prakrithi Suresh[/caption] Now fifteen, this Sharjah-based vocalist is a known face in UAE’s musical circuit, with many stage performances to her credit. Not only is she a gifted singer, she is also a talented Bharatanatyam dancer who has been training under the best gurus in UAE since she was four. While there are invitations for conferences and participation in music fests round the year, Prakrithi connects her gift of singing and dancing with spirituality. “I sing and dance just for the spiritual connection. My sole goal is to spread divinity, and to make everybody realise that it’s the ultimate supreme that all of us has to surrender to,” the young artist says in an interview with Global Indian. “My parents
e there are invitations for conferences and participation in music fests round the year, Prakrithi connects her gift of singing and dancing with spirituality. “I sing and dance just for the spiritual connection. My sole goal is to spread divinity, and to make everybody realise that it’s the ultimate supreme that all of us has to surrender to,” the young artist says in an interview with Global Indian.
“My parents have been very supportive and have never pressurised me about academics,” remarks Prakrithi, crediting them for her achievements so far.
Making a name
At the UAE’s national Margazhi fest 2019, Prakrithi bagged the overall champion award for excelling in all six categories of Carnatic vocal competitions. In 2020 she came second in an International Carnatic dance and music competition, which saw participation from around the world.
[caption id="attachment_27735" align="aligncenter" width="724"] Prakrithi Suresh with childrens’ book author Elisabetta Dami[/caption]
She has also received the Geronimo Stilton Foundation's medallion from its founder, the childrens’ book author Elisabetta Dami, at the Sharjah International Book Fair, for upholding the legacy of Indian traditional art forms even while living abroad.
The musical journey
Having begun her Carnatic vocal training as a toddler, the teenager is grateful to have trained under some of the best gurus in India and the UAE. She started learning formally from her guru, Palakkad Rajesh Kesav, and went on to learn from Dr Amruta Sankaranarayanan, who is the daughter and disciple of Padma Bhusan, Sangeetha Kalanithi T V Sankaranarayanan.
The fifteen-year-old is now receiving advanced training from Dr Maithli Krishnan, professor of music, SRC College Trichy. As they are in different countries, the guru and shishya connect with each other online.
The talented disciple is also a teacher to two four-year-old pupils who have started learning Carnatic vocals from her.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgXvAuGr0uw
The teen vocalist’s portfolio comprises an impressive collection of music videos on her YouTube channel. The aesthetically-shot videos have been shot by her musically-inclined engineer father.
“I do not have any motive of earning money from my performances, nor do I want to spend money on creating music videos and that’s why my father films them,” she says. Her innocent smile hides great maturity.
Prakrithi’s mother, who worked as a scientist before her daughter was born, has played a great role in evoking the sense of divinity in Carnatic vocal and Bharatanatyam for the teenager. “I am spiritually inclined and do not perform for fame,” she says, adding, “It’s my mother who tells me how I can do better if I am spiritually connected to my art.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUzCqqc6LDw
The path of Bharatanatyam
Whether it is Carnatic music or Bharatanatyam, Prakrithi finds tranquillity and peace in both. While Carnatic music is a way of seeking enlightenment, Bharatanatyam is sadhana for her.
“Bharatanatyam is like uniting the soul with the absolute soul,” she says, adding, “Coming from a spiritual country like India, where the realization of consciousness or spirit has been the supreme goal of life, it is no wonder that the oldest dance form of the country, Bharatanatyam is nothing but a form of Sadhana.”
Prakrithi had started basic training of the dance form in 2013 under her guruSahadevan of Kalakshetra, Sharjah who is the discipline of Rukmini Devi Arundale. Currently she is honing her skills under guru Girish Kumar, the disciple of Kalamandalam Chandrika who is the disciple of the veteran actress Vaijayantimala.
Apart from performing in various events in UAE and in functions organised by the Indian consulate of Dubai and Indian Association Sharjah; the youngster has performed in two Natyanjali’s in India as well.
On a different note…
A student of Sharjah’s Amity Private School, when Prakrithi is not busy studying or practicing, she can be found playing musical notes on her guitar or keyboard. “I have taught myself to sing English songs and play western instruments,” she shares.
Looking forward to soon start her high school, the artistic teenager has already decided her professional path. “I want to become a veterinary doctor, quite opposite to what people would think,” she smiles.
(May 29, 2022) Working on a Miyawaki forest plantation drive near Kommasandra Lake in Bengaluru, 16-year-old Rachanaa Bodugu realised she had been mistaken in thinking farmers have an easy job. There’s usually no electricity during the day, for starters, which means pumping water into the fields is a challenge. “Electricity is mostly available in the night time and farmers struggle to irrigate their crops,” says the teen, who is a class 11 student at Indus International School. A little digging showed that agricultural processes are not water-efficient, leading to sky-high energy bills for farmers. “Irrigation by manual methods is very laborious,” Rachanaa tells Global Indian. “I was compelled to come up with a solution.” [caption id="attachment_17286" align="aligncenter" width="613"] Rachanaa Bodugu[/caption] Eco-friendly solution “It is a step towards sustainability and effectiveness of farmers,” Rachanaa remarks, adding, “during the plantation of 2,000 plants for Miyawaki forest, I realised how much manual labour goes into watering the plants.” She started researching ways to water plants more efficiently. Trawling through the internet, she hit upon an idea, and backed every step of her innovation with reliable research. It is an unusual model that the teen came up with – a three-wheel cycle that runs
">“It is a step towards sustainability and effectiveness of farmers,” Rachanaa remarks, adding, “during the plantation of 2,000 plants for Miyawaki forest, I realised how much manual labour goes into watering the plants.” She started researching ways to water plants more efficiently. Trawling through the internet, she hit upon an idea, and backed every step of her innovation with reliable research. It is an unusual model that the teen came up with – a three-wheel cycle that runs on solar panels. Once the design was ready, she fine-tuned the idea with her mentor, Anand Malligavad, under whose guidance she had been working to rejuvenate Kommasandra Lake and reviving the fauna around its lakebed.
[caption id="attachment_17287" align="aligncenter" width="798"] Rachanaa giving finishing touches to her innovation - the solar cycle[/caption]
Her mentor, Anand, is a mechanical engineer and a lake conservationist – well qualified to give Rachanaa the feedback she needed. Her cycle is fitted with a drum, a pump and has solar panels installed on top. It doesn’t require fossil fuel to run and can pump water from a nearby source. “Madhusudhan, an acquaintance, helped me with the solar panels,” says Rachanaa. Using funds provided by her parents, the teen set to work on a cost-effective prototype.
“The protype has been tested successfully and I am hopeful for CSR funds so that more and more farmers can be helped,” she tells.
Finding the path
Spending about four months in lake rejuvenation and revival of fauna around it sparked Rachanaa’s mind with great insights. “I was intrigued by Anand sir’s initiatives of lake revival, and joined him out of curiosity,” She went expecting a laidback cleaning drive but was impressed to find the team using highly scientific methods. “Those few months spent making a difference around Kommasandra Lake were a great learning opportunity,” she smiles.
[caption id="attachment_17288" align="aligncenter" width="747"] Kommasandra Lake in Bengaluru[/caption]
Triggered by her own hardships, her vision to help farmers in and around Bengaluru is commendable, given her age. "My innovation would make life not only less laborious but more convenient for them as they would not feel compelled to work at night when electricity is available, losing their sleep and making themselves prone to injuries in the dark," she believes.
[caption id="attachment_17290" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Rachanaa with her mentor, water conservationist, Anand Malligavad[/caption]
Rachanaa finds inspiration in Anand, whose work fills her with desire to be of more help to the people at large. “He has been impressively rejuvenating so many lakes in such a short time and that too without spending much money,” says the youngster, who aspires to be an entrepreneur and remain attached to the cause of saving the environment. She also loves spending time with her parents Sudhakar and Geeta and her brother, Krishna, as well as painting, sculpting, watching YouTube and Netflix.
(December 19, 2023) At the 2023 Canada-Wide Science Fair awards gala in Edmonton, nearly 900 attendees celebrated the achievements of Canadian students. Among them, fourteen-year-old Arushi Nath, the founder of MonitorMyPlanet, became the first back-to-back best project award winner since 1989-1990, claiming the prize in 2022 and then again 2023. Her project on planetary defense, focusing on detecting unknown asteroids using open data, mathematics, and Python – her algorithm did actually manage to locate three unknown asteroids. Arushi already has a long list of achievements to her name - she came in second at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists in 2023, the winner of the 2023 Young Astronomer Award from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. In 2020, at the age of 11, she won the NASA SpaceAppsGlobal Challenge and in 2017, was the Canada SpaceApps Winner when she was eight years old! A young genius Arushi’s scientific journey began young – she has been learning on her own for years. Growing up in Toronto, she would spend her time looking up at the night sky when she was four or five years old. Soon, the family got their first telescope, and Arushi would “observe planets, stars clusters
ushi would “observe planets, stars clusters and sketch the observations,” she said. Academically, she had long since surpassed her school work, and wanted to spend her time pursuing her interests. One of these was sparked during her weekly family trips to the Ontario Science Centre, where she learned about the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC). "They were hosting a monthly meeting inside the Ontario Science Centre, and I was really curious, so I listened to one," Arushi said. The meetings at RASC, where astronomers and scientists presented their projects, further fueled her interest.
As she matured, Arushi's interests diversified. "I also have other interests, for example, I have been learning to code in Python for the last four or five years. So, I definitely wanted to have lots of coding involved," she says. She also loves Math, which she learns on her own, saying, "I'm always one or two steps ahead of my school because the subject amazes me so much." All these interests would eventually come together in the project that helped her win the Canada Wide Science Fair.
The hackathon veteran
As far as Arushi was concerned, doing projects was the best way to learn. She also wanted to bring her scientific acumen together with the things she cared about. So, in 2018, when she and her friends attended the School Strike for Climate started by Swedish Climate activist Greta Thunberg, Arushi wanted to do more “than raise slogans or wait for others to act,” she said. This led to her designing ‘Schools and NASA Aiding Climate Action by Kids’, which comes with the catchy abbreviation, ‘S.N.A.C.K.’. The project uses satellite imagery to calculate tree densities of schools in Toronto, than ranks and maps them. She also designed a pollution sensor to measure levels in parks and schools across the city, using Arduino, the open source electronics platform that lets users create interactive models. "I wanted school children to come up with local solutions to global challenges," she says.
Her efforts resulted in her being named the NASA SpaceApps Global Nominee - she had already won the Space Apps Challenge in 2014 and again in 2018. In fact, by the age of 10, she had been at a jaw-dropping 29 hackathons. This was a special win, though, she says, of S.N.A.C.K, as it was her first solo attempt. " I had to do all the work myself, from thinking of the idea, making it, coding and presenting it to the judges in 40 hours."
The dragonfly drone
As far as Arushi was concerned, doing projects was the best way to learn. During the Covid-19, she began work on her first major endeavour – building a drone – quite a feat for the young scientist, who was only 10 years old at the time. The idea for the directional dragonfly drone was born during the COVID-19 lockdown. Disturbed by the news of locusts devastating crops in Asia and Africa, Arushi saw an opportunity to make a difference. "These locusts often travel in large swarms, are very fast, and can change direction unpredictably," the Global Indianexplained, underlining the urgency of the problem.
Arushi's solution was to use drones for locust control. "I thought of using drones, as they can fly, follow the locusts, and monitor their behavior," she explains. She also wanted to biomimic nature, choosing the dragonfly because it is by far the most efficient hunter, with a 95 percent success rate in catching prey (in comparison, the success rate of lions is 25 percent and sharks have a 50 percent chance of success). Developing a drone is no mean feat, and Arushi used her Lego base to create the foundation and then attached motors and sensors to it, in a meticulous trial and error process. "I programmed it to identify all red objects as locusts," she said, describing the functionality of her creation.
The planetary defense system
By this time, Arushi was also involved with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. She started out attending meetings and listening to others speak but before long, she was presenting her own findings as well. She was also learning how to code in Python, “I started on my own and did many tutorials on Coder Dojo and Kids Code Jeunesse,” she says. And she wanted a way to put all these passions together.
Her idea was planetary defense against unknown asteroids. She had learned about robotic telescopes through the RASC and utilised images from these devices – “I took images from robotic telescopes in Canada, Spain, the US, and Australia to get full sky coverage," Arushi explains. She had to sift through these to pinpoint the unknown asteroids, using the Gaia Star Catalogue for information on star positions, and the NASA Horizon dataset, for predictions on the locations of known asteroids. Then, using her coding and math skills, she developed an algorithm to filter out known entities - “I created custom masks to remove all these objects, leaving me with the unknown objects," she explains.
She couldn’t always go it alone, though, often turning to online forums for help. "When I got some errors, I would try for days, even weeks, on my own to find the answer, but if not, I would reach out to specific forums," she says. She also reached out to experts, including Christina Thomas, the lead investigator on NASA’s DART mission. “"I sent her a message, told her about my current project, and asked if I could have a Zoom meeting to talk to her about her project and how it could relate to mine," Arushi smiles. Thomas responded and the two did get on that Zoom meeting. "I actually asked her for pointers on my project and what I could do," she adds.
Finding acclaim
“The whole thing took about ten months to complete,” Arushi says, “From getting the idea, reaching to people to see if they approved of it and then starting to code." Her goals changed along the way, so much so that her first goal and the end result were very different.” Finally, her findings were sent to the Minor Planet Center database. Then came waiting for a response. “A couple of weeks later, I got an email and three of the asteroids had my name next to them,” Arushi smiles. She submitted her project to the Toronto Science Fair and won gold, qualifying for the prestigious Canada-Wide Science Fair, where she also went on to win. “I was watching the results with my family and wasn’t expecting my name to pop up again but it did,” she says.
Now, Arushi is continuing work on her planetary defense project. Now that the DART Mission has successfully entered the Didymos (asteroid) system, she wants to measure the changes of the system during this impact. "I began studying the Didymos binary system for a copule of months before the DART impact," she says, "To fully understand how it has been affected."
(September 3, 2024) Bengaluru-based entrepreneurs Gagandeep Reehal and Gursimran Kalra unveiled the next generation of autonomous mobility last year with a driverless car, zPod – India’s first autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel. Equipped with a network of strategically placed high-resolution cameras, the vehicle can continuously capture real-time images of the surroundings and feed them into an advanced AI system. The AI then processes this visual data, making intelligent decisions to safely navigate and drive without any human input. "It showcases True Vision Autonomy, relying purely on camera sensors (yes, 'only') for the first time in history," remarked Gagandeep Reehal while sharing a video of Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder of Infosys, and TCM Sundaram, Chairman of Chiratae Ventures, taking the country's first autonomous vehicle ride with him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4AjQOORzTA With this groundbreaking innovation in 2023, the co-founders of Minus Zero started 2024 on a high note. They not only secured a partnership with Ashok Leyland and the International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIITH) but also earned a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list. "But this is just the beginning; much more is on the way. While we are the faces of this project, it belongs to the
"But this is just the beginning; much more is on the way. While we are the faces of this project, it belongs to the entire team at Minus Zero," remarked Gagandeep after being named in the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list.
Nature-inspired AI
At Minus Zero, the approach to AI is deeply inspired by nature, particularly in how humans develop intelligence. Unlike traditional AI, which often focuses on highly specialised tasks, Minus Zero’s nature-inspired AI aims to emulate the way humans learn and adapt.
“Human intelligence begins with a broad, generalised understanding of the world, which is gradually refined into specialised skills, such as driving. This process allows humans to adapt to new environments and tasks efficiently, explains Gagandeep adding, “In driving, for example, humans didn’t learn by mastering every specific situation first. Instead, we developed a foundational understanding of how the world works—like recognizing obstacles, predicting the behaviour of other drivers, and making quick decisions based on constantly changing surroundings. This generalised intelligence is what Minus Zero seeks to replicate in its AI systems.”
By building AI that mimics this adaptive, learning-based approach, Minus Zero’s technology doesn’t rely on extensive pre-mapped data or an overload of sensors. Instead, it can adjust to new geographies, vehicle types, and unpredictable scenarios, just as a human would.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv-OtkEyKNc
This innovation in AI doesn’t just make autonomous driving possible; it makes it safer and more adaptable, aiming to overcome the limitations of current robotics and AI systems in driving, believe the entrepreneurs.
The Minus Zero journey
High school friends Gagandeep and Gursimran founded Minus Zero in 2020 as two undergraduates with a bold vision for solving autonomous driving challenges in India.
"Minus Zero is India's first startup building foundational AI models for autonomous driving, delivered as an industry-first intelligent platform for automotive OEMs, enabling autopilot and self-driving capabilities for next-generation vehicles across all geographies," Gagandeep shared.
Having demonstrated India’s first autonomous concept vehicle, the zPod, the start-up has garnered support from leading investors like Chiratae Ventures and others.
[caption id="attachment_39098" align="aligncenter" width="737"] Gagandeep Reehal at Dubai World Trade Centre[/caption]
In addition to the recent Forbes accolade, Minus Zero has been recognized with prestigious awards such as the NASSCOM AI Gamechanger award. The company has also represented India on international stages, including Vivatech 2023 in Paris, France, and the World Self-Driving Congress in Dubai.
Driving the future of Indian commercial vehicles with Ashok Leyland
Sealing a deal with Ashok Leyland, the country’s top commercial vehicle manufacturer, is a great milestone for the young entrepreneurs who are in their early twenties. The partnership is set to transform the commercial trucking industry by deploying autonomous solutions on a large scale.
Minus Zero's pioneering autonomous driving platform, powered by its innovative nature-inspired AI technology would be integrated into Ashok Leyland’s fleet of commercial vehicles. The collaboration aims to enable safe and scalable adoption of autonomous driving in the commercial vehicle sector.
[caption id="attachment_39097" align="aligncenter" width="674"] Minus Zero COO Gursimran, Ashok Leyland CTO N Saravanan and Minus Zero CEO & CTO Gagandeep[/caption]
"Ashok Leyland brings decades of experience in delivering high quality products at scale and we are excited to partner with them in this journey of accelerating autonomous driving in India and globally. This partnership marks the beginning of India's autonomous driving story,” said Gagandeep after signing the deal.
The collaboration is initially focused on developing customised autonomous trucking solutions for ports, factory operations, and corporate campuses. As regulations around autonomous driving evolve, the entrepreneurs plan to expand into hub-to-hub applications and long-haul trucking.
“Minus Zero’s groundbreaking work is a step towards creating autonomous vehicles that can navigate the complexities of real-world environments with the same intuitive understanding that humans possess,” Gagandeep remarks.
(July 15, 2022) India’s star opener, Smriti Mandhana, comes from a family of cricketers. The 26-year-old, who watched her brother play in district tournaments and would save his newspaper clippings as a child, has carved a glorious career for herself. Today, she ranks as the only Indian batter in the top ten list of women’s One Day International (ODI) player rankings. Moreover, she was awarded the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy for being the best female cricketer of the year, not once but twice - in 2018 and 2021. Even the BCCI named her 2018 Best Women's International Cricketer. [caption id="attachment_19302" align="aligncenter" width="683"] Smriti Mandhana, Indian cricketer[/caption] The left-handed batter has also been awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award for her accomplishments. "Proud to call myself an Indian. I still fondly remember the day I got the (first) chance to represent my country, a feeling beyond words," reminisced the cricketer in one of her tweets. Global Indian turns its spotlight on India's record setting player. Rise of a star It was in 2013 that her budding cricketing career took a quantum leap when she clinched two centuries in a one-day game. The Mumbai-born cricketer was playing for Maharashtra against Gujarat, scoring an unbeaten 224 in 150 balls in an under-19 tournament at Vadodara. She reached another milestone in
my country, a feeling beyond words," reminisced the cricketer in one of her tweets. Global Indian turns its spotlight on India's record setting player.
Rise of a star
It was in 2013 that her budding cricketing career took a quantum leap when she clinched two centuries in a one-day game. The Mumbai-born cricketer was playing for Maharashtra against Gujarat, scoring an unbeaten 224 in 150 balls in an under-19 tournament at Vadodara. She reached another milestone in 2016 by scoring three half centuries that led her team to win the Women’s Challenger Trophy. She became the tournament’s top scorer with 192.
Her international debut was in 2014 test match against England at Wormsley Park. In 2016, during the Australian tour, Smriti made a mark - scoring her international career’s maiden century. That year, she was the only Indian player to be named in the ICC Women's Team of the Year. She has been representing the country and displaying her excellent cricketing prowess in tournaments like the Women’s Cricket World Cup, Women’s Twenty20 Internationals, Women’s One Day Internationals and Women’s Cricket Super League.
[caption id="attachment_19311" align="aligncenter" width="704"] Smriti Mandhana with Indian women's cricket team members[/caption]
The year 2019 was a significant year for the ace cricketer as she became the youngest captain of India's women Twenty20 international squad for the three-match series against England, at the age of 22.
"Heartiest congratulations on yet another magnificent year in international cricket. Keep giving your best and keep scaling new heights," lauded cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, when she received the ICC Cricketer of the Year Award this year.
A Rajasthani girl raised in Maharashtra
Born to a Rajasthani family in Mumbai, she did her schooling at Madhavnagar. Seeing her father and brother play cricket at the district level, she was instantly attracted to the game during her growing up years. She would often accompany her brother to see him play, and knew that someday she would be scoring runs like him. It was her father who started training her for cricket. She was so good at the game that she was selected in Maharashtra’s Under-15 team when she was just nine. This initial nudge made her father confident that Smriti had a future in the sport. She soon started training under a junior state coach, Anant Tambwekar. At eleven, she made it to the Maharashtra Under-19s team.
Though she spent most of her time on the field, studies never took a back seat for the cricketer, who is a graduate in commerce from Chintamani Rao College of Commerce, Sangli.
Life other than cricket
Though the pandemic put a screeching halt on her game, the cricketer made her presence felt off the field with her popular talk show, Double Trouble. Featuring Smriti and cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues as hosts, the show gave an insight into the world of Indian sports stars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbIzuZkma-U
The star cricketer, whose net worth is close to $3 million, calls her family the wind beneath her wings. Her father, Shrinivas, a chemical distributor by profession, still handles all her cricket schedules, while her mother, Smita, manages her diet. Apart from her glorious cricketing profession, she has also stepped into entrepreneurship with SM18, a café and restaurant in her home town, Sangli. However, cricket is something that is closest to her heart. "Whenever I go out to bat, my only responsibility is to look at the scoreboard and think what India needs from me at this moment," said the cricketer in an interview.
Prakrithi Suresh with childrens’ book author Elisabetta Dami[/caption]
Rachanaa giving finishing touches to her innovation - the solar cycle[/caption]
Kommasandra Lake in Bengaluru[/caption]
Rachanaa with her mentor, water conservationist, Anand Malligavad[/caption]
Gagandeep Reehal at Dubai World Trade Centre[/caption]
Minus Zero COO Gursimran, Ashok Leyland CTO N Saravanan and Minus Zero CEO & CTO Gagandeep[/caption]
Smriti Mandhana with Indian women's cricket team members[/caption]