Global Indianstory Global Indian ExclusiveNeed for Speed: Racer Nikeetaa Takkale to represent India at 2023 Asia Pacific Rally Championship

Need for Speed: Racer Nikeetaa Takkale to represent India at 2023 Asia Pacific Rally Championship

Written by: Bindu Gopal Rao

(September 24, 2023) Nikeetaa Takkale, a prodigious Pune-based rally driver, has quickly made a mark in the motor racing arena. Within just a year and a half, she amassed over 60 trophies and clinched the title of the fastest driver at the INAC autocross west zone round in 2022. Furthermore, she won the prestigious motorsports award for emerging Indian women in 2022. In a true display of grit, during the Nagaland rally, she overcame severe challenges to secure third place in the Junior INRC. On the international front, Nikeetaa is gearing up to represent India as the sole female driver at the 2023 Asia Pacific Rally Championship.

During a brief visit to her hometown, Pune, in 2021, Nikeetaa Takkale was attending an autocross event when she met the person who would change the course of her life. “That’s where I met Chetan Shivram (sir) for the very first time,” she tells Global Indian. “He wanted me to drive the autocross just for fun. My dad encouraged me to try as well and I decided to take part.” She ended up winning nine trophies and the best amateur laurel, on her first attempt. That sparked a passion for motorsports in the already athletic Nikeetaa Takkale.

Indian racer | Neekitaa Takkale | Global Indian

A prolific and accomplished sportsperson growing up, Nikeetaa Takkale shifted gears for a while, to study BBA and Cosmetology, before following her dreams in racing. In school, Takkale was an award-winning athlete, with 36 medals in the 400 meters, 100 meters and sprint to her credit. She played football too, and won a trophy for best football player’. After completing her IB in 12^th in an international school, she did her BBA from MIT college along with fashion design from INIFD apart from a cosmetology course from Lakme academy.

Accolades Galore

There was no looking back for Nikeetaa after that triumphant first race. She has been in motorsports for a very short time, but has won over 60 trophies in the last year and a half. In 2022, she bagged the fastest driver trophy in the INAC autocross west zone, and in the same year, won her first motorsports award for ‘emerging Indian women in motorsports’. “The very important people behind my success are my parents and Chetan Sir who have always kept me motivated whether I win or not,” she says. “These awards have always made me do better day by day and I have kept improving and am making sure that I collect many more awards in the coming years.”

Now, Nikeetaa is gearing up for the international circuit and is in training for the Asia Pacific round. She will be the only Indian woman in 2023 to represent the country in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship. In a short span, she has completed Pune Time Attack Autocross, Pune Auto Prix, Coorg Autocross, Hyderabad Indian National Autocross Championship, Pune Indian National Autocross Championship, and K1000 rally, among others.

On Track

The racetrack is an unforgiving place, filled with challenges. “Every rally has been a learning process. On many occasions, my car has broken down during the race but I always make it a point to finish,” says Nikeetaa. She recalls an experience in Nagaland, for instance, as she participated in her second rally. “Everything was new to me, from the route to the terrain. I was very new to motorsports and day one was fantastic as the timings were good.” Day two started off well too, but as she neared the final stage, the car’s steering wheel broke. “I was not able to drive because the steering wheel was moving around everywhere and it was a downhill section,” she says.

Nikeetaa continued to drive downhill without reducing speed, clinging to the steering wheel with one hand because she knew she could make a podium finish and was determined to finish the rally. “Then my key broke and I opened my car’s bonnet to start it through wires because I had not carried my spare key with me.” She called her tuner and explained the situation to him and followed his instructions to start the car. Despite all these challenges, she didn’t just finish the rally, she placed third at the Junior Indian National Rally Championship (INRC). “This experience gave me confidence and I have learnt that no matter what, it is important to never give up,” smiles the determined young driver.

Training Hard

Each rally is preceded by rigorous training. Nikeetaa drives her rally car to get used to it and hone her skills. “For the Asia Pacific cup, I am training very hard, I have been learning new skills, techniques and getting used to high-speed turns. I am very excited for the APRC round and am hoping for a very good result. My upcoming Coimbatore rally will be fun and it is very new for me because this will be my first time in Coimbatore and I am hoping it will be a successful one,” Nikeetaa explains.

Future Perfect

When she has no rallies, she likes to shop and travel. At home, she likes to spend time with family chilling with her favourite coffee. She also likes learning new things as she believes she is a person who cannot remain idle.

Nikeetaa admits that her racing career is most important to her and as her parents have always travelled with her, she really does not feel the pressure to juggle her personal and professional life. She adds, “Racing has taught me to never give up, no matter what and be competitive. Dedication is the key to success. As I have been very successful in such a short time frame, I would advise aspiring racers to always keep trying because not every day will be yours. One must win and one must lose but the day you lose will be the day you will start winning. Always keep trusting yourself and be dedicated to what you are doing. You will be rewarded for your efforts one day that will make you see the kind of success that you would have never imagined.” Apart from the upcoming Asia Pacific Cup, she wants to drive in the World Rally Championship which is her biggest dream in motorsports. Until then it is time to cheer this youngster as she steers her way in a trajectory that few have tread – and done so successfully.

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Jeevan borkar

September 25, 2023 12:41 pm

I Proud of you beta Nikeeta

Published on 24, Sep 2023

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How language redeemer Shruti Rijhwani mines your language with AI &ML

(March 23, 2022) Humans aren’t the best at preservation. Case in point, the world as we know it. Now, fathom how a country like India, that had 1,100 languages, has lost 220 forever. That 20 percent is just skimming the tip of this nadir – Across the world too, the findings are concerning. Over 1,500 endangered languages will no longer be spoken by the end of this century. Or that of the world’s 7,000 recognised languages, around half are currently endangered. Language redeemer Shruti Rijhwani decided to address this lacuna, and preserve them. The Pittsburg-based coding whiz used algorithms to preserve languages like Hokkaido Ainu (spoken among few elderly Japanese), Griko (Italiot Greek), Yakkha (from Nepal and Sikkim) and Kwak'wala (estimates state only 200 speak it fluently in Western Canada). Way back in 2011, a young girl aspired for a career in technology. She was to travel to Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, for a BSc in computer science. There, she strengthened her foundation and ambled along to Carnegie Mellon University for an MS in language technologies, followed by a PhD in the same at the School of Computer Science. About to graduate in May 2022, Shruti Rijhwani

022, Shruti Rijhwani was awarded the Forbes 30 under 30 2022. Her metier was restoring lost languages using artificial intelligence and machine learning. In that, restoring world history. The Bloomberg PhD fellow first got interested in languages as a preppy research intern at Microsoft Research (2015).

[caption id="attachment_13118" align="aligncenter" width="522"] Shruti Rijhwani[/caption]

Now, busying with her final thesis, to graduate as a PhD, Shruti Rijhwani speaks from Pittsburgh to Global Indian, “My PhD thesis at CMU encompasses my research on developing machine learning algorithms to improve the accuracy of extracting text in endangered languages from printed books - those endangered. The books and documents in these languages do not have a digital format. My research works towards improving automatic digitisation using machine learning and natural language processing,” explains the traditionalist whose was honoured by Forbes in the science category.

A girl who loved computers

Brought up in Bengaluru, India, her parents and sister, while away from her, are a constant source of motivation. “I really miss my family in India,” says the language champion.

Not just her family, Shruti, misses her visits to India before Covid-19 hit, “I really miss the food – I always look forward to visiting my favourite restaurants in Bengaluru whenever I visit my family,” says the NLP expert.

For laymen, Shruti explains this quest into languages and tech that led her to becoming a research fellow at Microsoft Research then Bloomberg AI, publishing innumerable papers, to then getting consumed into the world of languages.

“I became interested in NLP after an internship at Microsoft Research in Bengaluru,” says Shruti, who then realised that many existing language technologies support a limited number of languages as opposed to being able to support the 7,000+ languages in the world.

“Many communities that speak endangered languages want language technologies that work well for their language, but it’s challenging. My project tries to build algorithms that work well for endangered languages in collaboration with linguists and endangered language communities,” explains the language redeemer.

At heart, a language expert

For Rijhwani, the primary technical challenge was that most state-of-the-art NLP methods rely on a large amount text resources, or data for ML – which endangered languages don’t have. “My research helps overcome a part of this challenge by developing techniques that perform well without much data,” she explains.

As complex as it sounds, the language redeemer breaks it down. “The algorithms take scanned images of non-digitised books and handwritten documents, automatically recognise characters, and produce digitised text. The recognition sees the algorithm looking at the shape of each character, and trying to match it to an existing pattern,” explains Shruti excitedly. While the recognition is not perfect, she has developed algorithms to automatically correct errors using NLP techniques through patterns that correct them.

Incredibly honored to be recognized on the 2022 @Forbes 30 under 30 list in Science!

✨*HUGE* thanks to my collaborators and mentors, @mulix, @anas_ant, @gneubig
✨More about my recent work: https://t.co/Qbum8a2qvL @ForbesUnder30 #ForbesUnder30 https://t.co/xfdWhMffXP

— Shruti Rijhwani (@shrutirij) December 2, 2021

Elaborating on NLP, the 29-year-old explains that it is broad name for technologies that enable the understanding of human languages by computers. “There are multiple applications - automatically translating text (eg, Google Translate), searching the web, or automatic question- answer. Some work I did early in my PhD builds NLP models for automatically processing entities in human language (like location and person names). Now, I am using NLP techniques to improve text extraction accuracy for endangered languages,” adds the PhD student who is grateful for her mentor Graham Neubig’s guidance.

Those early days as a research intern, at Microsoft Research inspired Shruti to apply for a PhD. “During two summers, I worked as a research intern at Bloomberg AI. I enjoyed both, it gave me a good sense of how NLP research works. It also brought about collaborations with researchers at Bloomberg, leading to published research papers,” she adds.

Creating a niche

The Forbes 30 under 30 reveals that she had a fairly normal childhood, grew up in a space where independence was respected. Though not drawn to science as a child, Shruti enjoyed computer programming. Now, graduating in May, deep in her dissertation, and a final project on improving text extracting from endangered language texts, she loves working in her beautiful office, writing code, doing data analysis, or talking with collaborators! “The environment at CMU is exciting for research as many students are working on diverse and challenging problems, so it’s fun to learn about and discuss different research ideas,” says the language restorer.

Shruti loves a challenge, Thus working on difficult research problems is hugely motivational. “I’m not afraid to run from a challenge. I enjoy taking up risky projects. I believe my projects have significant practical or real-world impact,” explains this student for life.

Her dream job predictably also involves being able to develop ML and natural language processing algorithms to solve large-scale and real-life or practical challenges. “I want to develop NLP models and techniques to expand technologies to more languages and tasks, supporting populations that don’t have access to them,” says the coder.

The adventurer behind the coder

All coding and no play is also not what Shruti prescribes to. “I love spending time outdoors: I often go hiking in Pittsburgh, there are so many amazing state and city parks. For a vacation, I’d go near the ocean as I love snorkelling and I’m a certified scuba diver,” says the language redeemer.

During Covid-19, Shruti discovered a talent for woodwork – even bought a few power tools, and ended up building multiple pieces of furniture and décor.

Her long-term partner is her constant source of support through school and now PhD. “He is incredible at helping me balance work and life, ensuring I take breaks and enjoy life outside of research,” reveals the ML and AI language whiz who wants students to enter stem, especially girls. “Science and stem research is awesome! It’s an exciting career, technologies are being rapidly developed and it’s a lot of fun to learn, and discover new things every day. It’s challenging no doubt, this direction, but it’s absolutely rewarding,” concludes the language redeemer.

Follow Shruti Rijhwani on Twitter and Linkedin

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Amey Agarwal: Providing healthcare access to Nephrotic syndrome warriors

(January 31, 2024) Amid the hustle and bustle of Kolkata emerges a story of resilience, compassion, and a relentless pursuit of making a difference. Meet Amey Agarwal, a youngster who has not only won over a 15-year battle with nephrotic syndrome but has also transformed his personal struggle into an inspiration for others. Amey's commitment to raising awareness and providing assistance for those affected by nephrotic syndrome gave birth to Nephrophile - a nonprofit - which has till now helped 300 families and even earned him a Diana Award. Amey's journey with nephrotic syndrome, a condition causing the kidneys to leak large amounts of protein into the urine, began at a tender age. For 15 years, he battled the challenges that the condition brought with it but instead of succumbing to the adversity, he emerged stronger, driven by a deep-seated belief that every child, irrespective of their economic circumstances, deserves a chance to become an adult. [caption id="attachment_35533" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Amey Agarwal[/caption] Helping people affected by Nephrotic syndrome In his pursuit of making a meaningful impact, the 17-year-old founded Nephrohelp, a charitable community dedicated to supporting children suffering from nephrotic syndrome. His vision goes beyond mere sympathy; it is a

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In his pursuit of making a meaningful impact, the 17-year-old founded Nephrohelp, a charitable community dedicated to supporting children suffering from nephrotic syndrome. His vision goes beyond mere sympathy; it is a mission to bring about positive changes in the lives of vulnerable families grappling with the harsh realities of this condition. The heart of Nephrohelp lies in its commitment to facilitating kidney transplants and providing essential support for those in need.

Through the relentless efforts of Amey and his team, the organisation has successfully raised funds and sponsorships, enabling life-changing kidney transplants for two children. "We are more than obliged and happy to help Warisha Khan (14 yrs) and Gaurav Mukherjee (13 yrs) by taking initiative in providing them all the medical necessities under the mentorship and guidance of Dr Rajiv Sinha, Professor & HOD of Pediatric Nephrology Division and thank him for extending his support for this noble cause," the student of St. Xavier's Collegiate School said in a statement.

The powerful impact

Beyond transplantation support, Nephrohelp has touched the lives of over 300 families by providing essential medicines and necessities. During COVID-19 pandemic, his compassion extended further as his organisation donated masks to hospitals, ensuring the safety of frontline workers. The impact of Nephrohelp is not confined to immediate assistance as his team organised awareness campaigns and health check-up camps, spreading knowledge about nephrotic syndrome and offering preventive healthcare to communities.

His dedication and selfless service to bring about transformative change has helped him earn Diana Award 2023 - which speaks volumes about his dedication, resilience, and the positive ripple effect his work has on communities. It is his commitment to education and awareness that have played an important role in his journey as a young changemaker. Recognising the need to inform and empower, Amey co-authored a book Nephrohelp’s Guide to Nephrotic Syndrome, published in both Hindi and Bengali, to raise awareness on nephrotic syndrome. Of them, he donated over 2500 books in rural areas to not only provide valuable insights into the condition but also serve as a guide for others who may be navigating similar challenges.

Amey's advocacy extends beyond the immediate impact of Nephrohelp as his efforts have made nephrotic syndrome visible on a broader scale, challenging societal perceptions and fostering understanding about the struggles faced by those with this condition. In a world where compassion often takes a backseat, he has become a force that transcends boundaries, making a profound difference in the lives of many. He is now committed to provide treatment to over 200 children each year, which reflects his dedication to accessible healthcare.

His vision for a world where every child has the opportunity to grow into adulthood fuels the organisation's initiatives and inspires others to join the cause. In a society that often overlooks the struggles of those with chronic conditions, Amey proves that one person's belief in making a difference can indeed change the world.

Follow Amey Agarwal on LinkedIn

Pepper Content: How 23-year-old Anirudh Singla built one of India’s largest content platforms

(March 5, 2024) Back in 2020, Anirudh Singla, like his classmates, went around with butterflies in his stomach during interview season. The only difference was that his classmates were giving interviews to get placed, while Anirudh Singla was preparing to conduct them. Anirudh Singla, Rahul Mathur and Kishan Panpalia were engineering students at BITS-Pilani, and, at the same time running a company that had generated Rs 1.25 crore in revenue by the time they graduated. They are the co-founders of Pepper Content and today, their clientele includes Google, Amazon, HUL, Facebook, and P&G, to name a few, as they on-board over 100 companies every month. Some three years after the Global Indians founded Pepper Content, the company was growing at 15 percent every month, and had received funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners, one of the world's top VC firms. Theirs is a fairytale story created through good old pragmatic hardwork, persistence, failure and determination. Young and driven to entrepreneurship It all started when Anirudh Singla decided he wanted to fund his own graduation. At BITS Pilani, he realised he was surrounded by 900 students who were as smart, if not smarter than he was and he wanted to stand out.

At BITS Pilani, he realised he was surrounded by 900 students who were as smart, if not smarter than he was and he wanted to stand out. "The one thing I was good at was writing," he said in an interview. He had also grown up in an entrepreneurial household, and seen his father build a $100 million business from the ground up. Singla knew about the importance of the hustle and the grind and got to work. He found a small digital marketing agency that needed 250 articles of 500 words each on car parts. "We quoted 75 paisa per word, which is around Rs 375 per article. However, the customer insisted on 10 paisa per word - you can't outsource it at that rate, no writer will agree. But we wanted a statistical advantage and we were just starting out so we negotiated it to 15 paisa per word," Anirudh recalls.

At the time, they were in the middle of exam season but Anirudh was determined to meet his goal of Rs 2.5 lakh in the next two months. He, along with Mathur and Panpalia, would write till 5 am, sleep for a couple of hours and then head out at 8 am to write their exam. After two weeks of this, they earned Rs 16,500. "It was a great feeling to have," Anirudh says.

Similarly, Panpalia had also arrived at BITS with big dreams and an entrepreneurial drive. Born in a tier-3 city named Akola in Maharashtra, Panpalia had made his first profit in the ninth grade, when he bought five kilos of produce, and sold it when the price was higher Rs 50 per kilo. "Those few hundreds I earned ignited the entrepreneur in me," he says. He would spend his time reading inspiring stories of young entrepreneurs who had made it big and like most ambitious Indian teens, wanted to make it to an IIT. He wrote the exam and was admitted to BITS Pilani, which he describes as the best thing that ever happened to him. "I entered college in 2019 and in the first year, like any tier-3 student, the first three months were bizarre. I was in a new world, full of new people and I was sure I didn't belong." He put himself out there anyway, joining entrepreneurial cells and clubs, where he happened to meet Anirudh Singla, who was just starting Pepper Content.

The cold-calling method

They built their company through cold calls and cold-emails, weeding through hundreds of rejections - not only were they very young, they were also engineering students with no experience in content. They cold called 50,000 people, and cold-emailed 10,000 others. "We didn't know the right way, so we cold called," said Panpalia. He put college on the backburner to join "a company that was not even a company," he says. His friends and family advised him not to do it, saying he should at least finish his engineering first, and that he was too young for entrepreneurship. "But I took the plunge. We needed our first 100 customers and we didn't know how to get them."

So, they pooled in their resources. "Initially it was all about customer obsession," Singla says. "LinkedIn was my Instagram. We had class till 1 pm in my second year and during that time I would send 40-50 customised LinkedIn messages to marketing heads and CFOs and everyone. That's 1,200 messages per month." Colleges have marketing teams and databases, which they also used. They were doing upto seven hours per day of just cold calling. "I learned that consistency is very important, it always compounds," he says.

Pepper Content started out as an aggregator of sorts, linking talented content creators, graphics designers and later video editors with businesses. The pandemic helped grow their business, as the gig economy expanded with it and many professionals turned to freelance works instead of structured nine to gives. They offer video production, blog writing, whitepaper content, thought leadership content, subtitling, voiceovers and infographics. "Every company is a content company," Singla states. The idea, they say, is to ensure that companies have access to the 'top three percent of freelance talent' in a single platform. Today, their company is valued at over Rs 500 crores as the global content economy is valued at more than $400 billion.

The company, which is based in Mumbai and boasts some 1,50,000 creators and 2,500 business clients, also has a library that includes blogs on content marketing and technology and how to stay ahead of the curve, case studies about their customers, e-books and whitepapers on the latest trends and marketing insights. On the SaaS side of things, they have now launched an AI co-pilot for enterprise marketers.

The AI platform

"The future isn't just AI or human intelligence, it's AI + human intelligence," Singla told Forbes. Rather than seeing AI language models like Chat GPT as a threat to businesses like his, he believes they will only help them. As companies are now scaling up content requirements in a big way, the handful of writers and creators on marketing teams will now need a certain amount of automation.

Their platform will work on keyword research, identify the right creators for the job and use data analytics tools to assess the final product. "Every piece you publish should be more intelligent than the last one," he says. The AI platform will help with the biggest struggle for marketers - organic traffic and providing returns on investment. "It will help build an SEO content strategy, content operations, content analytics and distribution," Singla explains. "Every piece you publish should be more intelligent than the last one."

Follow Anirudh Singla on LinkedIn.

Vishal Tolambia: Social entrepreneur championing sustainability by recycling textile waste

(April 4, 2024) "Over 1,600,000 tonnes of textile waste is generated even before a garment reaches a consumer, and directly ends up in landfills," said UK-based Vishal Tolambia, the founder of Humanity Centred Designs who is on a mission to enable sustainability in the garment industry. Since India is the second-largest textile manufacturing destination, one of the biggest challenges the small-scale factories face is the accumulation of pre-consumer textile waste at the manufacturing level. To solve this, Vishal has developed a technology that can convert pre-consumer textile waste to highly durable, flexible, and strong recycled material - an innovation that has earned the 26-year-old a spot in the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 list. "For us, sustainability means enabling sustainable operations. It also means that we care for the planet and protect it, by making sure that 80 percent of our production is through renewable energy sources, responsible consumption of water, and minimised resource utilisation. We're on a journey to make all fashion MSEs in India circular," said Vishal in an interview. [caption id="attachment_37011" align="aligncenter" width="579"] Vishal Tolambia[/caption] Finding his passion Growing up in the town of Pushkar in Rajasthan, Vishal Tolambia's tryst with the world of fashion began at

Tolambia | Global Indian" width="579" height="868" /> Vishal Tolambia[/caption]

Finding his passion

Growing up in the town of Pushkar in Rajasthan, Vishal Tolambia's tryst with the world of fashion began at a young age. His grandfather was a trailer in a village about 25 km from Ajmer and the skills were passed onto his father, who later got into the garment manufacturing and exporting business. His early memories are of spending time at his father's unit after school and learning the nuances. To expand his knowledge and technical know-how, he joined NIFT, Jodhpur - a place that gave wings to his ideas, so much so that he won the Best Graduation Project award for his collection inspired by Gujarat's Rabari community.

Over the years, he understood the importance of sustainable fashion and decided to do his master's at the University of Arts London, however, it was the lack of funds that pulled him back. But his portfolio led him to win a scholarship and thus began his journey. While pursuing an MA in Fashion Futures course, he highlighted the issue of textile waste that was generated by garment manufacturers in Pushkar. This led him to develop a novel localised circular recycling technology that converts textile waste into inventive materials—in turn, leading to the formation of Humanity Centred Designs-Textile, the world's first recycled material from mixed pre-consumer textile waste. "After graduating, I founded Humanity Centred Designs, a material innovation hub that uses circular recycling technology to recycle textile waste from marginalized fashion MSEs in India and provide sustainable circular textile solutions," he said in an interview.

Making a difference

In just a year, Humanity Centred Designs has supported over 150 apparel MSEs in waste management and sustainable development. "Our innovative solutions have not only helped manufacturers to reduce waste and environmental damage but also helped them to stay competitive in an increasingly environmentally-conscious market," Vishal added as he established two retail stores in Bath and London from where they are retailing recycled apparel across six countries. With the opening of the stores, they are helping support over 3500 artisans in Pushkar working at MSEs by providing them with a global platform in an international marketplace.

Currently, the company functions as a centre for material innovation, aiding micro, small, and medium-sized apparel businesses in advancing sustainable practices through circular recycling initiatives. "The goal is to make the fashion industry more sustainable, ethical, and responsible by reducing waste, reducing pollution, and promoting fair labour practices," added the entrepreneur, who has won the Global Citizen Prize for his outstanding efforts to promote social change.

Future plan

For someone who tries to live a sustainable lifestyle, Vishal is committed to discovering inventive approaches to minimize the environmental footprint of the fashion industry, all while prioritizing the well-being of the communities engaged in its production process. "For me, sustainability means creating a balance between the needs of the present and future generations. I believe that a sustainable mindset and practices can benefit both the environment and society, and I strive to incorporate these principles into every aspect of our business," he added.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SffJRnjeLIM

Having created a difference in such a short span of time, Vishal now plans to establish 15 flagship stores worldwide in order to showcase recycled textiles and promote ethical fashion. Moreover, his aspiration includes empowering more than 500 marginalized SMEs in India through the provision of circular recycling technology. "This will foster community development and environmental sustainability."

Follow Vishal Tomabia on LinkedIn

Lights, Camera, Combat: Akila Narayanan’s unconventional path from being a Tamil actress to U.S. Army paralegal

(January 14, 2024) In 2019, Akila's cinematic debut in director Arul's spine-chilling thriller 'Kadampari' marked her entrance into the world of Tamil cinema. Although she had found success, Akila wanted more than the glamours of stardom. After the film’s release and other projects like pageantries and stage shows in India, Akila returned to the US, where she had been raised, and enrolled in the US Army Combat Training. “Soldier, paralegal, educator, singer, model, actress - these are the various jobs that I have held to date which may seem excessive; however, I believe each one of these roles is my passion and has moulded me into an individual I am proud to be today,” shares the multifaceted youngster as she connects with Global Indian. [caption id="attachment_35242" align="aligncenter" width="466"] Akila Narayanan[/caption] Apart from being a U.S. Army paralegal, and an AIT Honour graduate, Akila has earned honours like the FETNA Women Achievement Award 2022, Visionary Celebrity Award for Young Talent 2018, Queen of Madras 2017, Miss Worldwide India 2017, Miss Tamil Nadu 2016, and Miss Teen India USA 1RU 2016. With an interest in both Indian and Western classical vocals, pop, rock, jazz, and R&B, Akila has performed in award shows,

rned honours like the FETNA Women Achievement Award 2022, Visionary Celebrity Award for Young Talent 2018, Queen of Madras 2017, Miss Worldwide India 2017, Miss Tamil Nadu 2016, and Miss Teen India USA 1RU 2016.

With an interest in both Indian and Western classical vocals, pop, rock, jazz, and R&B, Akila has performed in award shows, fashion shows, corporate events, beauty pageants, and concerts throughout South India.

A Bharatnatyam dancer with training for 13 years under the tutelage of guru Sridevi Tirumalai, Akila has also done photoshoots in both the US and India for brands like Pothys, VBJ Jewellers, Lemuria, amongst others before becoming a full-time civil paralegal and a part-time paralegal at the US Armed Forces. Her choices of occupation seem quite unusual and at the same time make her career graph look unique.

From acting, singing, and pageantry to law

Growing up in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, Akila’s childhood was immersed in the arts and academia.

After high school, she moved to India for a few years to pursue her dreams of singing, modelling, and acting in the entertainment industry. She completed her BA in music specializing in Western classical and musical theatre voice at the KM Music Conservatory run by AR Rahman. The institution is affiliated with the Middlesex University in the UK. She has also earned a certification from Berklee College of Music.

Talking about what nudged her to the field of law after all that she says, “I had started teaching music at a school during my time in India. Teaching made me realise the deep divide in education systems between the rich and poor and created a desire in me to become an international public interest attorney to help bridge the gap.”

[caption id="attachment_35243" align="aligncenter" width="490"] Akila Narayanan[/caption]

The youngster is currently pursuing her master's in international educational development from Columbia University at present and plans to enrol in a law school after her master's is over in May 2024.

She has done a paralegal certification from Boston University which has enabled her to work as a paralegal professional.

Beyond the glitz and glamour

The actor-turned-soldier recently went through six months of rigorous training for the U.S. Army after being selected as a part-time paralegal specialist there. “I was pushed to the edge physically and mentally. I learned combat skills, rifle marksmanship, land navigation, how to survive in the field, how to throw grenades, and more,” she mentions.

She provides paralegal support to unit commanders and the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate in a wide range of legal matters which include criminal, international, civil, contract, and fiscal law.

Talking about the selection process in the US Army she mentions, “It is difficult. There is this test called the ASVAB that you need to get a certain score on to be selected for the paralegal specialist job. There are also physical fitness requirements that you must pass during training to graduate and become a soldier.”

Her fitness test involved deadlifting at least 120 pounds, running two miles within 22 minutes, doing push-ups, doing a plank, a power throw, and an event called sprint-drag-carry. Along with the fitness test soldiers must complete ruck marches.

“Ruck march means walking 5-12 miles with 35-50 pounds on your back. We also had to qualify for the M4 rifle. There are 40 targets and to qualify, soldiers must hit at least 23 of them,” she says.

[caption id="attachment_35244" align="aligncenter" width="473"] Akila Narayanan[/caption]

The six months of training tested her limits and reshaped her perspective. “I did things I never thought I could do,” she says.

The love for law

The paralegal certification, the opportunity with the US armed forces, and her civil job have already laid a sound foundation for a full-fledged career in law for Akila.

“As a paralegal specialist in the Army, I gained extensive experience in legal research, drafting legal documents, and assisting with investigations and trials. I have been responsible for managing case files, preparing witnesses for testimony, and assisting attorneys with trial preparation,” she shared adding, “I have developed a strong sense of professionalism, teamwork, and leadership.”

Her responsibilities as a real estate paralegal span a wide spectrum, from managing high-volume transactions and ordering title searches to writing title commitments, preparing contracts, and closing documents, and coordinating closings with clients and lenders. She has assisted attorneys in all aspects of real estate transactions.

Purposeful ventures

Akila is in the US Army Reserve. Being part of the army reserve means she can be deployed to any country at any time within her eight-year contract. “I always have to be ready to be deployed anywhere to serve my country,” she says.

After her Army training, she came back home and went back to her civilian job as a real estate paralegal as being in the reserve is like a part-time job. “I have ‘drill’ weekends once every month and annual training two weeks every year. During drill weekends I do my paralegal specialist job and other army-related training such as going to the shooting range, doing field exercises, practicing first aid on casualties, and more,” she shares.

Musician at heart

Akila has always maintained her deep connection to music and has even managed an online music school, the Nightingale School of Music. She had begun singing at the age of four, after being introduced to Carnatic music. Whenever there were choirs and musicals in her school, she always was a part of those.

[caption id="attachment_35245" align="aligncenter" width="520"] Akila Narayanan[/caption]

She loves educating children about the world of music. “No external achievement of mine can hold a flame to the joy that I get looking at children with constant smiles and enthusiasm for music,” she remarks.

Films are not ruled out

Although she plans to focus on law, she has not ruled out the idea of acting in Tamil films again. “I just want to focus on my studies right now, but my love for acting still calls to me,” she says.

Quite by chance, Akila had got a role in the Tamil horror movie ‘Kadampari’. “It happened by chance. I was participating in a lot of pageants in India when I moved there which made my social media presence higher. The director of the film found me through social media,” she says. “I had never really acted before but I’ve always loved watching horror movies so acting a possessed character, kind of came naturally.”

Being a master at time management

The multifaceted youngster is a master of time management and sometimes ‘compromises on doing fun things’ that most people in their 20s get to do like going out on weekends or traveling.

“I have always done so many things at the same time. In undergrad, I was doing my BA in music and teaching music at the International Village School while working in the Indian entertainment industry as a singer, model, and actress. Now during graduate school, I am doing my MA in International educational policy while working my 9-5 civilian job and my weekend army job.,” she says adding, “I think it’s all about time management.”

Her job keeps her occupied from nine in the morning to five in the evening. After that, she attends her classes until 9 pm. “So, by the time I get home, it is too late to do assignments, homework, and readings. Hence my weekends are filled with doing assignments,” she shares.

Finding support in the family

Akila’s family is her biggest support. “My parents gave me the best gift they could give their child: the freedom to follow their dreams. My parents have always gone above and beyond to help me with my career and I am doing everything I can to make them proud,” says the youngster who was born in Coimbatore and moved to the US when she was two.

[caption id="attachment_35247" align="aligncenter" width="423"] Akila Narayanan with her sister[/caption]

She considers her younger sister who is a pre-med student to be her best friend. “We love shopping for clothes, doing funny dances, and going to bookstores together,” she mentions.

Future plan – to be of use to others

Akila holds a deep inclination towards serving her community. She also nurtures the desire to start an NGO that advocates for and provides quality education to marginalised students in India. “Having a law degree will help me run this NGO,” she believes.

“I find great joy and pride in serving the nation and being a role model to young Indian American girls who aspire to join the military,” she signs off.

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