Global Indianstory Global Indian ExclusiveStorming the UFC: Puja ‘Cyclone’ Tomar’s historic win for India

Storming the UFC: Puja ‘Cyclone’ Tomar’s historic win for India

By: Amrita Priya

(June 21, 2024) Known as the ‘Cyclone’ for a reason, Puja Tomar has stormed her way to the top of the Indian martial arts circuit. This month, she made history as the first Indian to claim victory at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the United States. Hailing from Budhana village in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, Puja broke barriers last year by becoming the first Indian woman to secure a contract with the UFC, the prestigious mixed martial arts promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. A former national Wushu (Chinese martial arts) champion, she has showcased her skills in international Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) action-packed competitions like Matrix Fight Night and ONE Championship.

On June 8 this month, Puja secured a monumental victory by defeating Brazil’s Rayanne Amanda dos Santos, marking India’s first-ever win in the UFC. This achievement comes more than a decade after the UFC officially opened its doors to women fighters in 2013.

Overwhelmed with happiness, Puja burst into tears when her name was announced as the winner. “I want to thank my Lord Jesus Christ. It’s because of Him that I am here,” she said, her voice trembling with emotion and tears welling in her eyes. “I am very excited and want to declare that Indian fighters are not losers. We are going all the way up. We will not stop,” she said amidst cheers from the crowd in Louisville, Kentucky.

Persistence in the face of failures

Puja’s journey has not been without its setbacks. After enduring four consecutive losses in the ONE Championship, she competed at the Matrix Fight Night (MFN) in 2021, where she triumphed in four bouts. From there, her position in the Indian martial art circuit started to soar. For her recent championships, she trained at the Soma Fight Club in Bali, Indonesia.

“I have faced judgments about my body, with people saying it resembles a male physique. However, mindsets are gradually shifting as mixed martial arts gains recognition,” she remarked in an interview.

Starting young

Puja began her martial arts journey at the age of 12 after the loss of her father. Growing up with two sisters, she took inspiration from Jackie Chan movies and learned Karate initially to protect them.

However, the rules of Karate were restrictive, and she sought a more physically demanding sport. “I needed something rough and tough, so I chose martial arts,” she explained.

Puja Tomar

During her teenage years, Puja represented India in the World Wushu Championship before turning to Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in 2013, following her victory at the MFN Strawweight Championship.

As far as the techniques of the fights are concerned, she prefers the Heel Hook for grappling and the SideKick for striking her opponents. She immersed herself so deeply in the game that her aggression had started becoming strongly evident, prompting her coaches to work on toning it down over time.

Going the extra mile

From a young age, Puja had always aspired to achieve something extraordinary. “My mother has been my strongest supporter, pushing me to strive for greatness, despite her initial tears seeing me injured when I took up Wushu as a child,” Puja shared.

She dedicated her recent UFC victory to her mother, acknowledging, “My mother fought against all odds to help me reach where I am today.”

Recognised as one of the top female fighters in the Indian circuit, Puja Tomar received a hero’s welcome upon returning to India and during her visit to her village, Budhana in Uttar Pradesh.

Puja Tomar

Reflecting on her recent triumph minutes after the win she remarked, “Walking into the championship arena with the Indian flag just before the tournament, filled me with immense pride and gave me goosebumps. Walking with the Indian flag felt like a bigger moment than the win itself.”

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Published on 21, Jun 2024

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Teen innovator Varun Saikia’s AI-driven Makara rids water bodies of plastic

(March 1, 2022) The sight of a gasping pilot whale washed ashore in Thailand in 2018 left a 12-year-old Varun Saikia heartbroken. “I followed the news, and found that it died of starvation as her belly was full of plastic waste. It shook me. I knew I had to come up with a solution to help protect marine life,” Varun tells Global Indian in an interview, of the whale that had consumed 80 plastic bags. And he did. The 16-year-old innovated an AI-driven device Makara to clean polluted water bodies. It won him a special award at the Initiative for Research and Innovation in Science 2021. His prototype also got a nod from the Gujarat Innovation Council, with a grant of Rs 1,86,000 to create a bigger prototype, set to be launched this year. [caption id="attachment_11605" align="aligncenter" width="649"] Varun Saikia with his AI device Makara[/caption] Understanding the workings of gadgets Born in Vadodra in 2005 to parents who own an advertising agency, Varun loved dismantling toys, especially remote-control ones. This inquisitiveness to understand its functioning led the teenager to become an inventor and innovator at a young age. “I used to pick things easily available at home, and come up

rn in Vadodra in 2005 to parents who own an advertising agency, Varun loved dismantling toys, especially remote-control ones. This inquisitiveness to understand its functioning led the teenager to become an inventor and innovator at a young age. “I used to pick things easily available at home, and come up with new ideas,” says the boy who at the age of eight made a water harvesting system using plastic bottles and pipe. Cutter in hand, he was always pottering on inventive ideas. This often invited the fury of his mother. “She was concerned about my safety, but she also always supported me in my innovations,” smiles Varun.

At 12, things took a serious turn with the news of a pilot whale on the shores of Thailand. “After a few days, the whale succumbed. The incident nudged me to come up with a solution,” says the Navrachana School student.

How Makara came to life

The Class 11 student knew he had to get rid of plastic waste that was making many species of fish extinct. He designed a low-cost machine that helps clean water bodies. “After discussing the problem with my mom, she encouraged me to work on the prototype which took three months. Post several trials, I came up with Makara, a fabricated prototype using plastic bottles that worked on a battery, and could be operated by remote control,” reveals Varun who conducted 11 test runs in local ponds and collected 33 kg plastic waste.

With each experiment and test run, Varun improvised the prototype. “Initially, I had added a basket at the tail of the prototype to gather waste. I soon realised that a lot of plastic waste is deeper. So I added a tail net that collected waste in a larger capacity,” adds Varun who pitched the idea to the Gujarat Innovation Council, and won a grant in December 2018.

In July 2019, Varun began working on the bigger model, Flipper, that's 20 feet in length, fully automated, and it can fish out 150 kg waste in one swoop. The teenager claims the innovation doesn’t affect marine life as the ultrasonic waves transmitted from its sensors keep fishes at bay. “Fish don’t come to the surface. The tail net bin is only 10 inches deep, and can be customised up to 1.5 ft depending on the water bodies,” says the young innovator, adding that floating waste is later segregated on land.

This passion for protecting the environment led to the launch of his startup Ocean Cleanerz in 2021. “After working on Makara and Flipper, I realised the need for a company that focuses on finding a sustainable solution to environmental problems,” says the teenager.

[caption id="attachment_11615" align="aligncenter" width="626"] Varun Saikia working on Makara[/caption]

Project Flipper bagged the IRIS 2021 award instituted by the American Meteorological Society, Massachusetts in the category of environmental engineering. “Because of Covid-19, the awards were held virtually. It feels great that my innovation is getting attention, and resonating with people,” adds the teen innovator.

Varun, who calls his mother Ruchira his mentor, has found a perfect support system in her. “She has always had faith in me. She funded my first prototype, that says a lot about her,” adds Varun, who is glad that his parents have been the wind beneath his wings. “I am grateful that they have allowed me to pursue my innovations,” says the boy who wants to study environmental engineering. “I want to get into MIT, and make a difference with my engineering,” adds Varun, who loves going on long walks with his dog.

Starting up as a teen

The teen innovator never misses a day to work on his startup, despite a tight study schedule. “I devote an hour each day to my work as I am passionate about it,” says Saikia who likes exploring tech websites and learning something new each day.

[caption id="attachment_11616" align="aligncenter" width="649"] Varun Saikia working on Flipper[/caption]

The boy who relentlessly follows up on his innovations, advises “never give up on any idea as someday it might materialise into something concrete.” He has been working on Flipper for two years, and is keen to launch it in the next few months. “I would want to use the device to clean lakes of every city and later help to clean river Ganga. Since my device is scalable, it can be used to clean the Indian Ocean too,” concludes the little visionary.

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Reading Time: 5 min

In a whirlwind career, Akshat Bagla evolved from a 17-year-old Artist-in-Residence with Kolkata's Rotary Club to Director of Photography for Differio, a globally renowned gay menswear company. Akshat's love affair with the camera began at 13, photographing meals and moments. “I thank my cousin, he’s the reason I’m here,” he confessed to The Daring.

[caption id="attachment_32654" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] A photo shot by Akshat Bagla in New York City. Source: www.akshatbagla.com[/caption]

Growing up in a Kolkata business family, it was expected he'd take over the reins. Yet, a revelatory experience with his first photos shifted his trajectory. Despite initial parental hesitation, Akshat's dedication to photography only grew, especially evident during the pandemic's onset in Kolkata. He ventured out daily, rediscovering his city. “I explored more areas and talked to more people than I ever did in the sixteen years of living there before.” Despite initial parental hesitation, Akshat's dedication to photography only grew, especially evident during the pandemic's onset in Kolkata. He ventured out daily, rediscovering his city. “I explored more areas and talked to more people than I ever did in the sixteen years of living there before.”

The Rotary Club archive task at 17 kickstarted his official journey, followed by a fruitful tenure at the School of Visual Arts. From capturing the essence of the Black Lives Matter movement to vibrant Gay Pride shoots for Differio, Akshat’s expertise in re-branding is gaining recognition.

Staying authentically Indian, Akshat veers away from trending black and white photos. “As a visual artist, I rely on our traditional affinity to colours,” he stated. His Bengingi bread shoots and the Gay Pride campaign, though commercial, are considered art. As he documented faces during the BLM protests, his motive was clear: “I’m trying to tell their story at the end of the day.”

Follow Akshat Bagla on Instagram.

Meet Aman Sharma, Nikon's youngest creator and a recognized climate activist

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A post shared by Aman Sharma 🐳🇮🇳 (@birds_of_india_)

At just 20, Aman Sharma is recognized as one of India's youngest and most followed wildlife photographers, and is Nikon's youngest creator. But it's not just his art that's gaining attention. Celebrities like Leonardo Di Caprio and Greta Thunberg admire Aman's dedication to the environment.

His 2019 petition, urging the Indian government to declare a climate emergency, resonated internationally. Accumulating 350,000 signatures, it spurred similar campaigns worldwide. Collaborating with Change.org and 74 global petitions, Aman's campaign garnered 1.2 million signatures. This massive movement catalyzed climate emergency declarations in the European Union, UK, Austria, New York, and more.

Currently an Environmental Studies student at the University of Pennsylvania, Aman's passion roots from childhood visits to national parks. His early interest evolved into 'Cuckoo Club', an initiative educating children about urban wildlife. His Instagram page showcases India’s diverse avian life, connecting over 600k followers to the country's natural heritage.

Aman's international achievements include speaking at the 75th UN General Assembly and the Nobel Peace Centre’s Oslo Pax. Back home, he stresses the urgency of climate awareness and action. India, though advancing in renewable energy, faces challenges with growing coal demands. Aman believes in young India's potential to combat climate change. This World Environment Day, he inspires us all to pledge towards a greener future.

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Dhanu Paran: Capturing nature's majesty from Anamalai to international acclaim

Dhanu Paran is making waves in the world of wildlife photography. In 2023, he clinched the Siena Drone Photo Awards' Wildlife category with his shot of an elephant at rest in Tamil Nadu's Anamalai Tiger Reserve.

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A post shared by Dhanu Paran (@dhanu.paran)

From Pollachi, India, Dhanu's passion for the lens ignited when he was just 10. His prowess was evident when, still in his teenage years, he secured the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award for an evocative piece titled 'Hornbill losing patience'."For the past 13 years, I've been engrossed in wildlife photography and filmmaking, starting at age 10. My fascination comes from my intense urge to observe wildlife closely, capturing their most intricate details," says Dhanu.

Dhanu's commitment is evident in his extensive treks, specifically a 22 km journey to spot the great hornbills. On one occasion, he artfully captured a hornbill's fleeting annoyance at a Nilgiri langur, highlighting the bird’s magnificent, outstretched wings. These majestic hornbills are recognized by their eye-catching hollow horns or casques atop large, curved beaks. Residing mainly in regions with expansive trees like the Anaimalai Hills, these hornbills are known to display aerial ‘casque-butting’ combats between males. However, these unique casques have made them a target, being highly prized by hunters.

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Pubaran Basu, the first Indian to win a Sony World Photography Award

In 2021, Pubarun Basu was distinguished as the Youth Photographer of the Year, spotlighting his deep-seated love for photography. His award-winning 2020 photo, "No Escape from Reality," which captured a poignant moment during the lockdown, fetched him this title at the Sony World Photography Awards, making him the first Indian to receive such an honor. "My photo was selected among 3,30,000 entries from around 29 countries. It was a very humbling experience," Pubarun told Global Indian.

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A post shared by Pubarun (@pubarun.basu)

Inspired by his photographer father from a young age, the Kolkata-born talent recalls, “I vividly remember my father handing me his camera... I somehow managed to take a picture by imitation.” His early ventures into photography matured into a signature style, with a fondness for capturing sunsets, portraits, and street photography.

His award-winning shot depicted the emotion of confinement during the lockdown. “One evening, sunlight seeping through the windows gave the illusion of a cage. I asked my mom to touch the curtain, representing being trapped in a moment," describes Pubarun.

The accolade catapulted his career, leading to his photo being showcased internationally and winning the Indica cultural photography grant 2021. Aspiring to convey impactful narratives, he states, “I want my voice to be heard through my art.” Paying homage to his father's influence, he adds, “I have learnt everything from him...

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Reading Time: 5 mins

Avi Gupta: Indian-American teen revolutionises healthcare with affordable ventilator invention

(September 13, 2023) "I want to take you back to March 2020. The coronavirus had landed in the United States. Social distancing entered into our vocabulary. Schools were closed and store shelves were empty. Against this backdrop, Europe grappled with its first wave of coronavirus. One of the key shortages they faced - ventilators," that's how Avi Gupta opens his TedX speech. The Indian American from Portland reveals that the US, especially Oregon, too faced a similar situation with a shortage of hundreds of ventilators for the critically-ill covid patients. That's when Oregon Health Authority reached out for help from many individuals and companies, including INTEL. However, it didn't take the responsibility of designing and manufacturing a ventilator, instead the request was filtered down to the senior staff of the company, one of whom happened to be a manager of Avi at a former internship. That's how the Stanford University student joined a team of doctors, researchers, and fellow engineers to co-found LifeMech, a non-profit that builds low-cost ventilators. Such has been the impact of his work that he was awarded the Truman Scholarship 2022 for his commitment to public service. [caption id="attachment_24322" align="aligncenter" width="481"] Avi Gupta played a key

Avi Gupta played a key role in developing low-cost ventilator[/caption]

Then an 18-year-old, Avi helped design the ventilator's user interface, as amid the crisis, "rapid development and deployment of the technology were essential." Interestingly, he wasn't just the youngest member of the team but also the reigning Jeopardy Teen Tournament champion. "The original prototype which was fully functional was made in our garages. So, it's truly something that can be deployed worldwide," the Global Indian said in an interview.

Avi, who switched to Stanford to pursue his interests in artificial intelligence and public policy after a year of college at Columbia University's School of Engineering, knew that the prototype had to be scalable in both design and manufacture. But more than anything it had to be "low-cost and open source to be deployed in communities worldwide." "What it meant that anybody like a doctor or a non-profit in another country could download our designs and code and easily manufacture the ventilator with the parts available in their country," he added.

[caption id="attachment_24323" align="aligncenter" width="546"] Avi Gupta is currently studying at Stanford University.[/caption]

Though he found the process of designing the interface stressful, he also found it equally rewarding as it could have a direct impact on someone's health. Avi, who collaborated with his father, Dr Saurabh Gupta, a cardiologist for the making of the ventilator, said that the project epitomises the work that he wants to do - using technology to solve a bigger problem. "It's using technology to advance public service," he told the Stanford Daily. Later, the ventilator was approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and used widely during the ventilator shortage.

Apart from this, Avi is also involved in Public Interest in Tech (one of the groups on the Stanford campus) which focuses on fostering conversations around technology's role in society. Since his school days, Avi has been keen to make a change, so when he won the 2019 Jeopardy Teen Tournament, in honour of the host Alex Trebek, he donated a part of his winnings ($100,000) to raise awareness and fund early pancreatic cancer research. He partnered with OHSU Knight Cancer Institute to create and lead the #InspiredBy campaign, raising over $225,000.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBFc0Lbek4w

It was in 2016 that he kickstarted his journey towards creating social impact when he founded Project 32, a student-run social startup that uses the power of education to tackle dental diseases in youth. Since its inception, Project32 has provided thousands of dental hygiene kits to children in the US, India, Guatemala, and Haiti.

In his free time, he loves to play chess and basketball and is a huge Portland Trail Blazers fan.

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Reading Time: 4 min

To the stars: Arushi Nath’s planetary defense algorithm won her the Canada-Wide Science Fair twice in a row

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 For as long as Arushi can remember, she was fascinated by the night sky, and the many mysteries it represented. "I remember using binoculars to pick out planets and trying to identify patterns. And I still remember seeing the rings of Saturn for the first time, when I was nine" says Arushi, in an interview

says Arushi, in an interview with Global Indian. Academically, she had long since surpassed her school work, and wanted to spend her time taking deep dives into the subjects she loved most – math, coding and astronomy. Her parents – her father is an environmentalist and her mother a writer – supported their daughter fully and when Arushi was six, her dad drove her to her first ever hackathon.

[caption id="attachment_34734" align="aligncenter" width="485"] Arushi Nath, winner of the Best Project award at the Canada-Wide Science Fair 2023[/caption]

The hackathon veteran

This was 2014 and Arushi was the youngest competitor there, by far. NASA's Curiosity rover had just landed on Mars and Arushi was "so fascinated by the idea of being able to land and control something on a whole other planet," she smiles. So, at the hackathon, she and her team made a little robot that could identify obstacles and avoid them. Very complex work for a six-year-old - "We created the physical structure, then coded it," Arushi explains. The robot's ultrasonic sensor could detect obstacles and avoid them. And all this was possible because Arushi had already familiarised herself with Arduino - an open-source electronic prototyping platform that allows users to create interactive electronic objects.

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.

S.N.A.C.K.

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 Indian explained, underlining the urgency of the problem.

Arushi's solution was to use drones for locust control, "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). "I made a protoype using a soda can, a motor and a distance sensor I created on Arduino," Arushi says. When she returned from the Ellehacks hackathon, she refined her model, using lego pieces to create a drone "I programmed it to identify all red objects as locusts," she said, describing the functionality of her creation.

The planetary defense system

Given her involvement with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, her prowess with Python and her love for Maths, Arushi was casting around for a way to bring all her passions together. That's how she the idea for planetary defense against unknown asteroids was born. 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

[caption id="attachment_34735" align="aligncenter" width="594"] Arushi receiving her award at the Canada-Wide Science Fair 2023[/caption]

“The whole thing took about ten months to complete,” Arushi says, 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."

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

(April 8, 2022) When Ricky Kej’s soulful notes coupled with Steward Copeland’s eclectic music gave Divine Tides an ethereal essence, one was transported into a reverie of beautiful music. Winning the Grammy in the best new album category at the 64th annual Grammy Awards ceremony at Las Vegas in April, brought back the spotlight on Indian talent and how it has shone on the world stage. Falguni Shah took home the statue in the children’s music album category. It is shocking though that melody queen Lata Mangeshkar never won a Grammy. Global Indian turns the spotlight on the 12 outstanding musicians from India who have been honoured with the Grammy since 1959. Some are multi-Grammy winners too. Here’s the GI list of maestros… Pandit Ravi Shankar, sitarist and composer Shankar (7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) got nominated for the Grammy awards six times, and won it five times, out of which two were posthumous honours. The sitar maestro was recognised as the world's best exponent of north Indian classical music in the second half of the 20th century. He developed a distinct style establishing confluence of north Indian classical music with rhythm practices of Carnatic music. Shankar was fond

classical music in the second half of the 20th century. He developed a distinct style establishing confluence of north Indian classical music with rhythm practices of Carnatic music. Shankar was fond of closing his performances with a piece inspired by the light-classical thumri genre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS8rwRwmwRE

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

Zubin Mehta, conductor of eastern and western classical music

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSp0sApmS6Q

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

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Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram, percussionist

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22c100WxNrY

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

Ustad **Zakir Hussain, tabla maestro**

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

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A post shared by Zakir HQ (@zakirhq9)

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

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Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Hindustani classical music instrumentalist

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

[embed]https://twitter.com/VishwaMBhatt1/status/1470379217024008197?s=20&t=3p5Bju1onfZ5ETQrEL1C3Q[/embed]

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

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AR Rahman, music composer

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

[embed]https://twitter.com/arrahman/status/1510768641142272003?s=20&t=PYe1CmTPEk2Jp59utZWYAA[/embed]

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

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Sridhar, sound engineer

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

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

PA Deepak, mix engineer and record producer

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

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

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Tanvi Shah, recording artist

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

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

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Gulzar, lyricist

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

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Ricky Kej, music composer

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

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

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Neela Vaswani, artist

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

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

Falguni Shah, vocalist and composer

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

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

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