Global Indianstory Global Indian ExclusiveTamil-British girl, Nila Varman bags BBC award for best student radio presenter and the Diana award 2022

Tamil-British girl, Nila Varman bags BBC award for best student radio presenter and the Diana award 2022

Written by: Amrita Priya

(August 13, 2022) British Broadcasting Corporation, one of the world’s oldest broadcasters and the name that enjoys a massive global reputation recognised Nila Varman as the best student radio presenter in the whole of the United Kingdom in 2021.

The UK-born and raised youngster has also spent some years of her high school in Singapore. Growing up in two very diverse countries, Nila experienced the different cultural aspects of the world very early in her life. She channelised her sweet-sour experiences to establish a strong message for the world through her radio show – The Nila Extract.

Indian Youth | Nila Varman | Global Indian

Nila Varman, award-winning radio show host

Giving voice to marginalised communities

The radio show has brought her critical acclaim, a loyal audience, and of course, two very prestigious awards among many others. “I started my show to help people from marginalised communities to have a platform where they can be heard,” Nila tells Global Indian, connecting from London. “As I can’t speak about every community, I invite advocates, activists, and celebrities from various indigenous ethnicities from all over the world on my radio show to talk about issues that are considered taboo,” she adds.

“I felt it’s important to normalise these things,” remarks the master’s student of King’s College, London.

Apart from the two prestigious awards, The Nila Extract fetched her the recognition of Spotify New Wave for being the top 10 podcasters in the UK on the streaming app. Frontline 50, a charity organisation in Britain recognised her radio show for the Frontline 50 awards as top ten shows in the country that are creating a social change.

Discrimination within and outside the diaspora

Radio shows and podcasts enjoy a universal appeal and Nila feels great about the fact that they offer opportunities to learn and educate about issues that need to be brought up in the open.

“I have experienced discrimination from people who do not look like me and even within the brown community and other south Asian people. There is so much discrimination and taboo within the Indian community as well,” feels Nila. Dismayed about how people ask about caste even now, Nila adds, “While growing up I thought I was alone but when I started speaking to so many people, I now know that it’s a universal issue.”

Instead of making The Nila Extract, a run-of-the-mill serious discussion forum, Nila often adds a light-hearted and funny take to matters and also highlights the relevant latest news in the sphere.

Keeping thousands of listeners hooked

Through her once-a-week award-winning radio show, Nila has been amplifying awareness about pressing social topics that get neglected in mainstream media and public discourses, enjoying an audience from ‘across the world.’

The 21-year-old has impressive associations lined up with BBC both as a co-host and guest. By the end of this year, she would be teaming up with BBC Radio Nottingham as a co-host for a short segment in a fortnightly programme. The trusted young guest speaker of the broadcasting company that is synonymous with perfection, informs “I am quite often invited to BBC to speak as a guest speaker on social issues, student affairs or current affairs.”

Her love for speaking comes from experiences as a tour guide

Nila’s family shifted to Singapore from Manchester when she was in the final years of high school. Radio was nowhere in her mind then but the love to interact with people saw her donning the hat of a tour guide at the Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

As she has always loved interactions, it was a beautiful experience for more than two years when she showed the zoo around to tourists. “It has helped me as a radio presenter,” she says with a smile. If she would have not forayed into the media space, she would have been a zoologist believes Nila because she “absolutely is in love with animals.”

As a part of getting into the role, she had undergone training and was tested on her knowledge of exotic animals. Feeding the animals, and holding workshops for children were also some tasks that she delved into apart from leading the guided tours. With rich experiences like this and some uneasy experiences of discrimination as a student for three years there, Nila returned to the UK for her higher studies while her parents still work there.

“As a south Indian I faced more discrimination in Singapore than in the UK,” she says. But at the same time, Nila is grateful to both the countries for offering good professional and travelling opportunities to her family.

Women and children’s health

Nila is pursuing her master’s in women and children’s health because she strongly feels that societal discrimination is a big cause of mortality rates in women. “Women of colour have higher mortality rates compared to white women as they are discriminated during treatments in western countries,” she remarks.

The young broadcaster thinks that societal discrimination against women affects their hospitalisation and sanitation needs in non-white countries as well. “They have to go through high-risk pregnancies and many other fatal health problems,” says the thoughtful youngster who is a regular contributor to the Brown Girl Magazine in the UK. She is on the board of Tending the Garden – a non-profit organisation that helps in the healing process of sexual assault survivors.

For the youngster with the gift of gab and extended family in Chennai, UK is home having been born and brought up there. She loves learning about the rich heritage of India and speaks Tamil fluently. So engrossed does The Nila Extract presenter gets in researching about and giving voice to pressing social issues that she often forgets to take a break.

Follow Nila Varman on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and her website
Listen to the The Nila Extract on Spotify, SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Audible, and Pocket Casts

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Published on 13, Aug 2022

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Anmol Tukrel: AI healthcare for a better world

(April 22, 2023) Each time he came to India with his family, Anmol Tukrel would visit his aunt, who worked at a hospital for the visually-impaired. He saw the widespread poverty, the lack of awareness and access to quality healthcare, and decided to something about it. Anmol went on to create iDentifi, an AI healthcare app that allows visually impaired people to get information about their surroundings. This was in 2015, in the early days of AI and his efforts saw him featured in a video alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Geoffrey Hinton, the 'father of deep learning', along with a host of other young Canadian innovators. Building iDentifi "In India, the hospital staff would go to small towns and villages and offer free eye care to those who couldn't afford it," Anmol said. The next breakthrough also came in India, this time during an internship at a startup named IceCream Labs. "They were using computer vision, the same technology as iDentifi, for advertising. I thought, why not apply it to more humanitarian purposes," he said. The app could identify 96 languages - Anmol's method at the time was to look at a world map at his parents'

technology as iDentifi, for advertising. I thought, why not apply it to more humanitarian purposes," he said. The app could identify 96 languages - Anmol's method at the time was to look at a world map at his parents' home in Markham, Canada, and use pins to identify the countries in which the app was being used. The app is also on display at one of Canada's leading science museums.

The app was meant to provide as much detail as possible. In one demonstration video on YouTube, the user, Jason Fayre, the National Lead for Accessibility and Assistive Tech for CNIB, asked the app to identify a can of coke - "Pop cans are tricky," he explained. The app was able to tell the difference between a can of Coke and Coke Zero. "There are similar apps but iDentifi is more accurate and can provide an abundance of information, which sets it apart," said Fayre, who is also visually-impaired.

Finding success

As users could simply download the app from the app store, it gained popularity fairly quickly. The app proved useful "for day-to-day tasks, reading and browsing the web," the Global Indian said. "For example, if they went grocery shopping and wanted to find out if the can of soda they were holding was Coke or Pepsi, normally they'd have to find someone and ask, however with iDentifi, they can just take a picture of the can and get an audible description with a few seconds."

[caption id="attachment_29460" align="aligncenter" width="292"] Markham, Ontario teen Anmol Turkel wins Ontario Science Centre's 2017 Weston Youth Innovation Award for his AI healthcare app, iDentifi, that assists the visually impaired in identifying objects using a smartphone. (CNW Group/Ontario Science Centre)[/caption]

A search engine to take on Google

Born and raised in Markham, Anmol was interested in technology from a young age. By the time he turned 16, he was building a personalised search engine, intended to take on Google itself- that was his submission to the Google Science Fair. For this, Anmol used a computer with around 1GB of storage space, a spreadsheet programme, a Python-language development settings and some articles from the New York Times to get himself going. A couple of months of design work and about 60 hours of coding later, his prototype was ready.

To test the accuracy of his creation, he limited his search queries to articles from the New York Times, creating fictitious users with different interests and corresponding web histories. This information was fed to the search engine and to Google as well. Anmol submitted his paper to the International High School Journal of Science. He hoped his efforts would take him to Stanford University, which they did. There, he studied computer science and AI. These days, Anmol actually works for Google - he's an Associate Product Manager for Gmail's AI team and before that, was an APM intern on the Google Podcasts team.

Diabetes PD

Still captivated by the AI for healthcare space, Anmol went on to design Diabetes PD, this time targeting teenagers with Type-1 diabetes. "It's meant to make it easier to keep track and access quality information to manage diabetes," he explained. It allows the user to access resources that are updated in real time, and include travel, employment, meal planning and how to take care of oneself when one is sick. Users can also keep track of information related to diabetes care, monitor sugar levels, and A1Cs, to name a few.

Anmol Tukrel's story is a powerful reminder of the potential of technology to solve real-world problems. His creation, iDentifi, has already made a significant impact on the lives of visually impaired people around the world. Anmol's passion for technology, his dedication to his work, and his belief in the power of young people to make a difference have made him a role model for many.

How tiny tech whiz Arijit Das’ AI & IoT projects have won awards

(February 20, 2022) It was a fine summer evening when a 10-year-old Arijit Das and his friends came across a young man building a drone in their neighbourhood playground. The boys were fascinated. As they watched the drone soar into the sky, they were captivated. A kindly neighbour walked them through the basics, explained how he’d built the device and its components. As the young Durgapur resident headed home that evening, his thoughts were filled with the exciting possibilities technology provided. Soon, the self-taught tech whiz was building his own tech projects like a prosthetic limb using arduino and micro controllers. The fields of artificial intelligence and Internet of Things interested him and this student at Hem Sheela Model School began racking up awards and achievements for his projects. From receiving the CSIR Innovation Award in 2021 to becoming the ambassador for Edge Impulse, a San Jose-based machine learning startup, 15-year-old Arijit has come a long way from being that fascinated little one on a Durgapur playground. [caption id="attachment_11095" align="aligncenter" width="647"] Arijit Das[/caption] The boy from Durgapur Born in Durgapur to a physiotherapist father and a homemaker mother, technology was not always on Arijit’s mind. An only child, he was quite

e Impulse | CSIR Winner" width="647" height="818" /> Arijit Das[/caption]

The boy from Durgapur

Born in Durgapur to a physiotherapist father and a homemaker mother, technology was not always on Arijit’s mind. An only child, he was quite happy-go-lucky, till one day, he chanced upon the drone. “When we approached my neighbour, he was kind enough to explain the workings and makings of a drone. It was enough to have me hooked,” says Arijit, recalling the incident from five years ago which sparked his interest in tech. “I went home and ran a google search, and began learning about tech myself,” the tech whiz tells Global Indian.

Soon, Arijit was building his first project for a state level science fair; a modified version of the LiFi concept prototype which used infrared light emitters instead of traditional light bulbs in 2018. Ever since, he has been working on various AI and IoT based projects, and speaking at conferences. In 2019, Arijit built the prosthetic limb, using arduino and micro controllers for a science fair at school. It so happened, that a few NIT-Durgapur employees happened to visit the science fair, and walked away impressed by Arijit’s project. A few weeks later, the lad’s teacher received an email from NIT, inviting Arijit and his team to the college to showcase the project. “Those were our first steps forward,” says the lad, who also showcased the project at the Institute of Engineers India, Durgapur chapter, on National Energy Conservation Day.

Project Innovation for Arijit

“We got one more special chance to present our project at an international conference WEES 2020 organised by the National Institute of Technology Durgapur and RMIT Australia. We were even invited by CSIRO Australia to write a research paper on our project which would get published in one of their energy conservation journals,” says the tech whiz. But then COVID-19 struck and the ensuing disruptions put a spanner in the works.

Not one to be discouraged, Arijit decided to participate in a competition organised by UNDP in April 2020 for designing projects for COVID-19. “I presented them with an idea for a health band that helps both patients and doctors,” says the Stem student, who won the hardware winner category prize for which he was awarded hardware worth $1,000.

Surging ahead with ideas

Some of the other projects Arijit has worked on are an anti-theft system for vehicles for the China-US Young Maker Fair, which he won. In August 2021, he developed an AI-based smart pesticide detector and farming system which went on to win the Deep Learning Superheroes Challenge by Intel. Arijit was featured across many tweets by Intel India too. Awarded the prestigious CSIR Innovation Award for School Children by the Department of Science & Technology, is another feather in this youngster’s cap .

“One of the best outcomes of these is the fact that I’ve made some great friends along the way, and have even won a lot of hackathons with them,” says the tech whiz, who received an invitation from Edge Impulse, a San Jose-based ML startup to become a part of their team in November 2021. "Later that month I officially became a part of the Edge Impulse team to develop and manage communities for EmbeddedML. Seeing my work in 2021, I was also invited by Ira Feldman, managing director of tinyML Foundation to join their team and help spread the idea and knowledge of tinyML across Asia, which led to the formation of the tinyML India chapter that presently has 700 plus members.”

Quiz the youngster on why technology fascinates him, and he says, “I believe technology can solve a lot of global issues. It can truly help society and the community with its inventions.”

With board exams looming, Arijit’s tech projects are restricted to the weekends, after his studies. This young tech enthusiast who loves subjects like physics, math, and computer science, aims to pursue a degree in engineering and hopes to one day become a computer scientist. “My parents are very supportive and whenever I am in doubt, they’re my biggest cheerleaders,” says the youngster, who loves to spend time with friends in between all his passion projects, academics and guitar lessons.

Follow Arijit Das on LinkedIn.

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Swinging his best: Indian Golfer Hardik Chawda is aiming for the big shot

(April 2, 2022) As a child, Hardik S Chawda would often wonder where his father Sunil would go early each morning. One such morning in 2008 when Hardik was eight, he insisted on accompanying his father and Sunil drove him straight to the golf course. “This is where I come every morning,” the businessman told his son, who scanned the golf course with excitement. That was also the first time he held a golf club. Today, at 21, Hardik is at his golfing best. He recently became the first from the Hyderabad Golf Association and Telangana to crack the professional golf tour of India's "B" card, on his first attempt. Hardik achieved this feat at the PGTI qualifying school which was held in Ahmedabad at Kalhaar Blue and Greens golf course in February this year. [caption id="attachment_13785" align="aligncenter" width="469"] Hardik S Chawda[/caption] His driving force “My dad introduced me to golf. He often told me to focus on one sport and indulge in it with complete dedication. So I chose golf over everything,” smiles Hardik, speaking with Global Indian. He went through the pre-qualifying events out of which 130 qualified for the final stage. "After four days of competition, the

in it with complete dedication. So I chose golf over everything,” smiles Hardik, speaking with Global Indian. He went through the pre-qualifying events out of which 130 qualified for the final stage. "After four days of competition, the top 40 made the 'A' card and those who finished 41 to 80 got the 'B' card. I finished 51st," says the beaming golfer. With an 'A' card, one can play all the events irrespective of the prize money at stake while the 'B' card holders will get to participate in fewer events. Nonetheless the 'B' card gives him access to about 20 tournaments across the country and he will also be eligible to play tourneys in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.

"It was a great week for me and kind of a mixed bag. After the third day, I was doing well and in contention for the 'A' card. But during the final round, I had two bad holes which denied me a top 40 finish and I slipped to 51,” says the young golfer about the recent tournament.

What it takes

"One of the key aspects in this sport is patience. At my level of game, it is all about your mental strength,” says Hardik, a BCom final year student of St Mary’s college in Yousufguda, Hyderabad. He is now completely focussed on his game, putting in many hours of practice, shaping his game to the best.

The youngster says that you either win or lose a tournament with your decision making. "On a professional tour, everyone has a good swing, short game and able putting. A player who makes the right decisions on the course and plays with a very relaxed and confident mindset wins,” says the professional golfer, who has 14 clubs in his 'arsenal' besides other equipment. “Golf equipment is quite expensive and not affordable to most but I'm very thankful to my parents who support me," he says.

Practice makes perfect

Hardik spends anywhere between six to eight hours on his full golf days, which includes close to two hours of fitness. “I do try to play every day except for the days when I have an exam or other academic commitments,” says the Hyderabad-born lad, who studied in Delhi Public School. During lockdown and post lockdown, when there was no golfing, he assisted his father in their chemical business. “But now that I have turned pro, I barely get any time.” The Chawda family originally belongs to Gujarat but have settled in Hyderabad for decades.

[caption id="attachment_13787" align="aligncenter" width="638"] Hardik S Chawda with his family[/caption]

He says fitness plays a huge role in professional golfing. “Golf is no more for a short hitter. Everyone now understands the importance of fitness and how it can benefit their game and we see players hitting more than 320- 330 yards of carry distance,” says Hardik. His workout comprises warm up stretches which he does before he leaves to play. Upon return, he does foam rolling just to release and relax the whole body. “I also do a little bit of meditation before my rounds. I try to eat healthy and avoid oily and junk food as much as I can,” informs the golfer, who likes to play cricket and basketball with friends in his free time besides watching adventure or rom-coms on Netflix and other OTT platforms.

So what are Hardik’s future plans? “Firstly, I want to play well on the Professional Golf Tour Of India this year. Thereafter, I aim to move on to the Asian Tour, European tour and ultimately the PGA tour. For me nothing matters until I'm on the PGA tour. It's like a dream come true for me competing against the world's top golfers,” smiles the golfer, who is hoping he would compete against the greatest golfer of all times Tiger Woods himself one day. He credits his coach Sanjay Kumar Singh (Hyderabad), Jesse Grewal (Chandigarh), Muneer sir (fitness coach Hyderabad) and Sagar Diwan (fitness Coach Chandigarh). "Importantly, my whole family supported me and backed me throughout," says Hardik, for whom the Hyderabad Golf Association has been his home club, since he started his golf career from there.

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Aisha Nazia: The only Indian woman to be selected for FIFA Master course

One of Aisha Nazia's fondest memories is of her standing in a crowd and watching a football match with bated breath. As her favorite team scored the perfect goal, the Kozhikode-born football fan was euphoric. Her hometown is a mecca for football and it wasn't long before love for the game rubbed off on Nazia, who has now been selected for the prestigious FIFA Master program. She is the only Indian woman out of the 32 people that were selected from across the world for the program. Chosen out of 700 applicants, Nazia has become an inspiration for dreamers as well as go-getters. A postgraduate sports executive program, organized in partnership with De Montfort University (United Kingdom), SDA Bocconi School of Management (Italy) and the University of Neuchatel (Switzerland), the FIFA Master course is nothing short of an Ivy league program. The 26-year-old Indian has made the cut this year, but not without her share of struggles and challenges. As she quit a lucrative job to pursue her dreams, Nazia didn't find many supporters, but she was determined to follow through on her plan. How a childhood dream found wings Born in Kozhikode to Malayalam Muslim parents, Nazia found herself

im parents, Nazia found herself attracted to the game even as a child. After her parents' divorce when she was five, Nazia moved to Chennai with her mother who was then a teacher. But summer vacations took her back to her hometown each year where she fell in love with football. "I loved the way football brought the entire town together and it was the best show of secularism. It was at this tender age that my affinity towards football began to grow," she tells Global Indian in an exclusive interview from London where she has kick started the first leg of her course.

[caption id="attachment_10971" align="aligncenter" width="392"] Aisha Nazia at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester[/caption]

While the soccer field made Nazia quite happy, she was equally ecstatic nestled between her pile of books. After securing the eighth rank in mechanical engineering at University of Kerala, she found herself working with the Indian Oil-Adani Group Pvt Ltd in Kochi in 2017. Two years before she entered the corporate world though, Nazia had volunteered as a football facilitator for the 2015 National Games that were held in Kerala. Then a third year student at TKM College of Engineering, she heard about the games being held in her city and couldn't let the opportunity slip by. "It gave me the perfect exposure to the sporting industry and the workings of it," she adds.

The turning point

Though her job at Indian Oil kept her happy, she would often find herself drawn to the varied sporting events taking place in the country. So when the FIFA Under 17 World Cup was set to make its debut on Indian soil, Nazia found herself looking for volunteer opportunities on their website. Despite the fact that she didn't have a sports management degree, Nazia rolled the dice of fate and applied for the role of a workforce manager. Luck was on her side, and the 26-year-old found herself at one of the biggest sporting spectacles. Those months with FIFA turned out to be a game changer for this young woman as she learnt the tricks of the trade and found her true calling in sports management. In 2018, she quit her job to chase her dream and moved to Bengaluru.

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A post shared by Aisha Nazia (@themustardwall)

Since sporting events in India happen only once every few months, Nazia took up jobs as a consultant with startups to keep her stable financially. In between, she worked on two seasons of the Indian Super League.

When NBA found itself playing in India for the first time ever in 2019, the organizers got in touch with Nazia after reading a feature on her on FIFA. The conversation soon translated into an operations role in logistics.

A chance meeting

After working with the best for a few years and gaining valuable insights into the world of sports management, Nazia knew she was ready to take it a notch higher with the FIFA Master course, something she had heard about six years ago. "While volunteering at the National Games in 2015, a referee from Tamil Nadu who had trained under the Premiere League saw potential in me and encouraged me to take up the FIFA Master course," adds Nazia. But she wanted to give herself four years after her graduation before taking a plunge into any Masters program.

[caption id="attachment_10974" align="aligncenter" width="395"] Aisha Nazia at NBA matches in India.[/caption]

So when the entire world came to a standstill in 2020 and sporting events became a rarity, Nazia knew it was the right time to pursue her FIFA Master dream. "The selection process for this course is like it would be for an Ivy league school. This year 32 students were selected from a pool of 700 applicants across 29+ countries," adds the Kozhikode native. The one year course will have Nazia travel to three countries (England, Italy and Switzerland) to complete her Masters in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport.

Crowdfunding, not charity

If securing a seat among 700 students wasn't a rigorous process, Nazia found herself raising 22,000 CHF (approximately ₹28 lakh) for the course. She is one among the three students to have secured a merit scholarship which has halved her course fee, but the amount is still heavy on her pocket. "In a country like India, you can apply for an education loan against mortgage of property or gold, and I had nothing as security. Crowdfunding seemed like a wise decision to raise money for my education," says Nazia.

It was her mentor Gautham Chattopadhaya, who works with NASA, who advised her to opt for crowdfund. "Abroad, it's a very common concept to raise money for education, but in India, it's still at its nascent stage. I weighed my options for a long time and even posted on LinkedIn to get some feedback. Many encouraged me to go for it as they couldn't pursue their dreams owing to financial constraints. The stories of people on the post made me take it up as a social cause to empower people to follow their dreams. Education is a basic necessity and I decided to go forward with it to raise money and also inspire others to follow their dreams," adds Nazia.

[caption id="attachment_10977" align="aligncenter" width="423"] Aisha Nazia at Indian Super League 2019-2020[/caption]

With GoFundMe inaccessible to Indians, Nazia opted for Ketto to raise money for her education. "In India, crowdfunding is mostly restricted to medical emergencies, so my plea to raise money for education falls a little short in comparison to their issues."

However, this reality check has inspired Nazia to launch an education crowdfunding platform for Indian students soon. "I want to start a platform for people who dream of studying in India or abroad but are unable to do so due to financial constraints. My priority would be to get meritorious students their due through this crowdfunding platform," she explains.

[caption id="attachment_10979" align="aligncenter" width="575"] Aisha Nazia at a sporting event.[/caption]

The future

Nazia, who is currently at De Montfort University in Leicester, is excited for the program. "It will be an enriching experience with lots of learning and field trips. After completing three months in the UK, we will move to Italy for the next quarter. And the last six months will be in Switzerland, which is also the headquarters of FIFA. Getting to work with their management will be exciting. Also, at the end of course, FIFA selects three people for employment," reveals Nazia.

Being an advocate of sustainability, Nazia plans to work for the development of the Indian sports ecosystem after the completion of her course. "I want to focus on inclusion, youth development and come up with solutions to reduce carbon footprint during a sports event," signs off Nazia.

Reading Time: 7 min

Vibha Janakiraman: The violinist who enchanted the White House

(July 1, 2023) In a harmonious convergence of diplomacy and artistic brilliance, the corridors of power at the White House resonated with the enchanting melodies of 17-year-old Vibha Janakiraman, a young Indian American prodigious young violinist. Amidst the distinguished guests and the grandeur of a state dinner hosted by US President Joe Biden, it was the sublime talent of this 2023 US Presidential Scholar in the Arts that captivated all who were present. The youngster, who has graced illustrious stages with her mesmerising performances for years, masterfully rendered Kreisler's enchanting Recitativo and Scherzo at the White House, casting an ethereal spell upon the audience gathered for this momentous occasion. Speaking to the media after her performance, the violinist said, "It was such a privilege to play at the White House and to be a representation of Indian Americans everywhere! I had the most inspiring view: the Jefferson Memorial directly in front of me and the Washington Monument off to the side. I tried to soak in every moment of that experience, using silences between phrases to allow the beautiful location to be a part of my music-making. I will treasure this forever, and I am so grateful to the people

ument off to the side. I tried to soak in every moment of that experience, using silences between phrases to allow the beautiful location to be a part of my music-making. I will treasure this forever, and I am so grateful to the people and mentors that made this possible."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyNZqm3Q-_U

One among that audience was the First Lady of the USA, Jill Biden, who took to Twitter to praise the grace and finesse of this young virtuoso. Sharing a photograph of Vibha, Jill Biden tweeted, "Vibha Janakiraman, a youth violinist and 2023 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts kicked off the Official State Visit for the Republic of India today. Vibha honored her cultural connection to Western classical and South Indian classical music for guests at the White House (sic)."

Melodic majesty

Inspired by her grandfather - who is also a prominent Carnatic classical musician and stage performer - Vibha embarked on her musical odyssey at the tender age of six, when she started learning violin and Carnatic music under his guidance. However, growing up in West Chester, Pennsylvania, the youngster was heavily influenced by Western classical music as well.

"I always liked music, and grew up surrounded by music as my grandfather is a professional South Indian musician and musicologist," the violinist said during an interview, adding, "When I was about six, my parents decided that it would be good for me to learn a musical instrument, and violin was the most well-known instrument at the time for me. So, we went to the Music School of Delaware, and signed me up for the violin classes there. Since the first class, the violin has been a core part of my life. I feel that it is not the instrument that makes as much of a difference to me as just being able to play music."

From the Top · 15-year-old violinist Vibha Janakiraman

The violinist, who recently graduated from the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, is now gearing up to embark on her bachelor's degree journey at Juilliard School’s pre-college division this year, under the tutelage of the distinguished Catherine Cho and the legendary Itzhak Perlman. The Global Indian currently performs on a loaned 1855 Jean Baptiste Vuillaume violin, graciously provided by the Tarisio Trust.

It's a musical world...

An academic genius, who loves to study mathematics and Sanskrit, the young violinist finds music in every aspect of her life. "Even when I am not playing the violin, I am usually doing something musical or listening to music," the violinist shared, "I think it is because of my Carnatic music training, I am drawn to the Sanskrit language. I find it intellectually stimulating and quite beautiful. I feel it's a great way for me to connect with my culture, but also studying a language like Sanskrit, which has so many intricacies is also just very interesting."

[caption id="attachment_31540" align="aligncenter" width="646"] Vibha performing at the White House[/caption]

The violinist, who has on the Estella Hillersohn 2018 scholarship and the 2019 Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra competition, has previously played with the Gray Charitable Trust Advanced Scholarship Piano Trio at the Settlement School and has performed as a soloist with several orchestras in the Philadelphia region. In her message to young musicians across the globe, the youngster said, "I think it is important that one finds which aspects of music, or which medium resonates with you the most, and what brings you the most joy. Use that as a reason to always remember why you do what you do. Because when you are playing an instrument there will always be several periods when things aren't going the way you want or you might feel like your progress isn't how you planned it to be. So, for those days, it is helpful to know what I love about music and why I am pursuing it."

Follow Vibha Janakiraman on YouTube and Instagram

Reading Time: 5 mins