Vish: UK’s first Bollywood busker brings patriotic music to London streets on Independence Day
By: Amrita Priya
(August 15, 2024) “In the midst of all these riots in London, we still managed to get Indians and Pakistanis to sing together for the 78th Independence Day,” the UK-based singer Vish shared with his fans, posting a video of people grooving to the tunes of Maa Tujhe Salaam. In another video that he shared, the Bollywood busker mentioned, “When Indians and Pakistanis sing together in London, ‘Jai Ho‘. Let’s share this video to spread love and unity. We need each other in these hard times.”
Anti-immigration protests and far-right riots have been occurring in England and Northern Ireland since 30 July 2024. Despite these challenges, as the countdown to the Independence Day of India and Pakistan began, Vish managed to bring smiles to the faces of the diaspora.
Last year, around this time too, his video of patriotic songs on the streets of the United Kingdom in honour of the 77th Indian Independence Day had captured the attention of social media users worldwide. The mesmerising performance was widely shared and praised, earning the artist immense love, admiration, and popularity.
Melody on streets and stage
Popular for his engaging performances, the UK-based singer has earned appreciation from artists like rapper Badshah, playback singers Ash King and Diljit Dosanjh, and anchor/actor Maniesh Paul, who have sung alongside him during his street performances in the UK.
Vish’s social media following boasts of his widespread appeal, with over 523,000 followers on Instagram and 351,000 followers on YouTube.
Apart from busking, the singer has also performed at the opening of Vishal & Shekhar concert at Wembley Arena in London and has appeared at Javed Ali’s show at Indigo at The O2.
The busker whose street performances have taken him all over the UK wishes to make a mark in Bollywood as a playback singer someday. “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop,” believes the Arijit Singh fan.
Vish with Aamir Khan who was part of the audience at one of his shows
Punjabi boy in the UK
Vishal Mattu hails from Punjab and took up singing on the streets (busking), a common practice in the United Kingdom, after being encouraged by his girlfriend. From singing along to English songs by popular artists like Justin Bieber and Drake, back home in India to busking with Bollywood classics and chart-toppers in the UK, Vish has come a long way with his guitar and stereo.
“I always wanted to be an English language singer,” he shared, naming Harry Styles among his many inspirations.
It was only after gaining appreciation for his Bollywood songs that he developed a passion for them. “I have become more interested in Bollywood beats after I began busking in the UK. I used to sing English songs, and people began coming up to me on the streets requesting Bollywood music. I did sing a few and got excellent feedback thereafter,” he shared talking about his journey.
Since 2022, Vish has been gaining recognition and has branded himself as the UK’s first Bollywood busker. He cherishes the precious moments of passers-by singing and dancing along to his melodies, often playing late-night, kicking off at 11 pm and going on until 3 am over the weekends.
Even though the English people don’t understand the wordings of Hindi songs, they still enjoy the melodies, and a lot of them recognise songs from Shah Rukh Khan movies, he shared. Their spontaneous gestures are something that the singer cherishes the most.
However not all performing endeavours end on happy notes. Like other street performers, he has had some nasty encounters too. “Well, there will always be those who dislike you and can be harsh, but you must remain strong. You must understand how to handle the circumstances without engaging in conflict. I have had a lot of unpleasant situations in these two years, but I never got into a fight.”
The 28-year-old has also released a music video titled ‘Wait’ in which he has sung a Punjabi song composed and written by himself. Another of his music videos is set to be released soon. While his wait for playback opportunities in Bollywood continues, the singer is hopeful of creating a mark someday with his creative ideas, love songs and club music in India’s film industry.
(January 10, 2022) It was yet another day for the world at large. Not for Bengaluru girl Sia Godika though. She has a special surprise awaiting her - an invitation to London to receive the Diana Legacy Award for her initiative Sole Warriors that provides shoes to the needy. In just two years, the 15-year-old’s initiative has created a global movement - donating 21,000 pairs of shoes to the disadvantaged. “I literally fell off the chair reading the email about winning the Diana Legacy Award. I was so surprised and honoured. I couldn’t believe that I was even eligible,” Sia says to Global Indian in an exclusive. The big news came just five months after she had already got the Diana Award in June 2021 along with 400 other youngsters from across the globe. Being considered one of the highest honours for social action, it has put Sia among the list of future leaders. [caption id="attachment_9438" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Sia Godika receiving Diana Legacy Award in London.[/caption] It was in the fall of 2019 that Sole Warriors took a life of its own after Sia decided to help the needy by collecting used shoes, refurbishing and donating them. “Finding a solution
eg" alt="Teen Social Activist | Diana Legacy Award-Winner" width="480" height="640" /> Sia Godika receiving Diana Legacy Award in London.[/caption]
It was in the fall of 2019 that Sole Warriors took a life of its own after Sia decided to help the needy by collecting used shoes, refurbishing and donating them. “Finding a solution to a problem that affects a larger population is important, and that’s what I did with Sole Warriors,” says Sia.
Putting the right foot forward
How Sole Warriors galvanises its support is also credible. “We have a huge network of volunteers - Robin Hood Army and Indian Ploggers Army - who help us with the process of collection and distribution,” reveals Sia.
The hard, cracked and worn-out feet of construction workers’ children in Sia’s locality stirred this Koramangala girl into action. “It broke my heart to see them running barefoot on the streets. I rushed home to find some pairs of shoes that I could give them. Seeing my shoe rack, it dawned upon me that I had so many pairs stacked up which I wasn’t even wearing anymore,” says the Neev Academy student. It gnawed on her till she had to do something about it. “I started researching, and found that according to WHO stats, 1.5 billion people worldwide don’t have shoes to wear, and around 350 million pairs of shoes are discarded each year,” says Sia, who was left aghast with the numbers.
What began as a dinner table conversation with her parents soon took the form of the Sole Warriors initiative. “My parents asked me to come up with a concrete plan regarding collection and distribution, and research on it. This gave me a sense of purpose,” reveals Sia. Within a month, Sia launched it at a Kormangala apartment, and collected 500 pairs. “It was a huge boost, knowing that I was going in the right direction after a month of making posters to spread the word, and connecting with volunteers on WhatsApp,” she adds.
Soon word spread, and she was added to many groups on WhatsApp and this helped intensify the initiative. With hundreds of shoes collected per week, Godika had to find a solution to refurbish them. Approaching local cobblers was her initial fix, but she soon found sponsors in Pressto Cobblers. “I came across the store, and on a whim, decided to meet the manager who was more than happy to help us. They decided to sponsor us,” chirps an ecstatic Sia.
Slowly, but surely making little feet matter
Still in its nascent stage, Sole Warriors faced some hiccups at the beginning of the lockdown in March 2020. Yet, they flung into action after pushing the pause button for a few weeks. “We continued collecting shoes, sanitising them and (even) quarantining them for a handful of days before sending them for distribution to the needy people,” informs the Diana Legacy Award-winner who also helped create jobs for slum dwellers with her initiative. “Through this, we allowed slum dwellers to become ‘sole’ entrepreneurs wherein they could sell a pair of refurbished shoes for Rs 50, and earn an income,” explains the activist.
Many stepped up to help Sia with the initiative. Though she cannot thank G Nagaraj aka Plog Raj (the founder of Indian Ploggers Army) enough. “From helping me get in touch with volunteers, to identify areas where we could distribute shoes, he helped me immensely,” says the Diana Award winner. After her successful stint in Bengaluru, she opened chapters in Chennai and Mumbai. Sia is now ready to spread her wings to West Africa and the US. “It was during the Diana Award ceremony that I met Abdullah O Bility, a co-winner from Liberia. He got to know about my initiative, and was happy to help me with the distribution in his country,” exclaims Sia, who will soon be sending the first lot of refurbished shoes from the US to Liberia (as sending from India was ridden with snags).
The 15-year-old found support in a family friend in Boston who is busy collecting shoes for Sole Warriors from public schools and communities, and would soon be sending them to Abdullah in Liberia. “I am so happy that the initiative is going international, and more people are joining in,” adds Sia who is hoping to expand to the UK soon.
When shoestrings make a difference
Born in 2006 in North Carolina to engineer parents, Godika moved to Bengaluru as a year-old toddler. “My parents had moved to the US in their youth to study, and worked there for a couple of years. In the late 2000s, they shifted back to Bengaluru to be closer to the family,” says the Class 10 student who found them as the greatest of support systems. “My mom has been quite inspiring in this journey of mine, and always asked me to follow my heart. My dad drove me around collecting and distributing shoes until we had things in place,” she smiles.
When she is not busy with Sole Warriors or school, Sia Godika loves to curl up with a book. A student of Bangalore School of Speech and Drama too, the teenager is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer, and passionate about theatre. With two months to her boards, Godika has her eyes set on pursuing finance and economics. “Economics is my favourite subject. That’s what I intend to pursue,” adds the social activist who calls Sole Warriors a necessity in life rather than a profession.
(Aug 18, 2023) In the year 2020, as the pandemic was about to disrupt the world, a 23-year-old youngster, Abhilasha FNU embarked on her maiden international flight - to Los Angeles, carrying dreams packed within her suitcase. She had secured admission at the prestigious New York Film Academy for a filmmaking course. In just three years, Abhilasha has been able to stand on her own in the film and television world of America. As a script supervisor, her contributions to television projects like ‘At Home with Tori,’ and films like ‘Miracle Before Christmas,’ and ‘I Rise’ have been standouts in her short yet successful career in Hollywood. ‘I Rise’ (2022), has even clinched eight awards at the Christian Online Film Festival, adding a boost to her career. "My most successful script supervisor work is in Big Boys 2023, a LGBTQ based feature narrative which is doing wonders and winning at prestigious festivals worldwide," Abhilasha tells Global Indian. The script supervisor has played a pivotal role in the Spotify-produced series ‘Gold Diggers Hotel,’ collaborating with the American songwriter, singer and record producer, Leon Bridges. She has also been associated with ‘Man in The Long Black Coat,’ a production featuring renowned
d feature narrative which is doing wonders and winning at prestigious festivals worldwide," Abhilasha tells Global Indian.
The script supervisor has played a pivotal role in the Spotify-produced series ‘Gold Diggers Hotel,’ collaborating with the American songwriter, singer and record producer, Leon Bridges. She has also been associated with ‘Man in The Long Black Coat,’ a production featuring renowned American actors like Mark Feuerstein, Neal McDonough, Dermot Mulroney, and Christopher Lloyd.
"I volunteered for various film projects during my initial days as a student of filmmaking, before I started earning in the United States. Being on set, learning the craft, and wrapping up productions have always brought a sense of fulfilment," Abhilasha shared in an interview.
From Mirzapur to the US
Hailing from a traditional North Indian family, her relocation from India to the United States marked a big moment, making her the first woman in her family to undertake both an American journey and an unconventional career path of filmmaking. Her inherent knack for creation, expression, and storytelling had been evident from a tender age, and her family supported her daring choice to tread a unique trajectory.
Challenges in the US
However, her journey was marked by challenges. Mere weeks into her film school programme, the Covid-19 outbreak swept across the globe, forcing classes into the online mode. Like countless international students, Abhilasha grappled with dejection and uncertainty in a foreign land away from home. "We found ourselves in rented apartments, far from home, staring at laptop screens while trying to master a hands-on profession like filmmaking. Initially feeling like an unwelcome break, I soon realised that this setback couldn't deter me," she remarked.
She turned the adversity into a situation of opportunity. The enforced slowdown enabled her to immerse herself in comprehensive reading and research on diverse facets of filmmaking—spanning screenwriting, continuity, filming, editing, and timing.
Lucky breaks amidst the pandemic
Duringthe pandemic she got a chance to direct and write for productions of her college peers. She also took on the role of a Covid compliance officer for some college projects, a novel position within the film realm that required mastering intricate paperwork. As she excelled in this role, she caught the attention of her professors, which eventually led to her first feature film assignment.
This breakthrough served as a gateway to a plethora of subsequent opportunities. Since then, Abhilasha has been part of productions like ‘At home with Tori,’ ‘Leon Bridges – Life from Gold-Diggers Hotel,’ ‘A Miracle before Christmas,’ and numerous other film and television projects, all within a brief three-year timeline of her cinematic journey.
Embracing the role of a script supervisor
Abhilasha loves her job as a script supervisor in Hollywood. She explains, "I gravitated towards the role of a script supervisor due to its inherent blend of pure creativity, observatory skills, and supervision." Her affinity for reading screenplays, coupled with her unique ability to vividly comprehend their essence, helped her perform well. "Drawing on my high emotional intelligence, I can grasp the story's emotions and characters, capturing the nuances of each scene, even when I have read the script once" she added.
As a script supervisor, her responsibilities include script analysis and on-set organization. She shoulders the crucial responsibility of ensuring the seamless alignment of unfolding events with the director's creative vision. This multi-dimensional role demands a perceptive awareness of the overall on-set atmosphere, functioning as an astute observer while offering insights and guidance to both the director and other departments involved.
Her prior experiences as production manager, assistant director, and production designer, for college productions have given her invaluable insights on delivering her best as a script supervisor.
Life before venturing to the US
From an early age, Abhilasha's life was steeped in creativity and the arts. She is a trained dancer and singer and used to love writing and reciting poems during her childhood. As she grew older, her interests gradually gravitated towards the realm of filmmaking. She completed her bachelor's in arts, majoring in clinical psychology, and went on to achieve a master's in journalism and mass communication from Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda.
In a visual communication semester, she filmed her first short film on her android phone and simply loved the process and received appreciation from her professors and classmates for her storytelling vision and directorial skills. This motivated her to take up film studies and headed to Los Angeles, California.
In her leisure time, Abhilasha loves painting and takes pride in being an NFT artist.
(October 14, 2022) Yale scholar Shruti Parthasarathy, who has been learning Bharatanatyam since the age of five, has introduced the ancient Indian dance form to the people of Middleton, Wisconsin where she grew up and now to students at Yale where she is currently an undergrad student. With cultural workshops and a new app launch she combines her love for dance with the growing need for mindfulness, helping people discover the spiritual potency of Bharatanatyam, which originated in India thousands of years ago. Shruti, who has performed at many concerts in the US and also a few in India, founded Mindful Kala to bring Bharatanatyam into the spotlight and make the ancient dance form’s cultural history visible through the lens of social well-being, the need of the hour in modern society. She has been collaborating with Yale University to expand the reach of this novel approach, using Bharatanatyam to reduce stress and mood disorders and mitigate the effects of increasingly sedentary lifestyles.The youngster has bagged several awards in dance competitions and volunteer work, including the President's Volunteer Service Gold Medal in US. She has also written a book to help children build an interest in the dance form. Bharatanatyam at
ale University to expand the reach of this novel approach, using Bharatanatyam to reduce stress and mood disorders and mitigate the effects of increasingly sedentary lifestyles.The youngster has bagged several awards in dance competitions and volunteer work, including the President's Volunteer Service Gold Medal in US. She has also written a book to help children build an interest in the dance form.
Bharatanatyam at Yale
Through Mindful Kala, Shruti offers small as well as longer intensive workshops at the Good Life Center at Yale, where she is enrolled as an undergraduate scholar. Her interactive app allows people of all ages to learn about the benefits of the integration through activities and informational slides.
“I aim to empower people through interactive and easily accessible educational tools to elevate well-being and foster inter cultural sensitivity through Indian dance forms,” says the youngster, who was introduced to Bharatanatyam by her mother, Hemalatha when they moved from India to Madison 15 years ago.
While staying in Middleton, Shruti was trained in Bharatanatyam by her guru, Medha Hari, who lives in Chennai. The two communicated online using Skype video conferencing on their computers. Although they were sceptical about Skype as medium of learning, they learned to make it well.
Both student and teacher were extremely dedicated and together, managed to overcome the challenges of learning and teaching through a computer screen, as well as navigating the significant time difference. In the process the guru and her pupil developed a lifelong bond, from a distance of 8,400 miles away from each other.
The discovery…
As a middle-schooler, Shruti was frequently stressed. She would retreat to her basement and dance, finding that it brought her great relief. As she grew up, she noticed how many people around her are stressed and wondered if dance could help them too. She began teaching Bharatanatyam to both children and adults in her vicinity. “The dance form demands that every part of the body remain active at all times, from the facial muscles right down to the toes. It’s a good workout option as well,” Shruti says. Physical benefits aside, Shruti is a firm believer in the dance form’s capacity to offer mental calm, too.
Her initiative of integrating Bharatanatyam with mindfulness had taken off, even before she joined Yale. The university supported her efforts, helping her greatly increase her scale of reach. And to Shruti, giving back in some way feels like a personal responsibility. “It’s my identity and passion and I wouldn’t want to lose it for anything,” she tells. Shruti loves everything about the dance form, from the stories to the make-up and costumes.
Bharatanatyam findings published in health journal
When Shruti began her initiative in school, it worked well with students. This led her to turn her project ‘Calm with Kalaa’ into a larger study on decreasing cultural bias. She started an experiment with 46 freshmen at her high school and put them through an eight-week intensive program of learning what Bharatanatyam is and its connections with well-being.
The pilot study provided evidence of improvements in emotional and physical health of adolescents. A statistical decrease was found in anxiety, fatigue, depressive symptoms, and pain intensity. There was a significant statistical increase in body appreciation, embodiment, peer relationships and mindfulness.
The findings of her study were published in the Advances in Global Health and Medicine Journal. She later presented her findings at the Academic Consortium of Medicine in 2021, receiving state and national media attention. She was also thrilled to find a decrease in bias in the students who were part of her study.
More experiments at Yale
Once Parthasarathy joined Yale, she continued to grow her organisation Mindful Kala and its initiative collaborating with the Good Life Centre, there. She got in touch with various cultural organizations and other clubs at Yale to scale up her initiative. Shruti has held virtual and in-person workshops with hundreds of students since then.
With help from her professors and psychology researchers, Dr Laurie Santos and Dr Elizabeth Goldfarb, Mindful Kala is conducting a randomized control trial of 53 students and educators at Yale. They are participants of a four-week Mindful Kala intensive course to study the levels of increase in well-being, mindfulness and anti-bias notions in them.
Integrating technology with art
Shruti and her team of experimenters at Yale have created an app to help people of all backgrounds get an insight into the ancient Indian dance form as well as into the principles of mindfulness. They are hoping to make an impact not just in the US but around the world. At the moment, the app is being offered as a campus initiative programme from the Yale Student Mental Health Association.
Transforming research into innovation
The ace dancer plans to take up cognitive science and sociology as a double major. She has deep interest in researching the psychosocial underpinnings of the relationship between mental wellbeing and interdisciplinary movements. She aims to translate her research into innovation so that accessibility to mental health resources increases and there is greater sense of intercultural sensitivity to a diverse array of communities.
Some of Shruti’s Bharatanatyam performances have been at:
(January 24, 2023) “One in seven people worldwide deal with a mental health issue. I am one of them,” remarks Manvi Tiwari. Turning her adversity into advantage, the nineteen-year-old youngster has built her identity as a well-known mental health activist. She was one of the youngest speakers at 2022’s World Health Summit held in Berlin, Germany in October. She began writing - describing her own experiences with mental health, which she sent out to online media platforms. That grew, leading to full-fledged activism and global collaborations for the teenager. [caption id="attachment_26828" align="aligncenter" width="604"] Manvi Tiwari[/caption] One significant association includes the Global Mental Health Peer Network (GMHPN). Based out of Johannesburg, South Africa GMHPN reaches out to people in 30 countries with the agenda to create a network of experts with lived experiences to be on board of initiatives to combat the global challenge. Manvi has been the country executive of India for GMHPN. “I am associated with a lot of projects on mental health and coincidentally most are based in Europe,” says the Kanpur girl, who has been pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Mumbai over the last two years. Global associations Manvi is associated with Women in Global Health (WGH),
ca GMHPN reaches out to people in 30 countries with the agenda to create a network of experts with lived experiences to be on board of initiatives to combat the global challenge. Manvi has been the country executive of India for GMHPN.
“I am associated with a lot of projects on mental health and coincidentally most are based in Europe,” says the Kanpur girl, who has been pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Mumbai over the last two years.
Global associations
Manvi is associated with Women in Global Health (WGH), a women-led movement challenging power and privilege for gender equity in global health. Another association has been working as a lived experience expert for MQ Mental Health Research, an organisation working to identify world-wide longitudinal datasets that can be best used to advance the understanding of how brain, body and environment interact in the trajectory of anxiety, depression and psychosis.
The teen is also part of a collaborative initiative of London-based The McPin Foundation and British magazine, Economist Impact for a project titled the ‘Common Metrics in Mental Health (CMMH) Programme’. “I’m on the advisory board for this much needed project,” she tells Global Indian.
[caption id="attachment_26829" align="aligncenter" width="973"] Manvi Tiwari with delegates at World Health Summit in Berlin[/caption]
World Health Summit in Berlin
As representative of Global Mental Health Peer Network, Manvi got the opportunity to represent the organisation and be a speaker at World Health Summit, co-organised by WHO and GMHPN. High profile participants from across the globe, including presidents and prime ministers of several countries were part of the summit. “I remember seeing the presidents of France and Germany at the breakfast table,” recalls Manvi. There were other dignitaries like Dr Mansukh Mandavia, minister of health and family welfare, Dr Amar Patnaik, member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha, and UNICEF representatives from several countries.
It was a ‘surreal experience’ for the teen, being a member of the panel that included representatives from the health ministry of Egypt and director of non-communicable diseases and mental health, WHO. This was also her first foreign exposure, as well as her maiden attempt at speaking on such a large platform.
She was nervous at the start but soon found her feet. “To my surprise, many people whom I met at the World Health Summit knew me already.” One such person was Dr Shubha Nagesh, heading the South Asia region of Women in Global Health. “She just walked up to me and said, ‘you are Manvi Tiwari, right, I have been looking for your number for quite some time’,” recalls Manvi. Having admired Dr Shubha Nagesh, Manvi was pleasantly surprised to learn that Dr Nagesh was following her work too. Today, Manvi is part of Dr Shubha’s project – Women in Global Health.
[caption id="attachment_26833" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Manvi Tiwari with panel members of her session on mental health at World Health Summit, Berlin[/caption]
Manvi’s lived experiences
“I am a lived experience expert. It means an expert who has experienced mental health issues,” tells Manvi. She wasn’t even a teenager yet when she first began dealing with mental illnesses like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and depression. “I was 11 or 12 when my mother was diagnosed with OCD and depression. Right now, there is lots of awareness about mental health but that time it was close to zero. I remember how I used to search for keywords on the internet to find a solution to my mother’s problems, but was led to concepts like superstition to describe her situation.” It took time for Manvi and her family in Kanpur to realise that the condition that her mother has been suffering from was a mental health issue and that there are specialised doctors to treat her condition.
“Even today there is a very niche audience comprising youngsters, well-to do people, or those staying in metro cities who are aware of what mental health means. Outside of these segments, most people remain unaware, like we were eight years ago in Kanpur,” she remarks.
With psychiatric interventions, Manvi’s mother’s condition gradually started to improve and has shown drastic progress since. Her mother, Manvi says, showed great determination, handling her job as the principal in a government school, taking care of a family of four and working with psychiatrists at the same time to lift herself out of her mental health situation.
Manvi had a great role to play in her mother’s successful journey. She often found herself talking and behaving like a therapist around her parent. However, as her mother began showing signs of improvement, Manvi began to develop OCD and anxiety herself. “I did not share it for long with others except my family,” she says. Her teachers noticed a change in her behaviour and asked her what had happened. She was reluctant to talk but as they persisted, she began to open up.
“I still have OCD moments; I still get anxiety. I still seek help from professionals but I am more or less cured,” says the activist, who has been using her personal experiences to help others transform their lives. “My source of strength is certainly my mother,” she smiles.
“Even now just because I speak regularly about it, it’s still hard to speak about my experiences, but a person gradually adapts to the condition. And there are forces that compel me to speak for benefit of others,” she tells.
Speaking out is important
Manvi had written the first-person account of her entire journey of helping her mom deal with her OCD and depression, experiencing it herself and rising above it. The purpose was to help de-stigmatise mental health ailments and make people understand that they should not be ashamed of it.
“If first person accounts of mental health struggles had been available to me when I was 12-years-old, I would have had more clarity and been less scared,” she says. “The lack of voices of lived experiences compelled me to write down my thoughts,” she adds.
[caption id="attachment_26839" align="aligncenter" width="577"] Manvi Tiwari speaking at World Health Summit, Berlin[/caption]
Manvi wanted people with mental health issues to know that many others are going through the same condition and it is absolutely possible to come out of the situation with help from experts.
When the teenager started writing, she had approached several digital media platforms to publish her work and is grateful to organisations like Livewire and iViva who published her thoughts. “When positive feedback started pouring in with people thanking me for sharing my story, my fear of how people would react slowly vanished. Sharing became quite empowering,” tells Manvi.
The course of life
While Manvi was sending her first-person account to different media platforms, she sent it to the Global Mental Health Peer Network as well, mistaking it for a media house. However, this error proved to be a boon, changing the course of her life. “The non-profit organisation, which works with people with lived experiences, approached her and made her the country executive of India. Thus began her journey of global collaborations.
The multimedia and mass communication student wishes to pursue a career which is at the intersection of her degree in media studies and passion for mental health. Writing a book on her lived experiences is also one of her future goals.
(June 22, 2023) His dad was a cab driver, his mum managed to find work driving a bus. It was a time of hardship and great tenacity, as cricketer Jason Sangha's family worked against the odds to create a life for themselves in Sydney, Australia. Despite their financial constraints, Jason was encouraged to follow his great love - cricket. In 2017, Jason Sangha made his first-class debut for Cricket Australia XI, in a pre-Ashes game. During his second match, he scored his maiden first-class century, becoming the youngest player to score a first-class century against England, second only to cricketing god, Sachin Tendulkar. In December 2017, he was named the Australian team captain for the 2018, U-19 Cricket World Cup, becoming tournament's lead run-scorer, with 229 runs. A right-handed batsman and right-arm leg break bowler, the Global Indian now plays for New South Wales and Randwick Petersham in the New South Wales Premier Grade Cricket. And Sangha was always gifted, standing head and shoulders above any crowd, learning to face the highs and lows that come with being exceptional. "If he was a thoroughbred, his breeding would be Joe Root out of Virat Kohli," said Australian cricketer turned commentator Kerry
, his breeding would be Joe Root out of Virat Kohli," said Australian cricketer turned commentator Kerry O'Keeffe, who spotted Sangha's genius early on and made sure he found a spot on the Australian test team. As for Sangha himself, he has been through far too much already, from battling mental health issues, financial hardship, dealing with the pressures of his chosen vocation and learning to belong in a place where he would always feel different, to be swayed too much by life's highs and lows. "It's a rollercoaster," he often says. "Cricket is a rollercoaster."
[caption id="attachment_31329" align="aligncenter" width="445"] Jason Sangha[/caption]
Jason Sangha's story begins, not with the discovery of his own talent, but in Punjab with his father Kuldip, and in Sydney, where his mother Sylvia lived. His father, Jason writes, was the national 200m and 400m champion, who even competed at the Asian Games. However, sport being quite a political issue in rural Punjab, meant Kuldip's talent lost out to those who held political sway. Kuldip and Sylvia had an arranged marriage, she flew down to Punjab to meet her husband and the couple went back to Sydney together. Kuldip left his athletic dreams behind and found work as a cabbie, while Sylvia was a bus driver.
"Money was always tight," Sangha says. "What little was left over after living expenses was usually sent back to dad's family in India. But they got by." They gave birth to their first child, Sharon, in Rooty Hill Place, their first residence in Sydney, then went to Kemps Creek and finally, to Coogee, where Jason Sangha was born. They went on to set up their own restaurant, 'The Flavour of North India' and expanded to four outlets around Cronulla, Coogee and Maroubra.
"For as long as I can remember, we always had relatives staying with us, many from dad's side of the family in India," Sangha wrote in Athletics Voice back in 2017. As it is in an Indian home, the relatives pitched in, and the extended family formed deep bonds. He recalls his parents' selflessness - "Mum always put others ahead of herself. She made sure everyone ate before she did. Dad was the same. The two of them would work long hours then, as soon as they got home, they'd set about making sure everyone else was alright."
In those early days, Sangha wasn't too interested in cricket, he preferred basketball, because of his hero, LeBron James. He liked the rugby league and soccer, "pretty much everything other than cricket." When he was nine years old, he watched Adam 'Gilly' Gilchrist take Monty Panesar to the cleaners and feeling very impressed, enough to try his hand at the sport. As it happened, the family lived near the Coogee Oval, they could even see it from their apartment. So, the young Sangha would watch cricketers playing for Randwich-Petersham, and dream about being among them some day. And like so many other Indian kids, he would use a tennis ball to play cricket with his two cousins. He even remembers his neighbours in South Cardiff telling him he would play for NSW one day, as they watched his father bowl to him in backyard.
Just as things seemed to be picking up in the young boy's life, the financial crisis hit, leaving the family in pieces. They were forced to sell and had no choice but to move to Newcastle to start over. "Mum and dad protectedus from the news. It wasn't until three or four years later that I found out the real reason why we left Sydney," Sangha recalled. As it turned out, Newcastle wasn't so bad after all. Granted, Sangha was the "only brown person in school," but had no trouble making friends. The city also had a small but thriving Sikh community, where Sangha learned to stay in touch with his cultural roots.
The whole 22 yards
By the time the family settled into Newcastle, Jason Sangha had established his love for cricket. He began playing junior cricket at Warners Bay in Cardiff and after one year, made it to the local team. He recalls his coach, Bob Holland, very fondly, saying, "he helped convert me from a quick bowler into a leg-spinner." One year later, Sangha was 12 then, he moved up to grade cricket. This was an intimidating experience, "surrounded by all these grown men at Wallsend," Sangha says. His peers stuck by him, though and he ended up playing the last two games of the season that year.
He was noticed by the first-grade captain, Brett Jackson, who became his batting coach. He was a hard taskmaster, though and Sangha definitely had moments when he wanted to give up, even telling his mother, "I don't want to train with him anymore." His mum simply told him to toughen up. The evening before the first game of the first-grade season, Jackson told him, "Also, I forgot to tell you: You're playing." Sangha was 13 years old, and had made himself known as something of a prodigy.
Jason Sangha was sixteen years old when he got his first contract with NWS. He got his contract, and with it, quite a bit of fame. The media was quick to point out that his was the youngest Blues' signing since Josh Hazlewood.
The mental health descent
As has been the case with Sangha, life was unpredictable. What seemed like a rapid rise to success ended up being one of the most challenging years of his life, filled with mental health struggles, and the pressures of so much success at such a young age. "You're not a normal 16-year-old kid anymore," he would remind himself. "you're a pro." It was too much to take. His performance at school dropped because he was spending so much time away. Sangha even tried to give up school, although that idea was quicly shot down by his Indian parents. The situation got so bad that Sangha would wake up on game-day and think, "I'd be happy to nick off early and sit the rest out." Although he scored a century in one game, the rest of his scores remained in the single digit. Suddenly, Sangha hated cricket.
His best friend, Joe Hart, and his family, rallied around him. His mum also moved the family back to Sydney, where she had set up a meeting for Sangha with Waverley College. So he and his mum set off for Sydney again. "We stuffed everythign we could into a car and headed to a flat in Belmore Road in Randwick," Sangha writes.
Things weren't easing up. Sangha's schedule remained very intense - he would be in the gym at 6 am three days a week, finish training, come home for breakfast and get to school. After school, he would to the nets in Moore Park to practice, do his homework and go to bed. Everybody had high expectations of the precocious young man, and he struggled to cope.
After he missed his sister's wedding, things hit crisis point. His mentor and manager, Bill Anderson sat with him that day and told him to take a break. As always, his friends, family and peers stood by him. Eventually, Sangha was hit by another truth - "I have been so selfish," he thought. "I haven't even thought about the impact I've been having on other people around me."
The turning point
The impact of Jason Sangha's mental health struggles on his family inspired him to make a ch ange. He walked to the Sikh temple in Blacktown, something he hadn't really done since moving back to Sydney. Through a series of small steps, he found his way out of the darkness, and also passed high school with flying colours.
In 2017, Sangha was chosen to captain Australia at the ICC Under-19 World Cup, along with Austin Waugh, son of former skipper Steve. He is also touted as one of Australia's most promising young players and in 2022, was named captain of Sydney Thunder ahead of the Big Bash League. Unfortunately, Sangha broke his collarbone during the first game, leading to a big loss for the team, who were bowled out for a doube digit score by the Adelaide strikers.
Sangha's story is one of perseverance and triumph over adversity. From humble beginnings in a financially constrained family, he embraced his passion for cricket against all odds. Battling mental health issues, balancing the pressures of success at a young age, and finding his place in a competitive sport, Jason Sangha has shown remarkable strength and determination. Through the highs and lows of his journey, he has emerged as a promising young cricketer, captaining Australia at the U-19 World Cup and earning recognition in the Big Bash League. And he has learned, the hard way that life is full of ups and downs and understands how to take both in his stride with hope and equanimity.
Manvi Tiwari with delegates at World Health Summit in Berlin[/caption]
Manvi Tiwari with panel members of her session on mental health at World Health Summit, Berlin[/caption]
Manvi Tiwari speaking at World Health Summit, Berlin[/caption]
Jason Sangha[/caption]