Global Indianstory Global Indian ExclusiveYash Aradhya: Formula 4 racer speeding towards victory

Yash Aradhya: Formula 4 racer speeding towards victory

Written by: Charu Thakur

(March 18, 2023) He stood tall and proud as former President Ram Nath Kovind gave him the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar in 2020. Awarded for his exceptional contribution to motorsports, Formula 4 racer Yash Aradhya has what it takes to surge past the chequered flag.

Yash was just nine when he first began training, and now a decade later, he is at the threshold of a spectacular career. The 20-year-old, who is currently studying in the Netherlands, is among the new stars rising up in the world of racing. “It’s such a great time to be in motorsports. A lot of new talent is venturing into it, and many new opportunities are opening up for us in India,” Yash tells Global Indian.

The boy, who had a podium finish at the X1 Racing League, has participated in the 2020 French Formula F4. Till now, he has won seven National Championship and six Club Championship titles, with around 65 race podiums.

Yash Aradhya at French Formula 4 2020.

Born in 2002 in Bengaluru to an adman father and a homemaker mother, Aradhya’s love for speed began when he was just six. “It was during a road trip from Bengaluru to Mumbai that I got excited about cars and speed. I remember my dad explaining to me about horsepower and engines and it fascinated me. I was thrilled by the passion for speed, so at six, I started karting for fun,” reminisces Yash.

Racing is in his DNA

Yash officially dipped his toes into racing at age nine. Seeing his passion, his father approached JK Tyres’ head Sanjay Sharma for the national racing championship. “Hardy uncle (as we fondly call him) put us in touch with Akbar Ebrahim (the first Indian to race in the international circuits) and it was under him that my training began,” recalls the 19-year-old whose ultimate goal is to become a Formula 1 racer.

At nine, he scored his first win at the JK Tyre MMS Rotax Rookie Cup 2012 by clinching second at the podium, which turned out to be a foundation for the forthcoming winning championships. “Graduating to the junior level was a different ball game as there is a speed difference and fighting for the top position was getting exciting and challenging at the same time. However, my passion to win helped me exceed everyone’s expectations including my mentor after I won Formula Junior Series FLGB,” says the Utrecht University student.

Yash Aradhya with his mentor Akbar Ebrahim

The win set the ball rolling for Yash who was soon nominated by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India to represent the country at Academy Trophy. It opened new opportunities for the teenager, and took him to Europe and Asia to race. With each passing year, Aradhya won more podiums and in 2019, he graduated from karting to car with the MRF 1300 National Championship 1600.

The run up to the podium

However, it hasn’t been an easy run, especially since he came from a non-motorsport background though he found the perfect support system in his dad. “I knew that I wanted to be a Formula racer, and my dad helped me achieve my dream. He put me in touch with my mentor, helped me get sponsors who have put their faith in me. Despite being an expensive sport, my dad has gone above and beyond to make my dream come true,” beams the Formula 4 racer.

With the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, Yash is the only teenager under 18 years to be awarded in the category of motorsports. “I didn’t realise how big of a deal it was until I was standing in front of the President of India. The award means a lot to me and holds immense value,” says Yash who still remembers PM Narendra Modi’s advice to him. “He added, ‘This award is not the end. Take it as a beginning step, and continue to excel in the field’.”

Yash Aradhya with former President Ram Nath Kovind

The mettle to train

The boy from Bishop Cotton Boys School is completely focused on excelling now. Under the tutelage of coach Akbar Ebrahim, fitness coach Ramji Srinivasan and nutritionist Ryan Fernando, Yash is spreading his wings far and wide. He reveals that unlike other sports, racers don’t get to train on the tracks every single day. “I do physical and mental training every day under the guidance of my coaches. However, we get only two days to test drive before the championships,” says Yash, who is currently studying economics and business economics in the Netherlands and enjoying his stay in a new city.

Despite being one of the most expensive sports, Yash has found his footing, thanks to his sponsors. After racing in Formula 4 South East Asia Championship 2019, the 2020 French Formula F4 and MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022, he is now gearing up for his upcoming championships. “Currently, I am dividing my time between studies and training. These last few years were wasted, thanks to the pandemic. However, I am excited to get back into action,” says the racer who loves playing tennis and swimming in his free time.

Yash Aradhya training for championship

Calling the recent times one of the most exciting times to be in motosporting, Yash feels lucky to be a part of it. “There are so many career opportunities right now in motorsports. The talent is getting recognised. I would say stay tuned for more,” signs off Yash.

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Published on 19, Mar 2023

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Maanasa Mendu: Indian-American teen making clean affordable technology accessible

(December 20, 2022) "Imagine a place where life ends after dark, where there are no electric lights for school work or refrigeration for perishables. This is not part of some dystopian society - it’s a part of our world today. Over 1.2 billion people lack access to electricity," is how Indian-American girl Maanasa Mendu begins her TedX talk. Born and raised in Ohio, her first brush with the global energy crisis began when she visited her grandmother in rural India for her summer break, and witnessed persistent blackouts. Seeing children huddled over a single kerosene lamp, something shifted in the then teenager who was keen to make a difference. That's when she designed Harvest - an energy harvesting device that combines piezoelectric effect that harvests energy from sun, wind and precipitation. It not only won her the grand prize in the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge and $25,000, but also made her the youngest person to make it to the 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 list at just 14 years of age. [caption id="attachment_25605" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Maanasa Mendu designed Harvest 2.0 to make clean energy accessible[/caption] That visit to India left her searching for answers. Upon her return, she

an | Maanasa Mendu | Global Indian " width="620" height="413" /> Maanasa Mendu designed Harvest 2.0 to make clean energy accessible[/caption]

That visit to India left her searching for answers. Upon her return, she began digging deep into information and found that 88 percent of the energy supply comes from non-renewable sources, which are not only harmful to the environment but also depleting. A renewable source was the answer but not many opted for it owing to its high cost. That's when Maanasa took it upon herself to design an "inexpensive and potentially globally application energy solution."

At age 11, she discovered piezoelectric effect (the ability of certain materials to produce an electrical charge when applied with mechanical stress) while reading about JRE's railway station in Japan that has piezo electric floors that produce electricity from people's footsteps. She knew she had found the perfect renewable energy solution. After a year of research and reading, the inspiration for piezoelectric "leaf" device struck here while watching tree branches sway in the wind during a storm. To her, the branches looked like piezoelectric materials - tiny devices that generate power through vibration. She soon began to imagine a renewable energy technology that could harness the energy in the wind and rain. This motivated her to work on her first design. While the initial idea was to focus only on wind power, she ultimately built a prototype that can harness solar and wind energy and the vibrations of rain drops. The device consists of three solar "leaves" that act as solar panels but also move and bend with the wind and rain. The design won her the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, which the Global Indian built using recycled materials for only $5.

[caption id="attachment_25606" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Maanasa Mendu with the design of Harvest 2.0[/caption]

"The issue with the energy crisis lies not in the fact that we lack ideas or solutions to solve it, but rather in the fact that we are unable to get these solutions to the people who need it the most," said Maanasa.

When she began working on the design, her focus was only on wind energy as she wanted to solve the problem of how to capture wind in urban areas where wind turbines don't make sense. But while working on it, she realised "there are a lot more untapped energy sources in our environment, like solar power and precipitation." "If my device just relies on one specific environmental condition, the power output can vary throughout the day. Whereas if it relies on multiple environmental conditions–like sunlight intensity, wind speed, precipitation–all of these factors could create a more stable power source with a higher power output,” she told Fast Company.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuqCsU_ap-c

Maanasa, who is studying at Harvard University, reveals that Harvest can power a 15watt LED bulb after three hours of charging. It took her three years to come up with Harvest, that has the potential to be the answer to the global energy crisis, and she says that it was curiosity that led her to the solution. She believes that "student inventors try to seek inspiration from everyday things. I feel like they connect the dots better."

Follow Maanasa Mendu on Twitter

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Deepika Kurup: Indian American providing access to clean water through her innovation

(May 25, 2024) Each summer New Hampshire-based Deepika Kurup along with her family travelled to India and the only way to beat the scorching heat was to drink plenty of water. But her parents always warned her to have only boiled or bottled water. "Because unlike in America where I can open on the tap and get clean, portable drinking water, water in India is often contaminated," said Deepika in her TEDx Talk, adding that not everyone is fortunate enough to have access to clean water like her. She would often wake up to scenes of people queuing up outside her grandparents' home in India to collect water in buckets from a tap. "I saw children my age filling up plastic bottles with this dirty water from streams on the roadside. Watching these kids forced to drink water that I thought was too dirty to touch changed my perspective of the world," added the changemaker who was compelled to find a solution. Eventually, she came up with a water purification system - a cement-like composite material activated by sunlight, drastically diminishing bacteria levels in water - an innovation that won her the title of America's Top Young Scientist. Global water

ist.

Global water crisis

"I wanted to learn why these kids lacked water - a substance essential for life. I found that we are facing a global water crisis," said the girl who is currently studying at Harvard University. It is no secret that three-fourths of the earth is surrounded by water, but not many know that only 2.5 percent is freshwater, of which only 1 percent is available for human consumption. According to the UN World Water Development Report 2023, two billion people lack safe drinking water. Moreover, people in Africa and South Africa were the most affected due to the arid environment.

Moreover, she found that lack of access to clean water for girls meant not attending schools during their periods. "So water also affects women’s health and … how women can contribute to the economy because instead of spending time with their family and instead of spending time working and raising money, women have to walk hours on end every day to go collect water," she said in an interview, adding, "That definitely is not something that I used to see in the United States and so I wanted to do something to change that." Growing up in Nashua, New Hampshire, she found her support system in her father who is a civil engineering professor who always encouraged her interest in science.

Finding an affordable solution

She was only 14 when she began working on the solution and wanted to combine her passion for science, technology, engineering, and maths. She converted her garage into a lab and started sifting through reams of journals on research in water. That's when she came across the then-used treatments - solar disinfection (SODIS) or Photocatalytic SODIS to purify water. However, seeing their disadvantages, Deepika was keen to create a safe, sustainable, fast, and cost-effective means of purifying water.

That's when she came up with the idea of a pervious photocatalytic composite - which combines filtration with photocatalysis. Explaining the process, she said, "First the water percolates through the composite filter which destroys 98 percent of coliform bacteria. Later, the filtered water is exposed to sunlight for 15 minutes which leads to 100 percent total coliform inactivation." Since the composite combines titanium dioxide with cement, it can be formed into several shapes which results in a versatile range of deployment methods.

Leading the way

However, Deepika had to find her path and it wasn't an easy journey for this Indian American. "I was only 14 when I started and had no access to a sophisticated laboratory. But I didn't let my age deter me from my interest in pursuing scientific research and wanting to solve the global water crisis," says Deepika who calls water a universal human right.

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

She has patented her technology, and to bring her project to the real world she started Catalyst for World Water, a social enterprise aimed at catalysing solutions to the global water crisis. "Alone a single drop of water can't do much, but when many drops come together, they can sustain life on our planet. Just as water drops come together to form oceans, I believe that we all must come together when tackling this global problem."

Follow Deepika Kurup on LinkedIn

Power of Linguistics: Prasiddha Sudhakar’s path to the Critical Language Scholarship

(May 19, 2024) United States-born Prasiddha Sudhakar has grown up in six different countries. “I have an international background, and this really shaped my worldview. I think that learning languages was always a big part of it,” said the 23-year-old. Prasiddha, a master's student at the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy at the Carnegie Mellon University, has been chosen for the 2024 Critical Language Scholarship (CLS). Through this immersive program, she will have the opportunity to delve into intensive Hindi language studies in India. The CLS is a highly competitive scholarship programme, with an acceptance rate of approximately 10 percent. It offers U.S. students a chance to deeply engage with languages and cultures vital to U.S. security and economic well-being. [caption id="attachment_37865" align="aligncenter" width="718"] Prasiddha Sudhakar | Photo Credit: CMU[/caption] Prasiddha realised that learning Hindi would be crucial for understanding the cultural dynamics shaping the online Indian communities she studies as part of her research. She applied for the CLS and was thrilled to be selected. At home, the Indian-origin youngster speaks Tamil and sees the scholarship as a great opportunity. “Being able to reconnect with my heritage in some way, like learning Hindi, is something I've

S and was thrilled to be selected.

At home, the Indian-origin youngster speaks Tamil and sees the scholarship as a great opportunity. “Being able to reconnect with my heritage in some way, like learning Hindi, is something I've wanted to do since I was a child. I’m really excited and thankful for the opportunity,” she said. She can also converse in French, Dutch, Spanish, German, and Persian.

Combining passion and work

In addition to being a master's student, Prasiddha works as a civic technologist at the Network Contagion Research Institute in the US. Her passion for languages extends into her work, where she focuses on countering hate speech and misinformation. She monitors emerging social issues on the internet, performs cyber forensics, and uses datasets to uncover inauthentic or harmful online activities.

The Pittsburgh based youngster has published papers examining anti-Hindu and anti-Muslim movements, and her contributions have been featured on platforms like the Washington Post. Prasiddha embraced multilingual education from a young age. “It was always an integral part of my life. You would be in a country where you don't know the language, so you'd have to pick it up rapidly,” the Global Indian remarked.

[caption id="attachment_37849" align="aligncenter" width="617"] Prasiddha Sudhakar[/caption]

In 2022, Prasiddha graduated from Rutgers University with a double major in computer science and economics, alongside a minor in critical intelligence studies. During her undergraduate years, she earned a prestigious public policy and international affairs fellowship at Heinz College of the Carnegie Mellon University. Throughout her academic and professional journey, she has consistently advocated for adopting a global outlook when addressing pivotal societal matters. She served as the president of the Rutgers Hindu Students Council.

Love for India and its culture

Although Prasiddha was born and brought up in the West, she is deeply connected to her native country. “In my childhood, there was not a single summer that I didn’t go to India,” she recalled. “As a youngster brought up in the West, I turned to religion instead of moving away from it,” she added. In her native place, Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu, Prasiddha loved walking barefoot, absorbing the spiritual energies of the place.

In the U.S., she would go to temples and observe rituals there as well as at home, questioning their significance. “However, I realised the deeper meanings only later. I think that’s a natural progression for young Hindus,” she explains.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFeIOhD2sO0

“I wear a bindi and other symbols that openly show me as a Hindu, but this often leads to not just light questioning but hostility. I have been asked, ‘Why is your head bleeding?’ and have been called ‘dot head’ in classrooms and other academic settings. This is not just ignorance but hostility towards who I am,” she said in a BBC podcast. Prasiddha speaks vociferously on Hinduism and its impact and is frequently invited to discussions at prestigious forums.

“I’ve been asked so many times, ‘Don’t you have 33 million gods? What’s the point?’ There isn’t a model Hindu education system in the West, leading to such ignorance. This is something the Hindu community should address by creating more educational opportunities in the West,” Prasiddha Sudhakar stated in an interview with the BBC last year.

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Banita Sandhu: The British Indian star in season 3 of Bridgerton

(May 24, 2024) “So grateful to have had the opportunity to immerse myself in the Bridgerton universe, dressing up and joining the world of Julia Quinn’s incredible characters. Thank you, Netflix and Shondaland, for a wonderful experience that I will forever cherish,” British-Indian actress Banita Sandhu shared with her fans, announcing her Hollywood debut in the eagerly awaited third season of Netflix’s Bridgerton. The first episode of the Season 3 premiered this month, with Banita sharing the screen with British actors like Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan. Banita’s character, Miss Malhotra, introduces a fresh dynamic to the social scene of the show's fictional Regency-era London, challenging the established norms among its eligible bachelors. [caption id="attachment_37960" align="aligncenter" width="614"] Banita Sandhu on the sets of Bridgerton[/caption] Bridgerton, adapted from Julia Quinn's novels, has mesmerised audiences in all its seasons with its lavish production design, captivating storylines, and diverse casting bringing the story of the nobility of the early 1800s in London. From UK to India Banita Sandhu hails from Wales, UK. She began her acting journey on the local stages in the UK before getting an opportunity to play roles on the screen - in TV commercials and short films. The English

rton, adapted from Julia Quinn's novels, has mesmerised audiences in all its seasons with its lavish production design, captivating storylines, and diverse casting bringing the story of the nobility of the early 1800s in London.

From UK to India

Banita Sandhu hails from Wales, UK. She began her acting journey on the local stages in the UK before getting an opportunity to play roles on the screen - in TV commercials and short films. The English Literature student had started working in short films even before she turned 18, and later worked in ads for Vodafone India and Wrigleys. Very early on in her career, at the age of just 20, Banita got an opportunity to work in Bollywood.

It was while working for Wrigley’s ad which was being directed by Bollywood director Shoojit Sircar that she caught his attention and earned the Bollywood break.

The 26-year-old made her Indian cinema debut in 2018 in ‘October’, a Shoojit Sircar film opposite Varun Dhawan. She was a second-year student of English Literature at the King’s College, London at that time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vracgLyJwI

The following year Banita went on to star in a Tamil production ‘Adithya Varma’ (remake of Telugu film Arjun Reddy) and the sci-fi series for Netflix, ‘Pandora’. Banita also worked with singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh in his track ‘Jind Mahi’, a love ballad.

Acting across continents the British-Indian actress went on to work at the British Dark Comedy, ‘Eternal Beauty’, and later Shoojit Sircar’s historical drama ‘Sardar Udham’ starring Vicky Kaushal.

The India connection

“My grandparents came to Britain from Punjab, northern India, shortly after World War II. Both my parents were born here and my sister and I were raised in a middle-class existence in Caerleon,” Banita told BBC.

Although she grew up with an interest in acting, low representation of South Asians on screen in the UK made her ambitions seem unreal. Also, coming to terms with her cultural identity was challenging. There were very few Asian girls in her small town which predominantly had only white people. “I really struggled with my identity as a kid. I used to hate my skin colour and wished I was the blond girl who all the boys liked,” she said in an interview with the Guardian.

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India calling

Banita did not have any known relatives in India, nor had she travelled to the country before. However when an opportunity to work in Bollywood fell in her lap, she was more than happy. Working in Indian films helped her learn about her country of origin. “I loved learning more about the culture, my family’s lives, struggles and traditions,” she said.

In preparation for her debut in Bollywood, the UK-born actor, who could speak only a smattering of Punjabi, had to learn Hindi, and took lessons for a year before the filming began. It was a challenging task and she was nervous about her delivery in a new language, but luckily most of her lines were a hybrid of English and Hindi, and things went well.

Making strides in acting beyond boundaries

Since then, Banita has worked in many film projects across continents. Her recent film Mother Teresa and Me went to earn the Best Film Award at the Mirabile Dictu International Film Festival. Sardar Udham starring Vicky Kaushal has won awards in the categories of Best Hindi Film (feature), best cinematography, best audio, best costume design and best production design at the 69th National film awards held in 2023.

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Banita has several brand promotion projects in her kitty. She has wrapped up her work in India’s spy sequel ‘Our Agent 116’ before immersing herself in the world of Bridgerton in Hollywood. “Wish I could keep the costumes,” the actor joked, talking about the grandeur, glitz and glamour of the regency era that the historical romance series offers.

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Prathik Naidu: Indian American’s innovation helps analyse cancer DNA

(July 3, 2024) For someone keen to become a scientist, Indian American Prathik Naidu jumped on the bandwagon at an early age when at age 17, he won $70,000 in the Regeneron Science Talent Search for developing DNALoopR. "What I essentially did was built an easy-to-use software that can analyse the cancer DNA. Using the software, I was able to analyse some new aspects of the cancer genome," he said. With cancer being the second leading cause of death in the world, the Standford University graduate was keen to find help a way to understand the structure of the genes behind cancer. So much so that he was one of the three US student representatives to present the research in Stockholm for the Nobel Prize Awards ceremony in 2017. A scientist in the making Growing up in Fairfax, Naidu was always intrigued by the idea of being a scientist. He often envisioned himself wearing a lab jacket, and such was his passion that he performed his first experiment using a chemistry kit that was gifted to him on his birthday. The venue was his parents' kitchen, and the objects were his kit, a lab coat, and miniature goggles. This was

, a lab coat, and miniature goggles. This was enough to keep the fire of becoming a scientist alive in him.

[caption id="attachment_23956" align="aligncenter" width="460"] Prathik Naidu is an Indian-American innovator[/caption]

The dream translated into a passion when he applied for internships at Johns Hopkins University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology while attending Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County. During one such summer spent at Johns Hopkins University, he discovered computational biology - a field wherein scientists make predictions on computers using biological data. The revelation broke his myths around science, and he knew he had found his calling.

"I always envisioned a scientist to be someone who is in a lab coat and pouring chemicals wearing goggles. But what I didn't realise was that science also comes in the form of working at a computer and analysing data and making predictions and writing software. That transitionally helped me understand what science is. It's not just about mixing chemicals, it's really about answering tough questions," the young Global Indian said in an interview.

[caption id="attachment_23957" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Prathik Naidu at the Regeneron Science Talent Search[/caption]

He knew computation biology was his way of answering those questions. "Computational biology is using computer science techniques to solve biological problems. This was something I was trying to pick up when I was in high school as genetics started to get popular. And I was reading more about it in the news and classes, that's when I got interested in the field," added Prathik Naidu.

Curiosity led to innovation

This interest made him dive deep into the subject, and one such class on biology made him interested in the fundamental aspects of how genes are activated or deactivated, which impacts the progression of cancer. "Even after decades of research on the genetics behind cancer, there's still a lot more work to be done in this area and I wanted to see if I can help answer some interesting questions in the field," he explained.

This curiosity led him to explore more on the subject during a summer internship at MIT wherein he developed DNALoopR, a fast and easy-to-use tool, that examines the genes of cancer cells in a three-dimensional way and helps discover new biological patterns. "The software can help scientists find new ways of reactivating genes that could help stop the growth of cancer cells and also lead to new types of genetic-based treatments that are more targeted than conventional methods," he added.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQyLPgO6Aqs

For months, he focused incessantly on learning math, algorithms, and statistics that were useful in creating the software. This project helped him take home $70,000 in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, also known as Junior Nobel Prize, where he secured seventh place. Later, this passion for computational biology took him to an international conference in Dublin, making him the only high school student to present a research paper. He even established a computational biology conference to get more high school children interested in the real-world applications of computer science. "If I learn something cool, then someone else should know it, too," he added.

The Indian American, who has his roots in Chitoor, now works as the product lead at Rutter. When not busy with research and work, the 22-year-old loves playing basketball and hiking.

Prathik's creation of easy-to-use software for analysing cancer DNA is a big step forward in cancer research. By making it simple for researchers and doctors to study the genetic details of cancer, his software helps improve the understanding and treatment of the disease. Naidu's work shows how innovative thinking can make a real difference in health care, giving hope for better, more personalised treatments for cancer patients everywhere.

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