Global IndianstoryBeyond Classrooms: SpaceBasic CEO Madhavi Shankar helps make campus life easy

Beyond Classrooms: SpaceBasic CEO Madhavi Shankar helps make campus life easy

Written by: Vikram Sharma

(March 11, 2023) Some decisions can change the trajectory of life, forever. For Madhavi Shankar, it was moving to Australia to study in 2012. Living independently and practising independent decision making, she realised her potential when she joined a technology startup and went on to work there for four years, juggling different roles. The experiences came in handy when she had a chance meeting with Indu Navar, a successful entrepreneur from Silicon Valley, during a trip to the US in 2016. Five hours of conversations later, Madhavi Shankar’s career had taken off. “I returned to Sydney, quit my job and flew back to India the following year with a goal to solve the real problem in the education space. The result was the birth of SpaceBasic.inc,” smiles the Co-founder and CEO of SpaceBasic, the ed-tech company which works on digitising student experiences for universities and campus housing communities.

Back to basics:

The idea behind SpaceBasic was to create a digital platform beyond the classroom for students and educators. “Today, over 50 colleges and universities use SpaceBasic to empower their campus housing communities by digitising everyday tasks and communications to deliver a better living experience,” Madhavi tells Global Indian.

With rigorous due-diligence, Madhavi learnt that over 80% of universities in India use little to no technology outside of the classroom. Campus operations like student housing, managing cafeterias and access control were ineffective and all performed manually with fragmented data sources. “We knew there had to be a better way,” says Madhavi, about the events that led to the launch of SpaceBasic.

Madhavi Shankar, CEO and co-founder, SpaceBasic

Under her leadership and entrepreneurial skills, SpaceBasic has grown 300% year on year. The AI-enabled SaaS platform digitises the non-curriculum life of a student by automating everyday tasks and communication within universities, schools and student housing communities, in one workspace.

Early life

A first generation entrepreneur from Bengaluru, Madhavi comes from a traditional South Indian family. Her parents, both doctors made sure education was the cornerstone of their children’s upbringing. “Throughout my school and college days, I would often get into trouble for my grades,” recalls the technology enthusiast, who enjoyed participating, curating and hosting events.

She did her schooling from National Public School and then went to Visvesvaraya Technological University for her Bachelor’s degree.

Sydney calling

Come 2012, Madhavi moved to Sydney to pursue her Masters and MBA from the University of Technology. “My passion for startups started in Sydney. I wanted to start a company from the experience I had in Australia as an international student and drawing comparison to my experiences in India. I was inclined to build something in the education space,” says the Forbes 30 Under 30, Asia 2020 awardee.

While working in the tech startup in Sydney, Madhavi handled different responsibilities, from front desk receptionist, door-to-door sales to finally product manager, Asia Pacific.

Madhavi and Indu Navar, co-founders, SpaceBasic

The entrepreneurship journey

Referring to her meeting with Indu Navar, with whom she co-founded SpaceBasic, Madhavi says their conversation made them realise they shared the common passion of bringing about a change with the use of technology in undeserved sectors in India.

“The goal was to bring together meaningful data sources from everyday tasks and communication and to provide universities actionable insights, leading to cost reductions and streamlined operations,” explains the entrepreneur, who was honoured with Global Australian Award – Advance.Org & Government of Australia 2022.

SpaceBasic is backed by early stage Venture Capitalists SucCeed, Turbostart and have prominent angels from India and the US. Presently, SpaceBasic is working with institutions like Manipal Academy of Higher Education, PES University, DY Patil University, Indus International Schools among others and enables 120K+ users.

The company is expected to accelerate towards a revenue goal of $25M by 2026. “Universities and colleges today want to digitize manual, redundant campus operations and adopt AI technology to make predictive data-driven decisions that will help with cost reductions, optimized operations and provide an amazing connected campus experience to students,” she explains.

Empowering women everywhere

As an empowering woman leader, Madhavi had the opportunity to speak at the United Nations HQ in Geneva in 2019. “Representing India as one of the nine youth speakers was an incredible experience. I interacted and learnt about the social initiatives by young entrepreneurs,” says Madhavi. The event was part of the one million youth leaders by 2030.

She has also been invited to speak at IIT-Kharagpur, IIT-Chennai, ISB Hyderabad and TEDx talks as well. “The common theme around these talks have been women empowerment and the economic need for more women in the workforce and what we can do to support this,” informs Madhavi.

So what are her future plans ? “Our goal over the next three years is to digitise the campus experience of one million students with SpaceBasic.” She says her company believes in equal opportunities for all and giving back to the community. Affiliated with the movement ‘Pledge 1%’ where the company pledges 1% of their profits, time and software to invest back into the community, SpaceBasic works towards educating women each year, informs the entrepreneur.

Madhavi’s work involves lot of travel, something she loves. “I try to read half a dozen self-help books or biographies a year,” says the CEO.

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Published on 11, Mar 2023

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Indian-American Rupal Gadhia takes over as MD of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School

(September 26, 2023) Every Tuesday, when Rupal Gadhia was an MBA student at Harvard Business School, she would get together with a bunch of girls from her section for a weekly dinner. Years later, they remain best friends - for Rupal Gadhia, the time she spent at HBS is a gift that just keeps on going. The experience transformed her life in every way. "It was the place that taught me to find my voice, express my views and perspectives, and lead with integrity and kindness," Gadhia said, in an interview. So, years later, when she heard through the alumni grapevine that the school was hiring a managing director for MBA Admissions and Financial Aid, she grabbed the opportunity with both hands. "I wanted to contribute to HBS having that profound impact for generations to come," she says. Gadhia will succeed Chad Losee and begin her new role in October. [caption id="attachment_45376" align="aligncenter" width="455"] Rupal Gadhia[/caption] A new role Working in admissions is admittedly different from anything she had done before. Gadhia's career has been versatile and full of variety - she went from an engineering degree to an MBA, to branding, management and consulting. But the chance to return to Harvard

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Working in admissions is admittedly different from anything she had done before. Gadhia's career has been versatile and full of variety - she went from an engineering degree to an MBA, to branding, management and consulting. But the chance to return to Harvard Business School was too good to resist. "It read like my dream job, I couldn't resist reaching out about it. HBS had such a profound impact on my life and is responsible for one of the biggest growth periods of my life," she says. As she oversees the admissions process, Gadhia will also play a key role in the school's diversity and inclusion efforts, by "building upon previous efforts to increase access and affordability and remove financial barriers for applicants and students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds."

Rupal Gadhia holds a degree in engineering and then completed her MBA at Harvard Business School in 2004. She kickstarted her career in brand management at Sara Lee, and then moved on to Campbell Soup Company. From there, she moved to Booz & Co as a management consultant and then to Brand Union. In 2017, she was hired by Genpact as their global vice president of brand and digital marketing. Although her career trajectory in the branding and management sector was markedly on the rise, Gadhia couldn't resist the opportunity to do something in return for the school that has given her so much.

Early life

Born and raised in Rochester, NY, her parents were among the large crop of Indians who evacuated Uganda in the 1970s, when dictator Idi Amin came to power. They left Africa as refugees and settled down in Rochester. "They came from warm tropical climates to literally the snowiest place ever," smiles Gadhia, in an interview with Harvard Business School. In school, she was one of the only Indian kids in her class. On weekends, however, she was surrounded by other Indian families "that were like family to me - because my real grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles were continents away."

When the time came to pick a career, Gadhia was expected (obviously) to choose between medicine or engineering. At the time, though, she believed that interior decorating was her calling. That wasn't likely to go down too well in a traditional Indian family, so Gadhia picked engineering "to check that box." She graduated from college and worked for one year before heading to Harvard Business School, where her life would change dramatically.

She chose classes in marketing and social enterprise and when it was time to graduate, leaned very much towards the latter. Her mentor advised her to go out and get skills that could benefit a non-profit before entering the sector. "That took me to Sara Lee and the Campbell Soup Company in marketing/brand management," she says.

Pivot into management consulting

After a couple of years in the space, Gadhia moved to New York, hoping to pivot into management consulting. She had a job offer at Booz & Company (which has since been acquired by PWD). Her role there was versatile; she was "working on everything from growth strategy to merger integrations to a lot of cost-cutting projects as we were entering the recession." Gadhia had found two areas of interest - branding and consulting. She put them together at the Brand Union and Interbrand. "I was able to work with some of the most amazing brands, helping them reposition, strengthen their brands and develop the right go-to-market strategies," she explains.

[caption id="attachment_45378" align="aligncenter" width="693"] Harvard Business School[/caption]

Gadhia stayed in this space for nearly a decade, during which she also met the man she would marry. She moved to Boston to be with him and joined Genpact, a B2B company that works to digitally transform back and middle offices for large corporations. For five years, Gadhia led a team of over 50 people across "brand, editorial communications, talent marketing, digital marketing, social media and creative."

Heading admissions at HBS

"After almost 20 years, I finally feel like I have the marketing and social enterprise skills my mentor suggested I develop," says the Global Indian. "This role will leverage my background in marketing and give me the opportunity to continue to learn and grow from the best and brightest." Her role involves showcasing the HBS MBA and how it "can provide students with skills, relationships and opportunities that can help them throughout every chapter of their career." Also in focus is helping prospective students understand that business can play a key role in addressing society's most complex and pressing problems.

Gadhia admits that there has been more scrutiny on college admissions of late, and will tackle this too. Early in 2023, the Education Department opened an inquiry into Harvard University's legacy admissions policy, after the US Supreme Court's decision against affirmative action in higher education caused a political backlash, including from Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "I am confident that we can maintain our community values of being respectful and accountable to the law," Gadhia said, adding, "while continuing to strive for the diversity and inclusion that is so critical to educating leaders who will make a difference in the world."

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‘Now I am become Death…’ Oppenheimer and the Bhagavad Gita

(August 5, 2023) "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." As Robert Oppenheimer watched the mushroom cloud at Point Zero, he recalled a scene from the Bhagavad Gita. As Krishna explains to Arjuna that he must do his duty, he takes on his multi-limbed form and says, "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." The line flashed through Oppenheimer's mind as he realised what he had created, and that "the world would not be the same" again. The true potential of the atom bomb dawned on him fully in that moment, and he understood the devastation it would cause. [caption id="attachment_43231" align="aligncenter" width="510"] Robert Oppenheimer[/caption] Christopher Nolan's 2023 film, Oppenheimer, makes a passing mention of the Gita, choosing the line that is guaranteed to have the great effect - 'Now I am become Death'. The usage - and the context in which it was used in the film - has sent ripples of outrage through India, while those on left dismiss the Gita as 'fatalistic' in their counter-arguments. Everyone seems to have it wrong, as Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin write in American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist, who was

eryone seems to have it wrong, as Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin write in American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist, who was a profoundly well-read man with a gift for languages, discovered the Gita in his twenties and his connection to it lasted for the rest of his life. Kai Bird even wonders if the Trinity Test was named as a reference to the Vedic triumvirate of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva - Creation, Sustenance and Death. Global Indian takes a look at Robert Oppenheimer's discovery of the Gita and how Vedanta went on to influence him as a scientist and as a human being.

Meeting with Arthur Ryder

Oppenheimer's tryst with Sanskrit began when he arrived at Berkeley University to teach quantum mechanics, a subject that had not yet found a place in American theoretical physics. Also on the faculty was Arthur Ryder, a professor of Sanskrit. The two men couldn't have been more different - Oppenheimer, who already had a reputation as a genius of quantum physics, was also known to be an intellectual (and moral) dilletante. He flirted with women, and communism alike. He attended communist gatherings with his brother and dated a young woman he met at one of these events. He read Marx, Ernest Hemingway, Sigmund Freud and the Gita, and was intrigued by all of them. Arthur Ryder, on the other hand, was a "Hoover Republican and a sharp-tongued iconoclast."

Despite their differences, the two men were drawn to each other and soon, Ryder was teaching Oppenheimer Sanskrit. Oppenheimer had a gift for languages - prior to his arrival at Berkeley, he had learned Dutch in six weeks and delivered a lecture on quantum mechanics in the language. So, it wasn't long before Oppenheimer had begun reading the Gita. It fascinated him instantly. He told friends that the Gita, which he called "The Lord's Song," was "the most beautiful philosophical song existing in any known tongue." Ryder gifted him a copy of the book, which he kept on the bookshelf by his desk. He would even give copies of the Gita to his friends as gifts.

Orientalism

In 1933, Oppenheimer's father gave him a Chrysler, which he immediately named Garuda, after the mount of Lord Vishnu. These symbolic gestures all spoke of a deeper resonance - Oppenheimer found comfort and scientific depth in Eastern philosophies. He wasn’t the only one. This was the time of Orientalism, and scientists like Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrodinger and Niels Bohr were influenced by it, apart from a number literary figures including a poet Oppenheimer greatly admired –T.S. Eliot. Heisenberg, whose work Oppenheimer built on at Los Alamos, said, “After the conversations about Indian philosophy, some of the ideas of Quantum Physics that had seemed so crazy suddenly made more sense.” Niels Bohr, another scientist whom Oppenheimer admired, had said, “I go into the Upanishads to ask questions,” while Schrodinger admitted that most his ideas and theories were influenced by Vedanta.

The impact of Robert Oppenheimer's relationship with Vedanta and the Bhagavad Gita extended beyond his personal journey. It contributed to a broader cultural exchange, inspiring other scientists to explore the connections between science and spirituality. Robert Oppenheimer's contributions to science are celebrated, but his reverence for Vedanta and Eastern philosophies adds a deeper layer to his legacy. His story serves as a reminder of the profound influence that ancient wisdom can have on modern scientific inquiry, and how the pursuit of knowledge can be intertwined with a search for greater understanding of the human condition.

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

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Indian-origin Swiss parliamentarian, Niklaus-Samuel Gugger has scaled great heights against all odds

(May 19, 2022) Five decades ago, a Brahmin widow, Anasuya, gave birth to a boy at the CSI Basel Mission Hospital in Udupi, Karnataka. Unable to keep the child, she gave him up to Dr Marianne Pflugfelder, and trusted the missionary hospital to find the best place for him. While several orphan kids live an underprivileged life, he was rescued by a Swiss couple - Fritz and Elizabeth, who adopted and named him Niklaus-Samuel Gugger. [caption id="attachment_24686" align="aligncenter" width="647"] Niklaus-Samuel Gugger, member of the Swiss National Council[/caption] 52 years later, Nik Gugger is now the first Indian-origin politician to be elected as a member of the Switzerland's National Council, and was recently awarded as the best bridge building/networking Parliamentarian in Switzerland. "My biological mother, Anasuya, kept me safe in her womb for nine months. While I never saw her, I think that she must have been a very powerful, compassionate and loving woman. I highly appreciate her. She passed those qualities to me too," shares Nik, while speaking to Global Indian over a video call from Switzerland. "After I was born, two angels came to my bed and gave me the life I have today. My parents are the best

e passed those qualities to me too," shares Nik, while speaking to Global Indian over a video call from Switzerland. "After I was born, two angels came to my bed and gave me the life I have today. My parents are the best parents any child could have asked for," he adds.

Despite living in Switzerland for about 48 years, Nik hasn't lost touch with his Indian roots. To honour his birth mother, Nik named his eldest daughter, Anasuya.

From the coast of Kerala to the Swiss Alps

After he was adopted by the Swiss couple, Nik stayed in Thalassery, Kerala where they were working for a development project of the Aid Organisation of the Swiss Evangelical Churches. Nik's father, Fritz, ensured that Nik had several beautiful memories from his childhood, and recorded videos of the little Nik running around at the NTTF compound, where they lived for four years. The videos, Nik shares, are still with him. "My parents taught me that one should never forget their roots. That is the reason, why I still feel so connected to India."

[caption id="attachment_24655" align="aligncenter" width="725"] A childhood image of Nik, with his parents and two sisters in the Alps, Switzerland[/caption]

Nik's parents moved back to Switzerland when he was four. However, all was not peachy after he shifted to Switzerland. Being the only Indian child in the neighbourhood, he did have his melancholy moments. "For the Swiss people, it was strange that someone adopted a brown-skinned boy. I was the only Indian-origin kid in my class as well," shares the politician, who also faced trouble with his employers and in politics later in the life.

With his father working with the deaf and dumb home Uetendorfberg Foundation, and later, his parents managing a retirement home, service to the society was a lesson learnt early in life by Nik. During his high-school years, the politician decided to pursue a dual-education as a mechanic in Fritz Studer AG, Steffisburg. After he finished his degree in mechanics, he took on various jobs - from a truck driver to a gardener - to support his higher education. "It is not uncommon here for students to work part-time, to pay for their studies. My parents taught several great lessons, but they weren't very rich," he adds.

Nik Gugger

A subsequent social internship in Colombia led him to become a youth and social worker. "This was during the time of narcoterrorist, Pablo Escobar in Colombia. I did an internship in social work and worked with the street children there," shares Nik, adding, "After few years of working, I studied social work and social management at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern, from 1995 to 1999." Nik, later, went on to pursue innovation management at the Center for Agogik ZAK in Basel and University of Amsterdam from 2004 to 2006 and Political communication at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.

A leader of the masses

In 1997, after the Luxor massacre - which claimed the lives of 62 people - Nik was approached by the members of Evangelical Peoples Party (EPP) to join their ranks, an invitation that he readily accepted. From 2002 to 2014, he was a member of the City Council of Winterthur. After working as a member of the Zurich Cantonal Council, from 2014 to 2017, Nik moved up to the National Council, in November 2017. "Much of my work has been around development of people and socio-political issues. My goal has been to integrate the weakest in the society through socio-ethical management and empowerment," he shares.

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Soon after the 2004 Tsunami struck, affecting the several countries including India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia, Nik was in the coastal city of Phuket, Thailand to work with the victims of the natural disaster. “Back then, Elvia Insurance and Swiss Foreign Department sent me to Thailand to rescue the victims, recognising my intercultural knowledge,” shares the global leader.

Interestingly, Nik was recently in news for protecting children in Switzerland from internet pornography - something he got to know about from several parents living in the neighbourhood. "One day my 12-year-old son came home from school and informed me that his classmates watch porn. That worried me a bit and when I looked into it, I found that there were no checks available before one could enter the websites. So, I called for action to protect the Swiss children. I hope that other countries will follow suit," explains the politician, who is also the patron for the much-talked about movie, Kavita & Teresa.

[caption id="attachment_24661" align="aligncenter" width="658"] Nik at the Swiss Parliament[/caption]

For years now, Nik has been involved in numerous projects for children and young people in India. In 2018, the Member of Parliament was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in Odisha. The Global Ambassador of the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology and the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, Nik also launched a fundraising campaign to enable ventilator purchases in Odisha and Kerala, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Nik was also working with Gundert Foundation in Thalassery, which gives modern education to children of all caste.

[caption id="attachment_24660" align="aligncenter" width="566"] Nik with Meenakshi Lekhi, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture[/caption]

The founder and President of Swiss Indian Parliamentary Group, Nik shares a cordial relation with all the Indian MPs. He was recently in India looking at possibilities for extensive collaboration in fields like healthcare, telemedicine and technological advancements. "We Indians have so much to give to the world. However, we have a lot to learn from the world as well. I have been working with many Indian ministers. With the Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Meenakshi Lekhi, I have been working extensively towards women empowerment. Also, I really hope that India incorporates dual education in its education system," he expresses.

[caption id="attachment_24659" align="aligncenter" width="707"] Nik Gugger, Global Indian Nik speaking at the 30th Independence Day at the Ukrainian Parliament, in 2021[/caption]

A proud Swiss, Nik stands firmly in support of Ukraine, as the war-struck nation continues to fight against Russia. "I am strongly against any aggression. There can be differences between two nations, but bombing is never the solution for that," expresses the politician who visited Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, in April 2022 by the invitation of the speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament.

A man who dons many hats

A social entrepreneur, Nik has worked extensively to coach the next generation. Nik is the co-founder and member of the board of directors of the consulting company Herzkraftwerk AG in Winterthur, which offers coaching for decision-makers from business and non-profit organisations. A life coach and motivational speaker, Nik is also the Vice President of the environmental organization BirdLife Switzerland. He is also the owner of famous Ayurvedic ginger drink in Switzerland – Zingi.

[caption id="attachment_24654" align="aligncenter" width="623"] Nik Gugger, Global Indian Nik enjoys skiing with his friends in the Alps[/caption]

A doting father of three, Nik has varied interests outside the world of politics. "I love to ski and go on motorbike rides with my friends, through Europe," shares the politician, whose wife, Beatrice, works as a pediatric nurse and is a very proud "wife of Indian-origin". The busy politician is currently working on a book about empowerment and life-balance, called Against All Odds, which is set to hit the bookshelves very soon.

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Indian hotelier Anjan Chatterjee taking Calcutta to India and to the World

(January 8, 2022) They are calling it the 'Bengali food's latest outpost'. And it took two friends — former Indigo Airlines CEO Aditya Ghosh and well-known Indian hotelier Anjan Chatterjee to come together to open Chourangi in the heart of London. Located at the intersection of Oxford Circus and Marble Arch, Chatterjee calls it fulfilling to bring the eclectic cuisine of Calcutta to the city of London. The restaurant opened to rave reviews last year and despite the pandemic, it is going strong. So how did Chatterjee and Ghosh come up with the name Chourangi? "Chowringhee, from where the name has been originally derived, is a central business district of Calcutta and is also a very famous movie (36 Chowringhee Lane) by Aparna Sen. The name apart from being iconic represents the soul of Calcutta," he tells Global Indian. On his union with Ghosh, Chatterjee says that it is a friendship of twenty years. Introduced to each other by late Pranab Mukherjee (Ex-President of India), Chatterjee reveals they connected over their love for food. "One fine evening over drinks I had shared my dream with him to take Calcutta's cuisine to London, and he just jumped to the idea and

drinks I had shared my dream with him to take Calcutta's cuisine to London, and he just jumped to the idea and thereon, he has been a constant guide in this venture,” says the Indian hotelier.

[caption id="attachment_18611" align="aligncenter" width="1080"] Indian Hotelier | Anjan Chatterjee | Global Indian Anjan Chatterjee's Chourangi[/caption]

Chatterjee may want to take Calcutta/Kolkata to the world, but over the years, his Speciality Restaurants group, a listed entity, has introduced Bengali and world cuisine to much of India with very well-known restaurants such as Mainland China, Haka, Oh! Calcutta, Machaan, Sigree among others. Each restaurant is unique for its cuisine, and unlike each other. "Oh! Calcutta is a Bengali centric fine dining space, while Chourangi is much more than that. It represents Calcutta's heritage cuisine and not just 'Bengali' cuisine," adds Chatterjee.

The origins

A hotel management graduate, Chatterjee dabbled in the hospitality sector working for the Taj Group and others. He also had a stint as an ad-selling executive in Mumbai for Kolkata's ABP Group. But the pull of the food was too hard to resist and in 1992, he started Only Fish, with the Bengali diaspora in mind. Then came Oh! Calcutta, again in Mumbai.

Since then there has been no looking back for this IHM Kolkata graduate. In these twenty-seven years, the Speciality Group has standardised recipes, created a chain of fine dining, casual dining, bar & lounge and bakery & confectionery outlets and restaurants not only across the country but also the world. There are around 130 restaurants and confectioneries in over 25 cities in India as well as in Dhaka (Bangladesh), Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Dubai (UAE) and now in London.

Speciality Restaurants went public in 2012 and became the first food chain in India to get listed in the stock market.

When the pandemic came calling

The hospitality sector was coming out of a trough when the pandemic struck, and Chatterjee had to go back to planning with his son, Avik, taking active interest in the business now.

The Indian hotelier understood very early that something profound was happening for the sector and it would never be the same again. It called for alacrity to acknowledge and change.

[caption id="attachment_18606" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Indian Hotelier | Anjan Chatterjee | Global Indian Anjan Chatterjee with his son Avik[/caption]

From a restaurant company that was known for fine-dining, they had to seriously look at the home delivery side of business. "We have strengthened deliveries in the last one-and-a-half years. In the process, we have created a kitchen within the kitchen, where we increased the capacity of the kitchen by optimizing and by putting cloud kitchen because Mainland China, Oh! Calcutta and other brands are formidable brands,” says the Indian hotelier.

Cloud kitchen is a separate vertical within restaurants, and while it formed almost 60 percent of all business, it hasn't come down 35-38 percent even after all restrictions got lifted. "A lot of cloud kitchens are being added to the places where either we do not have restaurants or we have shut down. We are expanding through the cloud kitchen. I think this has been the biggest learning because we knew that any variant of COVID can hit at any point in time,” says Chatterjee.

The new normal

Chatterjee feels that the trend of cloud kitchen is here to stay as it has now become the 'new normal' and has given birth to an 'ordering out culture'. "The other reason has been the pricing and convenience of ordering food from the comfort of your home as it is incomparable to the experience of going to a restaurant or finding people to party in the first place." he adds.

[caption id="attachment_18612" align="aligncenter" width="664"] Indian Hotelier | Anjan Chatterjee | Global Indian Braised Lamb Shank Curry[/caption]

Cafe Mezzuna, the contemporary European all-day diner, is a hit among the young diners. It has also been adopted to the cloud kitchen format with Mezzuna Gourmet Pizza, an app for ordering deliveries. Chatterjee and his team concentrated on pizzas with some innovative toppings as well as regular menu. "We have created a brand that’s slightly more glocalised but with the Mezzuna legacy. We are quite a puritan brand when it comes to Cafe Mezzuna, it’s pure Mediterranean. We have done an innovation in terms of packaging. It’s thermo-insulated, so the pizza stays hot. These are gourmet pizzas 12-inch and 15-inch, slightly glocalised and not like (Cafe) Mezzuna’s. We have seen a good off take of the brand as of the present considering the prevailing circumstances," he explains.

Increasing footprints abroad

The Speciality Group has opened their second outlet of Asia Kitchen by Mainland China at the Mall of Emirates (Dubai). "Riyasat is set to launch in Dubai and then there’s Mainland China opening soon in Houston too," shares Chatterjee. However, considering the pandemic situation, the hotelier is more inclined towards expanding the Cloud Kitchen vertical in India. "Surely we wish to expand both the brands further but maybe through a cloud kitchen model," he says.

Indian Hotelier | Anjan Chatterjee | Global Indian

A foodie family

His wife Suchhanda and son Avik are better chefs claims Chatterjee. But the family is involved in various parts of business. "While my wife, Meenoo has been the hands behind all the interiors and décor that you come across for Mainland China and Oh! Calcutta, my daughter-in-law is not directly involved in the business but she keeps on sharing some valuable inputs time to time," Indian hotelier says.

The family is into hospitality business, and it is but natural that it discusses food and latest trends even at the dining table. "Avik keeps bolstering me with the latest videos and updates on the changing food trends," he says.

Despite having a busy schedule, Chatterjee loves to put on the apron once in a while for the family. As for his favourites, he has the usual Bengali cuisine suspects--chingri malai curry, Calcutta fish fry with gondhoraj lemon and jhurjhure alu bhaja on the side. "But, do not get shocked or surprised if I savour an entire portion of Calcutta biryani at two in the morning or a steamed jasmine rice followed with fish in Tobanjan sauce specially made by our chef De Cuisine, Rajesh Dubey!," Chatterjee laughs.

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How Gaurav Brahmbhatt mobilised help for Covid 19 patients with Health Care At Home

(April 21) Gaurav Brahmbhatt offers to log in at 5 am GST from the UK without batting an eyelid. "I'm up early. Work begins early and I like to have some sort of routine. I work in healthcare, after all," he smiles. Gaurav, who is a founding team member and VP of strategic partnerships at Health Care at Home India Pvt Ltd (HCAH), was, at the time of our meeting, in the UK to receive an honorary degree from his alma mater, Aston University. It is a recognition of his efforts to lead HCAH India in the Covid-19 season. During the peak of the pandemic, HCAH mobilised huge resources to ensure that people who didn't need to be hospitalised received adequate care. In January 2022, the company raised $15 million in funding, and the plan, Gaurav tells Global Indian, is to scale up all their centres. Taking on a pandemic In 2019, when the world had just become aware of Covid-19, HCAH was only six years old, having begun operations in 2013. However, as huge panic kicked in and hospitals ran out of beds and resources, the company began receiving calls from Delhi, Karnataka and Punjab. "That's how we started

begun operations in 2013. However, as huge panic kicked in and hospitals ran out of beds and resources, the company began receiving calls from Delhi, Karnataka and Punjab. "That's how we started caring for Covid-19 positive patients who didn't need hospitalisation," says Gaurav. "Our model had become an absolute necessity at the time and this was our chance to add real social value." HCAH's staff treated over a million patients during 2019-2020, helping abate panic during the early phases.

"It was a very demanding task," Gaurav recalls. "We had 72 hours to scale up our models for the government and get going. Before we knew it, we were getting something like 28,000 calls a day." The government was working overtime too, funding private healthcare for those who could not afford it. They also set up hospital facilities in hotel rooms for quarantine needs.

[caption id="attachment_23463" align="aligncenter" width="309"] Gaurav Brahmbhatt[/caption]

Rise to the top

Established in 1992 in the UK by Dr Charles Walsh and Dr Gareth Jones, Gaurav joined Health Care at Home UK (HAH) in 2004, fresh out of college. "Call it coincidence, or luck but that was the time it started buzzing," Gaurav says. The NHS, he recalls, was under a lot of cost pressure and wanted to expand healthcare at home. "This concept had been around in the UK and the US for quite a while. So when the time came, HAH started buzzing. We were turning in more than GBP 1 billion."

Armed with a degree in pharmacy from Pune and a master's in biotechnology from Hertfordshire University, Gaurav came on board at HAH as a pharmacy technician, a "very junior role," he says. He was keen to learn, to take on new challenges and deploy the management skills. "I became employee of the year and was promoted several times," he says.

Soon, he was overseeing operations of the largest pharmacy in Europe, which was "half the size of a football field, came with cold chain compliant operations and conveyor belts - the works." This left him with a strong sense of accomplishment - a migrant from India, getting into an organisation and being able to go so far. "I had learnt people management skills, planning and execution, goal setting and so on," he adds.

An MBA and a new path

Even as he worked at the pharmacy, he dreamed of doing an MBA - a desire he often shared with his bosses. They finally gave in, even offering to fund his degree. "MBAs are quite expensive in the UK," Gaurav explains. "Getting funding is also very hard." It also meant a commitment - time. "My son was born in September 2008 and he was just a few days old when I entered Aston Business School," says the exec.

Aston University has awarded an honorary degree to Gaurav Brahmbhatt for his leadership on the health agenda in India.

Gaurav Brahmbhatt is a founding team member and vice-president of strategic partnerships and growth at HCAH India.

Congratulations, Gaurav! pic.twitter.com/fipJoz6BFl

— HCAH India (@HCAHIndia) April 9, 2022

In order to graduate in 2010-11, Gaurav had to turn in a research project. He calls it his "eureka moment." He wrote about HAH possibly looking at India as a expansion opportunity. "I had been away for a very long time and I wanted to be able to give back to my country in some way," he says.

Healthcare at home was a concept that made a lot of sense to him, "We can't carry on endlessly building hospitals," believes Gaurav, adding, "I remember as a kid, a doctor visiting houses with his suitcase. That disappeared with time but the potential was there."

While surgeries and other complex, invasive procedures do require a hospital, "70 percent of what is done there can be done at home," he says. "That's the guiding principle in the UK and we thought we could do something similar in India too.

The India expansion

Gaurav spent six months on his MBA research project and when he presented it to the HAH management, he found them quite convinced, "It was a validation of my research," Gaurav smiles.

After HAH conducted its field research, Gaurav accompanied Dr Jones and Dr Walsh to India to meet with stakeholders, including the Burman family, owners of the Dabur group. The meetings only convinced them further this was the right choice.

Homecoming

Gaurav returned to India with his family in 2012. "I had a baby daughter that year too" - Gaurav smiles, as he seems to do every time he mentions his daughter, who is now nine. It was a tough call - the family was well settled in the UK, both professionally and personally. Moving back to India was a risk but Gaurav knew it would bring him more satisfaction in the long run.

Healthcare at Home India Pvt Ltd (HCAH) began operations in 2013, with Vivek Srivastava as CEO and Gaurav also at the helm. They began to expand outside Delhi to Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. "We acquired a pharma business in Mumbai and began scaling up post that," says Gaurav, of the company that works with major pharma companies and his pharma expertise stepped in.

Changing healthcare in India

"It's about setting up the infrastructure and then making it work in terms of logistics and distribution. In a complex environment like India, you're dealing with specialised, high-end medicines. We call it integrated pharma," he explains.

Today, Healthcare at Home India Pvt. Ltd reaches around 1.5 lakh patients each month, supporting oncology to nephrology patients. Post-operative care is also an important part of what they do. Post Covid-19, the company has expanded further, working with patients at homes, in communities and on corporate sites in terms of wellness centres and so on, Gaurav explains.

The Heroes of HCAH have outdone themselves in this pandemic, going far beyond their duties and responsibilities to serve patients in these trying times.

To honor them, we are shining the Spotlight on our super-achieving Kolkata team today...#HCAH #H https://t.co/vZTQ0ktboc

— HCAH India (@HCAHIndia) May 17, 2021

Brand Ambasador for Aston Business School

After he moved to India, Gaurav became the country's brand ambassador for Aston Business School. "I wanted to extend knowledge and support to other Aston alumni in India as well." He runs the university's alumni network, overseeing the various chapters and organising lectures by Aston professors.

In 2020, he became a member of the Aston Advisory Board to strategise for long term impact, learn from industry leaders who are alumni. In 2022, he was awarded his honourary degree.

"It's very satisfying, somehow to be part of something bigger," Gaurav remarks. "And I have been fortunate enough to find people like Dr Charles, Dr Gareth and the Burman family." He describes his journey with HCAH as a mission. "What began as an idea supports millions of people in India. That's where my highest sense of achievement comes from."

[caption id="attachment_23471" align="aligncenter" width="639"] Gaurav receives his honorary degree from Aston University[/caption]

Accessibility of private healthcare

"The company runs its own NGO as well. We are working on solutions like bringing healthcare to rural areas," says Gaurav. Counselling patients too. "For instance, there are people with epilepsy who don't get access to mainstream education, or don't marry. We are working towards developing programmes to deal with these societal issues," Gaurav explains.

Gaurav has returned to his home state, Gujarat. He lives with his wife, whom he describes as a constant source of support, and his kids.

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