Indian racer | Akhil Rabindra | Global Indian

Global IndianstoryFrom go-karting to GT4 European Series: Indian racer Akhil Rabindra is driving to glory

From go-karting to GT4 European Series: Indian racer Akhil Rabindra is driving to glory

Written by: Namrata Srivastava

(July 1, 2022) An expensive sport, motor sports in India finds only a handful of takers as a profession. It was in the early 2000s that motor sports took off in India with Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok getting behind the wheel of a mean machine, and since then the racing industry is trying to find a stable foothold in the country. However, none of this dissuaded Indian racer Akhil Rabindra. Fascinated by cars since a very young age, Akhil went from enjoying recreational go-karting on weekends to becoming the first Asian to be selected by the Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy.

Indian racer Akhil Rabindra

Speaking to Global Indian from United Kingdom, ahead of the 2022 GT4 European Series, the 26-year-old racer reveals that racing was never on the cards, however, he always enjoyed speed driving. “Racing was never on my mind but driving cars, looking at cars and anything to do with cars was. I always thought I would own something nice and drive something nice,” laughs the Indian racer, adding, “There were fewer opportunities in India, but still I got to a higher level. Motor sports require a lot of financial resources, time and commitment. Somewhere along the way, it happened and I got into financial racing.”

Obsessed with cars and speed

The Bengaluru-born was always fascinated with cars. While other kids his age would spend their weekends playing cricket or football, Akhil’s parents would drive him to a go-karting trip. “At age 10, I was obsessed with cars. When you are that young the only option for you is rental go-karting which were very few, back in the day. So, my weekend would start around 4 am on Saturday, when my parents would take me to a go-karting place which was far away, we would spend the weekend there and return late on Sunday, so that I could attend the school next morning,” shares the Indian racer.

From recreational driving, Akhil progressed to professional go-karting at the age of 14. He did junior racing and moved to the highest national championships before moving out of India. However, it was a “busy life” for this champion. “I started professional go-karting in ninth grade. I had two sets of board exams ahead of me and I was not the brightest student. There was a lot of travelling involved, missing school, coming back and catching up on notes and I had to squeeze my school, fitness training and tuition on my week days. Since I was travelling, racing, working out on fitness, I had very less time to socialise and live the normal teenager life.”

Akhil after securing the double podium finish in the season opening round of the GT4 European Series, 2022

In 2012, Rabindra, alongside racing in single seater car, debuted in touring cars, driving the Toyota Etios Racing Series, and was the youngest finalist in the saloon car category in the championship. He even managed a podium finish at the Exhibition Race in Chennai and a strong finish in the race of Champions in Delhi ensuring his place at the Columbia Night Race 2013. But an accident in 2014 threw him off the scene for a while, however he shares that he has fully recovered from it. “Motor sport is not easy. Having said that, I think no sport is easy or safe. However, my family was incredibly supportive throughout my journey,” shares the Indian racer.

Formula to success

After finishing his school, Akhil moved to the United Kingdom to enroll in the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, to pursue his BSc graduation. It was here that he saw the stark contrast in racing between India and abroad. “When I went to UK, I realised two things – one talent abroad is very competitive and hard, and two, you have got to do a lot of things right to make it to the top”, shares the Indian racer.

But as they say, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. So, Akhil started dedicating more time and energy into racing. In 2015, he competed in BRDC Formula 4 Championship in the United Kingdom with Wayne Douglas Motorsport, a series for young drivers from all over the world driving the new MSV F4-013, 2-litre Ford Durance engine and paddle shift gearbox. Having to learn a new car and new tracks, Akhil scored 203 points finishing 14th overall.

Indian racer | Akhil Rabindra | Global Indian

While he was keen to become a Formula 1 driver, eventually, the racer decided to jump from Formula series to the GT. “This was a tough decision as the formula ladder needed a lot of time, financial resources, and the chances of making it was also doubtful. We wanted to have a sustainable journey in motorsport and also be able to make it to the top. In the GT category, it has a larger ecosystem than 20 drivers in F1 and there are several more car manufactures, which opens up opportunities,” explains the Indian racer.

Contrary to popular belief, motor-racing requires an equal amount of physical-mental fitness and discipline as any other sports. Explaining the intensity of the training, Akhil shares, “It’s the difference between a commercial jet pilot and a fighter jet pilot. Basically, it is the G-force that pushes into your body and weight and that’s when resistance comes into play. You’re sitting in a cramped position under a lot of external and internal heat and withstanding these forces. In some ways, it is a diluted version of a fighter jet on the ground.”

Road to the Aston Martin Racing Academy

India’s only GT4 racer, Akhil has been selected for the Aston Martin Racing Academy for the third year running. The 26-year-old was also the only Asian in the Aston Martin Racing (AMR) Driver Academy, which kicked-off its 2020 season with the French FFSA GT4 Championship, one of Europe’s strongest GT National Championships. “The Aston Martin Racing Academy was a big achievement,” shares the Indian racer, adding, “They help in many different fronts such as physical and mental training, technique of driving and a lot of on and off stuff. They are not just focused on the driving part but it is a holistic approach to teaching. It is also the network as you get to interact with drivers who would help you out in different situations. They help tap into different forms of support with ease.”

Indian racer | Akhil Rabindra | Global Indian

He began 2022 on a good note by securing a double podium finish in the season opener with his new team, Racing Spirit of Leman, at the European GT4 Championship. Currently ranking third overall in the ongoing series, Akhil feels that the interest in motor sports is slowly growing in India but it’s still a long way to go. “In India, people are not educated on the sport like say we are on cricket. We understand terms like wide, no ball or cover drive. There is a fair interest in fast cars and modified cars in any city in India. The middle class is getting more affluent and everyone is always seeking to have a nice car. I think if it is televised more and there are more opportunities to watch, the interest will grow,” he signs off.

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Published on 01, Jul 2022

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Conservationist Suprabha Seshan is creating a rainforest at the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary

(August 22, 2022) At dawn, the heavy trapdoor to the roof groans as it is hauled open and the slight figure of Suprabha Seshan emerges, to survey the acres of rainforest that surround her, as far as the eye can see. This is the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary in Wayanad, in the middle of the Western Ghats and conservationist Suprabha Seshan's home for over two decades. The sanctuary is flanked by the Banasuramala, rising 2000 metres above sea-level, and the Brahmagiris, famous for their shola grasslands. These days, Suprabha remains more or less off the grid, lost in what she calls "the rewilding of habitat", far from the rampant consumerism of urban life. To those in the know, however, Suprabha is a towering figure among India's conservationists - her efforts have been an integral part of restoring some 50 acres of forest land, "nurturing forest beings," as the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary website would have it. In 2006, Suprabha received the UK's top environmental prize, the Whitley Award, also known as the Green Oscars. Her writing has also been published in Scroll and the Economic and Political Weekly. Global Indian takes a look at the remarkable life of one of India's leading

om//" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Global Indian takes a look at the remarkable life of one of India's leading conservationists.

"Plants are doing the hardest work, keeping the planet going," she says, as she shows a group of visitors around the Gurukula Sanctuary. Five acres out of the 50 are open to visitors, usually environmentalists, conservationists, and school kids. "Anything that we can do to serve the plants is a good thing. And plants should not just be seen as 'plants for edible purposes' but as creators of environments."

The Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary was founded by Wolfgang Dieter Theuerkauf, who was trying to regrow the rainforest. "We're a small group of people, who have been concerned with the rapid disappearance of biodiversity," she says. We believe that plants are the basis of all existence. Without the plants you can't have animals, without the plants you can't have human life. Without plants, you don't have the biosphere."

Theuerkauf's approach, Suprabha explains, was a different one, more so when he began his work 40 years ago. "Even now, when we think of reforestation, we do so in terms of tree cover," Suprabha says. "Yes, it is a tree-based biome of course. But to think of it as only trees is like saying there are only tigers in the forest and no tree frogs," she told The Kodai Chronicle. GBS looked at orchids and ferns and tender herbaceous plants as well. They asked questions about diversity, evolution, and biogeography. Their approach was through the lens of cultivation, rescue, and restoration."

The Krishnamurti Foundation, UK to the prairies of the Midwest

Suprabha was born in Delhi, in the heart of India's urban chaos but even as a child, was close to nature. She grew up with people who loved nature, and who lived rural lives. Her first turning point came when she went to study at Brockwood Park Centre, owned by the Krishnamurti Centre in England's South Downs National Park in the UK. Run in accordance with the teachings of J. Krishnamurti, it was here that Suprabha first heard of the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary. She also became fascinated with the constantly changing ecology of the land and the role of human intervention in this transition.

After this, she moved to the United States, where she continued to experiment with her own approach to conservation. She studied the annual wheat monoculture, and the topsoil of the grasslands and learned about the indigenous communities of the Midwest.

The rewilders

What does re-growing a forest actually entail? As she walks visitors through the sanctuary, she pauses beside a tree to explain. "These small plants," she gestures, "are in high danger of being extinct, especially now. We run a search-and-rescue operation'. We go all over the mountains to find them, pick them up and bring them back." These are around 2000 species in total, accounting for nearly half of the flora of the Western Ghats.

The plants are then brought back for cultivation in the sanctuary's greenhouses, overseen by the sanctuary's experts : Laly Joseph, Suma Keloth, Leelamma and Purvi Jain. "We deploy a range of methods, from intensive care nurseries to outdoor habitats rich with herbs, tubers, succulents, shrubs, trees creepers, climbers, epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants) and lithophytes (plants that grow on rocks)," Suprabha writes in Scroll.in.

This process of rewilding is a delicate one, requiring just the right amount of human intervention. Sometimes, it's as simple as putting plants in a pot, at other times, the trick is to let the land rewild itself. "it's the greatest joy to see land that's been completely decertified come back to life. That's when you realise the true power of natural life, that it can heal."

Suprabha has also been involved with work on upland ecology, along with Vasanth Godwin Bosco and Sandilya Theuerkauf, Wolfgang's son. This became part of an effort to restore the shola-grassland species.

Follow Suprabha and the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary on Instagram

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The Complete Woman: Nawaz Modi Singhania is shaping fitness in India

(June 5, 2023) Nawaz Modi Singhania, a prominent figure in the field of fitness and wellness, captivates attention with her diverse expertise and achievements. As a versatile artist, yoga expert, fitness trainer, motivational speaker, and spiritualist, her contributions have resonated across various domains. With an unwavering dedication to her craft, Nawaz Modi Singhania has made a profound impact, inspiring countless individuals along the way. The wife of business tycoon Gautam Singhania, Chairman and MD of the Raymond Group, Nawaz's dynamic lifestyle is a testament to her passion and relentless pursuit of excellence. In an exclusive interview with Global Indian, Nawaz opens up about her multifaceted journey, sharing valuable insights into her remarkable career. She is the founder of Body Art Fitness and was the first to offer equipment-based pilates and gyrotronics in India. “No two days are the same for me as I go about my work, which involves so many things. I can certainly never complain about having a dull moment,” she smiles. Call to action By her own admission, Nawaz Modi Singhania was tiny, petite and weak from her early childhood days. “In school, when we would line up in front of the physical education teacher to do summersaults and

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By her own admission, Nawaz Modi Singhania was tiny, petite and weak from her early childhood days. “In school, when we would line up in front of the physical education teacher to do summersaults and my turn came, the teacher would just look at me, shake his head, roll his eyes and say, ‘Oh never mind. Just go!’,” recalls the 51-year-old. Those formative experiences helped her realise that she had to take fitness and wellness into her own hands, for the sake of her health and quality of life.

“Fitness to me is everything – quality of life, health and ultimately - self esteem, in a nutshell. It ensures I turn up as the best version of myself,” feels Nawaz, for whom spreading fitness with all it’s benefits to as many people as she can, is a mission.

[caption id="attachment_39627" align="aligncenter" width="365"] Nawaz Modi Singhania[/caption]

Childhood in Mumbai

Born in Mumbai, Nawaz went to pre-school in the New Activity School at Hughes Road. Thereafter from the 1st to the 10th grade, she studied at the Cathedral and John Connon school in Mumbai.

Her family consisted of her father, her mother – who had left the family by the time she was aged 10, – and an elder and younger brother. “My father is a lawyer. Both my brothers got into the law and are practicing lawyers, my elder brother is a Senior Counsel at the Bombay High Court,” informs Nawaz, who is a Law graduate herself but never practiced it, as she was always passionate about fitness.

“I was not into sports at a young age, and got into fitness only in college. I was born frail, under-weight, white as a sheet, with the umbilical cord having gone around my neck four times over and choked me as a result; I was thought to be still-born. But you now know that I wasn’t!,” quips Nawaz, who did her Junior College and Bachelor of Arts at the St. Xavier‘s College in Mumbai.

Thereafter, she studied Law at the Government Law College and the KC Law College, both in Mumbai, and became a Law graduate. “Simultaneously I traveled to America where I got trained and certified as a Fitness Professional at the American Council of Exercise (ACE) and the International Dance Exercise Association (IDEA), where I taught for experience before returning to India to start my own brand (Body Art Fitness centres) in Mumbai,” says the Mumbaikar.

Carving her niche

Having no other place, Nawaz, then 21, initially started the fitness centre in the hall of her family home, while her place was being renovated on another floor in the same building. “I first started out just with an Aerobic Studio, with very few classes in terms of variety and also number of batches,” recalls Nawaz, who quickly built up on that to about 25 different routines of completely different genres and many more classes running through the day, seven days a week.

“Somewhere down the line, I added on a gym and later on, I pioneered the first equipment-based Pilates & Gyrotonics Studio in India. Next came an Aerial Arts Studio, Personal Training, and more,” informs Nawaz. The business soon expanded into a second location, followed by a third and fourth. Different centres would have different facilities, including Aqua Aerobics, Aqua Yoga, Spinning, amongst others.

“The offerings we have are humongous, and unlike many other centres, which just have a gym offering, we don’t have just one pill for every disease,” says Nawaz, whose fitness centres have a large variety of offerings just in her aerobic workshops. Presently, she runs five centres across Mumbai and has further expansion plans.

Nawaz’s fitness plan

“I am a long distance horse,” she says, about her own regimen. “I keep fit by teaching Body Art classes. It is sub-maximal work. On the days I might not be teaching, I get a Pilates workout in,” says Nawaz, who works out six days a week on an average. Depending on what kind of fitness routine she is following or teaching, her taste of music differs. “The music could widely vary from rock, pop, jazz, house, acid, lounge, hip-hop, Hindi, Punjabi, and more,” she says.

Nawaz specialises in power yoga as well. Ask her which one is more beneficial, yoga or workouts, she says it is important to cross train and engage in a large variety of fitness routines. “A particular workout will work for you, only up to a point – after which both physically and mentally one stagnates and does not see any further tangible benefits,” she explains adding that people get bored of the routine and its monotony. It ends up losing interest and ditch the exercise programme, she says.

She feels the body has to be challenged differently, for which it’s important to keep engaging in different activities to see the results in terms of fat loss, weight loss, toning, strengthening, flexibility, mobility, health benefits, and more. “Yoga is just one of our many offerings. All in all, we offer well over 30 genres of fitness routines,” informs Nawaz.

Move away from fitness talk and Nawaz comes across as a very passionate artist and art collector. “Its a very individual and personal journey into the depths of myself, my subconscious and core, crossing back and forth between worlds and realms, breaking barriers and more,” she feels.

The artist and author

Nawaz makes it a point to visit art galleries across the world during her travels. “I find art, history and culture intensely fascinating from the point of view of having an insight into the trajectory of mankind from wherever their individual beginning might have been,” she says.

Elaborating further, Nawaz says unanswered questions about why it is that we are where we are, and why it is that things are the way they are — can all be traced back in a very logical and fulfilling manner. “I find that riveting. Everything is inter-generationally linked, and to uncover the mysteries of life today, I find that in looking back, I excavate very plausible, relatable answers,” she says.

Her upcoming book, Time Arrest, published by Penguin Random House, is being launched in August 2023. “It would give the best possible peak into my journey as a life coach,” she informs.

Juggling so many roles is not easy. For Nawaz, everyday is very different from the last. Focussing on growth and management of Body Art, managing all matters related to her household, her children apart, she handles her father’s requirements and his household as well. “Besides, my varied involvement with the Raymond group of companies, my writing, painting, travel, social and other obligations that need to be met keep me busy,” smiles Nawaz.

Future plans

There are many future plans and mini projects in the pipeline, says Nawaz, who feels it’s best to keep them to oneself till they actually materialize. “Call me superstitious, or the fact that energy is very real and if it stays within you, it comes out in the right way, but if it leaves you in the wrong way, it perhaps never manifests. What I do will speak for itself, rather than just my words. Time will tell,” she says.

Nawaz says she has been lucky enough to engage in all her hobbies adequately. “I am very creative with my hands and fascinated with all things to do with the mind, psychiatry and psychosis,” says Nawaz, who watches TV just for News. For Knowledge, she tunes into Nat Geo and the Discovery Channel! “I consume a lot of educational content on YouTube. When time permits, I enjoy the odd Netflix flick.”

The Singhania family loves travelling. “I am very well-travelled, though there are a few places I still have on my bucket list. Mostly that’s to do with Safari. The Amazon jungle, Botswana, Madagascar, Brazil are my dream vacays,” she informs.

Follow Nawaz on Instagram.

Reading Time: 6 mins

Polar Preet: The first woman of colour to ski solo to the South Pole

Setting out at the break of dawn (so to speak, there's no real nightfall during the Antarctic summer), enduring temperatures as low as -50°C, tackling the formidable sastrugi and battling winds up to 60 mph, Preet Chandi, or Polar Preet, as she calls herself, undertook one of the most arduous journeys in the world - the icy ski route across Antarctica. As she planted her flag, the culmination of a 700-mile, forth day journey to the South Pole, she created history - In January 2022, 33-year-old Preet Chandi, a physiotherapist in the British Army, became the first woman of colour to ski solo across the continent of ice and snow. "I don't just want to break the glass ceiling, I want to smash it into a thousand pieces," she wrote on her website. "I was told no on so many occasions, called stubborn or rebellious because I wanted to do things that were out of the norm and push my boundaries. I want to encourage others to push their boundaries, it is amazing how much your world opens up when you start to do so." In June, the polar trekker was named in the Queen's Birthday Honours List as a

Member of the Order of the British Empire.

[caption id="attachment_26218" align="aligncenter" width="644"] Preet Chandi | Polar Preet | Global Indian Polar Preet on her skis and dragging her pulk in Antarctica. Photo: Instagram[/caption]

The rule-breaker

Born in Derby, England, to an immigrant couple, Preet raised many eyebrows in her conservative Sikh community when she decided to join the army. She did it anyway; she trained in physiotherapy and currently serves as a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps. She's a seasoned ultramarathoner and had already finished the Marathon des Sables, the 156-mile race across the Sahara Desert, widely regarded as the toughest (and hottest) foot race on earth. Even so, she considers her mammoth journey across the Antarctic as her greatest feat to date.

The idea to take on the South Pole first cropped up three years prior to the expedition, although she never really considered it at the time. However, completing the Marathon des Sables boosted her morale and nudged her to push the envelope further.

It's always sunny in Antarctica - and windy too

The austral summer is the best (and the only) time to travel across the Antarctic. Don't let the term 'summer' fool you, as the warmest temperature one encounters is a 10°C, which is near the coast. Over the elevated inland, at an altitude of 9,300 ft, Preet was likely braving temperatures of -30°C. Then, there are the winds - Antarctica also has the distinction of being the windiest continent, known for its deadly katabatic winds. Wind speeds can exceed 100 km/h for days at a time, which carry drifting or blowing snow, making for whiteout conditions with very little visibility.

Preet chose the most traversed route – the 700-mile journey that begins at the Hercules Inlet, on the southwestern section of the Ronne Ice Shelf. The route begins at sea level, along the Antarctic coast but travellers must climb 9,300 feet to the polar plateau.

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A post shared by Preet Chandi (@polarpreet)

Even if the austral summer conditions are more tolerable than the winter, when the sea freezes over and the continent effectively doubles in size, movement is still extremely difficult. Matthieu Tordeur, the youngest person to ski across the Antarctic described it as being "like peddling your bicycle in sand." It's a precarious situation, when food and drink are limited.

Journey to the end of the earth

For Preet, the two-and-a-half-year prep period started where most journeys do these days - Google. She began from scratch, poring over stories of polar explorers. She saw them wearing thick, fur-lined jackets and bought herself one. Then, she put herself through intense training six times a week, to build strength and endurance of some of the harshest conditions on earth.

But it was funding that was her primary concern. "I would email 10-15 companies in the evenings after work, trying to get sponsors," Preet wrote in a social media post, shortly after her return. "Most wouldn't respond and when they did, they couldn't commit due to COVID." In the end, her first big sponsor came on board 10 months before the expedition.

Building strength and endurance

Preet devised a rigorous regimen, working out six days a week to achieve the intense strength training required to navigate soft snow and haul a pulk (a small sled that carried her possessions). On November 24, 2021, when the Twin Otter aircraft dropped Preet off on the subcontinent, her pulk weighed a whopping 87 kg, which included tents made for polar conditions and the foods that are made to last and provide adequate nourishment in such demanding terrain.

As she filled out a form online, Preet realised she needed to experience Antarctic conditions beforehand and took trips to Iceland and Greenland to practice walking across glaciers and climbing ice walls.

The polar explorer's diet

"I really wanted a Coke Zero," Polar Preet confessed to National Geographic after her return. "But to be honest, I really liked some of the dried food. I finished the cheese and salami first, even though they stay frozen out there. You just put them in your mouth and let them melt." High calorie consumption is an absolute must - it's a matter of staying alive. Preet was consuming around 5000 calories a day and "burning double that."

The journey is planned in terms of daily progress and she needed 48 days' worth of food and equipment. There were obstacles galore, more so because of delays and restrictions caused by the pandemic and the Brexit regulations.

[caption id="attachment_26224" align="aligncenter" width="754"] Preet Chandi | Polar Preet | Global Indian Living in a polar tent. Photos: @polarpreet[/caption]

A song of ice and snow

By Day 3, the cold was beginning to bite and the harsh winds made their presence felt. "The last thing I want is anything to get blown away by the wind," she wrote on Instagram. "The tent also takes a little longer to put up and as soon as I'm in the tent it's time for my admin." Inside, her chores begin with melting ice for water to drink and cook her food and include her daily check-in-calls as well.

When the visibility was good, Preet would ski for 90-minute intervals and then take a break. On good weather days, she would ski for up to 11 hours a day, "listening to music for most of the day and just daydreaming." A week in and the extreme loneliness was being acutely felt.

Around December 14, 'Polar Preet' made it to Thiels Corner, her halfway mark. The location had a toilet, a great luxury after a month squatting in holes she dug for herself in the snow. She didn't allow herself the brief respite, though, "I didn't want to get used to that little bit of comfort of sitting on a toilet," she wrote. She did, however, treat herself to salmon pasta.

The latter half of trip brought her up against the sastrugi, as well as uphill terrain and headwind. On Day 30, in whiteout conditions, she wrote, "I had to use my arms to pull the pulk out from the deep Sastrugi areas. They can go a few meters high so when it's a whiteout and you can't see you're stepping very carefully."

[caption id="attachment_26223" align="aligncenter" width="648"] Preet Chandi | Polar Preet | Global Indian The South Pole. Photo: Instagram[/caption]

Homeward bound

Nine days later, reporting a temperature of -45°C with heavy winds in the morning, Polar Preet announced that she was close to the end of her journey. On January 3, 2022 came her triumphant declaration: "Hello everyone, checking in from day 40. I made it to the South Pole where it's snowing. Feeling so many emotions right now. I knew nothing about the polar world three years ago and it feels so surreal to finally be here." Ten days later, she was back in Chile.

Upon her return to her home in the UK, she wrote, “It's the simple things that you miss while on an expedition. Sitting on a toilet seat, sleeping in a bed, having a coke zero... I'm still learning how capable I am and I hope I can help so many more people realise how capable they are too."

Follow Preet on Instagram and LinkedIn or take a look at her website

Did you know?

Antarctica’s average annual temperature ranges from about 10 °C on the coast to −60 °C at the highest parts of the interior.
In summer temperatures can exceed 10 degrees celsius near the coast but the elevated inland remains at a bone chilling average of minus thirty degrees celsius.
In winter, the elevated inland temperature can fall to below minus 80 degrees Celsius. Needless to say, there are no skiiers or ultramarathoners around then.
Antarctica is the windiest continent on Earth. It is known for Katabatic winds, created by radioactive cooling over the elevated Antarctic ice sheet, which produce very cold, dense air that flows downhill. Wind speeds can go up to 200 km/h.
Whiteouts are common, even in summer. They are a dangerous optical phenomenon when uniform light conditions make it impossible to distinguish shadows, landmarks or the horizon. They can make navigation difficult and distort perspective.

Want to travel to Antarctica? Here's how.

Trips range from eight days to over three weeks and you can take a cruise, go hiking, skiing, swim in the polar waters or even take a helicopter ride, depending on your level of daring and your budget. Bear in mind that even the most basic trip doesn't come cheap but it promises to be the adventure of a lifetime. The journey always involves flying out to Chile or Argentina, where Antarctic expeditions begin. Here are some things you can do:

Go on a cruise. The majority of Antarctic voyages depart from Ushuaia Port, Argentina, which is a three-and-a-half hour direct flight from Buenos Aires. Most of these voyages pass through the infamous Drake Passage and you may even spot wildlife like the great wandering albatross. If you want to skip the Drake Passage, you can fly out of Punta Arenas in Chile and land directly an an airstrip that's adjacent to the Antarctic Peninsula and board an expedition ship from there.
Ski trips: This is not for beginners but those with experience can ski through some of the most untouched, breathtakingly beautiful and advanced ski slopes in the world. Ski Antarctica by Alaska Heliski and Ice Trek specialise in Antarctic cross-country and downhill skiing.
Hiking: Companies like Epic Antarctica offer hiking expeditions that take you walking over the remote parts of the continent.
Take a helicopter trip (for a hefty price).
If you're feeling truly adventurous, you can take the 'Polar Plunge' and jump or cannonball into the icy polar waters.
Penguin safari: Take a trip to the seldom-visited South Georgia Island and revel in beaches teeming with king penguins and elephant seals. You can also pay tribute to the famous explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.

Reading Time: 8 mins

Christine Ghezzo: Florida based singer’s tryst with devotional music of India

(November 18, 2022) Christine Ghezzo’s association with Indian music began even before she was born. Her parents, who had moved to New York City as refugees, were both musicians who happened to listen to a lot of Indian classical music, even when Christine was in her mother’s womb. Even Christine’s baby shower, which was hosted by an Indian family, was filled Indian music. Today, Christine is an accomplished singer, who can sing in more than 15 languages and is so deeply attached to India, she refers to it as a ‘past life connection’. The Florida based singer is the disciple of Pandit Radharaman Kirtane who is the senior disciple of Sangeet Martand, Pandit Jasraj. Christne has been learning Indian classical music for close to 18 years now and quite often performs bhajans and kirtans and other devotional chanting at temples, yoga studios and house concerts in her region. She has a kirtan group called Bhav. [caption id="attachment_31856" align="aligncenter" width="706"] Christine Ghezzo[/caption] Music and languages in the environment Speaking to Global Indian from St. Petersburg, Florida, the singer says, “My parents loved music from around the world including India. So, it was a part of my upbringing, and that’s how I

t="auto"> and kirtans and other devotional chanting at temples, yoga studios and house concerts in her region. She has a kirtan group called Bhav.

[caption id="attachment_31856" align="aligncenter" width="706"] Christine Ghezzo | Indian music | Global Indian Christine Ghezzo[/caption]

Music and languages in the environment

Speaking to Global Indian from St. Petersburg, Florida, the singer says, “My parents loved music from around the world including India. So, it was a part of my upbringing, and that’s how I picked an inclination towards this form of expression.” Both her parents have been professors of music. While her mother focused on history and research, Christine’s father was the director of the music composition department at New York University for 35 years. He was also a pianist and used to perform devotional songs in many languages internationally. Christine would travel with her father and in the process, began her own career as a performing artist from a young age.

“We all have different talents in different directions. My personal talent is sound and that is how I have been able to process different languages,” says the singer, who grew in Queens in New York City, where her Romanian father and Hungarian mother settled down as refugees. The sheer volume of immigrants in Queens meant Christine grew up listening to a “fusion of languages,” developing quite an ear for them in the process. She went on to do an undergraduate degree in creative writing and music and earning a Master’s in ethnomusicology.

[caption id="attachment_31857" align="aligncenter" width="652"] Christine Ghezzo | Indian music | Global Indian Christine performing as a child[/caption]

In 2011, Christine’s father passed away. Until that point, she had focused mainly on European devotional music but begun her training in Indian Classical music as well. “I remember, there was one piece in Raag Bageshree that I sang while my father accompanied me on the piano,” she says. After his passing, she moved to Florida with her husband, Ron Weiss. Now, Christine is even looking at putting European and Indian devotional music together to come up with a new genre.

The spiritual awakening

Eighteen years ago, in an Indian restaurant, Christine heard virtuoso Subha Mudgal for the first time. “I was having lunch there and they were playing Subha Mudgal’s Mathura Nagarpati Kahe Tum Gokul Jao, the soundtrack from the film Raincoat and something completely shifted in me. It was like a spiritual awakening hearing that piece of hers.”

Mesmerized, she asked the restaurant staff about the singer. They directed her to a shop across the road, saying, it had “lots of resources” for her. The shop sold a little bit of everything, from Indian CDs and DVDs to puja items and Ayurvedic herbs. Christine asked if she could be put in touch with a guru and was handed a business card. “That card belonged to my first teacher of Indian music, Poornima Desai of Shikhshayatan Institute in New York,” she says, and her journey began.

[caption id="attachment_31858" align="aligncenter" width="653"] Christine Ghezzo | Indian music | Global Indian Christine with Pandit Jasraj[/caption]

Shortly after, Christine came to India, where she travelled to places like Delhi, Varanasi, Agra and Jaipur.

I absolutely loved Varanasi, it was like being in another dimension. It was then that I started to feel the real spiritual connection. Music always carries the spiritual imprint with it and I had not experienced it until I went to Varanasi.

Strong connection with India

With a deep fascination for the country, Christine feels that there are two places where it seemed as if she has been there before, as if they are home to her – Varanasi and Kolkata. Over the time she even became a devotee of Goddess Kali and sings Shyama Sangeet, a genre of Bengali devotional songs dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali who is also known as Shyama.

“I have been studying Indian classical music for many years but there is still so much to learn,” she says. Her current guru, Pandit Radharaman Kirtane in Florida has been her teacher for last eight years. Born and raised in Mumbai, Pandit Kirtane has had his own influence on her and Christine can now sing in Marathi, along with Hindi, Sanskrit, Bengali and Bhojpuri.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exSg5wwCC1g

I have become very familiar with different regions and languages of India and the richness of musical tradition of each region. It’s incredible. I probably need 200 life times to learn what I would like to from the rich legacy.

Connection with Bihar’s Chatth puja

During the famous Chatth puja of Bihar and Jharkhand, a devotional Chatth song that Christine sang six years ago continues to go viral, with people sharing it among friends and families during the festival season. She had received the lyrics from a friend, who suggested she try singing it, even helping her with the pronunciation. “It was just between friends and he put it on Facebook. Within hours of his posting, the following morning I woke up to messages and notifications in disbelief how quickly it had become popular.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex1zMwOS1yg

Happy with the love and appreciation she has received from the Bihar-Jharkhand community, Christine says:

I am very grateful to the people of Bihar for making me a part of their Chatth Puja celebrations.

She looks forward to singing a song every year on the occasion and connecting to friends of Bihar. “It has become the most joyous time of the year,” she adds.

Woman of many talents

Last time that the singer was in India was three years ago, when she was invited to Silchar to perform a concert. Since she is also a professional photographer the programme entailed holding photography workshops in her month-long stay.

Christine has been receiving many invitations to come to India but owing to her fragile respiratory system, severe asthma and bronchitis, her pulmonologist restricts her travel to the country. “I feel so connected to India that I would have loved to even live there, if not for my health issues” she says. “But I am very connected to the people there through my circle of friends. Thankfully, in this digital era it is easy to stay connected.”

Christine works with her husband’s construction consulting firm and the couple also share a love for photography, often exhibiting their images together. The couple’s photography group was recently invited to the only museum in the state of Florida to exhibit their work, which was a huge honour for them.

Apart from all this, Christine is also a gifted cook. “I was probably the mother of 10 children in my past life and that is why I cook in huge quantities,” laughs the singer, who loves inviting her friends over to eat food cooked with organic vegetables freshly plucked from her garden. As far as Indian food is concerned, she likes anything that is fried, crispy and salty. Medu vada, batata vada and masala vada are few of the things that tops her list.

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The vegan singer, photographer and chef loves all lentil-based recipes, and is good at cooking chole. The extraordinary baker loves nature walks and staying connected to the roots of both Indian and European cultures.

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Mukti Bosco: The Indian social entrepreneur who is changing lives with her healing touch

(September 2, 2021) Twenty years ago Mukti Bosco, then a post graduate student in health management, was on a field visit to Hyderabad’s Charminar area. She struck up a conversation with some women from the area and asked them what they would do in the face of an unforeseen emergency, most of them said that they would mortgage their assets. But it was one woman’s response that changed Bosco’s perspective forever: she told Bosco that she had to pull her six-year-old son out from school and send him to work at a tea shop as she had borrowed ₹5,000 for her husband’s typhoid treatment. The incident moved her so much that Bosco decided she didn’t want to be a mere bystander, she wanted to do something to change things - and Healing Fields Foundation (HFF) was born. Headquartered in Hyderabad, HFF has been providing training and support for women as health change agents in their communities. The Foundation works in rural areas of poorer states to impact change in the areas with the greatest need. From working to prevent health problems and facilitate access to health services and entitlements from the government, HFF has been working across the sector and has done extensive pandemic relief work as well. In fact, HFF has recently been recognized

s - and Healing Fields Foundation (HFF) was born. Headquartered in Hyderabad, HFF has been providing training and support for women as health change agents in their communities. The Foundation works in rural areas of poorer states to impact change in the areas with the greatest need. From working to prevent health problems and facilitate access to health services and entitlements from the government, HFF has been working across the sector and has done extensive pandemic relief work as well. In fact, HFF has recently been recognized by the World Economic Forum as one of India’s Top 50 COVID-19 Last Mile Responders.

[caption id="attachment_9131" align="aligncenter" width="575"] Indian social entrepreneur Mukti Bosco Mukti Bosco[/caption]

Rocky beginnings

Growing up with medical professionals at home - her father being an eye doctor and her mother a nurse - Bosco knew she would also follow in their footsteps. But her path was unclear until she finished her degree from Christian Medical College & Hospital, Vellore. "That is when I knew what I wanted to do something for the society," recalls Bosco in an exclusive chat with Global Indian. She graduated in Occupational Therapy from Vellore and later completed her Master's degree in Healthcare Management from the Administrative Staff College of India and John Hopkins University.

[caption id="attachment_9132" align="aligncenter" width="564"] HFF volunteers A Healing Fields Foundation CHE at work[/caption]

The Charminar incident shook Bosco more than she’d anticipated. "It broke my soul and that's how Healing Fields was conceptualized," she says. Mother to a 5-year-old son herself, Mukti resolved to do something in the health sector so that no underprivileged person had to sacrifice their children's future again.

The initial days of the Foundation were difficult. Few people took her seriously, but Bosco knew what she was doing. "When they saw I was determined, support started pouring in," smiles Bosco, who is also an Ashoka Fellow. With zero experience in the social sector, she stepped in with a positive mindset. "Social entrepreneurship is always in a startup mode and nothing can be taken for granted. I learnt most of it on the job," she says.

Working for impact

In the last twenty years, Bosco has been giving back to society by leading Healing Fields Foundation into several areas. From training and supporting health and hygiene initiatives for women in rural areas to training health professionals at the grassroots level and beyond, the aim has been to reach as many people as possible. Healing Fields has worked across the country in states like Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Odisha, and Jharkhand.

Healing Fields has so far has trained 5,000 community health entrepreneurs across 10 states, reaching 6.25 million people. This year, HFF plans to undertake a new project called TeleHealth. "This project aims to train a health leader to conduct basic health checks, as well as connect her to a network of clinics through a digital platform," says Bosco. "She will be therefore able to earn extra income for herself while bringing last-mile health services for her community," she adds.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usiLaSLakBg[/embed]

One evening in June, a health worker at the Healing Fields Foundation in Bihar received an urgent call from Bheriya village in Kaimur district. Around 20 children were vomiting and displaying symptoms of diarrhea in the village. Immediately, a team comprising Community Health Entrepreneur (CHE), the Gram Pradhan, Healing Fields staff, and the doctor was formed.

The CHE assessed every child who was unwell and advised the parents regarding maintaining hydration. ORS and medicines were given free of cost, and children with severe symptoms were shifted to a hospital. The team also coordinated with the local government officials and organized a health camp in the village to assess and identify the cause of the illness. It turned out that it was due to food served at a wedding.

The quick action by HFF meant that the problem was nipped in the bud. When a problem relates to children, the Foundation makes it a point to solve the problem as early as possible.

It may have been a twenty-year journey with Healing Fields Foundation, but for Bosco every day is new, filled with challenges and new ideas to serve the community.

Reading Time: 5 mins