Global IndianstoryMichelin magic: Indian restaurants shine in culinary constellation

Michelin magic: Indian restaurants shine in culinary constellation

Written by: Namrata Srivastava

(November 14, 2023) In the last twenty years, a group of innovative young chefs within the lively Indian diaspora has skillfully explored the untapped possibilities of regional Indian cuisine. According to a survey by German food enthusiasts at Lieferando, the irresistible charm of Indian cuisine has skyrocketed to remarkable levels, solidifying its standing as the second most sought-after culinary experience on social media.

Culinary | Global Indian

A testament to this trend is the recent success of three Indian restaurants — Rania in Washington, DC, Semma in New York City, and Indienne in Chicago — all of which were bestowed with Michelin stars just last week. Semma, helmed by chef Vijay Kumar, received one Michelin star for the second consecutive year. Meanwhile, Rania, under the leadership of chef Chetan Shetty, and Indienne, guided by chef Sujan Sarkar, each earned one Michelin star.

Driven by an unwavering passion for their heritage, these culinary geniuses have propelled traditional recipes to extraordinary heights, infusing each dish with a mindful blend of consciousness, innovation, and boundless creativity. Global Indian highlights these exceptional chefs, ready to reshape the narrative surrounding Indian cuisine on the global stage. Their unparalleled talent and bold audacity have shattered the constraints of convention, unravelling the perception of Indian food as mere spice-laden fare.

Semma, New York City

Just one morsel of any dish at this restaurant, and you’ll find yourself transported to the tropical ambiance of Tamil Nadu. Interestingly, after years spent working in restaurants from Chennai to California, Chef Vijay Kumar joined forces with Roni Mazumdar and Chintan Pandya to transform the existing establishment into a venue that faithfully replicates the flavours Kumar fondly remembers from his upbringing.

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Talking about winning the Michelin for the second year, Roni Mazumdar of Unapologetic Foods – the parent company of Semma shares with Global Indian, “Working with Chef Vijay is humbling and inspiring. We started the journey with the unwavering faith that our cuisine will be noticed around the world more than ever and the 2nd star pushes the boundaries even further. We still have a long journey ahead for our regional cuisines but we are certainly making strides.”

Celebrating the success of Semma, Chef Vijay says, “I am happy no doubt to be able to retain the Michelin star for the second year. However, it is exciting that three Indian restaurants won the Michelin stars. The event was packed there were over 600 people and since they had many announcements to make they kind of rushed through them and clubbed all our names together.”

Chef Chintan Pandya with Chef Vijay Kumar and Roni Mazumdar

But, is there any pressure on the chef after the back-to-back wins? “No. But, I do feel I have the responsibility to represent our culture and country through our food,” shares the culinary wizard, adding, “I am happy that micro-regional Indian food is getting this kind of recognition. It is regional and super authentic and humble food. The other two winners do a more modern version of Indian food. Our cuisines do have a lot of potential and if French and Italian can be so popular why not Indian.”

Rania, Washington D.C.

This upscale dining concept is truly fit for royalty, and the name of the restaurant reflects just that – “queen”. Chef Chetan Shetty presents a truly captivating experience with his innovative menu. The offerings include contemporary touches and a few delightful surprises, such as the braised pork belly vindaloo. Dishes like the shiso leaf chaat strike a harmonious balance between playful spirit and elegant tones, while the ghee-roasted lamb encased in a delicate lentil cheela offers a spicy kick harmonised by a buttermilk mousse. Lastly, the dessert, a slightly sweet strained yogurt mousse with hints of pistachio and cardamom, serves as the perfect finale.

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The culinary mastermind’s innovative and contemporary approach honours the time-honoured culinary traditions, embracing rich flavours, spices, and diverse agricultural regions across the subcontinent. Taking to social media to share the news, Chef Chetan Shetty wrote, “My First Michelin star. You will always be special. Feels good when your efforts are recognized (sic).”

Indienne, Chicago

Throughout his career, Chef Sujan Sarkar has consistently pushed the boundaries of Indian cuisine with his modernist sensibilities. Now, in Chicago, he is unveiling Indienne, a tasting menu restaurant where his Indian culinary expertise harmonizes with classic French techniques. The restaurant features an $80 vegetarian menu and a $90 option for omnivores. Across both menus, patrons can expect Indian dishes crafted with unconventional ingredients and employing European culinary methods.

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“I want it to be fun, I want to be interactive,” the culinary genius said during an interview, “It’s not where you just go and sit down and go home. It will be more! It has to be fun, it has to be light and airy.” If you find yourself at this restaurant, be sure to indulge in some standout dishes, notably Chef Sarkar’s galauti and lamb burrah. Additionally, don’t miss the vada served with Golden Osetra caviar, and the lobster-topped bisi bele bath, a flavourful dish made with rice, lentils, and over 30 other carefully selected ingredients.

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Published on 14, Nov 2023

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A Vichitra epic tale: How US-based author Divakaruni gives women a voice, in books & through social work

(April 30, 2022) Indian epics are among the most revered works of literature over centuries. Several authors have narrated different tales of male protagonists - Rama, Lakshman, Arjun, Krishna, Yudhisthir, and even Ravana and Duryodhana. However, even though women feature in every retelling, seldom are the stories about these legendary women as protagonists explored. [caption id="attachment_23857" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni[/caption] Houston-based Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni felt this lacuna as she ensconced on her literary journey, as a voracious young reader. Soon, narrating tales of these heroines became her raison d’etre. Today, Chitra is the most noted of Indian-origin storytellers who has turned epics into personal journeys from a women’s perspective. Her novels, Sister of My Heart, Palace of Illusions,The Forest of Enchantments and The Last Queen, etc, all explore a women’s struggle to retain autonomy in a world that privileges men. “I have grown up listening to stories of these women, but from the point of view of a man. So often, I have heard people calling them the reason of great wars, or admiring them for the wrong reasons. I felt that many of these heroines, such as Sita and Draupadi were misunderstood. That prompted me to write about

view of a man. So often, I have heard people calling them the reason of great wars, or admiring them for the wrong reasons. I felt that many of these heroines, such as Sita and Draupadi were misunderstood. That prompted me to write about them,” shares the 65-year-old award-winning author, during an interview with Global Indian.

The writer, who struggled financially during her initial days in the US, is a bestselling author today, winning several awards - American Book Award (1996), Crawford Award (1998), and Cultural Jewel Award (2009) and Light of India Award (2011). Currently, Chitra teaches in the nationally-ranked creative writing programme at the University of Houston, where she is the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of creative writing.

A child of books

Born in Kolkata, as a child Chitra got to travel a lot as her father worked as an accountant at an oil firm. Growing up with three brothers - one elder and two younger - Chitra would spend hours reading. “I was a shy child. Since we travelled a lot, I didn’t have many friends growing up. So, whenever I would get the time, I would read books and befriend its characters,” laughs the author, who feels that since she had no sister, her books capture the strong bond between two female characters. “Fortunately, now I have some great friends,” she shares.

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Friends or not, one person she looked forward to meeting every year during the summer vacation was her nanaji (grandfather). “He was a great story-teller. He would narrate stories from Hindu mythology, the two epics - Ramayana and Mahabharata - and even fairy tales. I would be mesmerised,” shares the author. While she loved these stories as a child, as a teenager, Chitra started questioning about the female characters. “I wondered why they were only treated as side characters, even though their actions affected the storyline,” mulled the author, who studied BA from the University of Calcutta in 1976, and decided to move to the US for further studies.

Rising above the storm

Just like her characters, Chitra’s journey wasn’t easy. Soon after she landed in Chicago (1976), her family was engulfed in a financial crisis, that affected her education. The author worked part-time for a year, before enrolling in a master's at the Wright State University. Her work visa helped her stay afloat. “Those were testing times, not just for me but for my entire family. My parents were not in a condition to help me with the fees, so I worked odd jobs - babysitter, store clerk, bread slicer and even a lab assistant. My elder brother was doing his residency at a US hospital, thus wasn’t in a position to help much,” shares the novelist.

After a year, Chitra saved enough to pay the fees, but continued working. “As a child, my mother always told me that a woman should be financially independent. I understood that statement completely after landing in the US,” says the author, who pursued a PhD in English from the University of California, Berkeley after her master’s.

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Things were looking better, but a tragedy - her nanaji’s passing shook her foundation. It was a turning point for her. “I couldn’t even fly back for his funeral as I had no money,” shares Chitra, adding, “I felt homesick. His demise left me grief-stricken. So, I started writing poems for him - some are a part of my first few books,” she adds.

A feminist at heart

During college, Chitra discovered how many south Asian women residing in the US dealt with domestic abuse. Not one to keep quiet, she and a few friends, founded a helpline, Maitri, in 1991. “It’s not like I was oblivious to the fact that women suffered domestic violence. However, what caught my attention was that though other immigrants and African-American women came forward to raise their voice against abuse, south Asian ladies would suffer in silence. I wanted to create a space where they can ask for help without fear, and thus Maitri was born,” shares the author.

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Today, Chitra is on the foundation's advisory board, and that of another Houston NGO - Daya. She was on the board of NGO Pratham Houston working to bring literacy to disadvantaged Indian children, and is presently on its emeritus board.

A family woman

The Texas resident, and her husband Murthy have ridden the storm. Incidentally, she met her husband during his master’s. “He has been the most wonderful husband,” shares Chitra, adding, “After we were blessed with two sons - Anand and Abhay - we decided to keep a nanny, which meant spending a lot of money. So, we both worked tirelessly without any leaves or vacations. I would go to the university in the morning, and hurry home to work on my book. However, Murthy was supportive throughout, not just with the kids, but house chores too. My mother-in-law, Sita Shastri Divakaruni, was also encouraging.”

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A proud mother, Chitra used her sons’ names in her children’s novels. “I remember how they would run to me asking what had I written that day when I returned from school,” laughs Chitra, feeling blessed with a beautiful family. “All my books are dedicated to the three men in my life - Murthy, Abhay and Anand,” says the author, who is still a voracious reader, time permitting.

Follow Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

Reading Time: 8 mins

Tee time: Bharath Arvind is making golf accessible through The Golfer’s Edge Chennai

(August 14, 2024) Bharath Arvind played his first game of golf when he was eight years old, when he accompanies his father to the Chilanga Golf Club in Lusaka, Zambia. He became an passionate amateur golfer, playing club tournaments in Zambia, India and Canada, and then college golf in the USA< where he went to study. The self-described global citizen has worked with global corporations such as BMW, Essar Group and in Public Relations agencies for clients such as IBM, QUALCOMM and Infosys, across the US, India and Canada. He also served as the Managing Editor of Golf Digest India. After nearly two decades of corporate life, Arvind followed his passion for golf and founded Golfer's Edge Chennai, in a bid to re-imagine the perception of golf as an elite sport. The indoor golf course is affordable and accessible to kids and adults alike. Childhood in Zambia [caption id="attachment_53688" align="aligncenter" width="447"] Bharath Arvind, founder of The Golfer's Edge, Chennai[/caption] Arvind grew up in Zambia in the late 80s and early 90s and spent his formative years at the International School of Lusaka (ISL), which shaped his personality and ability to adapt to different cultures and people. Returning to India in

nai[/caption]

Arvind grew up in Zambia in the late 80s and early 90s and spent his formative years at the International School of Lusaka (ISL), which shaped his personality and ability to adapt to different cultures and people. Returning to India in his eighth grade, his early years in Zambia helped him to make friends with a variety of kids from different nationalities and races.

“That in turn helped me to make friends fast when I came back to school in Mumbai (AVM Bandra). I credit the exposure I received during those early years in Zambia for my ability to be comfortable in any environment I am thrown into. While we were in Zambia, sports played a key role in my life, again thanks to my parents who encouraged me and afforded me the opportunity to learn tennis, football, and golf amongst other activities,” he tells Global Indian.

Leaving home

On his return to India, he continued to play golf at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club, where his parents were members. He often played club tournaments, and eventually, his talent for the game earned him a sports and academic scholarship at the Waldorf College in Iowa, USA.

“It was a fantastic experience,” Arvind recalls. “When you are on your own for the first time, and far away from home, you must learn to manage your time and life. It teaches you to be independent and take responsibility for every action and decision,” he says, adding that the experience helped him grow up much faster than his peers, who had remained back home in India. After graduated from the Waldorf College, he moved to Drake University, Iowa and did an MBA at Thunderbird School of Global Management (Arizona State University).

Bharath Arvind | The Golfers Edge Chennai | Global Indian

Sadly, Arvind lost his father when he was a student in the US, and watched his mother take over the reins. Her strength and determination became a great source of inspiration to him, as he ensured that he finished college, and never let him give up on his hopes or dreams of entrepreneurship. “She has been a pillar of support in all respects (emotional, financial, and spiritual) and has been an immense inspiration to me on what it takes to be focussed, determined and to always help others in need,” he says. He imbibed her determination and focus, and also learned how to be a self starter. “I think one needs to be very self-motivated if you want to succeed in anything in life. You must be able to pick yourself up and show up every day no matter what the situation,” Arvind adds.

The corporate life

Post his studies he pursued a career in PR working in the US and India with agencies and corporates in their marketing and communications/ corporate communications functions. “I eventually pursued my passion for golf and became the editor of Golf Digest India thanks to working with Rishi Narain, a stalwart in the Indian golf industry,” says Arvind. Narain’s company had taken on the publishing rights for the magazine from CondeNast and for Arvind, the job was a dream come true.

From there, he ventured out on his own to found a consulting practice for marketing communications to help startups and small businesses with their marketing needs. “Around 2017 I was keen to explore migrating to Canada to determine whether that would be a good fit for my family. I briefly migrated to Canada for a year and a half to explore the opportunity and eventually decided to come back to India and settle. The experience there was also very helpful to help me understand what my priorities were in life and what I needed to focus on,” he says.

Golfer's Edge Chennai

Golf in India has always been associated with the elite and is not necessarily very accessible. However, that is slowly changing as more driving ranges and facilities are opening up in different cities. However, to Arvind, indoor golf and golf simulators are the way forward, as they are an affordable option to make the sport more accessible to people.

“My partner, Hari Natarajan, started TeeTime Ventures in 2014 to install golf simulators in residential buildings, corporate offices, private homes, and other places,” Arvind explains. The two had first met during Arvind’s time with Golf Digest India, and have remained associated ever since. TeeTime Ventures has also enjoyed a good run, completing over 80 projects across the country. “Golfer’s Edge Chennai is our first company-owned centre and franchise with the prime objective of making golf more affordable and accessible to people. We want to introduce more folks to the game and Golfer’s Edge Chennai over the past one year has introduced well over 700 people to the game of golf in Chennai alone,” he says.

[caption id="attachment_53690" align="aligncenter" width="558"] Golfer's Edge is an indoor golf arena in Chennai[/caption]

Lessons learned

He believes that the best way to handle challenges is by taking them head on, responding to it and not overreacting to it. “Try and understand the situation for what it is worth. There are multiple solutions to any challenge. How you react and respond is what matters. Sometimes the best way to deal with a challenge is to not do anything and give yourself some time to approach a solution with a calm mind and on another day,” he says. He believes that finding the right partner or co-founder is super critical in business.

“There needs to be a good match and a good mix of skill sets each one brings to the table. And there must be a great deal of comfort between the co-founders to be able to speak the truth and not have to worry about repercussions. If you trust one another then you know that either person is coming from a good place with the same goal in mind,” he says. In his free time, he plays golf, reads, travels, spends time with the family and works out to try and stay as fit as possible and is also learning the guitar. “We wish to have multiple centres across the country to be able to introduce more people to golf in a fun and exciting way. The next few years will be working towards that goal. Ultimately if we can inspire a new generation of golfers to compete at the top level globally and have them start their journeys at one of our centres, I believe that would make us proud,” he signs off.

Follow Golfer's Edge Chennai on Instagram.

Urban designer and architect Manushi Ashok Jain makes it to 2022’s Forbes 30 Under 30 with purposeful initiatives

(August 6, 2022)“While I was in New York, I was designing homes for super rich people. I worked from two million to 20-million-dollar homes but I always felt that something was missing,” Manushi Ashok Jain tells Global Indian. This vacuum led her to shift focus after two years and experiment with her profession, transitioning into an urban designer. “That is where I found fulfillment.” [caption id="attachment_27870" align="aligncenter" width="761"] Manushi Ashok Jain, cofounder and director, Sponge Collaborative[/caption] The architect and urban designer is the co-founder and director at Sponge Collaborative that she started with three other experts in the domain. Two of them also happen to be her former colleagues at Sasaki, a Boston-based organisation that introduced her to good practices in urban designing. Coming closer to purpose “Sasaki played an instrumental role in shifting my focus to work with a purpose,” she recalls fondly the place that was her second home for over a year, before she relocated to India. “I always had the larger goal to work for cities of India in the space of urban designing,” she adds. Just before the pandemic, when Afghanistan was still not under Taliban rule, she found herself working in a World Bank

ation that introduced her to good practices in urban designing.

Coming closer to purpose

“Sasaki played an instrumental role in shifting my focus to work with a purpose,” she recalls fondly the place that was her second home for over a year, before she relocated to India. “I always had the larger goal to work for cities of India in the space of urban designing,” she adds.

Just before the pandemic, when Afghanistan was still not under Taliban rule, she found herself working in a World Bank funded project for Sasaki. It focussed on the strategic development framework of five major cities in Afghanistan. She was part of the team that came up with a pioneering document in collaboration with experts and the World Bank on how best those five major cities could be modelled for a better future - four to five decades down the line. “Though I never travelled to Afghanistan but as part of the team, I got the opportunity to engage with former President Ashraf Ghani. His office was closely involved in the project,” she says about the experience that shaped her future course of action.

Indian Entrepreneur | Manushi Ashok Jain | Global Indian

“Sasaki is rooted in communal, ecological understanding and how development has to be sensitive with low impact but big change,” qualities that Manushi has been imbibing.

The turning point

The gold medallist and topper in B.Arch with a master’s in architecture and urban design from the Pratt Institute, New York was looking for that final push to return to India. When she won the EnteKochi competition, she knew “this was it”.

It was the year 2020, Manushi had formed a consortium of nine teammates to participate in EnteKochi, a national-level urban design competition to find sustainable solutions to design the future city of Kochi. The team presented a solution emphasising the potential of blue-green infrastructure as a relatively low-cost alternative to grey infrastructure for prevention of flooding. “Our entry was placed first among 122 national and international design firms,” says the woman who returned to India the same year.

Indian Entrepreneur | Manushi Ashok Jain | Global Indian

Chennai girl working for its better future

Though she was born in Ahmedabad, she is a Chennai girl at heart - having grown up in the city. “I have always been a person who is sensitive towards one’s surroundings. For me, the ultimate joy is to contribute in any way as possible for betterment of other people’s lives,” says the urban designer who has been working on sustainable solutions for Chennai.

In 2021, Sponge Collaborative was chosen for an initiate by Greater Chennai Corporation to come up with Chennai’s first sponge park, an open space that leverages nature to delay, store and infiltrate surface run off during cloudburst events and serves as a recreation area during dry months, having multiple co-benefits. They are also developing Chennai’s first Climate Interpretation Park commissioned by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, as a learning laboratory to understand native landscapes and ecology.

Indian Entrepreneur | Manushi Ashok Jain | Global Indian

“Chennai is a city that goes through flooding and drought cycles. We are utilising open and underutilised spaces and unlocking the potential of nature so that it can be leveraged to reduce flooding through a series of interventions which we call sponge interventions,” she elaborates.

Her team had come up with the Sponge Handbook for Chennai which is being referred to in schools and organisations. “It’s an open-source document and the pedagogy has been adopted due to its holistic vision and framework for the future.”

Through multi-disciplinary strategic planning and design, Manushi and her team have been making a difference. “We are doing a lot of work in the realm of public infrastructure, nature-based solutions, integrated mobility strategies and women and children safety in public spaces,” she says.

Interspersing profession with purpose

As Indian cities are vulnerable to climate change, Manushi’s focus is on solving the problem through design and promoting integrated resiliency planning with a vision. “I am not alone. We are three other partners,” she emphasises. Her business partners Praveen Raj, Sourav Kumar Biswas and Shreya Krishnan have collectively helped realise integrated housing, mobility and infrastructure solutions that are socio-economically and environmentally friendly in more than 60 cities around the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ha1svQdAi8

Since the concept of urban designing as a profession is not very clear in India, she explains “we bring valuable insights and solutions to India’s urban challenges through system thinking that involves green system (ecology), blue system (hydrology), community system, data driven analysis etc, instead of just focussing on aesthetics.”

The urban designer who loves hiking and travelling has been striding high in her purposeful journey. By making it to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, her initiatives have started to get recognised.

Follow Manushi Ashok Jain on LinkedIn

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Nalini Saligram: Health transformation game changer in India and the USA

(November 22, 2023) “A 100 million people in India suffer from Type 2 diabetes, while 136 million are pre diabetic,” remarks Dr Nalini Saligram while talking about the diabetes menace. The former corporate executive based in Atlanta and Bengaluru, is committed to making an impact in the global health space as the founder and CEO of the non-profit organisation Arogya World. “Arogya World's work is mostly in India,” Nalini tells Global Indian. “This year we started MyDesiPlate to help Indian-Americans eat right. We are bringing the successful MyThali social media campaigns from India to the US, including #HealthyWaliDiwali. We reach people all over the US and are working with Indiaspora and South Asian Heart Center to reach our US communities,” she explains. This year, Arogya World organised three galas - in Atlanta, California (Mountain View/Bay area), and Chicago to advance its mission and help make every child a healthy child. Dr Nalini Saligram has lived and worked around the world ever since she began her career in 1986. She has led global corporate communications teams for renowned healthcare brands, including Merck in Philadelphia, Merial in Atlanta, Glaxo Wellcome in London, and Hill & Knowlton in Hong Kong. She plunged into social entrepreneurship

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Dr Nalini Saligram has lived and worked around the world ever since she began her career in 1986. She has led global corporate communications teams for renowned healthcare brands, including Merck in Philadelphia, Merial in Atlanta, Glaxo Wellcome in London, and Hill & Knowlton in Hong Kong. She plunged into social entrepreneurship in 2010.

A global journey

Born and raised in Bengaluru, Dr Nalini's life took her on a remarkable journey as she traversed across six countries, following her husband's international postings. Today, she commutes between Atlanta and Bengaluru multiple times a year as her organisation functions from both the places.

With a PhD in biochemistry from Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bengaluru and a wealth of experience in global communications, Dr Nalini has made it her life's mission to combat non-communicable diseases (NCDs), especially diabetes in India, which is considered the ‘diabetes capital of the world’ due to high number of diabetic patients in the country.

Dr Nalini serves on the Dean’s Council at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and is active with Indiaspora, the India Philanthropy Alliance and the Global Centre for Healthy Workplaces.

Making an impact

Dr Nalini has been working to prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs)—diabetes, heart disease, cancer and chronic lung diseases—through health education and lifestyle changes. Tackling NCDs is critical for the world to meet the sustainable development goals and Dr Nalini is committed towards it. “The Problem is so big that prevention instead of only screening and treatment is the smart solution,” she says.

Since its inception in 2010, Arogya, which means ‘health’ in Sanskrit, has managed to reach close to 12.5 million individuals, ranging from school children to working professionals. Their flagship programmes, like Healthy Schools, Healthy Workplaces, mDiabetes, MyThali, Arogya City and MyDesiPlate, tap technology, including AI, to build and nurture a healthy living movement in India.

Awards and recognition

Dr Saligram's contributions to the field have not gone unnoticed. In 2021, Dr Nalini received the prestigious Ashoka Award. Awareness programmes like ‘Healthy Workplaces’ have earned Arogya World a considerable amount of recognition as a thought leader and passionate champion of health. In 2020 – 2021, the organisation was included in the core committee by WHO-NIMHANS for the development of minimum health guidelines for workplaces in India.

Indian Social Entrepreneur | Dr Nalini Saligram | Global Indian

While several leading organizations have joined Arogya World as partners, this August, it celebrated its 200^th workplace collaboration. The organisation has also been invited to serve on CII’s Public Health Council. In 2021 Arogya World was chosen to be part of the Google AI for Social Good effort. In 2022, on her watch, Arogya World was one of the recipients of the prestigious United Nations InterAgency Taskforce and WHO Special Programme on Primary Healthcare awards.

Arogya World has also been working towards the goal of making Bengaluru, India’s first Arogya City with Dr Devi Shetty, the renowned cardiac surgeon and founder of Narayana Health, and Arjuna awardee and former Olympian Ashwini Nachappa, as brand ambassadors.

Empowering people through health awareness

Dr Nalini’s leadership is defined by her vision of supporting and empowering individuals to lead healthier lives. “By learning on the job, I have become a public health practitioner,” says the change maker, who addresses herself an advocate for global health and healthy living as she believes that these are the tickets to the healthy next generation.

“Lifestyle induced diseases like diabetes used to be an adult onset disease but now it is showing up in youngsters as well,” she remarks adding, “Type 2 diabetes which affects Americans and Europeans in their 50s and 60s is now showing up in the 30s or even in 20s and teens in India. But the good part is that it is a preventable disease, and this is what we are working on.”

“We do not need a new vaccine or technology to combat Type 2 diabetes. We just need to lead a healthy life,” she says. “80 percent diabetes and heart ailments can be prevented as per the big clinical trials and landmark studies by WHO, with three lifestyle changes – one must eat right, avoid tobacco and exercise,” Dr Nalini shares. Through her organization, she is educating and empowering people to undergo behavioral changes for better quality of life.

How does it work?

By reaching out to children Arogya World tries to inculcate good habits in them from a young age. A healthy lifestyle acquired as a pre-teen will stay with individuals through their lives, and the non-profit attempts to inculcate these habits early on. It works with students in government and private schools in rural and urban areas, using games and activities to build good habits.

Indian Social Entrepreneur | Dr Nalini Saligram | Global Indian

They have reached more than 1 million kids in the last 10 years and are in process of working with another million plus school children in the coming months. “The impact of Arogya World’s programmes have been validated by Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education unit,” shares Dr Nalini.

Under her guidance, the organisation has spread its wings across several states in India, spearheading age specific programmes. The organisation has been taking prevention strategies to people outside their doctors’ chambers - where they live, learn and work by conducting awareness programmes not just at schools but offices as well.

“We create age appropriate programmes and spend a lot of time in the design, and delivery of the content. All our programmes are science based and designed to induce behavior change” she says.

Voices of 10,000 women

In 2013, Arogya World and its collaborators pledged to develop and launch an international survey aimed at capturing the viewpoints of 10,000 women across 10 different countries regarding Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). This commitment, known as a "Commitment to Action," was unveiled during the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) annual meeting by Arogya World and its partners, including Novartis, Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, American Cancer Society, UNICEF, Population Services International, SRBI, and Jana. They successfully worked on their commitment and in 2014 shared the survey's results during that year’s CGI Annual Meeting.

This significant collaborative public health initiative strived to emphasize the influence of NCDs on women and their families, with the intention of motivating governments to take concrete actions by amplifying women's voices.

Mobile and web technologies were harnessed to conduct surveys among a total of 10,000 women aged 18 to 40, hailing from Afghanistan, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the UK, and the U.S. Dr Nalini’s team captured the personal narratives of women from these nations to provide an authentic perspective on their experiences in dealing with and combatting NCDs.

Latest initiatives - MyDesiPlate and HealthyWaliDiwali campaign

In 2023, Arogya World introduced a nutritional tool named MyDesiPlate, aligning with US nutritional guidelines. Alongside this launch, they initiated the #HealthyWaliDiwali social media campaign within the US, aiming to encourage Indian Americans to adopt healthier eating habits during festive times.

MyDesiPlate adheres to USDA nutrition guidelines, offering guidance to both Indian Americans and the general American populace on meal composition and appropriate portion sizes in a typical Indian meal. It advocates two fundamental principles for healthy eating—achieving a balanced meal and practicing portion control. The tool specifies the recommended quantity of cooked food for lunch, emphasizing a suggestion for dinner to be a lighter meal compared to lunch.

Indian Social Entrepreneur | Dr Nalini Saligram | Global Indian

Finding her path and achieving success

Dr Nalini's journey at Arogya World began with a deep desire to make a difference. Armed with her scientific knowledge and a fervent commitment to change, she embarked on the endeavour to engage people and leaders in the battle against NCDs in 2010 by establishing Arogya World. Before this Dr Nalini worked in the corporate world for years. “When I found myself restless and underutilised in corporate America, I decided to quit my job at Merck Vaccines and started Arogya World. It’s the best decision I have made in my life,” she shares.

As a relentless advocate for NCD prevention, Dr Nalini doesn't merely rely on her own determination. She leverages the power of public-private partnerships and strategically utilizes global platforms to drive meaningful change.

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How MIT scientist Shriya Srinivasan’s ventilator tech is saving lives

When Shriya Srinivasan, a postdoctoral medical researcher at Harvard Medical School, came up with a ventilator multiplexer amidst a raging pandemic, she hoped to solve a million problems with one medical device. At the peak of the pandemic, a shortage of ventilators had patients gasping for breath. Srinivasan’s ventilator-splitter could reduce this requirement by half. “The problem with earlier ventilator multiplexer models was that they could not be customized to treat each patient,” Srinivasan told Global Indian in an exclusive interview. “Splitting them uniformly between two patients can be injurious to each patient.” [caption id="attachment_4816" align="aligncenter" width="537"] Shriya Srinivasan at work[/caption] What Srinivasan and her cohort of researchers did was incorporate individualized controls. In other words, doctors can now treat two patients with a single ventilator while customizing the settings to suit specific medical requirements. Soon after the research was published in the Science Translational Medicine journal, she sought to industrialize the life-saving equipment given the dire global shortage. “We partnered with a Bengaluru-based startup to add a digital monitoring component to the ventilator multiplexer and get it ready for global deployment,” says Srinivasan. However, by the time Srinivasan’s splitter hit the market, India’s second wave had begun to ease, leaving the healthcare ecosystem with less appetite and funds for innovation. The Indian American researcher says, “It was incredibly challenging to reach the healthcare market in India. I felt like I was fighting an uphill battle to

l device." width="537" height="358" /> Shriya Srinivasan at work[/caption]

What Srinivasan and her cohort of researchers did was incorporate individualized controls. In other words, doctors can now treat two patients with a single ventilator while customizing the settings to suit specific medical requirements.

Soon after the research was published in the Science Translational Medicine journal, she sought to industrialize the life-saving equipment given the dire global shortage. “We partnered with a Bengaluru-based startup to add a digital monitoring component to the ventilator multiplexer and get it ready for global deployment,” says Srinivasan.

However, by the time Srinivasan’s splitter hit the market, India’s second wave had begun to ease, leaving the healthcare ecosystem with less appetite and funds for innovation. The Indian American researcher says,

“It was incredibly challenging to reach the healthcare market in India. I felt like I was fighting an uphill battle to deploy these units.”

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_7M_jJ6NZ4&ab_channel=TEDxTalks[/embed]

She added that the reason for a sluggish response was both monetary and bureaucratic. Nevertheless, over two dozen units have been deployed and the splitter may come in handy to tackle the imminent forthcoming waves.

This Global Indian medical engineer is not new to innovation and her earlier attempts at accessible healthcare equipment stand testimony to it. Her past research focused on surgical innovations which allow a better connection between the human body and prosthetic limbs. “For people with amputations, we’ve seen great improvement in their mobility, pain profile and their ability to sense phantom limbs,” she says. While some techniques are already implemented in individuals fitted with prosthetic limbs, others are on clinical trials.

Global identity

Srinivasan was born and raised in the US after her parents Srinivasan Ranganathan, a senior project manager in an IT firm, and Sujatha Srinivasan, an acclaimed Bharatanatyam dancer, moved to the US in the early 1990s. Her parents belong to a conservative family in Tamil Nadu.

Following her undergraduate course at Case Western Reserve University, she pursued the prestigious program in medical engineering and medical physics from Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology.

Being a first-generation immigrant hasn’t been easy on Srinivasan. It left her with an identity crisis in childhood. “Any child that follows one culture at home and another at school would go through this identity crisis on where do you fit in,” she recalls. But she managed to channel her crisis to her advantage.

“You’re out of place and you belong nowhere. Then you realize that you belong nowhere is the same thing as you belong everywhere,”

[caption id="attachment_4815" align="aligncenter" width="615"] When Shriya Srinivasan, a postdoctoral medical researcher at Harvard Medical School, came up with a ventilator multiplexer amidst a raging pandemic, she hoped to solve a million problems with one medical device. Shriya Srinivasan during a dance performance Photo Courtesy: The Hindu[/caption]

Perhaps this is what motivated her to set up Anubhava Dance Company – a Bharatanatyam platform to perform and train together – to help fellow Indian-Americans to learn this classical art form. “I’ve been learning dance from a very young age. It’s a very big part of my life,” says Srinivasan, who routinely performs at the famed Chennai’s December Margazhi season.

Srinivasan and members of the company have performed at shows in over 15 American cities. “It’s hard to carry something like Bharatanatyam over here [in the US]. It requires so much history, language, music, and culture. It’s like a full package you need to know to be productive and carry it forward,” she emphasized.

While Srinivasan’s long-term goal is to conjure up accessible and affordable healthcare apparatus, she is also determined to firm up her Indian roots through Bharatanatyam.

Editor's Take

Ever since the first wave of the pandemic in 2020, medical facilities across the world have faced an accute shortage of ventilators; an oft life-saving option for patients. In this regard, India is in many ways an archetype of the challenges that many developing countries face. It is a crucible for any innovation to succeed at scale; and any innovation with respect to COVID-19 should be lauded. Shriya's work will have a global impact in the way imminent waves of the pandemic will be dealt with and can possibly save millions of lives.

RELATED READ: Dr Nikhila Juvvadi: 32-year-old chief clinical officer who gave Chicago its first Covid-19 jab

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