Global IndianstoryShivya Nath: How India’s top travel blogger advocates for responsible travel across the globe

Shivya Nath: How India’s top travel blogger advocates for responsible travel across the globe

Written by: Vikram Sharma

(April 23, 2023) A solo land journey from Thailand to India via Myanmar, travelling on land from the Persian Gulf via Iran to Armenia, staying with the Mayan community in Guatemala, taking a dip in the deep blue sea in Cuba, rejuvenating at onsens across Japan, a stay at a Ladakh nunnery—Shivya Nath’s decade as a solo traveller is rich with stories and exotic experiences.

“I travel slow, seek offbeat and local experiences. I like to be my own boss,” smiles Shivya Nath, solo traveller and blogger, digital nomad, storyteller, writer, speaker, photographer, and social entrepreneur, in an exclusive chat with Global Indian. Shivya, who is one of India’s top travel bloggers, was featured among 30 global champions of environmental sustainability in hospitality and tourism by the International Hospitality Institute in 2021. She’s currently doing her Master’s degree in Sustainability and Environmental Management at Harvard University.

Shivya Nath

Desk job to following her travel dream

Shivya was born in Dehradun, where she studied at St Joseph’s senior secondary school in Dehradun. Soon after, she moved to Singapore, obtaining her bachelor’s degree in Economics and Marketing from the Singapore management university and going on to work with the Singapore Tourism Board. In 2011, at the age of 23, Shivya quit her job as a digital marketing and social media strategist to follow her dream of travelling the world.

“I suffered through some sleepless nights after I resigned from work, thinking about where I was going to find the money to travel or live,” says Shivya. She was 23 at the time. Recalling her days at work in Singapore, Shivya, like most people, was bound by a desk job, catching up on daily tasks and aiming for the next promotion. “I did not hate my job and maybe if I had stuck around for a few years, I would have done well for myself.”

Working in the tourism industry exposed Shivya to the largely Western concepts of long-term travel and living out of a backpack. “I took to my social networks to find people living my travel dream. I followed the likes of Wild Junket, Nomadic Matt and Wandering Earl, all world nomads from the West. I found no reason why an Indian girl like myself couldn’t do it,” says Shivya, who won two return tickets to France after taking part in a Facebook contest run by Air Asia.

Taking off

After a month-long Europe tour, she spent the next month volunteer-travelling in the high Himalayas of Spiti, which was her first solo trip. Thereafter, she began shortlisting places she could travel to on a tight budget. “I stay in a place for a few weeks or as long as it inspires me,” says Shivya.

She gradually stabilised her income through freelance travel writing, social media assignments and then launched her startup India Untravelled in 2012. As a freelance writer, she contributed to BBC Travel, National Geographic Traveller India, Lonely Planet India among others.

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A climate in crisis

In 2018, Shivya spent a few days at Cocodrilo in Isla de la Juventud in Cuba, which gave her an off-the-beaten-track experience of the country. She was volunteering at a coral reef restoration project set up by IOI Adventures in collaboration with the island community.

“Swimming in the deep blue sea off Cocodrilo was evidence that no matter where in the world we live or how far from the sea, the plastic we consume in our everyday lives is directly responsible for destroying our oceans,” says Shivya, who was disappointed to discover the seabed littered with plastic bags, beer cans, shampoo bottles, cigarette buts, plastic straws and menstrual pads. It was another reminder of the importance of responsible travel.

The same year, she went on a month-long trip to Japan. At a guesthouse in Tokyo, her local host was amused when she explained her vegan lifestyle. “But when I woke up, he had experimented with a vegan breakfast feast just for me: tofu steak and miso soup with seaweed dashi! He ended up including a vegan option in his breakfast menu,” smiles Shivya,

In 2018, she published her book, “The Shooting Star” detailing her experiences during her travels across the globe. She was also featured by National Geographic Traveler (global) among travellers of Color smashing stereotypes (2020) and The Washington Post among travellers changing the way we think of the world (2019).

A journey to remember

Among all her travels, she describes Robinson Crusoe Island (earlier called Mas a Tierra), nearly 700 km off the coast of Chile in South America, as the most unique place on earth. She was invited there as part of the work for Humankind project with Lenovo and Island conservation.

Even the journey there was full of adventure – she arrived aboard a six-seater plane to an island where “no human had set foot until 500 years ago.” “So the island’s endemic forests, plants, marine animals and birds evolved in isolation,” says Shivya, who took a boat ride to San Juan Bautista, the island’s only inhabited village, which reminded her of a scene from Jurassic Park.

Among her other memorable trips was the 7-day e-biking trip across the Swiss Alps and the Lofoten Islands in the Norwegian Arctic. She and her partner spent a month travelling from Switzerland to the Lofoten Islands and back, using only public transport – trains, buses and a public ferry!

“The journey was over 8000 kilometers and we spent 74.5 hours on trains, plus a few more on ferries,” recalls Shivya. They cycled and hiked in the surreal magic of ’24 hour sunlight’ days, confused about when to sleep and eat with no sunset or sunrise to guide them. “It was summer after all, and the sun never sets this far out in the Arctic,” says the avid traveller, who was voted the best Indian travel blogger by Vogue India in 2015.

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Responsible travel

She says in the age of ‘over-tourism’, that too in the midst of a climate crisis, becoming a responsible traveller is a pressing need to protect the incredible natural and cultural heritage of our world. “It is also the only way we can still find authentic experiences, engage meaningfully with locals and savour the pristine beauty of our planet,” says the co-founder of Voices of Rural India, a not-for-profit digital initiative to host curated stories by rural storytellers, in their own voices.

Finding her roots

After years of living out of two bags, Shivya feels ready to pursue a different kind of life. Having moved to Goa along with her partner during the pandemic, she no longer travels full time. “Goa gradually showed us a slower life we fell in love with. We live an earthy life in the midst of nature, close to a beach with some of the world’s most magical sunsets,” says Shivya, who turned vegan in 2015 and cut out all animal products from her diet and lifestyle. Weekends are reserved for hiking through the mist-laden ghats, kayaking in the mangroves and swimming in remote waterfalls. “I will continue to travel for meaningful assignments and speaking opportunities,” she says.

An entrepreneur with a cause

Shivya has been consulting a tourism business on calculating and reducing their carbon emissions, and designing community-based offsets for carbon neutral trips. “I’m co-creating a sustainable tourism storytelling project with a European partner,” says Shivya, who recently decided to formalize some of her work in the form of Climate Conscious Travel which works with businesses and destinations to develop sustainable tourism solutions that centre communities, conservation and climate action.

Follow Shivya on Instagram and read her blog here.

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Published on 24, Apr 2023

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Eagle-eyed Indian American angel investor with a heart of gold

(Sarbani Sen, May 5) When Kanwal Rekhi, a fresh-faced graduate from IIT-Bombay, got off a bus and walked into the imposing Michigan Tech, he had butterflies in his stomach. He wasn’t sure if he was up to the task. But it didn’t take long to find his footing. “The US was at the top of its game and India was really at the bottom of its game. IITs were not established as top-notch schools. We (Indians) were very humble and assumed that we were not as good as them. It was just a matter of weeks, I realized I was as good as any of them,” says Rekhi in an interview with Global Indian. That was in 1967. The humbleness remains even after 50 years, but Rekhi’s imposing presence as a Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur and identifier and funder of great ideas is undisputed. He has financed over 50 startups, and new entrepreneurs talk of his incisive questions and candor-filled assessment of their ideas. He looks for more than just an excellent idea. He likes originality. “I like entrepreneurs who are not repeating what others have done: like I am Uber of this or that or I am yet another e-commerce site,”

of this or that or I am yet another e-commerce site,” he says.

Most prominent Indian American investor

Rekhi, 76, is perhaps the most prominent US-based Indo-American entrepreneur and investor. He became the first founder and CEO to take a venture-backed company public on the NASDAQ in the late 90s. He is the co-founder of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs), a global networking platform for Indian entrepreneurs. Rekhi co-founded Inventus Capital Partners in 2008. As the managing director at Inventus, he primarily invests in technology-based startups.

Becoming an entrepreneur was not top of his mind when he first started working. Just like many Indians who went to the U.S, Rekhi was happy doing a 9-5 job, but life threw a few curveballs. Losing his job thrice, despite being good at what he was doing, convinced him that he had to upskill.

[embed]https://twitter.com/kanwal946/status/1389633090104938496[/embed]

“I was a hardware engineer, so I took courses in software. I also took courses in business and law during that time,” he remembers.

With no family history in business, it took a while for Rekhi to motivate himself to become an entrepreneur. “Indians in America were mostly professionals. It was a long leap for me, but by that time I was convinced that I was ready for anything.” There has been no looking back.

He is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but a unique idea will have him excited and restless. A seed-level investor, Rekhi is always in support of fresh Indian entrepreneurs. But unless an idea excites him, and he sees the fire in the new entrepreneur to succeed, he is unlikely to bite the bait.

Donations to alma mater

Since it is education that has brought him this far, Rekhi never forgot his alma maters. His generous donations have led to Kanwal Rekhi Schools of Information Technology at IIT-Bombay and Michigan Tech. He has also funded various other educational institutions. “I am a strong believer in education as a great equalizer. Most of my charitable work is around education,” he says. He applies lessons he has learned over the years and is very aware of the changing nature of technology and markets. “I keep learning new things,” he says, and is always on the lookout for young entrepreneurs who are “a bit crazy to risk everything.”

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Inspiring melodies: Indian-British artist Dr. Chithra Ramakrishnan is transforming lives

(September 5, 2023) Teachers possess a unique and transformative power — the ability to shape the destinies of their students, instilling knowledge, nurturing talents, and inspiring dreams. In the United Kingdom, one remarkable Indian-British artist, Dr. Chithra Ramakrishnan, has harnessed this power to not only change lives but to help children with disabilities perceive and savour life from an entirely different perspective. The founder of a non-profit South Asian arts and culture organisation, ShruthiUK, the artist has played a pivotal role in making South Indian Classical Dance accessible to a wider audience. Their non-invasive, holistic approach caters to children with autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, learning and behavioural disorders. It also offers solace and support to senior citizens grappling with autism, dementia, and Alzheimer's. The recipient of the honour 'Member of the Order of the British Empire' (MBE), Dr. Ramakrishnan also launched a first-of-its-kind Carnatic Choir group, which aims at creating and exploring choral singing in the South Indian classical music genre. [caption id="attachment_44508" align="aligncenter" width="616"] Dr. Chithra Ramakrishnan[/caption] "Using our shared language - music - to cultivate deeper connections among us and to bring joy into people's lives, one song at a time holds immense significance for me," the artist

" /> Dr. Chithra Ramakrishnan[/caption]

"Using our shared language - music - to cultivate deeper connections among us and to bring joy into people's lives, one song at a time holds immense significance for me," the artist says, as she connects with Global Indian from the UK, adding, "I aspire to harness the power of Indian classical dance as a holistic form of healing. Thankfully, my efforts have successfully bolstered the confidence of individuals of all age groups and abilities, while enhancing their mental and social well-being."

Young artistic prelude

"I come from a typical Tamil, Brahmin Iyer family. I spent a part of my childhood, in a small town near Trichy, called Lalgudi, which is very famous for its musicians and artists. A few years later my parents and I moved to the Gulf for some time, post which we returned to the country for my pre-university education. I spent most of my childhood outside India, however, music was a big part of my life - we would listen to classical South Indian music, or devotional songs at home. My mother was my greatest influence, she was a musician and dancer herself and instilled a love of music in me from a very young age. She would teach me," says the artist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui3dDaPxDXA

While music gave her joy, her lifelong passion for South Indian arts started when she was about eight years old and witnessed a television concert by the legendary Bharat Ratna Dr. M.S. Subbalakshmi. That incident gave her a dream – to become a playback singer one day. Realising her potential, Dr. Ramakrishnan's parents encouraged her, and soon the artist started training under renowned gurus. "Dr. M.S. Subbalakshmi was a big influence - I remember trying to sing several of her songs including Bhaja Govindam during practice. Thankfully, I came to realise at a young age that true excellence can only be achieved where passion exists. When my parents noticed my enthusiasm, they took the initiative to introduce me to exceptional mentors, with the hope of nurturing my talents even further," shares the artist.

Eventually, Dr. Ramakrishnan - who was also being trained in Bharatnatyam apart from classical music - started performing on various stages. "But, as I come from a South Indian household, and a family of academician, I also had to equally balance my studies," says the artist, laughing, "I pursued an MBA from Manipal University specialising in marketing and finance. While I was in the UK, I also pursued another MBA from the University of Frankfurt in human resources and later earned my Ph.D. in disaster management from the USA, under my father's guidance."

Setting the stage

After her marriage, Dr. Ramakrishnan shifted to the Gulf for a while, and in 2001, arrived in the UK. "I was so out of my comfort zone," she reminisces. "I had spent time in the Gulf growing up so that certainly wasn't an issue. However, the UK was a different world for me. Frankly, my biggest challenge was to get used to the weather of this land. So, it took me a couple of years before I could start calling this country my home."

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

While she did not work full-time, choosing instead to take care of her two children during those early years in the UK, Dr. Ramakrishnan started freelancing as an artist for a few organisations in the northern parts of the country. "I started building my network slowly and giving vocal support for Bharatnatyam performers. Eventually, I also started performing at concerts across the UK," recalls the artist.

As she travelled the lengths and breadths of the country, Dr. Ramakrishnan noticed that while young kids wanted to learn South Indian art forms, there was a severe lack of institutions providing courses in the discipline. It was around this time that the artist established her organisation - ShruthiUK. "I am a dreamer! I believe that everyone should have the chance to immerse themselves in the diverse art forms of South India, irrespective of their geographical location. This dream inspired me to assume the role of an 'Indian cultural ambassador' and educator based in the UK," the artist says.

[caption id="attachment_44511" align="aligncenter" width="677"] Artist | Chithra Ramakrishnan | Global Indian Dr. Ramakrishnan MBE with John Crabtree OBE[/caption]

She adds, "At ShruthiUK, our central objective in arts education is to cultivate an environment that fosters the development of artistic skills and a passion for the arts through consistent training and engaging projects. I aspire to impart my own love for Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam to the younger generation, the future leaders of tomorrow, by encouraging them to embrace their cultures and beliefs. We aim to achieve this through a range of avenues, including classes, festivals, conferences, and school outreach programme."

Of compassion and giving back

Through ShruthiUK, Dr. Ramakrishnan organises the annual Birmingham Thyagaraja Festival, a celebration of Carnatic music held in Solihull. "This festival holds a special place in my heart as it serves as a unifying platform for budding singers, musicians, and dancers, all of us passionately dedicated to showcasing the timeless compositions, rhythms, and teachings of Saint Thyagaraja, a revered figure in the world of Indian Carnatic classical music.

Over the next few years, Dr. Ramakrishnan started working actively with many mental-health-focused and non-profit organisations in the UK. "Giving back to the community holds deep significance for me. It means contributing to the well-being and progress of the place I call home and the people I share it with. To encourage others to participate similarly, I believe in leading by example," share the artist, adding, "Ultimately, it's about recognising our responsibility to contribute to the greater good and finding ways, big or small, to give back to the community that nurtures us. I consider myself fortunate to have witnessed the flourishing of Carnatic music and Indian Classical dance in the younger generation, as well as their ability to empower individuals from underprivileged backgrounds and provide strength to those facing mental and physical challenges. The knowledge that I play a pivotal role in this journey fills me with immense joy."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuWsZynBla4

But while she has taught several students, this teacher never stopped learning herself. "During my artistic journey, I've accumulated invaluable experiences and life lessons," Dr. Ramakrishnan says, adding, "Some of my most treasured memories stem from my performances in South Indian classical music and dance on various stages. These opportunities to showcase my cultural traditions have amplified my sense of pride in my heritage. I was inspired to share this profound connection with others, which led me to embrace the roles of both performer and teacher, spreading these art forms in the UK. Although my path as an educator and student has been marked by unexpected twists and challenges, my unwavering dedication and deep appreciation for these art forms have smoothed the way. I will forever consider myself fortunate to have had the privilege of being a student of these culturally rich art forms."

Follow Dr. Chithra Ramakrishnan on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook
Follow ShruthiUK on Facebook and their website

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Shivali Bhammer: Blending East with the West through devotional fusion music

(August 4, 2023) The nondescript bhajans, which were once confined to temples and pujas at home, are now charting a new path, thanks to the devotional fusion music genre. It's the amalgamation of mantras with jazz and hip-hop music that's grabbing the attention of the younger generation, and one such artist who is making this genre a hit in the UK is Shivali Bhammer. The British-Indian singer, who calls herself a spiritual being, is blending the beats of the West with the bhajans of the East and how. Brought up in a family that's quite spiritual, Shivali started making music at the age of 15. But it was devotional music that pulled her and she was keen to give it a modern twist so that people could identify with it. This Global Indian has achieved that with her music. From equity trading to devotional music Born in London to Gujarati parents, Shivali comes from a family that delves deeper into the philosophy of life. It was her great grandmother and great aunts who introduced her to spiritual music and at 15, she started making her own music. For the 35-year-old, her musical talent wasn't something that she discovered instead it

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Born in London to Gujarati parents, Shivali comes from a family that delves deeper into the philosophy of life. It was her great grandmother and great aunts who introduced her to spiritual music and at 15, she started making her own music. For the 35-year-old, her musical talent wasn't something that she discovered instead it was a gift bestowed upon her. "Singing comes naturally to me than anything else I do, to me it is like breathing. I can't separate it from who I am. I began nurturing it when I was 15 years old with my best friend Arjun. We didn't think of talent then, we just thought of what makes us happy and what we enjoy doing," she told a magazine. For the next few years, the duo kept making devotional music and titled their collection Basement Bhajans, however, not without adding a bit of zing with their fusion.

It wasn't until she was 22 that she dipped her toes into the world of music as a professional. Before exploding into the music scene, Shivali, a graduate in Economics and Philosophy, worked as an analyst for global investment firm Goldman Sachs, and even contributed articles to the Financial Times and other major publication. However, the 9 to 5 grind made her realise her true calling - music.

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While she loved devotional music, she wanted to layer it with new melodies and modern instruments in order to make it accessible to the youth. At 22, Shivali pitched the idea to Sony Music and this was the beginning of her musical journey.

A musician in the making

"I felt passionate about music, and about devotion, and that the two should merge and include more than just a harmonium. It was only when I was 22 that I got signed with Sony Music BMG and suddenly my work that I had called Basement Bhajans became The Bhajan Project and it changed my life," the singer said in an interview.

Her maiden album wasn't just a collection of mantras but a blend of beats and sounds from the genres of R&B, soul, rock and pop sprinkled with a generous dose of acoustic guitar. This fusion worked wonders for this talented singer who grabbed eyeballs with The Bhajan Project.

The album earned her two nominations at the Global Indian Music Awards at the age of 23, and soon she was listed among the Top 25 under 25 South Asian Artists in England. "When I look back on that it was a magical moment, where the universe did most of the just done the preparation and arrived on time,"
she added.

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Blending East with West

Since then, Shivali has been busy perfectly blending Western instruments with her Eastern rhythm. The singer, who calls herself a blend of the East and West, believes that merging the two worlds come naturally to her as she is an Indian who grew up as a British girl.

Without any formal training in music, Shivali has managed to cast a spell on music lovers especially in the devotional music genre with The Bhajan Project and Urban Temple, both of which reached No 1 on the iTunes World Chart. In fact, the 35-year-old has made devotional fusion music quite popular in the UK. "London has a big Asian network and it really embraces people with a different sound. It is receptive of talented young artists – we see them sprouting every day," she told DNA.

The singer is also a motivational speaker who never misses a chance to talk about mindfulness and meditation. Interestingly, she is the only Indian artist to be invited to the prestigious De Doelen Theatre in the Netherlands to story-tell Hindu Mythological love stories. For her, music is art which is an expression of one’s creative love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0WBjRsyceM

Her East meets West sound has put her music at the centre of the world fusion movement in the devotional genre. Her albums are a soothing reminder that devotion exists in every action, and that’s what makes her music appealing to most of the people. Her intention with her music has been to deliver a message with love. When Shivali stepped into the music world, she wanted to change the landscape of the devotional music industry and take it to new heights. And a decade after her first album, Shivali has been able to create a niche for herself in the music world.

Follow Shivali Bhammer on Linkedin and Instagram

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Taekwondo couple Rajender and Suman are on a medal-getting spree

(April 11, 2022) Ever since Suman got married, running the household was her top priority. Her life revolved around her husband Rajender Ambilpur and their two children. For her, sports was nowhere in the realm of imagination, even though Rajender, a Taekwondo coach, would often nudge her towards physical activity to keep fit. She hardly paid heed. However, all that changed in early 2021 when one day Suman told her husband that she wanted to try her hand at Taekwondo. “Are you serious?” wondered Rajender. Soon, she was accompanying him on morning jogs, getting introduced to the martial art. A few months of training, saw Suman shed weight and master the moves. In March 2022, on a flight to Manchester, England – the couple was geared up for the British Open Taekwondo championship. They fought their way into winning medals, and bringing laurels to India and Telangana. It predictably, took the Taekwondo world by storm. [caption id="attachment_23099" align="aligncenter" width="655"] Rajender Ambilpur and Suman[/caption] “People now approach me for autographs. It feels great,” Suman tells Global Indian. For Rajender, who won 39 gold medals, one silver, two bronze in state, national and international Taekwondo championships in the past two decades, this

aphs. It feels great,” Suman tells Global Indian. For Rajender, who won 39 gold medals, one silver, two bronze in state, national and international Taekwondo championships in the past two decades, this was the proudest moment - as a husband and coach. For the 32-year-old Suman, her gold medal in the women's poomsae in the under-40 category and Rajender’s gold in the senior men's poomsae category, a silver in Kyorugi and two bronze medals in the team poomsae categories at the British Open are cherished.

The urge to dangal

From Bengaluru, the Ambilpur family shifted to Hyderabad four decades ago. Back then, Rajender's father Laxman Rao, a cobbler, was well known in the kushti circles for being an excellent dangal fighter. “My father often took me for Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies, and wanted me to get into Shaolin Kungfu, and become a good fighter,” recalls Rajender, who had to drop out of school due to financial constraints.

A quick learner, he took up Shaolin Kungfu while working as a painter in car workshops to earn his livelihood. After winning a gold in the state championship (1999), he participated in other tournaments. Some Taekwondo coaches spotted his talent, urged him to take it up. He did, and he has won 24 gold medals since.

[caption id="attachment_23100" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Taekwondo couple Rajender Ambilpur and Suman[/caption]

A coaching ray of hope

Financial woes put a break on his dreams, as Rajender moved to Kuwait in 2006 to work at a Ford workshop as a paint technician. He spent the next three years in Kuwait, working for Ford, and later with Ferrari and Bentley as a senior technician.

Occasionally, he would practice Taekwondo at the parks, which made onlookers curious. “The locals were impressed and approached me to teach their children,” smiles the coach. While his job fetched him 200 Kuwaiti dinars per month, he made 50 KD per hour coaching. “I taught the kids for an hour, three days a week and made decent money which I sent to my father,” informs the 42-year-old.

Back to his favourite sport

In 2009, he got married and returned to Kuwait. His wife, Suman, a BCom graduate from Ambedkar Open University, insisted on taking her with him or staying back in India. Thus, in 2011, he came back and started working at a German company, Wurth.

Taekwondo still was on the backburner, except his stints at coaching children. And Suman was busy with their children - James Raj (10) and Lakshya (11). “Lakshya is doing well in weight lifting while James is good at badminton. They, too, are sportspersons in the making,” smiles the Taekwondo couple.

[caption id="attachment_23102" align="aligncenter" width="724"] Taekwondo couple Rajender Ambilpur and Suman with their children[/caption]

By 2018, Rajender was training 150 students. “A student, Maheen Nawaz Khan became the first from Telangana to take part in the 3rd Asian Cadet Poomsae Taekwondo championship in Jordan,” informs the proud coach. Around the same time, he met his mentor and coach Jayant Reddy who saw his potential and insisted he participate in the Malaysian international championship.

“I used to train across different parks in Hyderabad. I was my own coach,” smiles Rajender who shocked many in his fraternity when he won a silver and bronze in Malaysia. His winning streak continued in 2019 in South Korea. But his coaching and practice came to an abrupt halt due to the pandemic. In 2021, Rajender resumed practice, and won several gold medals at state, national and international championships. “In 2019, he was part of a 20-member team which delivered 1,16,000 kicks in a span of an hour. Later, he set a world record with 1,686 knee kicks in an hour,” informs Suman proudly.

When Rajender was practicing for the British Open championship, Suman began showing interest in the sport. "I was taken aback when Suman told me she wanted to get trained. I realised she was serious,” smiles Rajender, who took her on a 5 km jog everyday besides giving her intense Taekwondo training sessions twice a day.

[caption id="attachment_23103" align="aligncenter" width="597"] Taekwondo couple Rajender Ambilpur and Suman[/caption]

“Initially, it was tough but I was determined to master the sport. Luckily, I too was selected for the British Open,” smiles Suman, who went on to beat her competitor from Netherlands to clinch the gold. She won accolades for her swift movements - power kicks, blocking, and her husband couldn't have been happier. Almonds, figs and walnuts are their energy foods before training.

What's next? “Suman continues training and I’m participating in the world championship in Dallas this October,” concludes Rajender.

Follow Rajender Ambilpur on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram

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Japan-based Indian scientist, Dr. Aditya Baraskar, is working on generating wireless electricity

(February 23, 2023) His LinkedIn page indicates that he is one of the top 100 aerospace and aviation professionals in the world today. However, during my research about his work before our scheduled call, I came across something that sparked my curiosity. While most people earn their engineering degree in four years, Japan-based eminent scientist, Dr. Aditya Baraskar, took two extra years to finish his graduation. Ask him about it, and he laughs, "I had a lot of backlogs, and took me a while to clear all the paper before I got my degree." While many other students would have been disheartened by this situation, Dr. Baraskar found a silver-lining even in these dark clouds. "It was a learning period for me," says the scientist as he connects with Global Indian, adding, "I started looking into what I wanted to pursue next, and putting more thought into my career path. It was then that I realised that space science was my ultimate love and I started developing my skills to work in this industry. I was heavily inspired by Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams." [caption id="attachment_35380" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Dr Baraskar at the ROSCOSMOS Facility[/caption] The Chief Scientist and Mission Designer

ncenter" width="650"] Scientist | Dr Aditya Baraskar | Global Indian Dr Baraskar at the ROSCOSMOS Facility[/caption]

The Chief Scientist and Mission Designer for the world's first laser-based debris removal project at SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation in Japan, Dr. Baraskar has surely come a long way in the space science industry. The scientist, who is working on generating electricity in space, which can be distributed on Earth without using any wires, is also a serial entrepreneur and investor in businesses working on microsatellite designing, agriculture and fishery automation laboratory, and parking management systems. Interestingly, the scientist is also working on developing technology to tackle space junk, created by old satellites, rocket fuselages, and the like.

A small-town boy with big dreams

Despite being born in a small town in a middle-class family, Dr. Baraskar had big dreams. "I come from a very small town in the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh. I didn't get any fancy education growing up and studied at the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Betul. But I was ambitious. So, after finishing school, I moved to Maharashtra, where I pursued a Bachelor of Engineering in electronics and telecommunication from Shramsadhana Bombay Trust, College of Engineering & Technology in Jalgaon," shares the scientist.

It was during his college that he was asked to present a paper in the second year. For someone who had no inkling about writing a paper, he chose digital communication as his subject. "It really amuses me sometimes that from a boy whose first paper was pretty bad, I have journeyed to become a scientist whose papers are quoted internationally."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGF63rBUUfs

While still in college, a natural disaster in Japan forced him to look into the 'wireless electricity' technology. "In March 2011, Japan was hit by the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which resulted in Fukushima nuclear disaster. As the nuclear plant generated electricity, the accident caused a loss of energy for several localities. Not to mention the number of people who lost their lives due to the disaster. While I was reading about the news, I started thinking about more viable ways of generating electricity, and that's when I first thought about using wireless technology. We need electricity 24*7 on earth, but it also has to be from a renewable and sustainable source. So, why not generate electricity in space using solar power?"

"Back then, we had 3G network connections - something many people would have thought to be impossible a decade back - and in the future, this technology would only emerge more. So, in the same way, wireless electricity is also a possibility," he shares. While it was a great idea, the scientist needed to do a lot of groundwork before even testing the technology.

Moving to Moscow

After finishing his graduation, the scientist started writing to various scholars, under whom he could work on his idea. And it was then that he got invited to a military institute in Russia to pursue his master's degree. "While I was in college, I had criticised a Russian professor's paper, who was quite impressed by my knowledge. So, after I earned my degree, he asked me to join the Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University) in 2016, where I pursued a Master's in space technology and rocket engineering. As it was a military institution, they didn't have any foreign students. I was one of the first two international students who went to MAI," he exclaims.

[caption id="attachment_35381" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Scientist | Dr Aditya Baraskar | Global Indian Dr Baraskar with Commander Astronaut Dr. Koichi Wakata[/caption]

Sharing an insight about his life in Moscow, the scientist shares, "It was a big culture shock for me," laughs the scientist, adding, "Till then I was completely dependent on my parents, and now all of a sudden I was on my own. During my initial days, I had no one to talk to and had to cook my food, which I had no clue about, and manage my house. So, for the first few weeks, fast-food restaurants were my refuge. However, I started gaining a lot of weight and also it was a bit heavy on my pocket to eat out daily. So, I eventually learned how to cook a basic meal for myself, taking instructions from my mother over the phone. But I must add that the Russians are very warm people. Everyone I met there - from my professors to my colleagues - helped me understand the city and navigate through it."

The land of the rising sun

Even though he learned a lot during his time in Moscow, the scientist shares that Russia wasn't so technologically advanced to put his thoughts into action. "My professor encouraged me to look for a research facility in Japan, where the technology was substantially more developed, and also introduced me to one of the faculty members at the Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan. I proposed my idea of wireless electricity and they were quite impressed. I pursued a doctorate in engineering, in aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering," shares Dr. Baraskar, who also has a postgraduate diploma in GIS and remote sensing laws from the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), in Hyderabad.

[caption id="attachment_35382" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Scientist | Dr Aditya Baraskar | Global Indian Dr. Baraskar with the Japanese Space Solar Power Society 2021[/caption]

Eventually, the scientist developed his idea further and started working on developing a technology for the same. "Currently, satellites implement a traditional method for power generation using the solar panel and radioisotope generator (RTG) with battery storage capacity. Such a system increases the weight, cost, and valuable space. And it can be lowered by 15-25 percent by introducing Energy Orbit (E-Orbit), the concept of laser power transmission to customer satellites in LEO with 1600 Energy satellites (E-Sat). E-Sat will also provide multiple services like energy transfer, orbit transfer, and de-orbiting to LEO-based satellites. Hence, customers will save much money after accessing services from E-Orbit and generate new economic value with space sustainability. The project has an entrepreneurial side to it, and just last year we participated in the Asia-Pacific round and won the Specialised Sponsor Award," says the scientist, who has spent nearly a decade working on this technology.

[caption id="attachment_35383" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Scientist | Dr Aditya Baraskar | Global Indian Dr Baraskar with Hayabusa 2, ISAS-JAXA Japan[/caption]

There's more as Dr. Baraskar is also looking to solve the space debris issues, which can destroy hundreds of millions of dollar's worth of satellites in space and disrupt life on Earth as well. "I am a part of the team which is testing the use of satellite-mounted lasers to remove space debris, and manoeuvre satellites to avoid any collisions and accidents. A satellite collision is bound to have grave consequences, and no country would want that. So, we are using a laser beam to nudge debris toward the atmosphere. The technology behind it, called laser ablation, is widely used in electronics and cosmetic surgery," shares the scientist as he signs off.

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