Global IndianstoryParag Agrawal: IIT-Bombay alum takes over as Twitter’s CEO after Jack Dorsey’s exit

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Parag Agrawal: IIT-Bombay alum takes over as Twitter’s CEO after Jack Dorsey’s exit

Written by: Global Indian

(November 30, 2021) For months now speculation has been rife that Twitter’s founder Jack Dorsey was to step down as CEO. The search was on for a suitable successor, and it finally ended on Monday when the company announced that its Indian-origin Chief Technical Officer Parag Agrawal will helm the social media giant as Chief Executive Officer. The news sent cheer across the subcontinent as one more US major appointed a person of Indian origin into a leadership role. Agrawal, at 37-years of age, is also one of the youngest Indian-origin executives in the US.

He joins the august club that includes Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, IBM’s Arvind Krishna, Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen, VMWare’s Raghu Raghuram, and Deloitte’s Puneet Renjen.

The news has been lauded by several industry leaders such as Elon Musk, Tesla and Patrick Collison, CEO, Stripe. While Collison tweeted, “Google, Microsoft, Adobe, IBM, Palo Alto Networks, and now Twitter run by CEOs who grew up in India. Wonderful to watch the amazing success of Indians in the technology world and a good reminder of the opportunity America offers to immigrants.” Musk replied saying, “USA benefits greatly from Indian talent!”

USA benefits greatly from Indian talent!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 29, 2021

Man of the hour

Parag Agrawal was born and raised in Mumbai, and is an alum of IIT-Bombay. His father was a senior official at the Indian Department of Atomic Energy and his mother, a school teacher. As a student, his brilliance was already noticeable when he bagged a gold medal at the 2001 International Physics Olympiad in Turkey. He schooled at Atomic Energy Central School, and graduated in computer science engineering from IIT Bombay in 2005. A PhD from Stanford University in computer science, his depth of experience working for majors like Microsoft, AT&T Labs and Yahoo! during his research avatar gave him an edge that he has since embellished.

Parag joined Twitter in 2011 as a distinguished software engineer, and gradually rose up the ranks of CTO in 2017. In fact, Parag was the company’s first distinguished engineer, and his work across revenue and consumer engineering, including his impact on the re-acceleration of audience growth in 2016 and 2017 added a notch to his resume. As CTO, he was responsible for Twitter’s technical strategy, leading work to improve development velocity while advancing the state of machine learning across the company, a company release stated.

What also worked in Parag’s favour was that he is well-liked across the company, including Dorsey. “He’s been my choice for some time given how deeply he understands the company and its needs. Parag has been behind every critical decision that helped turn this company around. He’s curious, probing, rational, creative, demanding, self-aware and humble,” Dorsey wrote in a message to Twitter.

not sure anyone has heard but,

I resigned from Twitter pic.twitter.com/G5tUkSSxkl

— jack⚡️ (@jack) November 29, 2021

Bolstered by arduous work and talent

According to a report published in Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Indian Americans form the second largest immigrant group in the US with population well past the 4 million mark. In fact, the Bay Area, where Parag now lives, is home to the second largest Indian American population in the US, after New York area.

The talent and innovation brought to the table by Indian Americans has been propelling several to leadership roles. Anand Mahindra, of the Mahindra Group too tweeted, “This is one pandemic that we are happy and proud to say originated in India. It’s the Indian CEO Virus… No vaccine against it.”

This is one pandemic that we are happy & proud to say originated in India. It’s the Indian CEO Virus… No vaccine against it. 😊 https://t.co/Dl28r7nu0u

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) November 29, 2021

The Indian formula to success

R Gopalakrishnan, management veteran, former Tata Sons honcho and author of The Made in India Manager concurs that Indians are primed for management and leadership roles. “This is a trend that is getting clearer by the day. At least 10 of the major companies in the US have persons of Indian origin helming them. The principal reason for this is the fact that Indian management executives are like gladiators. They’ve been training for management roles their entire lives without even being aware of it. They are extremely competitive and are unfazed by the constant hurdles that come their way,” says R Gopalakrishnan, adding how management is like a performing art, and with an Indian’s ability to adapt to any scenario. Their critical thinking skills using relationship orientation make them prime candidates for management roles.

Brand India for the win

As more Indians take on leadership roles across the globe, especially in the US, they are adding heft to Brand India and the pool of talent that the subcontinent offers.

Parag Agrawal with his undergrad research mentor Frederic Cazals

This move will help Twitter smoothen ties in India where it has been running into troubled waters. Industry veteran Tiger Ramesh, former CEO, CSS Corp, avers that this could also be an attempt to build a better relationship with India, and arrest the downward spiral. “Home grown Koo is gaining market share over Twitter as well. By making its CTO the CEO, Twitter will want to be able to defend and protect its platform and architecture from the growing demand from many countries for regulating it. Twitter has become very controversial around the world spurred by the arrogant attitude and image of Jack Dorsey. By making an Indian-born the CEO, it will be seen as a move to change this image. The world has seen Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, and many others build more credible images for their respective organisations worldwide, especially with India, which is the largest emerging market.”

Personally speaking

Destiny too had a role to play in Agrawal’s personal life. His wife Vineeta Agarwala also studied at Stanford University, and after a happy courtship, the couple was married at Amber Vilas in Jaipur in a colourful and jubilant traditional Indian wedding. Vineeta has a BS in biophysics from Stanford University, with an MD and PhD from Harvard Medical School/MIT. Vineeta is a physician, and works as adjunct clinical professor at Stanford School of Medicine. They have a son Aansh who was born on Thanksgiving. A love for travel, an eye for the perfect shot, and a profound belief in family, Parag often posts pictures of his travels and family on social media.

Parag Agrawal is the new CEO of Twitter.

As he takes on the mantle of CEO, Agrawal has a slew of tasks cut out. In his note to the company before inviting all employees for a hands-on meeting on November 29, Agrawal wrote, “Thank you, Jack. I’m honored and humbled… Our purpose has never been more important. Our people and our culture are unlike anything in the world. There is no limit to what we can do together. We recently updated our strategy to hit ambitious goals, and I believe that strategy to be bold and right. But our critical challenge is how we work to execute against it and that’s how we’ll make Twitter the best it can be for our customers, shareholders, and for each of you.”

The other Indian on Twitter

Incidentally, Twitter also has an Indian-origin lawyer Vijaya Gadde who was in the limelight earlier this year for helping suspend Donald Trump’s Twitter account. Gadde, a corporate lawyer, spearheaded the suspension of Trump’s account after his posts encouraged and supported rioters in the US.

With inputs from TEAM GLOBAL INDIAN

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Veena Nair: Indian-origin educator wins PM’s prize in Australia

(December 8, 2022) When Melbourne-based Veena Nair got a call from Australian Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic, she thought it was probably a scam. So much so that when she decided to call back thinking that he wanted to comment on one of her LinkedIn posts, she was taken by surprise when informed that she had won the 2022 Prime Minister's Prize for Science. Just to be assured, the Indian-origin mustered the courage to ask, "Are you sure?" And sure, she is. The head of technology at Melbourne's Viewbank College, Veena has been awarded for demonstrating the practical application of STEAM to students, and how they can use their skills to make a real impact in the world. "To be recognised in the Prime Minister's prizes for science, I am deeply humbled. I am very grateful to my school, to my colleagues, to my students, and my family," Nair said in a video message, adding, "Many people know about STEM — science, technology, engineering, and maths, but STEAM is with an A, which is for Art. Art brings out-of-the-box thinking, and it brings in creativity because students need STEAM skills to innovate, to become resilient, and to take

silient, and to take risks."

[caption id="attachment_32550" align="aligncenter" width="688"] Veena Nair has won the 2020 Prime Minister's Prize for Science.[/caption]

With 20 years of experience in teaching science-based subjects across India, UAE and now Australia, Nair is a leading educator in STEAM who "has endeavoured to develop student and staff capacity in new and emerging technologies like 3D printing and designing, wearable technologies, and social entrepreneurship based on UN SDG through the Young Persons Plan for the Planet (YPPP) program," says her LinkedIn profile.

In fact, in the last two decades, Veena has helped increase the number of students who receive first-round offers to study engineering and technology at university, especially young women from diverse backgrounds.

[caption id="attachment_32549" align="aligncenter" width="473"] Veena Nair Indian Origin Veena Nair is a Melboune-based science teacher.[/caption]

After finishing her BSc in Physics and B.Ed in Science and Mathematics from the University of Mumbai, Veena began her teaching career in Maximum City, where she provided computers to low socio-economic schools and taught students how to code. This love for teaching then took her to UAE, and later to Deakin University in Australia for her M.Ed in Maths.

Veena, who currently teaches Systems Engineering at Viewbank College, says that the gender gap in STEAM is challenging for her. "My classes are currently 70-30 in favour of males; my goal is to raise it to 50-50. I work to get the fear out of the female students. Give it a shot, I tell them,” she told Indian Link in an interview. Interestingly, it is 3D printing that she has been using to initiate girls in science, and she says by making science fun and enjoyable, she is making more young women opt for the subject. "Every industry uses 3D, I tell them; try it, it’s a skill you can use whatever workplace you find yourself in," the Global Indian added.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHUJC1mJAw4[/embed]

However, it's Superstars of STEM - a program - that's closer to her heart as it gives a platform to selected science personalities trained as ambassadors to regularly present on stage or in schools. "Representation matters and we have some wonderful role models from our community – Madhu Bhaskaran, Onisha Patel, Veena Sahajwalla. They are great inspirers towards science, for our girls especially,” said Nair who was awarded the Educator of The Year Award by the Design and Technology Teachers' Association of Australia. Nair also supports the Young Persons’ Plan for the Planet program, a STEM-based enterprise development program that allows students to engage with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as changemakers at a global level.

Nair believes teachers should "bridge the gap between curriculum and pedagogy" and encourage students to take up science by connecting with new technology. "Students are already tech-savvy, and if you don’t provide the new platforms, they won't engage," she added.

Follow Veena Nair on LinkedIn

Reading Time: 4 min

How racism and alienation fueled British Indian writer Sunjeev Sahota to scale literary heights

(July 28, 9:50 am) "I've got more interested in the form, the artistry, and wanting something new - not just in my writing, but also when I'm reading. I get very bored when I read novels that have nothing new in them. So, that's probably what drives me about what I write next. I try to reach beyond what's already illuminated, those darker kinds of places, through my writing." That's how Sunjeev Sahota, a longlisted author for the 2021 Booker Prize, describes the process of choosing stories for his books. In less than a decade, the Indian-origin British novelist has become a name to reckon with in the literary scene with just three books to his credit. For someone who started reading his first novel at the age of 18, and began writing one at 25, Sahota has impressed critics and book lovers with his poignant tales. His novellas are centered around the experiences of immigrants who struggle with a sense of belonging in their adopted homelands. https://twitter.com/CEOAnneFrankUK/status/1419552961945030658?s=20 His books weave in his Indian roots and resonate with a wide audience. With his second Booker Prize nomination for China Room, Sahota has yet again proved his mettle. Here's the inspiring

ker Prize nomination for China Room, Sahota has yet again proved his mettle. Here's the inspiring journey of this novelist.

The Asian in a white-dominated school

Sahota's grandparents emigrated to the UK from Punjab in 1966 and settled in the Normanton area of Derbyshire. It was here that Sahota was born 15 years later. Being brought up in a close-knit Sikh community, Sahota felt a sense of belonging among his people and his culture. But when he was 7, his father bought a convenience store in Chesterfield, and everything changed for a young Sahota. He went from being a part of an extended kinship network to being the only Asian in his secondary school. He became an easy target for racism.

In a conversation with the Guardian, he revealed,

"I remember in my first year when I was 11, there were a few fifth-years who seemed to target me. It only became physical once or twice, but there was lots of blocking in stairways. People don’t think of blocking as physical but it’s very invasive, and the worst thing is how much it makes you aware of yourself and your difference. Walking down the street, or into a room, you think, how are people going to react? What are they going to see first?"

Being away from his community and people, Sahota felt a sense of alienation and struggled to identify with white people.

It was an undergraduate course in mathematics that brought Sahota to Imperial College in London, which turned out to be an antidote to his lonely experience of growing up in Chesterfield.

https://twitter.com/ScurrRuth/status/1419928113862123521?s=20

Love affair with books

It was around the same time that Sahota's love affair with books and literature began. With three popular books to his credit, it's hard to believe that it wasn't until 18 that he started reading. It all began with his trip to India to meet his relatives in Punjab. At the airport, he picked up Salman Rushdie's Midnight Children which lured him into the world of literature.

"I don’t know how much I really understood on that first reading. But it did feel like a dam bursting. I felt quite overtaken by a sense of storytelling as a way of spending your life. And then I became a heavy, avid reader very quickly," he told BookPage.

This love for fiction fuelled Sahota's desire to write a novel. "I knew I wanted to write a big book partly because I wanted to do homage to the books that made me fall in love with reading, those big, immersive novels that I first got myself lost in," he added.

Sunjeev Sahota's book has been shortlisted for the 2021 Man Booker Prize

7/7 bombings and his debut book

Though Sahota had a deep desire to pen a book, he chose the insurance industry for his day job. For many years, he worked in the marketing department of insurance major Aviva. However, it was the 7/7 tube bombings in London 16 years ago that crystalized the concept for his debut book, Ours Are The Streets. The novella was a poignant and powerful story of Muslim radicalization with a British Muslim bomber at its center. Sahota found common ground between his feelings of alienation and that of the suicide bombers.

"There was an idea of belonging that seemed to connect with what I was feeling in my late teens – not that I would ever have gone down that route. But given a certain time and place, and given who you think your people are and what might be happening in the geopolitical sphere, a set of circumstances could trigger that sense of not feeling connected to the country. The biggest factor is not feeling English inside."

He wrote the book over a period of three years at his parents' home over weekends and evenings while keeping his day job. "Being brought up in the British Sikh community where shame and honor play such a big role and you don't air your dirty laundry, I felt I was exposing a lot, which is probably why I wanted to write it quite privately."

Released in 2011, Ours Are The Streets received a warm reception. So much so that poet and critic John Burnside called it a "moral work of real intelligence and power." Two years later, the author saw himself on Granta's Best of Young British Novelists list.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GehBAZu9RmY

The journey to Man Booker Prize nomination

It was in 2015 that Sahota's second book The Year of the Runaways hit the stalls. Based on the experience of illegal immigrants in Britain, the novel soon caught the fancy of many. Such was its effect that it earned Sahota his first nomination for the 2015 Man Booker Prize (now called The Booker Prize).

Sahota's novels have been a mirror to his ideology, emotions, and feelings that formed over the years in the UK.

"I'm a child of immigrants so inevitably that informs how I look at the world. I'm also from working-class stock, so class, too, is always somewhere in my mind. Those two things — the immigrant and the working class — are in all my novels to date because they're the two 'identities' that have most impacted my life and my life chances. Of the two, I'd argue that class has had a bigger effect on my life than race or my immigration status," he told the Indian Express.

While his first two books came at an interval of four years, his third novella, China Room, took five years to see the light of day. Taking inspiration from family folklore about his great grandmother, Sahota set China Room in the 1920s Punjab. The book revolves around Meher and her grandson - who are separated by time and space - but their stories are interconnected.

"I never felt I needed to draw stories out of people. I think because I am so interested, and such a lover of India, and because I speak the language idiomatically, there’s a way in," he told The Guardian.

Within two months of his release, Sahota's China Room has been longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize for its "brilliant twist" on the immigrant experience.

"All my novels to date feature protagonists yearning for freedom and connection, for a sense of self-worth and a place to belong, and no doubt this draws on my own vexed connection with the land of my birth," he wrote in a column for Literary Hub.

Editor's Take

Immigrants never have it easy in any country - they feel the conflict of being sandwiched between different cultures at home and at school/work. Booker Prize-longlisted author Sunjeev Sahota hits the head on the nail when he talks about the feeling of "not feeling English inside" as a teenager. A second-generation immigrant of Sikh parentage, the 40-year-old has been a voice of the immigrant working class in the UK through his three distinguished books. With each of his novella, he peels a layer that gives an insight into the world of immigrants. We wish him the very best for The Booker Prize countdown.

Reading Time: 6 mins

Mississippi Masala to The Green Knight: How Sarita Choudhury wowed the West

(September 18, 2021) Mira Nair launched a new girl, one who worked with the great Italian director Federico Fellini, opposite Denzel Washington in the 1991 romantic drama Mississippi Masala. But little did this girl know that she would soon be going to wow the entertainment industry with her sheer talent. When Sarita Choudhury erupted on the big screen with her debut film, critics across the globe couldn't stop raving about this new talent. And now three decades later, the 55-year-old is still making the right noise with her choice of work. It was in college that Choudhury fell in love with acting, and knew that this was the course to be followed. While the journey wasn't all sunshine and rainbow for her, she kept delivering her best. Here's the story of this Global Indian who wowed the West with her stunning performances. College resurrected the dream of acting Born in London to an Indian father and an English mother, Choudhury was raised in Jamaica, Mexico and Italy as her dad was a scientist and had a moving job. Living her initial life literally out of the suitcase, Choudhary made a stop over in Canada for a while to complete her

ry was raised in Jamaica, Mexico and Italy as her dad was a scientist and had a moving job. Living her initial life literally out of the suitcase, Choudhary made a stop over in Canada for a while to complete her graduation in economics from Queen's University in Ontario. When Choudhury arrived on the campus in the fall of 1986, she had plans of becoming an economist. But Queen's helped her live her childhood dream of being an actress. It was here that she became interested in film studies and began experimenting with acting by making appearances in the films made her by her classmates. This exposure was enough for Choudhury to feverishly pursue a career in acting, and it was one of her professors at Queen's who played the perfect catalyst in bringing her closer to her dream.

"Prof. Frank Burke from Film Studies had written a book about Federico Fellini, the great Italian film director, and he gave me a letter of introduction. When I told my mother this, she said, 'Well, let’s get in the car and go see him.’ I thought she was crazy, but away we went. The address Frank Burke had given me was at Cinecittà Studios, in Rome. When I knocked on Fellini’s door, not only did he see me, he gave me a job translating scripts," she told Queen's Alumni Review.

The big break with Mira Nair

This opened up a sea of opportunities for a young Choudhury who made connections in the industry that led her to auditioning for film roles. One such audition helped her land her first big role in Mira Nair's Mississippi Masala alongside Denzel Washington. The film on interracial romance between a South African American man and an Indian woman became an art house hit and got Choudhury some rave reviews for her performance. Despite a grand start, Choudhury didn't find the landing she was looking for in Hollywood. So the 55-year-old focused on finding diversity through her work across theatre, television and films.

[caption id="attachment_10660" align="aligncenter" width="495"] Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury in a still from Mississippi Masala.[/caption]

If she played a Pakistani singer in Wild West (1992), she essayed the role of a Chilean maid in Bille August's adaptation of The House of the Spirits. After five years, Nair once again collaborated with Choudhury for Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love. The film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Seashell award at the 1996 San Sebastián International Film Festival. It was by the late 90s that Choudhury added a touch of Hollywood to her repertoire with films like A Perfect Murder (1998) and Gloria (1999). Simultaneously, Choudhury found interesting scripts on the small screen. Be it NBC drama Kings or Homicide: Life on the Street, the actress pulled off each character with elan.

Diversity in Hollywood

Choudhury kept going strong at a time when diversity was something that Hollywood completely ignored. It was her faith in herself and her hard work that worked in her stride. "How the business perceives us is something I’ve never concerned myself with. I just try to beat the odds of rejection by preparing a lot for auditions, and hopefully changing someone's mind. Minds and the gate keepers have to change. It's an exciting time, it’s still slow, but we're all part of this change," she told Hindustan Times in an interview.

[caption id="attachment_10662" align="aligncenter" width="502"] Sarita Choudhury as Mira and Mandy Patinkin as Saul Berenson in Homeland.[/caption]

This same grit got her roles in films like Lady in the Water, Midnight's Children, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay and The Last Photograph. But it's her film A Hologram for the King with Tom Hanks that she is most proud of. "It took me to another level," she told Mint Lounge.

Choudhury, who paved the way for many South Asians in Hollywood, is truly a global icon. She has worked with the best talent in the industry and has some very powerful roles to her credit. But for her, being a global actor has never been her intention. In an interview with WION, she said, "As actors we don’t really have any intent to be perceived globally in a certain way. But if that is the result of following your dream no matter what the obstacles that is amazing. My dad had seen Satyajit Ray’s films in India when he was young, my mum had seen the same films in England, I saw them in Canada when I was at university. That's global! And (that) makes me proud."

Despite two decades of good work to her credit, Choudhury is unstoppable in her 50s. After making heads turn with her performance in fantasy film The Green Knight, the actress has now grabbed a plum role in Sex and the City reboot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcOHajVcl44

Indian at heart

Choudhury is a popular actress in the West but her heart is still in India. " I feel like if I don’t go to India once a year, I lose my sense of roots. I have an Indian father, and when you grow up in a house with an Indian father, culturally that’s what becomes dominant in the house. So that’s the tradition we grew up with. And it’s not a coincidence that my dad retired and moved back home to Calcutta. So, no matter which country my brother and I grew up in, we would come home to my father. And that stayed with me, that’s my heart," she told Times of India.

Choudhury is one of those rare South Asian actresses who made a mark in the West at a time when diversity wasn't the focus point of Hollywood. However, with her determination and grit, she kept breaking the stereotypes and wowing the global audience with her stellar performances.

Reading Time: 6 min

Ann D’Silva: The Indian writer who chased her dreams to Istanbul

Dreams are a gateway to the subconscious. The invisible doors to awakening in the path of spiritual growth and transformation. The language of the Universe that speaks to the soul. But it's only a few who dare to follow their dreams. And one such person is Indian-Turkish author Ann D'Silva. It was her dream that took her on a journey to Istanbul and led her to becoming a best-selling author. In an exclusive interview with Global Indian, D'Silva said, "The Universe is always speaking to us. It's about understanding the messages and following them. If I had not listened to myself, my true dream and personal journey would not have happened. Moving to Turkey was the most courageous, riskiest, and rewarding thing I have done. Beyond fear is where the magic lies." Love for writing Born and raised in Delhi, D'Silva forged a loving relationship with words at a tender age. At 8, she started writing poetry, and her inspiration came from her grandparents and their love story. "My grandfather was a journalist with the Reuters and my grandmom was from JJ School of Art, so creativity runs in our family. Their romance was always an inspiration," added the author.

nalist with the Reuters and my grandmom was from JJ School of Art, so creativity runs in our family. Their romance was always an inspiration," added the author.

[caption id="attachment_5105" align="aligncenter" width="336"] Ann D'Silva is an Indian writer based in Turkey Ann D'Silva's grandparents[/caption]

Intrigued by classics like Odyssey and Jane Austen’s works, D'Silva studied Literature at Hindu College. But in the last quarter of her third year, her family moved to Mumbai after her father suddenly fell ill. Mumbai became D'Silva's home for almost two decades. After completing her studies, she ventured into the corporate world where she worked in the telecom, travel, and banking sectors.

The perspective shift

It was in 2014 that things started to change for D'Silva who was then heading the global alliances team at the Sahara Group. "I was at the zenith of my career when the scandal broke. It was a turning point in my life because I kept asking myself 'is there a message for me?' I realized that it was time to make a switch and do something that I was passionate about. I was always interested in poetry, spirituality, chakras, and past-life regression. That's when I decided to write my first book," she said.

The Global Indian journey

It wasn't until her maiden trip to Turkey that she started working on her first book, Sand & Sea: Footprints in the Sand. "I used to have these intriguing recurrent dreams about Turkey. I always thought Turkey was my place. I didn't speak the language, I didn't know anybody. But the place always drew me. In 2017, when I stepped inside the Blue Mosque for the first time, I knew I belonged there. So, in 2019, I moved to Istanbul," revealed the Indian-Turkish author.

"By the time, I returned from Turkey, I had all the characters, elements, and places sketched in my mind," added D'Silva. Released in January 2019, Sand & Sea: Footprints in the Sand became a best-selling book in no time and is now being translated into Turkish. The book about soulmates and Nature's connection to love is one of hope and courage.

[caption id="attachment_5095" align="aligncenter" width="289"] Ann D'Silva's book Sand and Sea Ann D'Silva's book cover[/caption]

After the success of her debut book in the Sand & Sea trilogy, D'Silva released her second book Sand & Sea: Child of Two Worlds in April this year. She revealed that she is planning to finish the third book soon as a Bollywood production house is interested in making a screen adaptation of her books.

In no time, this Global Indian has become a popular name in literary circles. The author likes to call herself an "exposed" Indian who got a chance to experience the world. "I feel I am a modern Indian who was born in the 70s, grew up in the MTV era of the 80s where there was a dialogue around women’s identity and emancipation," she added.

Despite having relocated to Turkey, D'Silva feels very much Indian. "I am an Indian woman in a sari. I am very close to my roots because my country made me who I am. I am global spiritually and mentally. I believe in an inclusive culture and forging new relationships with people with the right energy."

The winds of change

[caption id="attachment_5100" align="aligncenter" width="514"] Ann D'Silva is an Indian writer based in Turkey Ann D'Silva in Istanbul[/caption]

A spiritual being, D'Silva believes that change is the only constant. And it’s the embracing of change that has brought her to her current life. "When I used to do training on leadership, I used to often say that you cannot expect different results doing the same things. The realm shifts when you decide to embrace the change."

Born as a catholic, D'Silva converted to Islam about four years ago. "I am spiritually connected with Allah."

Giving back

D'Silva is also a humanitarian and someone who is fiercely driven about social responsibility. Apart from being a global goodwill ambassador and a board member of Asian African Chambers of Commerce and Industry, she was the co-founder of the India Heart Initiative.

Created with respect for the embroidery and textile traditions in India, the initiative helped artisans get their due. "We used 25% of the profits to educate women on health and to provide them computer literacy. I have plans of reviving the initiative and I am already in talks with a Turkish investor for the same."

Editor's Take

Just flipping through the pages of a book, one can be easily transported to a different country, its culture, its nuances, and stories. Books often open up portals to another dimension, to a higher level of consciousness and awareness, and that's exactly what the best-selling author Ann D'Silva has done with her Sand & Sea trilogy. Through her inked words, she is inspiring millions of people to follow their dreams and to trust their instincts.

Reading Time: 5 mins

Tollywood to Hollywood: Meet Avantika Vandanapu, the first South Asian to lead a Disney channel film

(August 28, 2021) Who could have possibly thought that in between the perfectly whitewashed Disney channel films like High School Musical, Camp Rock and Descendants, one would find Spin? But it's 2021, and Hollywood seems to finally be warming up to South Asian representation on the big screen in its most authentic form. And amid this is the first South Asian lead for a Disney Channel film - Avantika Vandanapu. The Indian-American, who began her career in Tollywood, is now making heads turn with her Hollywood debut. Such has been the response to her act in Spin that she has found herself on Variety's 2021 Power of Young Hollywood List. Here's the story of the girl who gave the world it's first South Asian lead in a Disney film. View this post on Instagram A post shared by avantika (@iamavantika) Dancing dream that took her to Mumbai Born in San Francisco to an accountant mother and a software engineer father, Vandanapu was trained in Kuchipudi, Kathak, Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary and Bollywood since the age of 5. It was dance that really made Vandanapu feel at home. Such was the passion for dancing that a 9-year-old Vandanapu applied for

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Dancing dream that took her to Mumbai

Born in San Francisco to an accountant mother and a software engineer father, Vandanapu was trained in Kuchipudi, Kathak, Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary and Bollywood since the age of 5. It was dance that really made Vandanapu feel at home. Such was the passion for dancing that a 9-year-old Vandanapu applied for Zee TV dance reality show Dance India Dance Lil Masters and came to Mumbai after her selection. The adventure of having a first-hand experience of the world of Hindi TV and film in Mumbai, Vandanapu fell in love with the industry. It was then she made up her mind that she would pursue acting as a profession.

Her wish was granted when a Telugu director saw her on the show and cast her in a film. It was with Mahesh Babu's 2016 film Brahmotsavam that Vandanapu made her Tollywood debut as a child artist. She instantly shot to fame and ended up working in Manamantha, Premam, Balakrishnudu and Agnyathavaasi.

Bullied for skin tone

After trying her hands in acting in India, Vandanapu wanted to up her game and improve her craft. This drive to better her art brought her back to the US where she trained intensively in acting and dancing. From taking drama classes at school to going for open-call auditions, Vandanapu was ready to make it big in Hollywood.

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But things weren't easy for this teenager as she found herself being mocked at for her skin tone.

In a conversation with Mid-Day, she opened up on facing racism in America. She said,

"I have dealt with the occasional comments like, 'Go back to your country!' But I know people in the mid-west have it worse. It’s also that lingering feeling of being left out, and that you don’t have the same opportunities as others because of your skin colour. The Caucasian community assumes that as an Indian, you don't relate to the American experience."

However, Vandanapu wasn't ready to bow down to racial discrimination, and kept following her passion. The first opportunity that came knocking on her door was Disney Channel's Spin in 2017, which turned out to be Vandanapu's first audition for a Hollywood film. However, the makers wanted to work a little more on the script and develop the characters fully before starting the project. So for three years Spin was put on hold. But in between, Vandanapu's auditions got her a role in Mira, Royal Detective, an Indian-American-Canadian animated mystery series and an American comedy-drama series Diary of A Future President.

Smashing stereotypes with her Hollywood debut

In 2020, Vandanapu found herself yet again at the audition of Spin, Disney's first film with a South-Asian lead. For the longest time, Disney films have been whitewashed but with South Asian representation trickling on the big screen in a big way, Spin came with an authentic take on Indian American experience.

The 16-year-old has scripted history by becoming the first South Asian lead for a Disney Channel film. But it's still surreal for her because Vandanapu. "What teenager does not dream of being on Disney channel? I have always thought about it. But it was tough for me as a young Indian girl to think one day I would be on that screen. But as we see representation coming to Hollywood, it was like, 'Oh may be this is something I could finally get to do’. And then Spin was here, and it was just so unreal. It was a crazy experience, and I have to constantly pinch myself to be able to live out my dream like this," she told PinkVilla.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCGzsmO03xw

Spin has smashed the glass ceiling in more than one way. The Manjari Makijany-directed film has not just given Disney a South Asian lead but the film also shattered the age-old stereotypes that plague the Indian diaspora. "We have lacked representation for so long. With Never Have I Ever and Spin, I am glad we can see ourselves on screen. It’s so hard being an Indian in the US; to see people going through similar struggles like ours can be empowering," she added.

Vandanapu has become an overnight star in America and India. The Indian American has not only caught the fancy of the people across the globe with her role in Spin, but she has also featured on Variety's 2021 Power of Young Hollywood List.

After making her Hollywood debut with Spin, Vandanapu has now signed her second flick Senior Year that's produced by Rebel Wilson, Todd Garner and Chris Bender.

At 16, Vandanapu has become a global name, thanks to Spin. The girl, who fell in love with acting in India many years ago, has put South Asians on the global stage. Her story is an inspiration for any teenager who plans to make it big.

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