Global Indianstory Global Indian ExclusiveIndian-origin Omishka Hirachund is bridging healthcare divides in South Africa

Indian-origin Omishka Hirachund is bridging healthcare divides in South Africa

Written by: Amrita Priya

(February 10, 2024) When Omishka Hirachund was a child, her grandmother suffered a hemorrhagic stroke and was admitted to the ICU. At that tender age, she was extremely frightened to enter the ICU, and her heart shattered when her grandmother passed away. “But it sparked a passion in me to become a doctor and make a difference in patients’ lives,” Omishka shared.

Omishka, who is of Indian descent and living in Africa, went on to study medicine, viewing it not just as a career but as a means to serve society. Having completed her MBBCH at the University of Witwatersrand in 2019 and her Masters in Medical Sciences at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal in 2023, she has been serving as the medical officer, internal medicine in the Department of Health, South Africa. She has also now aligned herself as a volunteer doctor with the #keready project – an initiative of DGMT, a South African foundation that uses mobile units to provide free health services in underdeveloped, rural communities of South Africa to promote primary healthcare.

Indian origin | Omishka Hirachund | Global Indian

Dr Omishka Hirachund

For her selfless service for the #keready project and other voluntary initiatives to promote healthcare and wellbeing, Omishka Hirachund was named in the annual Mail and Guardian’s ‘200 Young South Africans’ list of 2023. She was one of the 18 Indian origin changemakers to be named in the list.

The #keready initiative

The #keready mobile clinic project has been made possible through a grant from the Department of Health of the Federal Republic of Germany that DGMT received. The project is making healthcare accessible, affordable, and relatable. With her goal of making South Africa a safer place, especially for children and women, Omishka has played a vital role in the movement.

The #keready is being carried forward in association with the provincial departments of health in the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and Western Cape areas of South Africa. Durban based Omishka provides voluntary services in the eThekwini and the Umgungundlovu districts.

With the help of young doctors and nurses #keready is not just focussed in providing free healthcare but also uses social media channels, and podcasts to help people find the right health information. Since social media and podcasts are platforms that attract more young people, this demographic segment is receiving healthcare tips and advice, which they tend to overlook.

#keready mobile clinic

Passionate about making South Africa better

“I would like the healthcare system to support primary healthcare initiatives and ensure equitable access to healthcare for all,” remarked Omishka after being named in the ‘200 Young South Africans’ list. Minimisation of discrimination against people living with HIV, more accessible and acceptable obstetric healthcare to pregnant women, and menstrual hygiene are some of the issues that she deeply cares about.

“The gender-based violence rates and the repercussions of the violence on our society and healthcare systems are devastating. I would like South Africans to remember who they are and what we fought so hard for — equality,” says Omishka who has started the anti-substance abuse project in the Wentworth area for teenagers, in coordination with Dr Daniel Kocks and the Department of Social Development, Government of South Africa.

The young doctor serves as a volunteer Subject Matter Expert on a medical talk show aired by Megazone Radio, aiming to educate people about common diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and depression. Additionally, she contributes articles on healthcare to scholarly journals.

Volunteering – a passion

Since her school days, Omishka has had a passion for volunteering. She actively participated in feeding schemes and donation campaigns organised by the Seva Bhakti Foundation in Durban and neighbouring areas. Additionally, she contributed to regular feeding and baking initiatives at the social service organisation, Aryan Benevolent Homes. Her involvement as a volunteer with St. Thomas Children’s Centre in Durban dates back to her growing up years. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the then medical student had dedicated herself to assisting people in various ways. “I was part of the mask drive organised by the department of paediatrics, King Edward Hospital, Durban,” she shared. The youngster was also part of the sanitary pad drive by Kerr House Women’s Hospice in 2021.

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A post shared by Keready SA (@kereadysa)

Driven by her life’s mission to empower disadvantaged women, Omishka has been providing donations, assistance, lectures and educational counselling workshops at the Open Door Crisis Centre supporting abused women and children. She is also a member of the Umhlanga Women’s Association which works for food relief in destitute areas.

Life beyond healthcare and future plans

Born and brought up in Durban, Omishka was a very dedicated student right from her school days. She was selected as the head girl of her school and vice house captain of the school house, and had passed the International Benchmark Tests with distinction in Mathematics, Science and English.

Although she is armed with a bachelors and master’s degree in medicine along with diploma in primary emergency care and diploma in HIV Management Omishka’s educational goals are far from over. She aspires to specialise in cardiology or endocrinology.

Beyond the world of healthcare Omishka’s passions include travel, running and reading.

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Shamini hariparsad

February 19, 2024 8:17 pm

Congralutions Dr Omishaka well done.mayygod give u the strength to continue your wonderful service to the community

Published on 10, Feb 2024

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Hardit Singh’s AI route to healthcare for all

(January 28, 2023) The fundus camera, an instrument used in opthalmology for to capture colour images of the inner surface of the eye, can set one back by anywhere between INR 1.5 lakh and INR 5.25 lakh. In low-income countries, the prohibitive cost of devices used in diagnostic and rehabilitative care makes access a challenge. According to the World Vision Report, prepared by WHO, over 2.2 billion people worldwide are visually impaired and nearly half that number live with treatable or preventable conditions because they cannot get the care they need. The second-leading cause of blindness is glaucoma, with an estimated 57.5 million people around the world affected by primary open-angle glaucoma. In 2020, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, this number rose to 76 million. Among those tackling the problem head-on is Ontario teen Hardit Singh whose innovation is a step towards better healthcare for all. Speculor: A Comprehensive Teleopthalmology Platform for People Centered Eyecare fetched seventeen-year-old Hardit the top prize at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in 2021. Using a portable imager and AI algorithms to screen for disease, Speculor, which has been field-tested in India, can detect glaucoma for the very-affordable sum of $300. The Global

the Canada-Wide Science Fair in 2021. Using a portable imager and AI algorithms to screen for disease, Speculor, which has been field-tested in India, can detect glaucoma for the very-affordable sum of $300. The Global Indian, who also won second place at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists, intends for the device to be used by international NGOs working to bring equality in eyecare.

[caption id="attachment_26981" align="aligncenter" width="488"] Source: World Vision Report[/caption]

The vision

Born and raised in Waterloo, the idea took root around three years ago, when a friend from the Cameron Heights Collegiate in Kitchener, where Hardik studied, suffered from retinal detachment, where the retina begins to peel off the eye. "He went to three different opthalmologists and experts and was misdiagnosed all three times for different reasons. He went almost blind because of it," Hardit said in an interview for the Canada-Wide Science Fair. Luckily, doctors managed to detect it before the damage became irreversible. It made Hardit wonder - if such misdiagnoses can happen in a place like Waterloo, what could conditions possibly be in rural or low-income areas, where there is little proximity to healthcare facilities?

By this time, the then 13-year-old Hardit was already building classification algorithms and had a basic understanding of AI from previous projects. He hit the books, learning from YouTube, books and just "trying things out, playing around until it works. That works for hardware, you tinker until you understand what happens. It's the same with optics. I learned until I had enough to build what I wanted."

He began cold-emailing professors, eventually hearing back from the University of Waterloo's Department of Optometry. Hardit began working with a group of grad students, going to them with questions or when he was struggling. The hardware had to be built, the software coded and the two integrated. He worked in the lab, testing the device on a model eye in controlled conditions.

[caption id="attachment_26982" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Hardit Singh[/caption]

Challenges and stepping stones

Speculor worked smoothly in the lab and Hardit decided to roll out his prototype. When he tested it on the field, however, "everything failed," he admits. He had made one fundamental mistake - he hadn't geared the device for less than optimal conditions. "I had designed the prototype to work in perfect condtions but in poor lighting, when the patient is moving around, the device wsn't working at all. The AI had the same problem." The AI sensor was used to very high-quality images, taken by devices, Hardit says, that cost USD 25,000 and up. "My device can't produce such images and it was throwing the AI off."

"I was frustrated. I had put in so much effort and the device didn't work at all. But my mind was already working on how to fix it." With the hardware, his moment of revelation came through integrating cross-polarisation, a technique used in more expensive fundus cameras but rarely in more affordable devices. "It worked really well to ensure there was no glare on the fundus images," he said. He tried a number of solutions with the AI, but nothing worked, until he developed his own training method. The AI was trained to study low quality images, account for poor lighting and movement and detect anomalies under these parameters.

Hardit Singh sent the device for testing once more, this time to an opthalmologist in India. The feedback was far more promising. "The second time, the images turned out really good. It was amazing because I still wasn't expecting it to work, I only had acess to a model eye. This was a Hail mary move for me, sending a protype to India blindly without a test."

[caption id="attachment_26983" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Source: The Record[/caption]

Always a work-in-progress

Hardit's eventual goal is to commercialise the device, pricing it within reach of international NGOs and organisations, to improve healthcare in rural and underserved areas around the world. The cost is currently dominated by the lens, which is about $250. He is also working to improve the design, after a judge from the CWSF remarked that it was "too boxy."

Hardit Singh also wants to expand the scope of his device, which is now mainly used in glaucoma detetion. "I can reapply the same model over different diseases by changing the paramters," he says. He also wants to make it easy to understand, to aid doctors as they make a diagnosis.

Hardit has also published a paper on AI in the Journal of the Optical Society of India. His other interests include computer science, AI, optics, medicine and sports.

Reading Time: 5 mins

The cool girl: Musician Kayan is taking the indie world by storm

(March 3, 2024) Growing up in Mumbai in a family deeply rooted in the arts, musician Ambika Nayak aka Kayan, frequented theaters for plays and concerts, immersing herself in the world of creativity. Her mother, a Hindustani classical vocalist, her grandmother, a classical dancer, and her aunt, a writer, all contributed to the artistic milieu. Trained in Carnatic music, kathak dance, and piano, she often accompanied her mother to concerts and art shows. It seemed almost fated that she would eventually embrace one of these art forms as her professional calling. The Mumbai-based 25-year-old musician is a multi-talented singer, producer-DJ, model, actor, and voiceover artist. From making YouTube covers in her bedroom to collaborating with producers around the world, Kayan has come a long way, commanding over 70,000 listeners on Spotify monthly. In fact, Kayan was one of two Indian artists among the 30 picked from various genres across the world in 2022. "It was a great feeling, because so many artists that I listen to, like Dua Lipa, have been a part of this programme,” shared the musician in an interview. A musical prodigy Influenced by her mother and grandmother, Kayan started training in classical dance and Carnatic music

ng, because so many artists that I listen to, like Dua Lipa, have been a part of this programme,” shared the musician in an interview.

A musical prodigy

Influenced by her mother and grandmother, Kayan started training in classical dance and Carnatic music quite early. So intense were these training, that Kayan still remembers each day of her classes. "First, I started learning Bharatanatyam, and my mom suggested I take up Carnatic classical music as well. Initially, I didn’t like my singing classes, but in retrospect, I’m glad that kind of classical training happened. It has left an impact on all the other forms of music I’ve learnt," recalled the musician, adding, "My classical training really helps with my voice. I will never forget what my teachers taught me when I was learning classical. The training is super rigorous. I wouldn’t say there is a direct influence in terms of sound, but in the sense of discipline, it has had a big impact."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3MNGONaFfA

While she loved classical music, it wasn't the only type of music Kayan was interested in. The musician grew up listening to a lot of punk and pop music. "As I grew up, I got introduced to a lot, a whole new world of electronic music," she shared, adding, "Now, I listen to ranges from like really wild electronic music, like a lot of hard-based music, electro ghetto tech, house music too. All of these somehow have had their own impact on the way I write my music," she adds.

However, it wasn't until 2016 that she decided to step into the professional music scene. Her foray began with a performance at a party in Mumbai in 2017, which proved to be a turning point for her. And it was around this time that the musician chose to pick a stage name for her. Sharing how she chose the name 'Kayan', she said, "When I joined Instagram, which is now a really long time ago, my name Ambika Nayak was taken on the platform. So, I created an account with my last name backward. Eventually, I cut it to kayan.a And then I released my first song as kayan.a, and then we dropped the '.a' and now it’s Kayan, which makes a lot of sense."

ALSO READ | Vibha Janakiraman: The violinist who enchanted the White House

Climbing the ladder

A big moment in Kayan's career was when she played at the famous Nariyal Paani festival in Alibaug. With her band, she showcased her musical skills and really impressed the audience. This performance not only made her well-known in India but also helped her become known worldwide - motivating the youngster to join the True School of Music. "I ended up meeting like-minded people there," shared the musician, adding, "For the first time, I was in a space where I enjoyed studying and learning, was introduced to new music, and was going out for shows and meeting new people." Eventually, the Global Indian was deejaying and playing live in a band called Kimochi Youkai, with five other band members. By the end of 2021, the musician had gained recognition as one of the top-streamed independent female artists on Spotify.

[caption id="attachment_36322" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Kayan with singer-songwriter Jay Sean[/caption]

Kayan has released five singles as yet - Cool Kids, Please, Be Alright, DFWM, and the singer recently collaborated with Singapore-based rapper Yung Raja for another single No Shade. She is working on more international collaborations. "Yung Raja is a gem of a person, and No Shade was the perfect song to have him on," shared the musician, while talking about their collab, adding, "It was so much fun working with him; I’m proud of what we made together."

ALSO READ | Indian American musician SANJ blends classical Carnatic with R&B

The musician creates catchy performances and brings a stylish and attractive look to her work as a model and visual artist. She has collaborated with some of India's top talents, like the former Elle superstylist Divya Gursahani, who designed one of the most unique looks for Kayan's live set at the Weekender. "I do love fashion a lot, it’s ultimately a way in which I express myself, and it makes me feel really good,” Kayan expressed, adding, "Divya came along, and she has absolutely been a gem. We worked so much together — one cool thing about working in music is being able to do music videos and photoshoots, which allowed me to experiment so much with fashion, it’s such a big part of it. Divya has really helped me understand, see, and experience that. Even for my live performances, at the NH7 Weekender, for example, there was a lot of thought and effort that went into the outfit. There was a whole narrative there, it was custom-made for me. Even now, for the upcoming live tour, we’re looking at custom outfits and designs. To me, all of this helps tell a story.”

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A post shared by Ambika Nayak (@kayan.a)

Talking about her future projects, the musician shared, "I have a couple of unreleased songs, collaborations with some of my favourite artists, and another one with my friend OAFF. Right now, I enjoy being independent, it’s far easier to release music; I have a solid team with great marketing resources, and in the future, I am open to working with a label I can align myself with."

Follow Ambika Nayak on Instagram and LinkedIn

Reading Time: 5 mins

Simply magical: Actress Manali Datar is making waves in the theatre world

(August 24, 2022) There was a huge uproar when it was first announced that the role of Hermione Granger and Rose Granger-Weasley will be played by a person of colour in the theatrical production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Having seen Emma Watson play the part in the movies, some fans were even disappointed with the production house's decision. However, while other actresses might have been nervous about playing this part, Indian-Australian actress Manali Datar carried the role of Rose Granger-Weasley with a lot of grace and spunk. And more importantly, she was able to win over the audiences who absolutely loved her right from when the play premiered at Melbourne's Princess Theatre, in 2019. "The discussions around a person of colour playing these parts in Harry Potter did bother me initially, but I had the support of the cast and crew on board. After the show premiered, the audience saw my work and really appreciated me. Their love meant way more than any backlash there might have been," shares the Melbourne-based actress, who found out that she got the role just one day before her 20th birthday. [caption id="attachment_21197" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Manali Datar as Rose Granger-Weasley. Source:

irthday.

[caption id="attachment_21197" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Manali Datar as Rose Granger-Weasley. Source: Twitter[/caption]

The Nashik-born actress is now gearing up to play Edna in the smash-hit musical sensation Fangirl at the Sydney Opera House. "It's surreal. As an actor, I dreamt about getting to perform at the Opera house and now it is happening. I am still soaking in that I am going to perform at the venue," Manali shares, as she connects with Global Indian.

A born actress

Like most people, Manali's parents moved to Australia in search for a better future for their kids. Growing up in various parts of the "Land Down Under", Manali loved to take part in skits and sing at school. In fact, the actress was just six years old when she played the title role in her school’s production of Alice in Wonderland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma00mi3PFug

"My parents recognised that I loved being on stage and encouraged me a lot. I was always dancing, singing, and copying accents and dialogue off TV shows and movies. I never considered a career outside of the arts. So, after I finished school, I joined the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) to pursue a course in fine arts," shares the actress, who is also gifted with a beautiful voice.

The world's a stage

After a successful run in the United Kingdom and the United States, when the Wizarding World decided to bring Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to Australia in 2017, Manali was in the last year of her bachelor's and decided to audition for the role of Rose Granger-Weasley after much encouragement from her teachers. "They required an actress of colour, who was not too tall. I fit well in the character's description," she shares.

[caption id="attachment_21198" align="aligncenter" width="702"] A still from the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Source: Twitter[/caption]

However, it wasn’t a cake walk for the actress as it took her almost a year to finally make it to the audience. "I went in for the first round of audition and was called in four times to read scenes for Rose. The whole process of getting the job was about six to seven months. I was so thrilled when they told me that I got the part," the actress recalls, adding that the prep work took another six months before the cast was fully ready to hit the stage.

Though her nervousness was palpable in the beginning, the jitters faded away after seeing the audience’s reaction. “It was a difficult job. We did a show daily and I had no time left for myself on most days. However, getting to meet the audience after the show was the biggest stress buster for me. I have received so many gifts and handwritten letters from the fans. Interestingly, there were a couple of Indian girls in the audience and they came to tell me how much they liked my performance. These incidents are very rewarding," she adds.

Calling the production of Harry Potter, a "steep learning curve", she reveals that it not only helped her improve her acting chops but also gave a sneak-peek into the theatre industry from the set. In 2022, Manali played the title role in the super successful White Pearl by Sydney Theatre Company, which was a comedy play about a skin bleaching ad gone wrong. "I played the part of Priya Singh. The production helped me strengthen my relationship with India and realise my identity. I understood a lot about myself and my roots through that experience," shares the actress, who is aspiring to be on the silver screen in the upcoming years.

Follow Manali Datar on Instagram and Twitter

Reading Time: 7 mins

Of notes and highs: Tiara Abraham is mesmerising the world with her beautiful voice

(August 16, 2022) When she first stepped on the stage, to sing at a school competition, she was merely four. A little nervous, the child finished her song to thunderous applause. That motivated Tiara Abraham to pursue a career in singing. Earlier this year, the 16-year-old soprano singer earned a bachelor's degree in vocal performance from the University of California, Davis. [caption id="attachment_20822" align="aligncenter" width="570"] Music major Tiara Abraham graduated UC Davis with many accolades[/caption] The Sacramento-resident, who started training in Western classical music when she was seven, has many feathers in the colourful hat she dons. From scoring 99 percent in the Mensa exam at four to releasing her first album 'Winter Nightingale' at the age of 10, Tiara is a true musical prodigy. Global Indian takes a look at the splendid journey of this budding soprano singer, who is currently studying opera music at the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, Bloomington. Vibing to glory A native of Kerala, Tiara's parents - veterinary doctor Dr. Taji Abraham and techie Bijou Abraham - came to the United States of America in the 80s. Their son, Tanishq, was also a child prodigy the Abraham couple realised that their

s budding soprano singer, who is currently studying opera music at the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, Bloomington.

Vibing to glory

A native of Kerala, Tiara's parents - veterinary doctor Dr. Taji Abraham and techie Bijou Abraham - came to the United States of America in the 80s. Their son, Tanishq, was also a child prodigy the Abraham couple realised that their daughter was inclined towards music and had a natural vibrato when she was just two years old. At four, just like her elder brother, Tiara too took the exam and scored a brilliant 99 percent, to become a member of MENSA, an organisation of high IQ individuals.

[caption id="attachment_20828" align="aligncenter" width="578"] Tiara with her brother Tanishq[/caption]

While everyone in her family comes from a STEM background, Tiara's dream of becoming a soprano singer was nourished by her father. He would drive her to early morning music classes before her school and helped grow her talent for singing. During her interaction with the press, the young singer also mentioned that she was inspired by her grandmother Thankam Mathew, who is the first Indian woman to receive her Ph.D. in veterinary medicine in the mid-1960s.

Tiara released her first album 'Winter Nightingale' at 10, which has her renditions of nine carols and holiday songs in English, Italian, French, German, Spanish, and even Latin. For this, she was invited to be a part of the Steve Harvey Show on NBC, where she gave an enthralling performance. "Well, I enjoy singing in those six different languages; and I enjoy speaking in them, and I like learning new languages,” she said during the show, adding, "So, I have taken nine semesters of Spanish, Italian, French and this semester I am taking German. I think my favourite is Italian because it is so flowy.”

[caption id="attachment_20830" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Tiara Abraham singing during the Premio Internazionale Giuseppe Sciacca Musica Award ceremony in Vatican[/caption]

Homeschooled through most of her early childhood, Tiara was ready to give high school examinations when she was 11. However, due to certain official requirements, she appeared in graduated from high school at the age of 13, and passing all the exams in a single attempt was ready for University.

Enchanting the world

Although at four she was a bit nervous for her first performance, with time Tiara became a very confident singer with a strong stage presence. In 2016, the young singer won her first international singing competition, held at the Carnegie Hall. As a music performance student at UC Davis, the young singer was also a part of the university's chorus.

[caption id="attachment_20831" align="aligncenter" width="585"] The music prodigy receiving the prestigious Global Child Prodigy Award, from Kiran Bedi[/caption]

As a young south Asian, who was learning Western Classical at the university, Tiara started researching other artists like herself. In 2020, the artist wrote and presented a paper on underrepresented artists of colour, such as composer Florence Price and poetess Georgia Douglas Johnson. Inspired by their work, she composed a song for soprano and piano based on a poem by Georgia Douglas Johnson. Relating to many issues that such artists faced, the singer is actively working towards eradicating any discrimination towards people of colours in the musical world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxWj-T--btE&t=408s

While studying at UC Davis, Tiara also became one of the youngest people to join two of the most prestigious academic honour societies — Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi. In July, the music prodigy graduated from the university with a perfect 4.0 GPA, summa cum laude. With dreams of performing at the most prestigious opera houses around the world, Tiara joined Jacobs’s School of Music at Indiana University, to hone her vocal range.

Follow Tiara Abraham on LinkedIn and Instagram

Reading Time: 6 mins

Maria Thattil: The Indian-origin beauty queen who is one of Australia’s boldest voices

(June 23, 2023) In 2020, Indian-origin Maria Thattil captivated the world by becoming Miss Universe Australia, one of very few ladies of colour to achieve this feat. Since then, she has fervently utilized her platform to advocate for empowerment, inclusion, and equality. A prominent South-Asian Australian media personality, writer, speaker, and founder of the Mind with Me podcast series, she is considered one of Australia’s boldest voices. Identifying as queer, the former beauty queen from an immigrant background, intimately understands the challenges of grappling with a sense of belonging. Recently, Maria launched her book Unbounded which is a memoir and self-help guide combined. She courageously shares her personal journey, narrating poignant stories of resilience in the face of racism, sexism, financial hardships, intergenerational trauma, homophobia, and mental health struggles. Throughout the narrative of her experiences, Maria has steadfastly clung to hope, nurturing the belief that trials can be transformed into sources of strength and positive influence. [caption id="attachment_31356" align="aligncenter" width="375"] Maria Thattil[/caption] Full of excitement amidst an enthusiastic audience at her book launch she said, “Life is more than what we know. It is what our imagination can conceive. I cannot wait for ‘Unbounded’ to be out in the world

mental health struggles. Throughout the narrative of her experiences, Maria has steadfastly clung to hope, nurturing the belief that trials can be transformed into sources of strength and positive influence.

[caption id="attachment_31356" align="aligncenter" width="375"] Maria Thattil[/caption]

Full of excitement amidst an enthusiastic audience at her book launch she said, “Life is more than what we know. It is what our imagination can conceive. I cannot wait for ‘Unbounded’ to be out in the world because it’s going to inspire everyone to live up to all that they are.”

Amplifying underrepresented voices

Maria, who has devoted her career to advocating for societal change and amplifying underrepresented voices, draws upon her educational background in psychology and management, as well as her training in neuro-coaching to come up with her debut book.

She has presented a transformative path highlighting active personal growth, unwavering self-love, and liberation. Through her words of wisdom as an author she has attempted to empower readers to embrace fearlessness and embark on a journey of self-discovery to create positive change in their lives and communities. “It’s so much of my personal story but it’s more than that. It’s an active guide for people to learn how to manifest a life beyond limits. It’s a call to action,” the Global Indian said in an interview with an Australian TV channel after the launch of her book. The chapter titles are all verbs, meant to encourage people to take action to change their lives for the better.

The third-culture kid

The youngster calls herself ‘the third culture kid’ - influenced by Indian roots in a western society. “I belong here and at the same time, I strongly resonate with my Indian roots. I have found a balance between the two. It is not either-or for me. This is who I am and it is unique,” she had said in an interview after being crowned Miss Universe Australia 2020.

[caption id="attachment_31357" align="aligncenter" width="417"] Maria with her family when she was small[/caption]

The Indian lineage

Maria’s parents had migrated from India to Australia in the early 90s. She was born there, in Melbourne. While her father is from Kochi, Kerala, her mom is from Kolkata, West Bengal. When she migrated, her entire family migrated with her. This gave an opportunity to Maria and her brother to grow up with a large family of uncles, aunts and cousins, spending all their weekends together, getting a good taste of a typical Indian set-up.

Maria remains connected to India as her father’s family still stays in Kerala. They have travelled to India to meet the family.

The mental health crisis

Growing up, she felt a strong need to fit in with her peers at school. It took Maria some time to accept her identity. “I went through a phase during my teenage and early 20s, where I tried hard to mask elements from my culture to fit in," she said. It was the time when she went through a mental health crisis. As a shy, introverted kid, she experienced frustrations about feeling that she didn’t belong. Racism and bullying at school were difficult to handle.

She struggled with a sense of pain and anger, and projected it onto her parents which now makes her feel sad. Giving an account of this heart-breaking phase of her life in the book was the most painful part of writing. “As a child, I felt it was easier to blame my parents than face up to the bigger picture,” she said.

However, as she grew up Maria realised that to feel happy it’s better to focus on who she really was. “I started to just be who I am — an Indian-Australian girl whose culture is a blend of both eastern and western ideals,” she shared.

[caption id="attachment_31358" align="aligncenter" width="378"] Maria Thatill with her debut book - Unbounded[/caption]

Another painful experience while writing her debut book was reliving the financial insecurity that the family faced while Maria was growing up. Before coming up with the final version of the book, she showed it to her parents asking them whether they would like to omit anything.

They were encouraging enough to allow her present the facts as they were. “There are going to be families who have experienced what we have and kids who lived and walked in your shoes. If they can pick up the book and realise that such a situation is not permanent and doesn’t define the rest of their lives, then put it out there,” her parents said.

The queer identity

In a chapter titled ‘Shed’, Maria talks about shedding the beliefs that didn’t serve her. Coming out as bisexual to traditional Indian parents was not easy for her. It was challenging to explain them who she was.

“I didn’t expect them to understand everything initially as they are from a totally different generation and cultural context. However, they have come a long way and are proud of me and my brother who identifies as gay,” said Maria. She is also the Olay ambassador for their ‘Glow Your Own way’ campaign which touches on LGBTQIA+ themes.

[caption id="attachment_31360" align="aligncenter" width="435"] Maria honours key dates in history that have progressed LGBTQIA+ rights[/caption]

Advocate of diversity and inclusion

At the time of winning the crown Maria worked as a talent acquisition professional armed with degrees in psychology and management. As part of the hiring team, she strongly advocated representation.

“I have always championed inclusion and not just limited it to ethnicity but also sexuality, gender, and ability. I strongly believe representation matters. A society where every voice can thrive. We need to make space for people to express themselves irrespective of their background,” she said an interview. After becoming Miss Universe Australia 2020, working on these causes became easier. She got the right platform to strongly voice her opinion and play a role in ushering change.

Today, Maria Thattil stands tall as a beacon of hope for the Indian diaspora, reminding that one’s roots need not hinder the ability to soar to new heights. Through her relentless pursuit of excellence and her unwavering commitment to her community, she has become a source of inspiration, empowering a new generation to embrace their cultural heritage and conquer the world irrespective of their identity and unhappy experiences.

Life ahead

Acting has been a passion of the Indian-origin youngster since childhood. Recently, she also tried her hand at acting, playing the role of Naomi in a web series titled, ‘Let’s Get Ducking Famous’. It’s the story of her character Naomi, her friend and their pet duck whom they are trying to make famous in social media. Having thoroughly enjoyed the experience, she is looking forward to do a film or a television show in the future.

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