Life is an unpredictable journey. While most people give up in the face of struggles and trials, a few defy all odds and turn their life’s challenges into opportunities. The life of Manasi Joshi is a heart-warming story worth emulating. She waged an incredible war against her fate to carve out a path that would probably be remembered for generations to come.

Manasi was born on 11 June 1989, in Rajkot, Gujarat, and was raised in Mumbai. Her father, Girishchandra Joshi, was a scientist at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. She was six when she started playing badminton with her father. She was a skilled player and participated in district and inter-school tournaments. After initial schooling, she completed her electronics engineering degree at the K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai. A software engineer by profession, she worked for ATOS India.

In 2011, Manasi’s life changed forever when she met with a road accident on her way home from work. She sustained severe injuries and had six surgeries during the 45 days that she spent in the hospital.

Get the digital edition of the September 2024 issue to read the full article.

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The name Ritesh Agarwal is now synonymous with affordable, standardized, and technology-driven hospitality services worldwide. He is the founder and CEO of OYO (On Your Own) Rooms, a multinational hospitality chain of leased and franchised hotels, homes and living spaces. From a small-town dreamer to the head of one of the world’s fastest-growing hospitality chains, his journey speaks of his spirit of entrepreneurship, which embodies innovation, resilience and passion.

Ritesh was born on 16 November 1993 in Bissam Cuttack, Odisha and grew up in Titilagarh. His family ran a small shop in Rayagada. Right from his childhood, he was drawn to computers, and coding was his first love. He attended Sacred Heart School and later St John’s Senior Secondary School. In 2009, he enrolled in IIT Kota, but his entrepreneurial spirit and passion for coding soon led him down a different path. He dropped out to pursue his tech dreams and moved to Delhi in 2011, seeking greater opportunities and a platform to launch his entrepreneurial career.

Starting as a struggling teenager to leaving college for his own business, Ritesh went against what people thought he should do.

Get the digital edition of the August 2024 issue to read the full article.

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In the world of women’s cricket, Smriti Mandhana stands as a beacon of inspiration. With each stroke of the bat and every milestone achieved, she has etched her name in the annals of cricket. Her batting style, characterized by perfect timing and effortless power, has been revered by fans around the globe. Her journey from Sangli, a small village in Maharashtra, to becoming one of the world’s leading opening batters is a testament to her talent and dedication towards the sport.

Smriti was born on 18 July 1996, and was raised in a cricket-loving household. Inspired by her father’s tales of district-level cricket and her brother’s exploits on the field, Smriti’s fascination with the game bloomed. As her skill set expanded, so did her ambitions. While she dedicated herself to cricket, she also prioritized her education. She completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Chintamanrao College of Commerce, Sangli.

With rigorous practice and unyielding determination, at nine, Smriti made it to the Maharashtra Under-15 team, and by eleven, she was already playing for the Under-19s. In 2013, she etched her name in history by becoming the first Indian woman to score a double century (224 runs) in an Under-19 one-day game.

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“I dream for a world that is free of child labour, a world in which every child goes to school. A world in which every child gets his rights.” These are the words of Kailash Satyarthi who dedicated his life to upholding and protecting children’s rights. As a grassroots activist, Kailash has been a tireless advocate of children’s rights globally for more than four decades.

Kailash Satyarthi (formerly known as Kailash Sharma) was born in 1954 to a Brahman family in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh. As a young child of five years, he was deeply disturbed when he saw on the first day of school a small boy working with his cobbler father at the school gate. It did not take Kailash much time to understand the stark contrast between his life and that of the cobbler’s son. From his childhood, he had always been questioning what was wrong and unjust. At just 11, he collected used books and created a book bank for poor children. At the age of 15, he left his high-caste name (Sharma), swapping it for Satyarthi, which means ‘seeker of truth’.

Satyarthi earned a degree in electrical engineering from Samrat Ashok Technological Institute and went on to gain a post-graduate degree in high-voltage engineering before taking up a teaching post. An admirer of Mahatma Gandhi, he gave up his lucrative career to devote his time and energy to fight against the exploitation of children.

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Being an entrepreneur, philanthropist and writer, Sudha Murty needs no introduction. She is a household name in India and beyond for creating waves of social reform and innovation with her thoughts and actions. Her life journey is a testament to the power of determination and the ability to overcome gender stereotypes.  

Sudha was born on 19 August 1950 in a middle-class family in Shiggaon, a village in Karnataka. Her family supported her in all her academic endeavours and instilled in her the importance of compassion and empathy.

In a time when engineering was largely seen as a male profession, Sudha decided to pursue it. She was the only female engineering student among 599 boys at the BVB College of Engineering (now KLE Technological University). She faced numerous challenges, including being teased by her classmates and facing discrimination from the college administration. She was not allowed to visit the college canteen, was required to wear a saree, and was not allowed to talk to boys. Despite these challenges, she persevered and became a topper, proving everyone wrong.

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“You see things; you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream of things that never were and I say ‘Why not?’” These words of George Bernard Shaw resonate in the life of Phanindra Sama, the founder of redBus, the world’s largest online bus ticketing company with operations in six countries. He simplified bus booking and streamlined the process at a time when no one thought it would be possible.

Phanindra was born in a small village of Tadapaikal in the Nizamabad district of Telangana in 1980. He lost his dad at an age when he could not understand why things were happening. This major incident in Phanindra’s life shook up his childhood.

Phanindra was a very bright student from the very beginning. After his schooling, he got admission to the Birla Institute of Technology and Science where he studied Electrical and Electronics Engineering and became an engineer. Later, he attended the Indian Institute of Science and became proficient in computer networks. He studied Responsible Leadership and Sustainable Business Practices at the Swedish Institute, and Economics and Psychology at Stanford University, and received the Chevening Fellowship from King’s College London.

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Motorsports has been a male-dominated sport in India for ages. But Mira Erda broke the age- and gender-stereotypes to be a racer, and her never-quit attitude paved the way for her to be in the spotlight on the track. Vadodara’s racing champ, Mira Erda has been proving her mettle racing both in India and internationally over the years.

Mira Erda was born on 24 October 2000 in Vadodara, Gujarat, to Kirit and Nima Erda. She did her schooling at Rosary High School, Vadodara. She was first introduced to the karting track at the age of eight by her father. Initially, she used to drive for fun with her brother, and then she began racing in competitions when she was just nine years old.

Her father was criticized for letting his daughter into motorsports because, for many, it was a male sport. But seeing her keen interest, he kept supporting her to pursue it. In her early days, Mira experienced indifference from boys and teams because they found it hard to accept the idea of a girl racing. But with time, she got better at the sport and became a newsmaker.

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We take pride in the fact that India is now on the moon! India created history with the launch of Chandraayan-3. Sreedhara Panicker Somanath, the man spearheading the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has played a significant role in this space mission. Being a highly-qualified and experienced aerospace engineer with a proven track record of successes, Somanath made India’s wildest space dreams a reality.

Born in 1963, S. Somanath hails from Kerala’s Alappuzha district. He had been a science enthusiast right from the time he started his schooling in Malayalam. His father encouraged his passion for science and fed him with science books. While pursuing a B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from Kerala University and a Master’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Somanath kept his focus on space.

In his memoir which is published in Malayalam, Somanath describes how he used to commute to college on an old bicycle as he could not afford the bus fare and was forced to skip the study tour due to poverty in the family.

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A woman of many firsts! Dr Sivaramakrishna Iyer Padmavati was the first woman cardiologist in India. She established the first cardiac clinic and cardiac catheter lab in India, and founded India’s first heart foundation. Being a legendary cardiologist, she has left behind an enduring legacy in her field.

Padmavati was born in Burma (now Myanmar) on 20 June 1917 to a barrister father. She excelled in school and earned the first medical degree awarded to a female student at Rangoon Medical College. Just after she completed her medical studies, Japan invaded Burma at the height of World War II, and she along with her mother and sisters had to flee the country and settle in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. She was eventually reunited with her father and brothers when World War II ended.

Later, Padmavati went to England to pursue her higher studies in medicine where she worked at the National Heart Hospital and National Chest Hospital in London. She received the Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) in London in 1949. During this period, she developed an interest in cardiology, which remained her first love throughout her life.

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The website beam.org needs no introduction for it has received multiple awards and recognition for its social impact. It is the world’s first online platform that supports homeless people, refugees and prison-leavers to get off the streets and into careers they love, all through crowdfunded donations. The man behind this social cause is none other than Alex Stephany.

A British citizen, Alex was educated at Haberdashers Aske’s School and later at Oxford University where he graduated in the English language. When he was 19, he secured his first job as an English teacher in China. But soon he moved to law and began working at Clifford Chance, a British multinational law firm, where he didn’t survive long. After working for different companies and experimenting with various start-ups, he finally got into the parking app JustPark and became its CEO. JustPark connects drivers in search of parking with anyone who has a spare space — whether it is a private driveway or a public school. This service is able to generate millions of pounds annually for families and businesses.

Stephany was already a successful entrepreneur when he happened to meet a homeless man at his local tube station. He bought the man coffee and thermal socks and got to know a little about his life. But he realized that giving such temporary solace just wasn’t enough to make a real, tangible difference in his life.

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