Actor Angad Hasija has been working in television for more than 18 years. He has acted in several tele-serials such as Ye Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Bidaai, Sapna Babul Ka, Dilli Walli Thakur Girls, Dharam Yodha Garud and Waaris among others. These TV series helped him rise to fame and made him popular with audiences.

Angad Hasija was born on the 31 May 1984 and shot to fame after his significant performance as Jimmy Dhillion on Zee Punjabi’s Tera Rang Chadeya. Apart from Hindi television, he has acted in Punjabi television and also featured in the Hindi music video Tere Jism alongside Sara Khan.

Angad’s latest role is on Zee 5’s Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gaye. In an exclusive interview with SANTOSH MEHTA, Angad Hasija speaks about the show.

SM: What role do you play in Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gaye?
AH: I am playing a character called Abhiraj. In this show, there are many twists, and various shades of my character with a lot of emotions.

SM: What is the storyline of Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gaye?
AH: Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gaye is a story of a Maharashtrian girl who believes in working on one’s marriage after finding a suitable partner. Delhi-based Punjabi boy Virat has lost faith in the sanctity of this institution, taking most women to be gold-diggers.

SM: How do you like playing this role?
AH: As an actor, I love playing all kinds of roles. In every role, I keep getting new experiences and it helps me to grow as an actor.

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D2C startup, BECO, develops and manufactures 100% natural and plastic-free consumer goods in the kitchen, home, and personal care space. Founded by Aditya Ruia, Anuj Ruia and Akshay Varma, BECO makes a sustainable lifestyle easily accessible to all Indians. It provides affordable and eco-friendly alternatives to single-use products such as napkins, toilet paper, tissue rolls and more. BECO recently launched its first-ever 94% plastic-free and 100% recyclable tetra-pak packaging for cleaning solutions.

In this exclusive interview, BECO’s co-founder, Aditya Ruia, talks to NEHA KIRPAL about their process, products, and plans for the future.

Tell us how you develop and manufacture natural and plastic-free consumer goods.
AR: As a sustainable brand, we want consumers to slowly eliminate non-biodegradable items from their homes. Our products, like tissue rolls, kitchen towels, and other normally plastic goods such as toothbrushes are made from bamboo. Bamboo is a strong, durable fibre that is a better alternative to trees that are felled for paper. Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on the planet. We source the raw material from North East India.

In terms of kitchen and personal cleaning solutions, we identify non-toxic chemicals. This ensures that all our products are biodegradable and compostable. The biggest benefit of using non-toxic chemicals in cleaning products is that they prevent health issues for those handling them.

Tell us about your affordable and eco-friendly alternatives.
AR: Single-use plastic is one of the largest reasons for environmental degradation. The genesis of BECO goes back to a time when the three of us were part of a beach clean-up drive in Mumbai. We discovered a plastic wrapper, which belonged to a chocolate whose circulation was discontinued back in the 1990s. We wanted to address the pain point afflicting Indian consumers: lack of awareness and availability as well as the ill-affordable options. Starting BECO was our response to this gap.

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SpaceBasic is an edu-tech company that is making student accommodation and university hostels smarter through an app. SpaceBasic was founded in 2017 by Madhavi Shankar and Silicon Valley based serial entrepreneur Indu Navar. The app helps educational institutions automate everyday tasks and communication within their hostels and student housing communities. The app has grown 300% year over year. It expects to accelerate towards a revenue goal of $25mn in 2026, capturing revenues from the U.S. and India market.

In this exclusive interview, Madhavi Shankar, CEO and Co-Founder of SpaceBasic, talks to NEHA KIRPAL about SpaceBasic’s unique features and plans for the future.

What was the idea, inspiration behind starting SpaceBasic in 2017?
MS: I had some experience working in an early stage startup in Sydney, Australia. Drawing from my international student experience, I was very keen to start a company in India in the student space. In 2017, on a trip to the Bay Area, I was introduced to Indu who was based in San Francisco. We met for a casual chat and we thought it would be a social meeting. A short meeting turned out to be a long and detailed conversation about startups. We both wanted to do something in the education space. We decided to explore the pain points in the education sector. After that, I quit my job in Australia and returned to India to solve a real problem in the education sector.

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TTT: Hello Jay. Welcome to The Teenager Today! Would love our readers to get to know you more. So, let’s get down to it! You mentioned that the seed for this venture was planted in your mind at the young age of 13, and you designed a complete framework draft for your website by 14. So how, at the age when I remember merely knowing that a stem is a part of a plant, did you acquire the knowledge about STEM and develop the start-up idea?
Jay: I have always had a natural inclination towards the sciences and mathematics. Textbook knowledge wasn’t enough for the scientific geek within me, thus I started researching to know more about science and familiarised myself with the concept of STEM. However, I very soon realised that my companions had little to no knowledge about the same. That was when I started thinking of designing a website which would be a go-to source for knowledge for not just my friends but for the entire world. Initially, the website was more of a blog page focusing on imparting knowledge about finances, economics, business news and entrepreneurship. Later, I focused the content on topics of business, finance and STEM.

TTT: What is MindCord? When was it launched and what is its current viewership percentage?
Jay: MindCord is an open-to-all blog page, not just for readers but also for writers who wish to express their thoughts or share their knowledge about STEM, business or finance. The website was launched in January 2020. For the first two years, it was just an informative blog site for readers to gain knowledge. However, in March 2023, we launched a monthly competition called The Next Frontier with an aim to enhance and boost our readership base. Currently, we have 60,000 active readers on our website with 50% viewership from India and 50% coming from the rest of the world.

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Naresh Karmalker caught up with young serial entrepreneur, Parth Nachane, whose venture, The Robobox, is poised to disrupt the education scenario and make learning fun!

The Teenager Today: Hi Parth. Welcome to The Teenager Today. Would love our readers to get to know you more, so let me get straight down to it. You started your first company at the age of 17. At the age of 21, you have launched The Robobox! What fuels Parth Nachane’s drive for innovation and entrepreneurship?
Parth Nachane: At 17, I only had big dreams, a world to win and nothing to lose. With this motivation, I went to Lovely Professional University (LPU) with the sole purpose of being a part of its happening practical campus with over 1,00,000 students and teachers. I thought it might just be easier to start any business with people my age.
My drive has always been to learn, dream big and achieve it, not just for myself but for my company, team, vendors, students, schools and society as well. I always wanted to do business and create something of value to society that will leave my mark and legacy.

TTT: How did the idea of The Robobox emerge?
PN: Back in my school days, I used to search for good robotics and science kits. Till date, students are stuck with options like robotics only in practical education and the robot kits available are, sadly, nothing but toys and not actual robotics kits.
With the rapid sophisticated technological revolutions that are a hallmark of the 21st century, students should be innovators and not consumers. When our government came up with the National Education Policy (NEP), I thought it might just be the right time for me, personally, to make that shift and start The Robobox as it also connected with my childhood pain and my desire to do more, using technology. We are now doing that with The Robobox in the education sector.

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Joshna Chinappa is a two-time Asian Championship gold medallist. In 2014, she became the first Indian to win a gold medal in doubles at the Commonwealth Games, and has also inscribed her name at the British U.S. Open and National Championships. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 10 in July 2016. She was the first Indian to win the British Junior Squash Championship title in 2005 in the under-19 category, and was considered as one of the youngest Indian Women’s National Champions. At the Women’s Asian Individual Squash Championships of 2017, she won gold becoming the first Asian squash champion from India.

The squash champion from Chennai was in Mumbai in late December to launch (along with Indian cricketer Prasidh Krishna) the official merchandise of the Tata Mumbai Marathon in 2023 at the Asics store. VERUS FERREIRA met up with the 36-year-old player, a vision of calm and poise, to chat about everything from her intensive training regimen to pre-match rituals to her food cravings.

How did you start playing squash?
Well, my dad introduced me to the game as he’s a squash player and used to play for the State. I started playing at the Madras Cricket Club where all the big cricket matches like the IPL take place and that was my home club. I used to follow my dad to the courts and I had a lot of friends who were of my age group. We were all about 8 or 9 years old and we used to run to play at the squash court and that’s how it all started.

Did you ever think of any other game besides squash?
I used to play tennis and badminton as seriously as squash when I was younger, but my parents told me to choose any one sport because they didn’t want me to play everything and not be good at any. I ended up choosing squash because my dad had played it and so there was a lot of familiarity with the sport. He helped me because he was my coach for a very long time till I was 10 or 11, then I started playing tournaments and started winning and that helped me continue to play squash professionally.

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Aspiring singer, Jason Ignatius, in a free-wheeling chat with ELSA LYCIAS JOEL, talks about his working experience, his favourite day, and more.

When did you first sing on stage? Did you have butterflies in your stomach?
Yes. I was extremely nervous, so much so that I couldn’t hold the mic steady and it shook the entire time. Surprisingly, so many people came up to me afterwards and said I “shredded” the performance and that was honestly where I started my journey — a melody and some courage.

Does love for music run in your family?
Most certainly. My parents grew up not only listening to music but also played at least one instrument. I play piano and lean more to the recent pop and R ‘n’ B while my parents are all about the 70’s and 80’s. Not a day goes by where I’m not singing or playing the piano or even recording music on my phone.

Have you ever had a formal vocal training?
Before I went to college, I didn’t have any formal vocal training. Most of my knowledge about singing in terms of technique and other areas were mainly me emulating artistes that I love like Bridgit Mendler. She had such an amazing pop voice which not only showed great control over notes but also a wide vocal range. However, when I joined the college, I was so much in love with music that I pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Music. There I had all the formal training a guy could ask for which only catapulted my abilities and I am so thankful for every class.

Do you believe in “born singers”, the impact of genes?
I absolutely believe in born singers! I can speak from personal experience that all the way from my great-grandmother, music has not only been a pastime but an essential part of our family dynamic. My grandmother learnt how to sing and play the piano, but when it came to my dad, he sang, played the piano and was a choir director. As for me, I can sing, play the piano and guitar, and make records on my computer.

What were the first singles like? The writing, composing, editing and the producer-musician vibing…
Ever since the beginning of 2018 I’ve been putting out music. I love writing even though a lot of my ideas come in the middle of night, but when I take my tracks I’ve made to the studio, the brilliant minds there take my ideas and create a masterpiece is something to brag about!

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Kiara D’Souza hit the tennis court when she was barely seven, not out of love for the game, but because she was overweight and her parents wanted her to reduce, and enrolled her in the nearby Willingdon Gymkhana. Today, as a teenager, she is passionate about tennis without neglecting her studies. She recently passed out of St Andrew’s Junior College, Bandra, Mumbai, with distinction. The Teenager Today team met Kiara at our office for a short interview. Excerpts:

Hi Kiara, The Teenager Today is delighted to meet you! Would you like to tell us briefly about your early years: any special memories?
I was born on 21 November 2002. Both my parents worked in the banking sector. So my grandmother took care of me. I had sweet memories of my grandma making delicious food, and feeding me with lots of love. I started putting on weight because of no physical activity. In fact, my doctor told my parents that I was 14 kgs more than my desired weight and he suggested that I take up some sport for physical activity. My parents enrolled me in the nearby Willingdon Catholic Gymkhana and I took my first steps to the tennis court when I was barely 7.

What made you choose lawn tennis as your most favourite game?
I was so-so about tennis in the beginning because at that age I didn’t want to practise at all. It was just a form of physical activity. I had a lot of difficulty coping with the game as I did not have an athletic body. Also, my coach was not sure about me taking up tennis as my foot movements were very slow… but by then I was already passionate about tennis and decided to pursue it as a career. What I did have was the drive to become the best. That determination, fighting spirit and patience was inculcated in me by my parents at a very early age. I was taught never to give up and trust in God. It helped me to stay calm and composed in dealing with my insecurities.

Do you recall the first tournament that you played and won? Surely you were very excited! Would you share some of those feelings with us?
Participating in a tennis tournament at the age of 12 was an unforgettable experience. I won both U-14 singles and doubles events at Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association. Reaching the finals of the two events was something I always cherished but winning gold in both the events was like the icing on the cake. One of my most exciting moments was when MIDDAY Mumbai covered the event with the title “Double Delight for Kiara D’Souza”. This was one of the most emotionally-satisfying victories for me.

Who do you look up to as your role model in tennis?
Serena Williams has always been my idol. She revolutionized women’s tennis with her powerful style of play. Her powerful serves, groundstrokes and superb athleticism have inspired me to push myself to the next level.

Tell us about some of the major tournaments you played and won. Which is the most prominent among them?
I have a list of achievements and none of these would have been possible without my Lord Jesus who gives me the strength to do well whatever I do every day. In 2019, I represented Maharashtra State for Nationals at SGFI New Delhi. One of my most remarkable tournaments was when I qualified to play International Tennis Federation Women’s 25K in November 2019.

Do you have a coach? How long has he/she been coaching you?
Yes, I have an official coach. She is Supriya Mallaya who has been training me for the past one year. She accompanies me to all the tournaments.

How many hours do you practise daily?
I practise for nearly three hours daily on skill sets and another two hours for fitness training.

What about the lockdown days? How did you manage to have your daily practice during these months?
Covid-19 has caused maximum disruption to an athlete’s life. It’s very difficult to pursue the sport with all the precautionary measures; however, as an athlete I am doing my off-season training on fitness and skill sets so that when the season begins I am fit for the tournaments. I do my high-intensity workouts along with brushing up my skills (working on my mechanics/technical corrections) in the limited space at home.

How do you cope with your hectic schedule of being a regular student, your practice, and the outstation journeys for tournaments?
I have learned to manage my time effectively. It is very important to plan and prioritize, which means giving up on many time-consuming distractions, seeing the bigger picture and reminding me of my goal. Also I had great support and special guidance from my teachers especially when I missed my classes for outstation tournaments.

What else are you interested in other than tennis?
I am very fond of singing and strumming my guitar; it helps me to ease out.

How do you rate yourself as a tennis star? Your tennis dreams?
As a tennis player I had a very promising start, but I have a long way to go. I believe in putting my 100% effort and then surrendering to the Lord. My dream is to represent my country and to win Grand Slams.

You were a student of St Andrew’s Junior College, Bandra, for the past 2 years. How did the college support you in your tennis journey?
My principal, Dr Marie Fernandes, my sports director and my teachers believed in me from day one and they were always there to motivate me. The college recently felicitated me as the Most Outstanding Sportswoman of the Year.

Your future plans?
God-willing, my future plans include training abroad to be a pro tennis player.

A brief personal message for our readers?
Everyone wants success but only a few work for it. They are the ones who realize their dreams!
“There is no way around hard work, embrace it,” Roger Federer once said. I have to tell this to everyone that it doesn’t matter how old you are or how young you are… You can achieve what your heart desires. In my own case, I was not a born athlete with any natural skills. I had to work very hard, dedicate myself and be determined. In every field you require focus, hard work and most importantly self-belief. Sometime, you gotta be your own cheerleader. Above all, it is very important to stay connected with God; that’s where you get the strength you need to work hard!

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There are some people in the world who strike you as extraordinary, gifted and God-sent in your very first encounter with them. Petula Thomas, Director of the Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce, is one such person.

Headquartered in Chennai, the Chamber has members in both India and Australia. With a mandate to facilitate bilateral trade and investment between both countries, she has gone ahead in her job in quiet haste, linking businesses, enhancing member-engagement, analyzing market trends, forging alliances of commerce, promoting industry, setting a new vision and standard for the organization. Stephen Manallack, Australian author, blogger and a keen observer of developments in India, remarked that Petula’s appointment as director is a “new era for India-Australia”.

At just 42, Petula’s journey to the present position has been both challenging and fascinating. She first joined British Airways in 2000 after going through a rigorous selection process and emerging first out of 8000 odd candidates who had applied for the job. Over the next five years, she worked across departments — Customer Service, Retail Sales and the Audit and Revenue Management desk which she headed.

Her performance was consistently recognised with many letters of appreciation from senior managers, cash prizes and a team CASAMEA (Central Asia South Asia Middle East & Africa) Award for outstanding performance in Revenue Development and Sales. Her innate curiosity to learn why the company did certain things and how she could help the organization succeed has served her in good stead, not just in British Airways, but in the roles that would beckon her ahead.

Petula’s next assignment, which lasted for a year and a half, was with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission where, following her training in Sydney, she led on Marketing Support activities for South India and was a member of the Building and Construction Industry team. She was responsible for budgetary management of events and programmes in South India and also helped conduct industry events in various cities in India as well as in Australia.

Towards the end of 2011, she moved to the British Deputy High Commission in Chennai as Consular Officer. Within a year she was promoted to Head of Consular Operations, Southern India, a role that saw her progress to leading Customer Engagement for the MENASA (Middle East North Africa and South Asia) Region and Consular Communications/Digital Strategy for India.

Along with the title came great responsibilities and intense levels of work. Her core role was to ensure that her team catered to the welfare of British nationals in this part of the world, and every day brought with it its own baggage, often not very pleasant. She had to deal with rapes and kidnaps and murders among other things, and not just the policy, media interest and diplomatic work associated with such incidents, but the emotional trauma which the victims and their families underwent. She led on the sensational Chennai Six case, wherein six Brits (besides others) were held for possessing weapons aboard a ship in Indian waters. It was also her job to keep the Ministers, the Foreign Secretary and other officials periodically briefed about developments related to the case.

It is not just the mental qualities that she brings to the table, but also her intelligence, dedication and vision, that sets her apart; it is her kindness, care and concern for the people she meets in the course of her tasks, that has made her really graceful, unique and endearing. Her annual performance ratings were always exceptional and she has received letters of commendation from the Minister and High Commissioner to India. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London acknowledged her immense contribution with four global and regional performance awards. But, more than anything else she was aware that she had reached the maximum level that a non-diplomat could rise to in her Department.

In November 2018, the offer of Deputy Director of the Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce came her way, and she took it with both hands. She soon busied herself meeting key personalities and stakeholders, seeking their opinions and interests and even organized conferences where members of trade and government could meet on a common platform. She was also able to combine her work and her socio-cultural life with consummate ease and energy.

In a short span, she had become both business leader and socialite, and before she knew it, she was promoted as Director of the Indo-Australian Chamber in May 2019. Almost immediately, she shepherded their office move to Khader Navaz Khan Road and also took a delegation of Indian business persons to Sydney. Very soon, she opened the Mumbai Chapter of the Chamber. In July, she was a member of the Australian Consulate General’s delegation which met the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh to promote bilateral engagement with the State.

Petula is blessed with tremendous energy, but this asset is more her doing than happenchance. She is wedded to her work, and believes that whatever one does, one must do well. She has a post-graduate diploma in Management (with distinction) to her credit, and her desk at her office has a range of business dailies and magazines which she reads to keep herself abreast of what is happening in the world of business and economics. She is presently on the jury of the India Australia Business & Community Awards (iabca.com.au/iabca-2019-judges) in Australia and Women in Chennai sector for Womenovator 2019 (womennovator.co.in).

Women in business is a subject she is deeply passionate about, as she knows from experience how every woman has to work doubly hard and often against the grain to prove herself in a sphere traditionally ordered by men. Behind her exquisite looks is a mind that is razor sharp and quick on the draw. She strongly believes that leaders should have the courage to stand up for what is right regardless of the odds faced.

Petula is an Anglo-Indian who lived for fifteen years in the railway colony of Vizag (her father, Noel, retired as Divisional Mechanical Engineer) along with her two elder sisters, Rowena and Renata, both equally exceptional in their fields of endeavour, one a doctor and the other a school teacher-coordinator, now settled with their families in Manchester and Melbourne, respectively. Petula has two sons Aaron (16) and Nathan (13) who are all-rounders and undying optimists like her.

An all-rounder, Petula has always been, right from her school days at St Joseph’s, Vizag, where she was Miss St Joseph in her final year and House Captain due to her proficiency in badminton, and also to her being outstanding in debates and quizzes. Reading has been one of her hobbies thanks to her father being a great example and her mother, Sheila, being a librarian at school.

Her other interests are music, dance, drama and travelling. In Chennai, she tries not to miss anything on show that is significant. Petula is also a great speaker, emcee and a natural hostess who puts people at ease in her company. She herself has overcome several challenges on her life’s journey, and has embraced transition and change without fear. She believes that young people are the hope of tomorrow, and has this to say to them: “In those moments when you question yourself, know that there is a plan for you. You need to just keep going and persist and never give up… If you do your best, you have a purpose as to what you want to achieve and keeping at it, you will get there.”

(Courtesy: Anglos In The Wind)
Photo credits: Nicholas Moses

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Debbie Westcott wears many hats in her professional life and has the innate ability to juggle them all, skillfully — she is an entrepreneur, educationist, philanthropist, orator, business consultant and mentor, and an overseas education and immigration consultant. She is an inspiration for the teenagers of today to dream big for a better tomorrow.

Born into a middle-class Anglo-Indian family to Edward Walter and Teresa Westcott, Debbie is married and has a son. Her parents inculcated in her good human values, etiquette and good manners from a very young age. These values have been the cornerstone of her life and have helped to shape what she is today: a prominent educationist and a savvy businesswoman.

Chennai-based Debbie is a successful businesswoman with a vision. She is known throughout the academic community for ably combining the disciplines of teaching English, soft skills, behavioural training, placement training and career guidance to students from all over the world. She has been one of the most sought-after entrepreneurship consultants for those aspiring to set up new ventures, and is a pioneer in soft skills and behavioural training, holding the record of having empowered and trained more than 200 trainers in the industry.

Debbie has presided over several education programmes as the chief guest and has received several recognitions and awards for her activities contributing to the welfare of society. She has also spearheaded many spoken English camps and soft skills programmes as president. Her added expertise in management skills has made her an expert consultant in the growth of schools, colleges and training and development organizations. She is a member of various organizations such as The Forum for Anglo-Indian Women, MMA, Rotary International, Lions, ELTAI, TESOL and the Theosophical Society. She is widely recognized for her contributions in the field of education and for being a person who reaches out to those in need.

An excellent orator and body language specialist, she has delivered several motivational speeches and has given over 100 presentations on various topics in many reputed schools, MNCs, colleges and Universities. She is very regularly invited to speak on topics like Achieving Success, Happiness is What You Make, Time, Stress and Anger Management, Interpersonal Skills and Growth, Understanding Change, Women Empowerment, Education for All, Emotional Intelligence, Verbal and Non-Verbal Cues (speech and training session) and Secrets of Effective Communication.

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