50 Inspiring Women (Gujarat)- KD Blossom

Inspiring 50WOMEN boys & girls should read about GUJARAT EDITION

50 Inspiring WOMEN boys & girls should read about GUJARAT EDITION

A young aspirational Ophthalmologist practicing with a vision of providing quality eyecare to the masses. Dr. Anuja Desai takes pride as an Indian Cornea & Refractive Surgeon to have won the title of Eye Health heroes, 2021 from the International Agency for prevention of Blindness (IAPB), London. She currently holds the position of Head of the Ophthalmology Department at KD Hospital, Ahmedabad, and also chairs the Academics division as a Director. Till now, she has completed more than 15,000 Laser vision correction procedures and more than 40 cornea transplants. With her dedicated efforts, Dr. Anuja Desai wishes to take things to the next level by introducing mobile eye units for reaching out to the rural population. Dr. Anuja Desai

KD Hospital (Kusum Dhirajlal Hospital) is a multi/super speciality hospital located at the prime location of Vaishnodevi Circle, Ahmedabad; with state-of-the-art facilities & treatments at an affordable cost, encompassing a wide spectrum of accurate diagnostics and elegant therapeutics created on the philosophical edifice of the patient and ethical centricity ensuring humanistic dispensation. Under the aegis of Shri Harihar Maharaj Charitable Trust, KD Hospital is spread over a massive 6 acre campus with 300+ beds and catering for nearly 45 super-specialities, all under one roof. A multispeciality approach enables each speciality to have the comfort of collaborating on complex cases thereby ensuring a comprehensive assessment/ treatment of the patient. Patients are provided with multiple options for treatment, the most suitable of which are arrived at through a collaborative case assessment approach that decides the best course of treatment for the best outcomes. We are proud to be Gujarat’s first Hospital to bag 6 of the highest accreditations from the Quality Council of India namely, NABH (Full accreditation), NABH Certified Nursing Services, NABH Certified Emergency Services, NABL for Laboratory services, NABH Blood Bank and NABH Medical Imaging Services. This reflects our vision of providing affordable and exceptional quality care to everyone. With a group of committed staff and a versatile cohort of doctors, each and every member of KD Hospital is focused to ensure the ‘Well-being’ of the patients, which is assured by extension of Available, Accessible, Affordable, Safe, Efficacious, Professional and Ethical comprehensive healthcare through state-of-the-art facilities. Our USP includes 86 ICU beds, exclusive health check-up packages, Immigrants Visa health check-up services, Critical Care and Emergency care team which is available 24x7, high-tech laboratory, state-of-the-art Radiology department, 13 modular OTs, advanced CATH lab. Apart from this, we have an exclusive dialysis unit, sleep laboratory, LASIK removal of spectacles with laser refractive correction procedures, lithotripsy unit, two endoscopy suites, and a dedicated stroke centre. We are fully equipped for dealing with all kinds of emergencies, be it surgical, cardiac, neurological, traumatic, respiratory, infectious, environmental, or toxicological. Other USPs of our hospital are fully equipped Cardiology department, ultramodern IVF centre, Pain management centre, exclusive NICU and PICU.

Dr. Erika is a graduate from Dr. D.Y.Patil Medical College with 8 distinctions. Taking steps further towards what she is passionate to do, she went onto to pursue her MS in Obstetrics and Gynaecology from Sumandeep University, Gujarat, and topped with a Gold medal. She is amongst the first few in India to have completed M.Ch Reproductive Medicine and Surgery from Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, again with a Gold Medal.. With quite a journey of curiosity and perfection, she took her next step towards observership from Boston IVF, Harvard University and Michigan IVF, counted amongst the best for IVF. She has also received training in andrology and male infertility from University of Miami. She is a Consultant at the IVF Department and Director of Health Care Services at KD Hospital.

I firmly believe, 'When you empower a and neighbouring states, and help them woman, you are empowering her entire realise their dreams with good health. The family, and in turn the society and the idea to champion the stories of 50 inspiring nation.' That's the power of women. From women from Ahmedabad roots from this the very beginning, it is crucial that they purpose. It is to bring to light the journey have a healthy mind and body. That's of these extraordinary women who have exactly what we aim for at KD Blossom, come from different walks of life, raised the a clinical excellence programme by KD bars, beat the odds, and are now living role Hospital. We provide the best Gynaecology, models for the younger generation. In this Infertility, Maternity and Obstetrics services, series of powerful conversations, you will Neonatal and Paediatric care services, all learn how all it takes is a purpose-driven under one roof. We believe in providing mindset and relentless passion to achieve a safe environment for our patients that whatever you aspire to in life. They will begins with preconception care, and motivate you to take the leap & enable includes safe birthing services, counselling self-reflection. Leading you to empower (at various stages), Foetal medicine & yourself with self-belief. I hope the ripples Newborn screening. We strive to provide travel far and inspire many, profoundly. Let the best possible care to women and us build a healthier tomorrow, stronger, children of our beautiful state of Gujarat together. Dr. Erika Patel

Amar Ramesh is the founder of Studio A - one of the premium wedding photography brands in India. He is an entrepreneur by choice, wanderer by nature, and a creative professional by obsession. He believes in making a positive dent in the universe through the projects that he takes up. Along with his persevering team, he brought to life several creative documentaries and photography projects that influenced thoughts and creative process of upcoming younger generations of creatives and entrepreneurs. The \"50 Inspiring Women\" is a project that he started with the intention of finding the stories of women all around us in our everyday lives and taking them to younger generation.

Photographer's Note \"Who is your biggest inspiration?\" - when these women. There was resilience. There asked to any young boy or girl, they'd come was pain. There was madness. There was up with a name that is often far away from boldness. Each of these stories came with their reach. The probability of a name in a powerful message that at times made me close proximity is almost zero. But in reality, cry, laugh, think, and feel lost. It was a mix there are endless women right around of emotions but what struck me hard was us, braving the odds, rising above the the clarity of thought they all had in unison. situations and doing extraordinary things. It They all knew exactly what they wanted to is very important for the younger generation do with their time on this planet. They had to be inspired by people to whom they their purpose attached to a cause, and they can relate, reach out and connect with were committed. They were perseverant. on a personal note. My inspiration for this They were brave. The grandness of their book came from this realisation. I first set character supersedes anything else I've on a mission to capture the stories of 50 ever seen in life. The conscious decision inspiring women in Chennai. It started as to capture them in black and white was a portraiture project but in the process, to capture this magnificence of their sheer we realised there's something more to character. In fact this is not at all about be captured and narrated. An ambitious photography to me, but the humane journey of capturing 1000 inspiring women nature of genuinely knowing the story of had our eyes wide open. these women who are not only creating the change but are also being the change We started off with Ahmedabad as our themselves. The stories of Ahmedabad second destination. The moment I landed enabled me to become a better person and in the city, I saw a group of young girls touch the first 100 stories in the journey playing cricket in the open fields. I've seen of 1000. I cannot emphasise enough the girls play cricket, but something about amount of impact this project has had on witnessing this scene took me by a beautiful me. In short, I am not the same person as surprise. It felt like the women of Gujarat I was when I started this. I am a different were already touching the skies in every person, with a better understanding of life, sphere of life. It only became more evident filled with gratitude and positivity. I humbly to me in conversation with all the women in invite you to experience it for yourself as the book. It became a magical experience you read through the book. to be listening to the transforming stories of Happy transformation!

CREDITS Designing Israel Davidson Content Maverick Prem Naaahushi Kavuri Editing Threnethra Selva Mohan Preethi Video & BTS Bala Scan to know more about the Inspiring Women and the vision

Curator's Note Inspiration is always right around the corner. We found 50 in ours. Through this book, we have attempted to capture the lives, experiences, struggles and achievements of 50 amazing women whose stories will leave you awestruck. We have carefully handpicked stories that will serve as an inspiration for all of us to do better in our own lives. We definitely believe the future is female and it will be equal . The future is female because we are living in a world that is evolving to become emotionally intelligent. A place where we are linked but not ranked. A path towards a collaborative world that fosters equal distribution of power. We think honest stories can serve as the gateway for us to envision this future together. And, this book is our first step towards building that future. SPI Edge, a for-profit entity based out of Chennai that nurtures a new breed of disruptive ventures through experiments built to benefit from exponential thinking and emerging technologies. We function as a lab for the city and a platform to accelerate ideas into impact through ventures and communities that we run and mentor. Ratheesh Krishnan Hurshitha Singiri Kunula Meena Saranya Nirmitha Manoj

ABOUT THE PROJECT The idea of this project came from the \"200 WOMEN\" book by Kieran E.Scott. Not only was there a drive to do something similar, the calling was to do something local with a global connect. The idea of inspiration often travels far away from the native land and finds home in a foreign country. Nothing wrong in it, but when are we going to celebrate the inspiration right around us? All we have to do is look around. We did. And what we found was amazing. Being from Chennai, the natural starter was 'What if we capture the inspiring women of Chennai?'. With that done, we looked around. The next questions were obvious, 'Where do we go now?', 'How can we find a partner to support this cause?', 'How can we reach out to these inspiring women?', 'Who will take care of the profiling, logistics, and the processes?' One question led to another, and the search began. When you truly wander, things fall in place. As a matter of heart, they did. KD Hospital's 'Blossom' came on board to champion the entire project for us in the beautiful city of Ahmedabad. They gave us a new city full of stories to explore, learn and capture. SPI Edge joined hands to take care of the entire operations and curation process. When the intentions are right, everything falls in place. That's how this project came alive. It was a genuine set of people coming together for a genuine cause of celebrating the real life stories of women who raised the bars. This is not a photography book. This is a story book, of powerful women who are making a difference out there; women whom we can show to our children as living inspiration. It is a true responsibility for all of us to be celebrating the journey of these change makers. Let us do it.

INDEX Page No Title Page 01 26 Raksha Bharadia 51 No Title 03 27 Geeta Solanki 53 01 Priti Adani 05 28 Shriya Damani 55 02 Vandana Agarwal 07 29 Esha Shah 57 03 Dr. Hina Shah 09 30 Chitra Singla 59 04 Dr. Shefali Desai 11 31 Shaili Shah 61 05 Priyanshi 13 32 Dr. Navneet Gill 63 06 Devina 15 33 Mira Erda 65 07 Pabiben & Noopur 17 34 Reema Nanavaty 67 08 Bindi Patel 19 35 Nikita Tiwari 69 09 Maana Patel 21 36 Saloni Mehta 71 10 Zalak Trivedi Patel 23 37 Aditi Parekh 73 11 Falguni Vasavada 25 38 Bhumika 75 12 Urmi Pandya 27 39 Usha Rada 77 13 Krinal Jani 29 40 Esther David 79 14 Dr. Sakkira Begum 31 41 Devangana Lashkary 81 15 Nikita Maheshwari 33 42 Harmeet Kaur Dawar 83 16 Dr. Anar Mehta 35 43 Tanya Shah 85 17 Parul Parmar 37 44 Anuja Amin 87 18 Avani Varia 39 45 Anjali Desai 89 19 Gira Shah 41 46 Kumudini Lakhia 91 20 Devaki 43 47 Bijal Brahmbhatt 93 21 Shaina Shah 45 48 Kaajal Oza Vaidya 95 22 Suprava Mishra 47 49 Manisha Lavkumar Shah 97 23 Anoushka Parikh 49 50 Parul Zaveri 99 24 Shailini Sheth Amin 25 Kinjal Shah

PRITI ADANI Dr. Priti G. Adani is an Indian philanthropist and the chairperson of Adani Foundation - the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of Adani Group. A doctor by qualification (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) and an educationist by passion, she has been spearheading social development initiatives for more than 25 years now. Under her leadership, a 350-member team is working in the core areas of education, health, sustainable livelihoods, and community infrastructure development. Q. What is that one word which relates to you? a couple of years old by then but in the aftermath of the earthquake, and in a sense, the Foundation matured. A. Commitment. It leaves no room for excuses or half- heartedness because commitment is an act of doing, It pushed us to think how we must strategize, design of delivering. And the way you do something, is the way and execute programmes so that they reach the most you do everything. I really believe that. marginalized sections of the population. You can say that it paved the way forward towards building the Q. Which moment/incident in your journey made Adani Foundation as you see it today with a nationwide you the person that you are today? presence. A. It is difficult to put a finger on one moment or incident Q. What is the lesson that young boys and girls but an event which comes close to being instrumental is need to take away from your journey? the devastation caused by the earthquake in Bhuj (Kutch, Gujarat) in the year 2001. Seeing its aftermath up close, A. My advice to the younger generation is that they for days and months, was extremely overwhelming. shouldn’t restrict learning to education. Education is an enabler to succeed but what’s even more important is to It made me think more deeply about the need for be a learner. Another ability to recognize and cultivate is comprehensive efforts to make a substantial difference in the ability to give. You will come across people to whom the lives of communities amidst whom we live and work. you can offer time and/or resources. This can keep one In the face of an adversity or calamity, harsh realities grounded and grateful while offering hope. One may become more exposed than ever. Adani Foundation was give externally but it compels them to look inwards. 1

“commitment” 2

“Joy” 3

VANDANA AGARWAL Vandana was born in Calcutta and she was introduced to her role model, Mother Theresa at a very young age. She says that whatever she does in life, she always looks at how she can give back to the world. She is an architect by education and works passionately with several NGO's as a trustee and designer for the holistic development of women, children and artisans. Q. What is your favourite word? out that they had never had a proper dish in their life until then. They were only used to eating A. \"Joy\", \"Joy from within\" is what I'd like to say. with all the curries mixed as a kichidi, and in one I believe that we have to do things in life that give bowl with their entire family. Having one plate us a sense of inner happiness and joy. For me, the all for themselves and with different dishes was joy from within is when I give that joy from within pure alien to them. So we actually had to mix to someone else. We may be in the most beautiful everything for a lot of them and only then they and luxurious places and still be unhappy. We can started eating. Many of them started packing engage in basic simple acts of kindness and feel the food in some paper and plastic bags for their really joyful. If you are happy from the inside, you homes. Seeing that - I realised that it's what I want can really enjoy life. We can share chocolates or to do. Help these people in whatever way I can. balloons with a stranger and enjoy it. A simple I did not think about the impact I might create or smile and hug can also go a long way. anything. All I wanted to do was be of help in any smallest way possible - do whatever I can within Q. What was the moment in your life that my strength. And the amount of satisfaction, the made you Blossom into the person you are inner happiness that it gives me is something I today? never found anywhere. A. There are lots of such moments. I will tell you Q. What would you want the young boys & one such moment in particular that I keep going girls to learn from your journey? back to. There was this one time I saw a lot of kids playing on the street near Gandhi ashram. A. The lesson from my journey would be to I felt like offering them something. So, I went count the blessings in everyday life and to just home and figured that I had a lot of plates I never be grateful for what you've got. Recognise the used. I presumed it would be a useful thing to simplest things that you are blessed with. It’s give to the kids so they have a clean plate of when we recognise what we have, that we can their own. When I finally gave the plates to the recognise what others don't have. Then we can kids, they looked at me wondering why I was do something about it. There are a lot of people giving empty plates. Then I made up my mind in the world who can do something for others to cook food for all of them. The next weekend, and who also want to. They don't know what to I pulled all my strength and somehow prepared do and how to do. Begin anywhere and anyhow, food for all of them. It seemed like an easy job, don’t think about big or small or meaningful. Put but once I finished it, I felt as if I just climbed the your heart into it and rest will follow. Each one of Mount Everest. I found a nice terrace, arranged us must devote some time and energy for those everything for the kids and served them all the who are not as blessed as us. dishes I prepared for them - puri, sabzi, rice, dal, sweet - but they didn’t touch the food. Turned 4

“LOVE” 5

DR. HINA SHAH Hina Shah is the founder of the International Centre for Entrepreneurship & Career Development (ICECD) helping women stand on their feet. She has created a niche for herself with path- breaking innovative ideas. She has received numerous awards for her work, including the Stree Shakti Award, which was given to her by Pratibha Patil, the former President of India, for her contribution to economic development, the Bharat Jyoti Award, the Titan Be More Legend title, and the Project Management Institute's Best Project Award. Q. What is your favourite word? society threw at me only strengthened me and accelerated the realization of my dreams. A. Love. I am so in love with myself that I can see it in everyone around me. The ultimate goal Q. What would you want the young boys & for every one of us is to live a life filled with love. girls to learn from your journey? I have a strong belief in it. A. Entrepreneurship was not a desirable pursuit Q. What was the moment in your life that for many young people when I started my made you Blossom into the person you business. There was no suitable education are today? or training for people with entrepreneurial aspirations. But, what my experience taught A. My experiences helped me discover my me is that if you are enthusiastic about what self-confidence, risk-taking abilities, and goal- you do, you don't need training. Your curiosity setting approach. Being a working woman will drive you to learn and get you there. I did, is still relatively easier than being a woman and anyone can. Yes, there are many hurdles entrepreneur. When someone told me, 'I when establishing something on your own, can't do it,' it only strengthened my belief but once you figure it out, the freedom and that I could. I put up with them. I confronted independence you'll have are empowering. them all. Whatever restrictions and challenges That alone is priceless. 6

Dr. Shefali Desai Dr. Shefali Desai is a Consultant Breast Surgeon who was trained at Stanford and MSKCC, NY. She is currently one of the directors of Samved Medicare. As a teaching faculty in the medical colleges of Ahmedabad, Gujarat for 14 years, she has served as a mentor to several students and surgeons. She has been the pioneer in the city and state of Gujarat to start the reconstruction after Masectomy with Implants/Prosthesis for Breast Cancer. Q. What is your favourite word? A. Passion and compassion. We must understand what the other person opposite to us is feeling. If a patient comes to me, I must understand what my patient is going through psychologically too, rather than just the tangible disease to treat. I need to treat them as a whole person. We should be compassionate towards the people that we work with and the people we see every day. Only when I have compassion and passion towards my patients, people, and my work will I be able to excel in what I do. Only through compassion and passion can we add meaning to what we do. Q. What was the moment in your life that made you Blossom into the person you are today? A. Fortunately, even as a woman pursuing surgery back in the day, I never had to go through any kind of a struggle of explaining to my parents what I want to do or any of such sorts with anybody. My parents always had given me the freedom to do what I want to do. After I became a surgeon and got married, one of the things I knew I cannot compromise on is being a mother to my children. No matter what, the role a mother plays in a child's upbringing is a very crucial one. However, through my pregnancy to my kids actually growing up, I never had to take a day's maternity leave. My husband was a doctor too, so he had helped me out by taking responsibility for my patients too. I was able to be a mother, and with the help of my husband even be there for my patients. As my kids grew up, they always inspired me to take care of my patients and my work. They gave me the confidence that they will be fine and pushed me to give equal importance to my profession. My daughter is now a breast surgeon herself, so I am sure she understands things way better now. In many ways, I have been blessed to always have people in my life who supported me and understood me. Q. What would you want the young boys & girls to learn from your journey? A. It was a lot of struggle as a woman to take up surgery as a career. Back then, I was the only woman in my class and at my job as a surgeon. From my journey, I would tell all the young girls to have a passion for what they want to do. Then pursue that passion with determination. There are certain D's that I believe one should follow to reach their purpose in life. The first one is to DEFINE your goals and define what you want, then you need to have the DETERMINATION to do it no matter what. Thirdly, you need to have the DEDICATION to the work you are doing. Nobody can stop you from doing what you want to do if you are giving the best results from the efforts you put forth. Also, it's important to DARE to do something different from what others are doing. You must be daring to push the limits further. You must also have DISCIPLINE in life. If you have all the plans to execute ready but you fail to have the discipline to stick to your decisions, owning your mistakes and learning from them - you will fail to grow. Lastly, the 6th \"D\" would be to understand the DEPTH. You must know the depth of the waters you are about to dive into and swim through. You wouldn't be able to grasp a whole understanding of the waters, but you must make an effort to understand the depth to the best of your knowledge before you take the step. 7

\"Passion\" 8

Priyanshi Priyanshi Jariwala is one of the few people with the vision to sight fashion & glamour quotient in Khadi. When she had the option of joining her family business, she didn't believe in being the natural successor. Her aim was rather towards earning the deservingness through commitment and hard work. With the vision she had for Khadi, she took a dive into entrepreneurship to innovate and introduce the native material to the young in an ever-so-desirable form. Her start-up, The K Cult has since taken off and become one of the pioneers who got some quirky prints in Khadi and work towards sustainable fashion. Q. What is your favourite word? imagine it go away in a second was the most difficult thing to endure. I remember calling my dad and crying A. Potential. I have been using that word a lot lately. for about 10 seconds but that was it. The next thoughts Every time I feel like giving up on what I am doing, I were - what do we do now? What has gone is gone, keep telling myself that word as a self-reminder that we cannot help it but what are we going to do next? there is potential in what I do that I am not able to see Remembering that still makes me a little uncomfortable it right now. In whatever work you do, you will not be in my heart. When I receive a letter today that I don't able to immediately see the potential it has for the already have the knowledge of, I panic. But then, that future because your judgment is clouded right now entire experience made me a stronger person. Now I with your ego, attachment to your work, or prejudices. don't feel like I have anything to lose. It's almost like You cannot really ignore all of them when you begin you can throw anything at me and I think to myself - your journey but don't quit just because you can't see \"It's okay, I can catch it\". the potential, don't let anything make you believe that what you are doing has no value. You have potential Q. What would you want the young boys & girls and so does your work. You just need to keep giving to learn from your journey? your 100% and remember that there is potential. A. Consistency. Throughout my journey, I have seen all Q. What was the moment in your life that made the ups and downs for myself and for my brand. I have you Blossom into the person you are today? seen days where I sold just one product in three days but that didn't stop me from showing up every day, A. I think it was when I got a legal notice worth 5 standing, waiting, and hoping that someone will come crores. We originally had the word \"Khadhi\" in our to buy. If not to buy, at least to have a conversation brand name and we had it until a year ago. It was a with me and know about my product. I have always name we had for 5 years. Suddenly I receive this legal shown up at work and I always will for as long as I notice saying I can't use the word \"Khadhi\" anymore. can. When you are consistent in your work and effort, That name had 5 years of our work go into it and to I think it will pay off one day. 9

“POTENTIAL” 10

“SPONGE” 11

Devina Devina Kothari, in short, is a Problem Solver, Innovator, Industrial Designer & Strategist. After having completed her graduation from IIT Bombay, she realized that majority of the rural India's problems can be solved using technology. She began her journey by introducing electrical technology advancements right at the doorsteps in rural areas. The vision was to empower the pyramid's bottom to solve problems by themselves. This journey led her to establish the Zuan Design Lab - a company whose vision is to innovate things accessible to all to lead a better life. The team's contribution spans various verticals like healthcare, agriculture, and consumer goods. They are a team of passionate doers from different backgrounds with different perspectives on a single problem. Q. What is your favourite word? A. I've never given it a thought. Maybe \"sponge\" because I like learning from everywhere and everyone around me. I am not really a student of either economics or business but when the need arose, I learned and now I know the fundamentals of business and economy. It's the same when it comes to my knowledge of health or agriculture. I was clueless about it when I ventured into it. I am motivated by the need of the moment to cross-pollinate learnings from different verticals and apply them to solve problems creatively. Just like how a sponge absorbs water, I absorb knowledge from any direction it comes to me, and then I apply it elsewhere. Q. What was the moment in your life that made you Blossom into the person you are today? A. Usually we try and look for a moment when somebody asks us, till then, I wonder if we even give it a thought. To answer this question, when we are living in 'that phase' it is never one moment, there are a couple of things that add up and nudge us to look in a particular direction or embark upon a different journey. If you ask me, I don't know what my next 10 years are going to look like. Yet I know that I will use whatever knowledge I have to ensure that at least my area, my community, and my people benefit from it. Q. What would you want the young boys & girls to learn from your journey? A. I think every adversity has an opportunity in it. Everytime we see a problem, we often tend to back off or go away from it. I would suggest the young and ignited minds to rather hang on a little longer. Perhaps there will be an opportunity that is even more amazing in the future. One must take 'just one more step' before giving up. 12

\"Identity\" 13

Pabiben & Noopur Kumari is a graduate of design. After having studied design Noopur and worked with a lot of artisans as a part of the college projects, she had pondered over the question of why regional artisans do not get the recognition they deserve. She took a dive towards co-founding \"Kaarigar Clinic\" - an initiative that upholds the Gandhian philosophy of rural development by mentoring local artisans to strategically grow their traditional craft practices into self-sustaining businesses. Unlike a lot of initiatives and NGOs who take regional artisans under their organisation to give employment, Noopur works quite differently, enabling the artisans to build their own brand by providing them with all the necessary design, technological and financial support to grow. Pabiben is one such well-known artisan who became now a global brand, after her intervention. Pabiben Rabari, a vibrant rabari lady, was born in Kukadsar village of Mundra taluka in Kutch. She could not attend school, as her mother Tejuben, a young widow, needed help raising three girls. The eldest, Pabiben helped care for her sisters. She dared to start one of the first artisan enterprises pabiben.com. Pabiben, now in her early 40s, has become an inspiration and idol to many in her community. Q. What is your favourite word? takes their work promotes their own brand and there is never a mention of the artisan behind it. I wanted to change that. A. Noopur: Identity. Most of the artisans work with NGOs and get employment. They get paid. However, what gets lost is their identity. If So I met Pabiben and told her my ideas of the change I wanted to bring. you look at Pabiben, people know who she is. We want to create more Both of our thoughts matched very well and that's how we started off such stories and help the artisans build their own identities. for the first time. We gave her a platform of her own. We never put our name in the limelight. For us, it's about directly promoting the artisan's Q. What was the moment in your life that made you Blossom identity and letting the world know about them. into the person you are today? Today, Pabiben is known as a brand globally. Everyone knows her work A: Pabiben: In the village where I come from, it is a tradition for girls and its quality. Our aim is to create an identity as such for more artisans. to learn embroidery in order to get married. We don't give money as dowry, we give embroidered clothes. So, the need to learn embroidery Q. What would you want the young boys & girls to learn from for my wedding's dowry taught me the craft. your journey? All the women in our village also work with the traders who come from A: Pabiben: The only lesson I have for the young minds is to take my the cities. We do embroidery for their clothing and we get paid a small life as an example. I am a woman who doesn't know anything about amount of money for that. I always wondered why our identity is never how the world works outside my own village. I am not educated and I carried in the garments that we made. People who wear them would don't have any experience of being an entrepreneur or doing business. never know which village they came from or which artisan worked on But if I am able to achieve so much in my life, then the kids of today their garments - that thought always bothered me. On the other hand, who are getting education and have so many ways to explore new I didn't really know what to do about it. things in life can achieve so much more. After I got married in 2003, I had still continued to do the embroidery The lesson is to not doubt yourself and to not let the lack of knowledge work. In 2015, my husband said to me, \"You're so good at what you do. hold you back from what you want to do. I want to inspire people to You are totally capable of doing this on your own. Why don't you try?\" do something for themselves without fear. That triggered me to think about starting on my own. Noopur: All I want to do is find more such women artisans and promote them. The young minds of today need to contribute to a cause like Noopur: When I was studying fashion in college, the students never knew about women artisans who do this amazing embroidery from this. If they look at the artisan's world, the world will look at this. We the village. I always wondered why the names of these women never come out into the public. Nobody promotes them. Every person who need to consciously work to put focus on these art forms and artisans. 14

Bindi Patel Bindi Patel is the founder of ECOrrect Private Limited, which produces completely biodegradable substitutes for plastics. ECOrrect products can replace hazardous plastics in all sectors to result in an environmentally friendly place. These products are produced from plant-based biopolymers which are renewable making them a truly organic product. The inspiration emerged after the Swachh Bharat and Plastic Free Nation campaigns, an initiative taken by the Honourable Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. These products are non-toxic to the environment, animals, and plants. Bindi's team is on a mission to make the world free of plastic pollution. Q. What is your favourite word? to continue that journey. For example, my University Dean once introduced me A. \"Passion\" - the word that means the to the incubator concept for start-ups. most to me. I have done my research I participated in an incubator program. for the past two years to reach where I Three months later, I learned about start- am today. Before I got here, I had a lot ups and the use of incubator programs. of failures. People around me slandered So, for me, there was never one moment. me and the concept. They'd convince I have always welcomed an opportunity me that converting natural resources into and never denied the learning process. bioplastic is challenging. They'd call my idea too complicated and tell me that it Q. What would you want the young would never work. Walking past all those boys & girls to learn from your noises, I kept telling myself that I had journey? to get there because no one else was even trying. I've made it through all of A. \"Defeat is just a state of mind. You the comments, judgments, and failures are not defeated until you accept it.\" because the voice within me has kept me The lesson I would tell all the kids is to going. Passion, I suppose, is the voice never accept defeat. Every time we try that keeps me going. something new, we will inevitably be faced with thousands of difficulties. We Q. What was the moment in your cannot get to a place quickly. It's a long life that made you Blossom into the way that'll exhaust us and make us want person you are today? to give up. I am certain that we can only attain our goals if we remain strong and A. There was never a moment as such. train our minds not to give up at any cost. When I was a student, I manually made When you want to give up, it's a sign that a bag all by myself. Later, I came across you're on the right track. All you need to so many people who inspired me further do is try harder and keep going. 15

“ PA S S I O N ” 16

“ALIGNMENT” 17

Maana Patel Maana Patel is an Indian backstroke swimmer from Ahmedabad. Maana is the first Indian female swimmer who qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. She began a career in swimming when she was seven. From enduring an ankle injury in 2019 and having risen back from it, Maana has truly kept the spirit of the game going through her resilience and conviction. When she was 13, she clocked 2:23.41s in the 200m backstroke at 40th Junior National Aquatics Championship in Hyderabad breaking the national record. Q. What is your favourite word? A. “When you align your mind to your body, you can do wonders” is the line I’d always remember. Mind is the captain. You’re stronger than you think. No matter what you do, it is all up in the mind. If you train your mind to go out of the box and achieve, anything is possible. Q. What was the moment in your life that made you Blossom into the person you are today? A. The phase when I was injured, and my recovery from it, made me who I am today. When you are at your lowest is when you will learn the most in life. Hard times teach you a lot about life. You get to learn so much from people around you, and understand so much about people around you. I was almost depressed during my injury phase, where I wouldn’t sleep well for almost three months, and keep scribbling in my journal. I really wanted to quit and retire from my sport. Then I had the realisation that if I quit without even trying, I’ll never be able to complete anything in my life. That ‘Never quit’ attitude that brought me out of the injury to where I am today is truly gratifying. Q. What would you want the young boys & girls to learn from your journey? A. Just be in your zone. Focus when you have to, and let not the noise around you affect your performance. As an athlete, I can vouch for the importance of mental training, as much as we value physical training. After a certain point it is your mental strength that gives you an edge over everything. I am now focusing on two different things. One is mental well being - where I take care of Maana as a person when I am not swimming. When I am swimming and training, that comes under mental toughness - where I take care of Maana as a professional. Acknowledging your emotions is an important thing. Mediation helps on that note. 18

“ S TO RY T E L L I N G ” 19

Zalak Trivedi Patel Zalak Patel is a native Amdavadi, explorer, and an amazing storyteller. A conversation with her will inspire you to explore the roots of your native place, know more, and even become a storyteller yourself. Experience Ahmedabad is her brainchild - a company based in Ahmedabad that enables exploration of Ahmedabad in the most authentic way possible. Q. What is your favourite word? A. Storytelling. I believe that the universe isn't made up of atoms. It's made up of stories. And I believe that through storytelling, you are connecting yourself with other human beings. When you connect with other humans through storytelling, it means that you are understanding what they feel, think, love, fear, feel joy, and are sad about. You understand their enthusiasm and melancholy. Storytelling creates empathy and I believe that empathy is the way of life, especially in today's world. Q. What was the moment in your life that made you Blossom into the person you are today? A. When I traveled to the US, there was a tour guide with me. I said to him that in India one would have a lot of beautiful cultures, traditions and historical places to explore in almost every city. Compared to that, in the US, one can only have a lot of buildings to look at. To this, the tour guide excitedly asked, \"so you must have seen all of Ahmedabad, right?\" But no. I didn't explore Ahmedabad. That was the day that I have decided to explore Ahmedabad fully first. And when I feel like I have explored all of my own city, then I'll spread my wings out and go to new places. That's how my whole journey of starting \"Experience Ahmedabad\" and everything I am doing now has begun. Q. What would you want the young boys & girls to learn from your journey? A. Life is a true blessing to us. Don't force yourself to run after materialistic things. Whatever we learned in Maslow's theorem should actually be applied to our life - food, water, and air, those are all that we need to survive. Always look for that and don't stress yourself out for other things. Life is a river of fire, you just need to float and flow. Always have that attitude. Don't think about what others are doing around you, think of your own self. Take decisions for your own self and own them. Everyone's situations in life are subjective to them. Whatever you do in life, you are going to float in the river anyway, so whatever you do - dive right in. 20

Falguni Vasavada Falguni Vasavada is a full-time professor for the last 25 years. She has a PhD in Advertising. She works at the MICA (Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad) university and teaches various subjects like marketing, advertising and branding. The second hat that she wears is that she's a content creator, social media enthusiast and influencer. She speaks up about body positivity and encourages a socially mindful & educated future of the youth. Q. What is your favourite word? The major trigger, however, happened to me as a part of my job. I was always travelling to different places A. Positivity. Not everybody gets everything, but as presenting research papers and attending various humans, we tend to focus only on the things that we conferences. That made me go into a cross-cultural don't have. We are always amazed by the concept of learning zone. When I went to the US and I saw that \"grass on the other side is always greener\" - you can anyone and everyone can wear anything without make your side of the grass a rainbow colour, who is even being called out or judged, that moment was stopping you? We don't see what we can do to our a game-changer. That wasn't the only trigger. But to side of the world because we are only looking at the have financial independence, reading, travel - these other side. I think negativity has a huge bearing on were all the triggers. your vision and the vision gets blurred. When your vision is blurred, you don't see what you have gotten Q. What would you want the young boys & girls easier in life. to learn from your journey? I love to see things that I have and not what I don't A. I think the lesson would be to educate yourself and have. That keeps me on the path of perpetual have financial independence. When I say education, happiness. it’s not just the education that people get from the institutions which they stop after getting a job. Rise Q. What was the moment in your life that made above that. Be amongst the top learners and always you Blossom into the person you are today? educate yourself more, read more and learn more. Education gives you the ability to observe and A. I have been a scholarly girl as a kid growing up. I question. And I think when you question is when was always winning gold medals, being the topper in you travel on the right path. the class and had a lot of achievements. That's one side of who I am. Although I was as meritorious, there The superpower that education and financial was something in me stopping me from expressing independence give you is ignorance. They will enable my 100% because I was a \"fat girl\". I loved fashion you to ignore the random comments that people but I never experimented with anything more than make about you. They will enable you to get out of a \"Salwar-kameez\" and \"Dupatta\" until I was 25 \"The four people\" syndrome - the constant thought years old. of \"What will people think if I do this?\". One of the things that made me feel very confident to The day you are able to conquer the fear of random step out of that mindset was financial independence. people in your life, is the day your self-concept and That is something that every person needs to have to self-worth becomes stronger. When you know the step out of any sort of mind imprisonment. value you are bringing to the table, you are never afraid to eat alone. 21

“Positivity” 22

Urmi Pandya Urmi Pandya is an international yoga teacher based out of Ahmedabad. Although being really young in her yoga career, she has grown to be one of the best in the country. She strongly believes in the holistic development of a human being. She is an expert in Yoga for relaxation, recreation, kids yoga and Yoga for pregnancy & health correction. Urmi is also active as a professional Yoga player taking part in competitions across the world and she holds silver medals at 3 international level competitions. Q. What is your favourite word? I gave my 100% effort in both the competitions that I enrolled myself in. A. So I read \"Bhagavad Gita\" every day. I make it a point to read at least 8 chapters each day. By the time they were announcing the results, I There isn't a specific word, it's rather a line from had my bags packed to leave for the airport. I the Gita that I keep repeating in my mind like a was just waiting so I could be a part of the group mantra. It's - \"Karma kiye jaye, phal ki chintha picture. When the winner was announced, I heard na kar\" which basically translates to, keep doing my name. I couldn't believe it. Looking back now, the work you have to do and don't worry about I know that I won because I had no stress of the outcome. Thinking about this line helps me winning or losing. I was learning and stress-free. focus on the work at hand. The more you think I was fully present at the moment and practised about the outcome, the less you are focused on my \"aasanas\" perfectly. the present and the less effort you can put into the present. I believe in working hard and giving The best moment was that announcement. It my 100% right now. The outcome that I deserve changed everything for me. When they said, \"Urmi for my effort will follow. Pandya from India\", the happiness of winning a medal for the country and the moment of disbelief Q. What was the moment in your life that made me realise that I am really good at this. made you Blossom into the person you are today? Q. What would you want the young boys & girls to learn from your journey? A. I think it was when I participated in my first competition in Nepal. It was an international A. That it's not necessary that you do Yoga, competition where 8 other countries were rather you need to do anything for your own self participating. So basically, there were a lot of for at least 30 minutes every day. It could be people coming from lots of states from each meditation, running, going to the gym or, well, country. I was standing amidst them, all those yoga too. No matter what profession you are in, experts who have been practising yoga for years take some time for your own health every day. and few right from their childhood. It was my When you're healthy, you will be able to enjoy first competition and I put myself in that spot. whatever you do, what you have and what you My intention wasn't to win or anything. I knew I earn. I think the pandemic is the lesson to all wouldn't be able to win there at all. My intention of us more than ever before to keep ourselves was to meet new people who are much more healthy. You're healthy, you'll automatically be knowledgeable than I am on the subject, spend able to give 100% to whatever you do. You'll time with them and learn more to help myself then, automatically succeed. Spend 30 minutes for future competitions. With zero expectations, a day on your health. 23

“BH AG AVA D -GI TA” 24

KRINAL JANI Krinal Jani is a Deputy Section Officer at Gujarat Secretariat and a Wildlife Photographer by passion, majorly focusing on birds. Q. What is your favourite word? A. I constantly feel like I have a \"burning fire\" inside me that exudes energy and motivates me to do things with all my heart. Be it cooking in the kitchen or waiting for hours to capture the perfect moment of wildlife. As one gets in touch with this inner passion, one treats every task equally and it always imparts a personal touch, a personal fragrance to whatever is being done. Q. What was the moment in your life that made you Blossom into the person you are today? A. I've been with the world of birds for almost 2 decades. The urge of going into the nature and feeling that spiritual presence fascinates me. It is not anywhere else but the jungles that I feel belonged to. It feels right and I feel filled with contentment to be in the middle of all the wilderness. Birding and photography have brought the patience and faith in me over the time and nature has turned me into a composed person that I am today. Q. What would you want the young boys & girls to learn from your journey? A. Youngsters are always eager to follow an inspiration and end up limiting themselves. Hence I wouldn't say that wildlife photography is an exciting thing to pursue because it is purely subjective. Being surrounded by wildlife and exploring the nature is my passion and is backed up by the understanding of my self. What I want to put across for young enthusiasts is to spend some time alone within themselves and bring forth their own passion and pursue their own light. It is from the inner side that the manifestation has to happen. When you spend time with yourself which most of the youngsters are not comfortable with, it actually allows you to understand yourself deeper. And from there you find your passion and can start working on it. This will help you find your purpose. In addition to that, one can always bring a difference in and through, in daily chores by asking oneself if the work can be done creatively. Simple things, done differently, is your style and rawness. 25

“FIRE” 26

“GR AT EF U L NESS” 27

Dr. Sakkira Begum Dr. Sakkira Begum is currently settled in Ahmedabad. She hails from a village in Veppanthattai taluk in Perambalur district, one of the most economically backward regions in Tamil Nadu. She secured 56th rank in the Indian Forest Service examination in 2012. It was a morale booster for those who have been fighting for women's education in her district. More than 170 child marriages in her district - which is otherwise notorious for child marriage - have been stopped in just two years since her achievement. She achieved a rank of 3 in the ICAR Exams and was first among women. She received her doctorate in Genetics from the ICAR in New Delhi. She has been working as a scientist at the National Groundnut Research Station in Gujarat. Q. What is your favourite word? in life. While attempting to resolve, it was all a process. A. Gratefulness. I really like that word and it's also Q. What would you want the young boys & girls something that is constantly on my mind. For even to learn from your journey? the smallest help that someone does to me, I feel so grateful that I cannot stop thanking them and thinking A. I was born in a small town. When I was a kid, I about how someone went a little out of their way for wondered if it was possible to achieve anything in life. me. I believe that being helpful, being kind, and being I come from a very economical background. I chose thankful is something that we all take for granted in most to study at IARI not simply because it was the best situations. I am extremely conscious about expressing institution I could attend, but because it would enable my gratitude for everything I have in my life. Counting me to receive a fellowship. With college, I'll be able to your blessings keeps you grounded. have my accommodation, education, as well as receive a scholarship. I felt that I could comfortably study for Q. What was the moment in your life that made \"Civils'\" with such a chance. Although my father was you Blossom into the person you are today? able to support me financially for my education, I was very keen that my achievements should be a result of A. I come from a very small village. Women’s life my hard work. I didn't want to depend on him. over there was all about their kitchen, their kids, and their husband, and for a few, it extends to their close More than ever before, youngsters have so many relatives. Life begins and ends with their home. Right options to get scholarships for their education. If today’s from my childhood, I always wondered why. They generation is determined enough to achieve something, couldn't live on their own terms, and I wondered why nothing can stop them. Everyone around and every their lives didn't extend beyond the village. So, since institution is providing enough opportunities to solve childhood, I've had the need to question and the need every challenge along the way - especially with finance. to discover solutions. I can't pinpoint a certain event All that they need is a strong will to do. that ignited my desire to go over my limits and succeed 28

Nikita Maheshwari Nikita Maheshwari is an entrepreneur and a business research speaker. As an MBA graduate, she is skilled in research, business management, and business development. She started her entrepreneurial journey at the age of 22. She cofounded \"Tatkalorry\" - a niche logistics and supply chain management company. They operate particularly in the ceramics and construction material industry and are committed to providing efficient logistical support to the unorganized sector. Nikita is also a National & State Entrepreneurship Awardee 2019. Q. What is your favourite word? There is a Hindi saying that my father used COVID gave me that breather. Of course, the to share with me - \"Wakt hai, guzar jayega. first three months of COVID were a blur. But A. Resilience. When you're building something Rasthe se rastha nikal jayega\" which essentially once we went back to work in May, I started and you hope to build something bigger means, \"Time doesn't stay still, it keeps understanding my business better than before. than yourself, there will be problems. The flowing. Keep moving forward and you will I started becoming a better leader because I problems may not necessarily come because find ways out.\" You have to keep moving. was now aware of people who were working of you, they could crop because of the market day in and day out to build this organization. conditions and because of a lot of external Q. What was the moment in your life that COVID made me a better leader and a stronger variables that are completely unpredictable. made you Blossom into the person you person. Your organization could have been perfectly are today? functioning according to you, but it perhaps Q. What would you want the young boys wasn't prepared for a flood, for an all-India A. It was COVID, to be honest. Before & girls to learn from your journey? strike, for covid - and a lot of other situations COVID, everything was deal-able. If there until the situation arises. was a problem, you knew that it would end A. One thing that my father taught me and at some point. COVID didn't have that. When what has worked for me is to persevere and In such situations, first, be kind to yourself. is this going to end? How are you going to to be resilient. My father told me, \"There is no It's okay. You might have made a mistake survive it? How are you going to build around replacement for perseverance and resilience. not predicting right. It's okay you weren't this problem? How are you going to make When you are driven by passion you have to prepared well enough. Tell yourself that you sure that something you have built for so long fall, you have to learn and you have to get back will be resilient and you will come out of it. I survives this? up. You will make mistakes and it's okay. Own could have easily given up on my company up to your mistakes, learn and move on. You after losing time, energy, and money. But what When COVID happened, half of my team left. learn through mistakes\" worked for me is that I was resilient about it What was I going to do? Until then, I was and I pushed through. growing exponentially. I never had a breather. 29

“RESILIENCE” 30

“ E M PAT H Y ” 31

Dr. Anar Mehta She is the Chief of the Women's Wing India & USA at the 'Indian Golf Circuit.' She is also the Joint Secretary of the Women's Wing at the Baroda Football Academy. She is working towards women's empowerment, equality, and enterprise globally. Anar Mehta has been honored with several awards for her work to empower women, including the India Achievers Award, Pride of India Award, Forever Superwoman 2020 Award, Udgam Women's Achiever Award, and ICUNR International Women's Day Award 2021. She is a representative of 'The GAIDE FOUNDATION' For INDIA, which is the global association of innovation, development, and education. She is also the founder of \"Srishti Bharat\" an NGO & co-founder of \"Hellow Womeniya\" - a digital media platform for global women. She is also a United Nations Awardee 2021. Q. What is your favourite word? A. Empathy. I think everybody should spread empathy in the world. Empathy is the quality of a person that defines who they are. Q. What was the moment in your life that made you Blossom into the person you are today? A. It isn’t one thing. There were a lot of triggers that made me think about the difference I could bring to the table. One of the triggers was what I had experienced as a single mother. Single mothers haven't been given respect in society. They judged my ability to raise a child on my own. Despite being an educated person, I was often looked down upon at any of my son's school functions. I was also triggered when I discovered urban women tend to keep their domestic problems to themselves. They are highly conscious of society's norms and status. Therefore, they are less likely to admit a problematic home situation than people living in rural areas. We talk about women's empowerment, but never about women's respect. Empowering women means enabling them to achieve whatever they want. We think it's about creating women entrepreneurs or giving them freedom. What about giving them respect? The main turning point was the 2017 Vidhan Sabha elections. Domestic violence, financial illiteracy, and taking advantage of women and their helplessness were common in rural areas. Q. What would you want the young boys & girls to learn from your journey? A. Never give up on your goals. Don't wait for others to begin. You can start what you want from where you are. It's in you. 32

“MY FATHER” 33

Parul Parmar Parul Dalsukhbhai Parmar is an Indian para-badminton player from Gujarat. She had been ranked the world’s number one player in para-badminton women's singles SL3. She is a three-time world champion and has bagged gold and silver medals in Asian Para Games in Incheon, South Korea. She played against Kamtam Wannaphatdee and Panyachaem Paramee, both hailing from Thailand, to win the medals. She has won 8 international gold medals, 3 silver medals, and 3 bronze medals over her career. She currently works as a coach with the Sports Authority of India. Q. What is your favourite word? going out even though I had polio in my foot, youth to take up sports as a serious career They urged me to go out and play, be healthy, option. Along with securing a job in the field, A. My father. Whenever I face any kind of and have an active childhood regardless of they must also aim to be a better player. It's difficulties, I think of my father and easily find what. My family never considered me to be not just about you. It's about the country. The my way out. I have spent a lot of time with him handicapped. They were always encouraging parents also need to support their children playing around and grew up with so many life and supportive of whatever I chose to achieve. equally. Only when we all work together to lessons. Whenever life takes me down, I hear My family, professors, friends, and everyone promote young minds and their energies my dad say “Come Parul, we have a long way else in my life made sure that I was never will the country achieve global success. The to go. Get up. We need to walk”. No word will discouraged from accomplishing great things beauty of sportsmanship is that it begins with describe this feeling and how he motivates me in life. That gave me the courage to stand you, but it quickly spreads beyond you to from within. It's just a very instinctively strong tall and develop power. My parents, brother, connect with the entire globe. connection I have with him. and sister are the people in my life who have shaped me into who I am today. Q. What was the moment in your life that made you Blossom into the person you Q. What would you want the young boys are today? & girls to learn from your journey? A. I don't think any moment could describe the A. The sports scene is completely different changes in my life. When I look back, my family today compared to the days when I started set a goal to accomplish that brought me here. my badminton career. Today, the government They have always encouraged me towards my has also joined hands along with the other journey. It's like, a mentor who guides you for private companies to offer sponsorship to the the journey with a compass to have clarity. players. Back in those days, the only thing that But, the goal was never to become a world could ensure a job for any person was pure champion, it was to stay healthy. All that my education and nothing else. The sport was parents wanted was for me to stay healthy. always considered an extracurricular activity. I am active. They never stopped me from Now things are changed. I advise today’s 34

Avani Varia “ETERNAL NOMAD” 35

Avani Varia admires the rich heritage of arts and crafts in her Q. What is your favourite word? home country. She aspires to start and manage collaborative projects (National and International) with education, research, A. Eternal Nomad. If somebody would just sit down and design, and tourism to safeguard Heritage and Arts along with observe my journey for the last 25 years, they'd say I am sustainable income generation. An ideal inspiration is to work going nowhere. I, however, know where my life is heading. As for international projects that represent India to the world via an example, the Charkha results from my love for traditional Arts, Design & Culture. Born in Varia community traditional handcraft skill. Be it any craft, I have learned it myself. I am potters in Gujarat, it is where she gets a sense of aesthetics and very particular about studying a skill/art thoroughly before a love for arts and crafts. passing it on. But with the bigger picture, I do not want to settle down. I want to be an eternal nomad - travel the world and continue learning. Q. What was the moment in your life that made you Blossom into the person you are today? A. As a child, I was distinctly shy. I mostly kept to myself. When I joined design school, I realized everyone had friends except me. I had no friends until then. That was when I started to understand myself better, identified the barriers, and started breaking them. I'd look at a group of people, pick out the ones I would like to be friends with, and strike a conversation. It was one of my first life experiments. I believe a lot of my blockades come with life experiences I've had. However, through self-awareness one can challenge and break them easily. This realization helped me become the person I am today and I am still working on myself. Ever since, I have travelled widely without being trapped in an identity cage. Only been exploring more that life has to offer. Q. What would you want the young boys & girls to learn from your journey? A. Utilise your body. Use your hands. Be more observant. We often end up being more analytical than being experiential. My very idea of starting the Charkha project was to encourage people to use their hands, bring alignment of body and mind through this activity rather than it just being a Gandhian concept. It is scientifically proven that when you use both hands simultaneously while operating the Charkha, both sides of your brain gets activated. You feel blissful when you focus and get into a meditative state of mind. Technology and social media are essential, whereas nothing like the energy that derives when you work with your hands and feel the world, rather than just seeing the world. 36

Gira Shah Gira Shah believes that every life is precious. She further says that if humans are considered as a superior species, it requires us to be more humane and compassionate towards all the creatures around us as they feel the same pain, hunger and thirst as we do. With this empathetic vision and belief, Gira founded \"Jivdaya Charitable Trust\" - a journey in the world of animal welfare in the year 2007. As a trustee, Gira spearheads the team towards an absolute dedication towards the service of innocent birds and animals that often stay neglected of good healthcare, better living conditions, love and kindness they deserve. Jivdaya Charitable Trust humbly endeavours to become the voice of these voiceless creatures. Q. What is your favourite word? A. \"Jiv-daya\" is my favourite word. It means love towards every living creature. There is a saying in Jainism, \"Mann, vachan aur kaya se kisiko takleef matt pauchao\" which basically means that one shouldn't harm anybody in any way through their thoughts, words and actions. My life is \"jiv-daya\" - from the time I wake up to the time I sleep every day, I cannot see either a man, an animal or any life form around me go through pain. I feel a very intrinsic need to help them. Q. What was the moment in your life that made you Blossom into the person you are today? A. Basically you can do what I am doing only if you have a love for animals. I am from \"Jain\" community. There is something in our community that we call, \"Jiv-daya\" which means that you should be kind and responsible towards every life form - birds, plants, animals and everything around you. Growing up in such an environment, I always used to be a person concerned about the animals around me. Back in the day when veterinary hospitals still weren't so well known, I used to see the animals around me suffering and wondered how I could help them. There wasn't any hospital or doctors I could take them to. I felt helpless. When I was older, got married, had kids and then found some more time in my life as my kids grew up, the sense and desire from my heart to help the animals had come once again. This time, I stood up to that idea and took steps towards whatever I could do. Q. What would you want the young boys & girls to learn from your journey? A. All of us dream. We dream a lot of things for ourselves. I believe we must take a step further and dream for a cause. We must keep faith in our dream and not give up. I insist that everyone should love nature, know the life forms in their own environment and be responsible for their well-being. Many people today are fascinated about domesticating tortoises in their homes, but the tortoise isn't a domestic animal at all. Even if you give it the best amenities, a house is an unhealthy environment for a tortoise. Keeping it in your home just because you want to is being irresponsible towards the well-being of another life form. 37

“JIV-DAYA” 38