Projects

Creative projects

LIGHT TIME: AN ONGOING POEM

“I live like a vandal in the big city.

Everywhere I go, I break off small pieces of glass – furtively making sure nobody catches me at my selfish, strange act.

I take these pieces and write my poems – carefully assembled balls of glass that make visions in the light.

This is my glass ball legacy. No one will see it just the same.”

How many people do we have to meet, how many mistakes do we have to make, how many times do we have to cry, before we become the people we are meant to be? How do we know who we’re meant to be?

Am I just an ongoing poem, or am I the epiphany at the end?

This book is a beginning. It is a collection of firsts: the life cycle of a caterpillar as it tries to become a butterfly. It is the time after the light leaves the stars and before it reaches our eyes. It is a question that decides to get up and find its own answer.

‘Light Time’ is a collection of poems about feeling, being and becoming. It is a search for truth, identity and happiness in the confusing haze of slowly growing up.

“This poem.

Maybe you will read it, and find some truth.

Tell me, won’t you?

Maybe it won’t be the truth of this poem, but since I’m writing it and I don’t know what it is, maybe there isn’t one.

Maybe you’ll find something.”

Buy my debut poetry book here or here.

BIO MUCH?: A PODCAST

Bio Much? is a weekly podcast where we break down some of the biggest ideas in biology. Whether you’re a student, an enthusiast, or just somebody who wants to understand the science behind the things happening around them, bio much? is perfect for you.

Bio Much? is available on Spotify, Anchor, Pocket Casts, and more. Follow us on Instagram for updates, study tips, questions, and other fun activities.

Episode Directory:
SEASON 1: Covid’s Monomyth

Ep1: Ghosts of Pandemic Past
Ep2: Bioweapons 101
Ep3: Zoonosis: Bats, Rats, Endangered Habitats
Ep4: How to Get Away With Receptor-Mediated Fusion
Ep5: The Eye of the Cytokine Storm
UNSCRIPTED Mid-Season Special: COVID MYTHBUSTING
Ep6: Beyond The Swab – Covid Testing Explained
Ep7: The Deal With The Drugs – Covid Treatmen

community
SCHOOL KA SAATHI

Started during the lockdown, School Ka Saathi is an initiative to help underprivileged students with their school curriculum in fundamental subjects like Math, Science and English. Most local municipal schools don’t offer online learning and education has come to a standstill as a result. I believe a free, good-quality education is the right of every student. This initiative is a manifestation of of that ideology.

In 2021, we partnered with Aashray Care Home, a unit of Positive Women Network of Rajasthan (PWNR+), a charitable society based out of jaipur. For the last 15 years they have been running three care centers for HIV/AIDS infected or affected children in Jaipur and Ajmer. The onset of COVID-19 highlighted the need to have online education facilities for the children at the centers as their education was impacted due to closure of schools and the centers having no facility or infrastructure for online education.

We successfully raised over 2,00,000 INR (around 2,700 USD) in support of these children and their education, as well as second-hand electronic devices.

If you know any underprivileged students that could use our help, contact schoolkasaathi@gmail.com.

Read a short article I wrote on education inequality here.

clubs

BEACON

“Beacon is a creative collective, aimed at giving opinions, musings and creative thinking a platform where they can be expressed and heard distinctly. A writer’s dream, a poet’s verse, a critic’s rant, or just an opinion: this is the one place you can find them all.”

I co-founded this club in 2020. We have evolved into a tight-knit team of readers and writers. We regularly post book reviews, author recommendations, character reviews, and much more on our website and Instagram page.

Our core belief is that reading and writing are for everyone, and we hope to create a platform that represents that belief.

HFS Free speech forum

The Free Speech Forum is Hiranandani Foundation School (Powai)’s first debate club. Co-founded by the winning team of All India Inter-school Frank Anthony Memorial Debate 2019 – Advait Sangle and Mrigaanka Sharma – the club is open to students of the 11th and 12th grades.

I am the Co-founder and Co-president of the Free Speech Forum. We organize debates and discussions on social, political, and generally thought-provoking topics ranging from reservations in educational institutions to the importance of a free press. Our aim is to give students (and even teachers) a space to share their opinions, broaden their approach, and explore diverse viewpoints on a range of subjects.

HFS Fundamenta, an annual interschool invitational debate event, is also organized by the FSF.

Leadership

HFS head girl

I am currently serving as the Head Girl of Hiranandani Foundation School – Powai. Along with the rest of the Student Body Council, I help organize various interschool and intraschool events, and bridge the gap between the student body and the administration.

We are also enthusiastic about coming up with new plans and programs for the benefit of the student body, and amplifying the voices and concerns of students.

HFS fundamenta

Fundamenta is an event that brings diverse minds together to celebrate the spirit of debate. We at Fundamenta believe that constructive debate brings out the often overlooked nuances of some very important topics, and challenges people to think outside the box. Keeping that in mind, Fundamenta is a platform to reason, speak out, question, and stand up…but most importantly: to learn.

The 2021 debate was organized over three rounds in January, and it followed an innovative format which combined the one-on-one and parliamentary styles of debate.

I was the Co-Head of the Organizing Committee, and also served as a Student Moderator for all three rounds.

summer activities

GPPL fellowship

“Since 2018, in partnership with the United Nations GCNI (Global Compact Network India), NYU’s GovLab & the Czech Embassy in New Delhi, FCC has been organising a summer Fellowship for talented high school students who are enthusiastic about making early beginnings as a contributor to their societies. This is an annual experiential Fellowship for exceptional teenagers between the ages of 13 to 18 years, designed and taught by international public policy and governance experts from FCC and its partner organisations. Along with a carefully curated collection of reading materials and a diverse array of guest lectures from international experts, students also tackle unique governance case studies and policy simulations to build their understanding of concepts. At the end of the Fellowship, the best performing Fellows are awarded either an internship with the United Nations GCNI or an internship with Institute H21.”

I was a fellow during the Government, Public Policy, and Leadership 2.1 Fellowship program, organized by Institute H21’s Foundation for Community Consensus (FCC). Visit the website here.

IH21 InternSHIP

“The Institute H21 is a non-profit organisation founded in 2016 to bring the universal D21 – Janeček voting method to public attention in the Czech Republic and beyond. This voting system is based on each voter having the option to use multiple votes and was developed in 2012 by the visionary and social reformer Karel Janeček. Our team includes mathematician, journalists, political scientists, sociologists, psychologists, researchers, data analysts, software developers and experts in communication and marketing.”

My fellow interns and I used the Janecek Method (D21) to survey schools in North India, and learn from students how they, along with their educational institutions, were adapting to Covid-19 and online learning. Read our article here.

SHRM Biotech summer camp

“SHRM Biotechnologies Pvt. Ltd. (SHRM) is one of the very few companies in India and in the eastern region offering services in research(outsourcing) and having multidimensional strengths and capabilities to provide organized & comprehensive consultancy/services in the field of Biopharmaceuticals & Biotechnology. Realizing biotechnology as one of the greatest intellectual enterprises of humankind, to provide the impetus that fulfills this potential of understanding life processes and utilizing them to the advantage of humanity.”

I succesfully participated the 6-day summer camp conducted by SHRM on Bioinformatics. Topics covered:

Day 1: Intro to Molecular Biology
Day 2: BLAST software
Day 3: Protocol of Drug Discovery
Day 4: Computer Aided Drug Designing
Day 5: Clinical Trials and Drug Review
Visit the SHRM Website here .

breakthrough junior challenge

“The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is an annual global competition for students to inspire creative thinking about science. Students ages 13 to 18 from countries across the globe are invited to create and submit original videos (3:00 minutes in length maximum) that bring to life a concept or theory in the life sciences, physics or mathematics. The submissions are judged on the student’s ability to communicate complex scientific ideas in engaging, illuminating, and imaginative ways. The Challenge is organized by the Breakthrough Prize Foundation.”

2020
Top 10% of entries – My video called “THE COVID HEIST – Receptor-Mediated Fusion”, explaining the process of the coronavirus’ entry into the human cell), was part of the top 10% of entries worldwide. Watch the video here.
2021
I created a video called “Simplifying RT-PCR” which explains the RT-PCR process which is being widely used for Covid-19 diagnosis. Watch the video here.

awards and achievements

debate and mun

National Best Speaker and Winning Team – All India Interschool Frank Anthony Memorial Debate 2019: an annual debate organized by the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) for all ICSE schools across India. Over 1600 schools participate each year. Press Coverage: Times of India , Global Prime News , India News and Times
Qualified for State Level – Association of ICSE Schools in Maharashtra (AISM) Debate 2019
Winning Team – Podar Zenith Controversus 2018 and 2019: An Interschool debate organized by Lilavatibai Podar High School, Mumbai. Over 21 ICSE and ISC schools participated.
Best Delegate – The Alpha Urbane Project MUN 2018
Best Delegate – HFSMUN 2020
High Commendation – HFSMUN 2019
High Commendation – HFSMUN 2018
Verbal Mention – Cathedral MUN 2019
Assistant Director of the Historical Continuous Crisis Committee – Artibus MUN 2020

writing

Finalist – Engineer Girl Essay Contest 2019: An international contest organized by the National Academy of Engineering. View the results here.
Published in Local Newspaper – Article about the neighborhood’s celebration of Ganesh Chathurthi (a community festival). Read it here.

Academics

school

Dr. L.H. Hiranandani Trophy for the Topper in ICSE Examination – Awarded by my school. Scored 99.2% in the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) 10th Std. Examinations. Press Coverage: Times of India (NIE).
Late Dr. Krishnan Trophy for the Highest Scorer in English in ICSE 10th – Awarded by my school for securing the highest overall marks in English in Grade 10.
Governor’s Gold Medal Recipient
Two-Time Scholar’s Badge Recipient – Awarded by my school for academic excellence.
Rotary Club of Bombay Powai Academic Excellence Award
Subject Prizes – Awarded by my school for securing the highest overall marks in the grade in a subject.
Grade 10:
– English
– Hindi
Grade 9:
– Biology
– Hindi
Grade 8:
– English
– Hindi

Standardized testing

SAT: 1560
MATH: 790 | READING and WRITING: 770
99th Percentile
AP Biology: 5
AP Calculus AB: 5
AP Physics C (Mechanics): 4