Vijaya Pastala Vijaya Pastala is the founder & CEO of Under The Mango Tree (UTMT), a social enterprise that brings a variety of agricultural products to the market to support rural livelihoods. While helping in relief work after a devastating earthquake in Latur, Maharashtra, Vijaya noticed that a lot of trade between farmers & buyers…
Rakhi Paliwal Rakhi Paliwal is only 23 years old but she is a pioneer in her community. Not only is Rakhi the youngest Vice President of the Upli-Oden Panchayat, Khamnore Block in Rajsamand district of Rajasthan, but also the first woman in her community who is studying law and drives a motorcycle. Rakhi travels 50…
Priyanshi Somani Age does not define the boundaries of excellence and Priyanshi Somani has proved just that. She is the first Indian to win the prestigious Mental Calculation World Cup in 2010, achieving this feat at a young age of 12 years! Participants at the Mental Calculation World Cup compete to solve a series of…
Mittal Patel Mittal Patel, a young journalism student in Gujarat University, joined the mainstream media to kick-start her career. In one of her interactions as a journalist, Mittal learnt about the constant struggles of the nomadic and de-notified tribes of Gujarat. As Mittal researched more, she learnt that four million people from these tribes live…
Fehmida Malik Fehmida Malik is a 42-year-old woman from Dholka, a small town near Ahmedabad in Gujarat. People in her community, who are primarily Muslim, often do not encourage girls to work after their studies. Luckily, Fehmida grew up in a well-educated and supportive family who encouraged her to follow her passions. As a young…
Ritu Biyani A dental surgeon by profession, Ritu Biyani has several feathers to her hat. The first Lady Officer Paratrooper from the Indian Army’s dental corps, she served as Captain in the army for 10 years until she decided to become a full time mother for her daughter. Ritu’s entire world changed the day she…
Vijaylaxmi Sharma Vijaylaxmi is only 24 years old but is an inspiration to many young girls in her village of Jhodinda, Rajasthan, where child marriage is common. She defied this age-old tradition and decided to follow her aspirations to go to college and live life the way she wanted. Convincing her parents was the biggest…
Norti Bai Though she dropped out of school when she was 10 years old, Norti Bai’s decided 45 years later to embrace the digital world by learning to use computers and not allow her limited education be an obstacle in her way to progress. After initially grappling with the basics, Norti soon became proficient with…
Sua Kalbelia Sua Kalbeliya is among the best dancers in the Kalbelia troupe; a traditional dance form integral to the livelihood of the Kalbelia nomadic tribe of Rajasthan. In the olden days, the Kalbelia tribals shunned by mainstream society and deemed an untouchable caste, lived as snake catchers or ‘Saperas’ selling the poison to earn…
Sister Mariola Sister Mariola is the only connect that inmates of Ajmer Jail have with the outside world. They wait patiently for her to visit them, because she is the only friend, guide and messenger that they have.Sister Mariola came to Ajmer in 1979 as a teacher at a local institute. While teaching, she noticed…
