65 young entrepreneurs in Rupangi Sharma's book prove age is just a number
Meet India’s little Einsteins
The second most popular question adults love to ask kids after “Pintu uncle ko dance karke dikhaaoge?” is “Bade hoke kya banoge?” At five, answers like painter, astronaut, librarian and pilot are applauded. As you grow up, the claps soften and adults pray to every god that you’ll choose a ‘stable career’. The hope that you’ll pick practicality over passion, science or commerce over arts is the ultimate expectation of every desi parent, your school teacher, and even your nosy neighbour aunty.
That was the case with most of the kids profiled in author Rupangi Sharma’s Young Indian Innovators, Entrepreneurs and Change-makers, an anthology featuring stories of kids and young adults between the ages of seven and 28 (at the time of publishing), and their social entrepreneurial ventures. Each of them told the author they were often discouraged to pursue their ideas because of their age. “I think this illuminates what is wrong with the expectations we have from young people and the fact that we don’t talk about pursuing passion at a younger age,” Sharma says. With this book, the author wants to encourage kids to believe that they too can achieve extraordinary things at any age.
After a thorough research Sharma tracked down 65 young adults from all over India — from Mumbai and Delhi to Saharanpur in UP and Uppinangady in Karnataka. “I spent three hours chatting with each one of them to understand the intention behind their projects. I wanted to capture the stories of kids who are exceedingly passionate about what they’re doing,” says Sharma.
One such profile in the book is that of Rutik Thorat, a healthcare innovator from Mumbai. He was diagnosed with sickle cell anaemia at age 6. After losing his father to sickle beta thalassemia at 11, he made it his mission to find a cure for this blood disorder. At an age where kids bury their heads in comics and football, Thorat spent time reading medical research. By 16, he identified a drug therapy he wanted to pursue reasearching. Despite initial scepticism from his family and certain scientists who he seeked mentorship from, he eventually found a mentor who backed him and went on to establish proof of concept. He has also worked on developing drug therapies for lung disorders and Covid-19 and founded a healthcare startup that seeks to use advanced AI to enhance clinical decision-making and improve patient outcomes.
There are others like Thorat. Harshita Arora from Saharanpur developed a passion for technology and programming through a computer science class in school, dropped out to homeschool herself and went on to create an app for cryptocurrency investors. Sriya Donepudi from Hyderabad started an initiative to recycle flowers into household items like candles, potpourris and paperweights to reduce wastage. She connected with local women who worked as domestic helpers and cleaners to join her initiative and help uplift their lives by providing them with an additional source of income.
These inspirational stories were exactly what Sharma wanted to highlight with her book. Through her experience as an educator, she discovered that the minds of young adults are crawling with ideas of immense potential but are often stifled. It was during one such teaching session that the idea for Young Indian Innovators, Entrepreneurs and Change-makers came to her. When she asked the kids to describe an innovator, the students named Einstein and Steve Jobs. No one in the classroom said, “I can be an innovator,” nor did they name anyone in their age group. It was at that moment when Sharma knew young adults need role models their own age, so she set out to find them for her students.
At her book readings, the first question kids often ask is if the profiles in her book are real stories. “Everyone is shocked to know these are stories of real youngsters. But I wanted people to feel this surprise, so that it would push them to think about how they can achieve their dreams. It inspires them to explore their potential.” It’s not just children, this age-agnostic book will light the spark in people of all ages to pursue the dreams they’ve left marinating in the corner of their minds.
Like the children in her book, Sharma found her calling as an author at a young age. She published her first book of poetry at 19, followed by a fiction novel based on gender-biased sex selection, and more recently, a co-authored memoir of ad-film director Prahlad Kakkar. She also continues her work as the founder & CEO of EFG Learning, a company that develops programmes to nurture creative learning. She has managed to weave her passions into a career.
While working on this book, Sharma was mindful to include an equal number of boys and girls, representing both urban and rural areas of the country. She didn’t want anyone to think that only privilege can fund your dreams. “I wanted to showcase that despite the struggles, these incredible kids didn’t let the roadblocks faze them. The hope was that these stories would inspire the readers to be resilient and courageous, whether they’re kids or adults.”
Rupangi Sharma’s book serves as a medium to that’s a reminder for children and young adults to get out of the rat race and tortoise their way to success by believing in their ideas. Who knows, maybe the next Einstein or Steve Jobs is currently playing in the backyard of your house or dreaming of discovering life on Jupiter while taking their afternoon nap.
