Diwali, a most auspicious festival for Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists the world over, is gradually being recognized across the northeast USA. The years of tireless efforts that Indian Diaspora continues to make to get an official holiday on Diwali in America is bearing fruit in some parts of the northeast coast. In 2022, the Mayor of New York City gave the best Diwali gift to Indian New Yorkers by declaring the Festival of Lights as a public school holiday, which will be effective from Diwali 2023.

Pennsylvania took a step ahead of New York and New Jersey by recognizing Diwali not just as a public school holiday but as a state holiday. Yesterday, the Pennsylvania State Senate passed a bill with an official stamp to this recognition, which was long due. The bill was brought to the state Senate in February this year. Nikil Saval, an Indian American writer, activist, politician, and a Senator from Philadelphia, broke the news through a tweet.

PC: Wikipedia (left), Indian Eagle (right)

The ethnically diverse fabric of Pennsylvania includes over 600,000 Asian Americans, a majority of whom are of Indian descent. The state is home to many Indian temples; the most prominent ones being BAPS Swaminarayan Temple, Sri Venkateshwara Temple, and Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple. Diwali being now an official holiday in Pennsylvania is a great move to celebrate ethnic diversity and promote cultural inclusivity in the state.

Born to an immigrant couple from Bengaluru, Nikil is the first Indian-origin Senator in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Arvind Venkat, who was born in Madurai and brought up in Detroit, is another Democrat in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Nikil Saval officially stated, “Our Commonwealth’s official recognition of Diwali sends a clear message of inclusion to thousands of Pennsylvanians who celebrate this festival of light and connection each year. You are seen, you are welcome, you matter.”

“Officially, Pennsylvania is the first US state to have declared Diwali a public holiday. The rest of North America is yet to reward the efforts by Indians to get the festival of lights recognized as an official holiday. Surprisingly, Pennsylvania outshone other US states, such as California, Texas, Illinois, New York and New Jersey, with the largest numbers of Indian-origin people. However, it seems that the day is not far when the Deepavali Day Act, which was introduced on the Capitol in 2021 and supported by leading Indian Americans, will make Diwali a federal holiday in the US,” said Sourav Agarwal, the Editor of Travel Beats.

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While we’re not yet done celebrating Indian-American Abhijit Banerjee’s entry to the elite club of Nobel Laureates in the world, two Indian American teenagers’ award-winning, environment-friendly inventions are ample reasons for us to have a double pre-Diwali celebration. Neil Deshmukh and Maanasa Mendu are named among the 25 outstanding young leaders for the Gloria Barron Prize 2019.

16-year-old Neil Deshmukh of Pennsylvania has won the Gloria Barron Prize 2019 for his free app “PlantumAI” that he created to help poor farmers and save water bodies in developing countries like India. Available for free, the app works offline to help farmers reduce the use of toxic pesticides in fields and detect various crop diseases, even in far-flung areas of rural India.

During his trip to India in 2016, Neil Deshmukh learned how atmospheric extremes and whimsical weather are taking a toll on farmers’ hard work at his grandfather’s farm in Maharashtra. Farmers were struggling to reap maximum yields by using pesticides to save crops from seasonal diseases. The toxic residues of the pesticides used in fields ended up polluting countryside water bodies – the elixir of cultivation for farmers.

Neil took a flight from Pennsylvania to India in 2018 after developing the app “PlantumAI” and ran a pilot test at his family farm. He partnered with plant pathologists and botanists at Akola Agriculture University, in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, to educate farmers on how to use the app and why. While the Indian American teen continues fine-tuning the app, more than 1000 crop diseases in India have been identified and studied so far using the app.

“My dream is to impact lives positively using artificial intelligence and data crowd-sourcing to make the world a better place for everyone, irrespective of their socio-economic status,” said Neil Deshmukh, the Gloria Barron Prize 2019 winner. He is currently helping the farmers of 12 villages across Maharashtra maximize healthy crop yields.

Another Gloria Barron Prize 2019 winner of Indian origin, Maanasa Mendu needs no introduction. Named America’s Top Young Scientist in 2016, Maanasa Mendu from Ohio has developed a cost-effective, renewable energy device named HARVEST using recycled materials. Just three hours of charging is enough for her device to power a 15-watt bulb.

An advocate of renewable energy, Maanasa Mendu owes her invention HARVEST to her roots in rural India where many households are exposed to the environmental hazards of using kerosene lamps due to daily electrical blackouts. During one of her trips to India, she felt the urge to empower those households with a low-cost device using renewable energy.

She spent three years designing several different prototypes of HARVEST and conducting about 1200 trials. The latest version of Maanasa Mendu’s HARVEST features energy-harvesting leaves which, when exposed to sunlight or wind or precipitation, produce an electrical charge. Her invention is modeled on the piezoelectric effect – the ability of certain energy-harvesting materials.

16-year-old Maanasa Mendu is also a budding philanthropist. She spends a portion of her scholarships and cash prizes from various science competitions to help run the Maruthi Foundation in India. The nonprofit provides the needy students with educational opportunities.

She is trying every possible way to make HARVEST available globally as a Do-It-Yourself kit. “I’ve also learned that you’re never too young or too old or too inexperienced to see a problem in the world and try to solve it,” says Maanasa.

Travel Beats, a subsidiary of Indian Eagle, strives to promote achievements of young Indians in USA. Indian Eagle, a most trusted travel booking partner of Indians in America, not only helps you travel on cheap last-minute flights to India but also shares latest updates on visa, immigration, Indian passport and major airlines.

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2019 seems the year of Indian American girls. Since the onset of 2019, we have added stories of several Indian American girls and their achievements to our continued series of Young Indians at Travel Beats, a community portal for Indians in the US by Indian Eagle Travel.

This article about four Indian American teen girls among the 2019 Regeneron Science Talent Search finalists is a story of their commitments to keep the earth green and safe through low-cost, accessible solutions to environmental issues including various types of pollution. Though these four desi girls could not make it among the 2019 Regeneron Science Talent Search winners, they are awarded $25,000 each for their unique, innovative approaches towards mitigating the direst threats to the existence of life on earth.

Anjali Chadha

One of the Regeneron Science Talent Search finalists in 2019, Anjali Chadha from Louisville, Kentucky is awarded $25,000 for her groundbreaking device that helps detect arsenic in well waters. Consumption of arsenic-rich water is leading cause of cancer in the developing countries including India, where millions of people depend on well water sources. A significant population of rural India has no other option than using arsenic-contaminated water because of acute water crisis. 16-year-old Anjali Chadha’s low-cost, portable device can help over one billion people accurately detect arsenic and measure its quantity in the water sources they have access to.

Anjali’s discovery of arsenic in the groundwater within 90 miles of her neighborhood compelled her to develop the sensor. During her research on harmful effects of arsenic in water, she came to know that about 50 million Americans are at risks of arsenic contamination as they primarily depend on well water sources. Indian American Anjali Chadha is a bioengineering career enthusiast. Featured in the award-winning documentary ‘Science Fair’, Anjali Chadha is a budding Bharatanatyam exponent. Her nonprofit ‘Empowered’ trains underserved high school girls in technological skills.

Preeti Sai Krishnamani

Among the 2019 Regeneron Science Talent Search finalists, Preeti Sai Krishnamani received $25,000 for her unflinching commitment to remove arsenic contamination in rice. A resident of Hockessin in Delaware, 17-year-old Preeti found that if soil minerals are enhanced, it can help bind arsenic components to the soil and thereby preventing contamination of rice plants. She has created a solution – silicon amendments – with rice husk and rice husk ash, which are usually dumped as wastes from rice cultivation. These can be recycled to enhance soil minerals of paddy fields against arsenic contamination.

While researching on potential solutions to reduce arsenic toxicity in rice plants, Preeti found that rice husk ash, a burnt byproduct of rice production, helps bind up arsenic and prevent it from spreading to rice plants through water by increasing iron-oxide minerals in the soil. Her solution, once perfected, will bring in a revolution in Asian countries where a significant number of people are exposed to health risks of arsenic-contaminated rice consumption. Indian American Preeti Sai Krishnamani aspires to be a social entrepreneur in agricultural technology.

Navami Jain

$25,000 is awarded to Navami Jain of Charlotte, one of the Regeneron Science Talent Search finalists 2019, for her relentless effort to produce bioethanol from agricultural waste products. Bioethanol, a biodegradable and nontoxic type of biofuel, is an environment-friendly alternative to conventional fossil fuels. Why ethanol production is currently not encouraged is because food crops like corn are mainly used to produce ethanol. Indian American Navami Jain’s research shows that it is inexpensive to produce bioethanol from wheat straw.

A student at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Navami Jain aspires to major in biochemistry or chemical engineering. She co-edits her school’s STEM journal titled Broad Street Scientific. She is also cofounder of an ecommerce portal selling organic food waste for feeding cattle.

Sai Preethi Mamidala

17-year-old Sai Preethi Mamidala of Pennsylvania is honored with the same award for her extensive studies on optimal catalysts to make renewable energy sources more accessible. The rising level of fossil-fuel pollution in India compelled her to experiment with ways to bridge the gap between the amount of reviewable energy required to reduce people’s use of non-renewable energy and the amount of renewable energies currently being produced in the developing countries like India.

A senior at Garnet Valley High School, Indian American Sai Preethi Mamidala is hell-bent on creating efficient storage regeneration processes to promote the use of renewable energy, as part of her commitment to save the planet from fossil-fuel pollution. An avid STEM advocate, Sai Preethi aspires to make it big in energy engineering.

Travel Beats, a subsidiary of Indian Eagle, publishes latest visa, immigration, passport, aviation and Indian diaspora news stories. A leading travel booking partner of Indians in USA, Indian Eagle not only guarantees lowest airfares for flights to India but also strives to promote achievements of Indian community in North America. 

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While five Indian American students are riding the waves of news for becoming finalists of America’s Top Young Scientist Challenge 2018, eight Indian Americans including these female researchers have made their way to MIT Technology Review’s 2018 list of ‘35 Innovators under 35.’ Inclined towards improving the immune system of the world, they aim their inventions at making a difference in billions of lives across the globe.

These Indian-origin female researchers and scientists are building technologies of the year for cancer drug development, effective diagnosis for early treatment, energy-saving industrial processes and lighter tools with better features. We at Travel Beats, an Indian community portal take pride in featuring these selfless achievers as part of our continued effort to promote good work by Indians worldwide.

Humsa Venkatesh, California

One the 35 ‘Innovators under 35’ on MIT Technology Review’s 2018 list, Indian America Humsa Venkatesh is named in the category of pioneers for her breakthrough research on cancer. Cancer biologist Humsa Venkatesh is a researcher at Stanford University School of Medicine. As per LinkedIn profile, Humsa is on a mission to discover micro-environmental determinants of cancer growth for more effective treatment.

When her uncle died of kidney diagnosis in less than 24 months of the diagnosis, California-based Humsa Venkatesh was surprised to see the doctors’ little understanding of the fundamental mechanisms behind the growth of cancerous tumors in the human body. Instead of becoming a doctor, she immersed herself in the research that discovered how tumors grow and thrive like a parasite by eating into the health of neural networks in different types of cancer.

Her discovery of cancer cells’ parasitic behavior has not only opened up to a broader avenue of research on cancer treatment but motivated her to develop drugs to neutralize cancer tumors within their own environment.

Dr. Shinjini Kundu, Pennsylvania   

One of the 35 Innovators under 35 on MIT Technology Review’s 2018 list, Dr. Shinjini Kundu is an Indian American doctor and scientist in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has created an artificial-intelligence system that helps understand subtle patterns and delicate details of medical reports and images, which are otherwise indiscernible to the naked eye. Her invention could have a major impact on the way diseases are detected and treated.

Knowing hidden defects which often remain undetectable in medical diagnosis helps recognize diseases at the very onset much earlier their symptoms develop. A Stanford University graduate, Dr. Shinjini Kundu says that her AI-based medical imaging system makes hidden or imperceptible details surface with markers on images. In 2017, she was felicitated at the NRI of the Year, Times Now’s annual award show for achievers of Indian descent.

Shreya Dave, Greater Boston

The CEO of Via Separations, Shreya Dave is one of the eight inventors on MIT Technology Review’s list of 35 ‘Innovators under 35’ in 2018. She, along with her team has developed an energy-saving technology for industrial processes of separating chemical compounds from food, fuel, drugs and beverages. Industrial processes consume colossal amounts of energy to separate chemicals from commodities. Shreya Dave of Greater Boston Area is confident that her molecular filtration membranes will cut energy consumption by 50 to 90 percent in industrial processes which account for 12% of energy consumption in the United States.

Prineha Narang, Massachusetts

Among the visionaries on MIT Technology Review’s 2018 List of 35 ‘Innovators under 35,’ Prineha Narang is an assistant professor of computational materials science at Harvard University. The behavior of materials, at a nano scale, in different states such as optical, electronic and thermal is the focus of her studies. ‘How materials interact with light and other forms of electro-magnetic radiation’ is the subject matter of her research which is aimed at developing innovations in nanoscience for better technologies. Innovations could include lighter cell phones cell phones and telescopes with better cameras and lenses respectively. She resides in Massachusetts.

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India in my eyes is the quintessence of the world. India is the place where I would always be happy. Being merely a child, I enjoyed the simple pleasures India offered to me: eating ice lollies all year round, gathering a large collection of toys, and spending majority of my time surrounded by family. The year I turned four, my family moved to Taiwan. We moved to China a few years later. I didn’t forget my Indian heritage, but I didn’t relate myself to it anymore either. I continued to watch Bollywood films and speak in Hindi, but I couldn’t remember how it felt to be a part of the country even when I visited.

When I turned nine, I found myself in India once again. But, by then I had changed. I remember the first time I walked out of the airport terminal. I was crossing the road and I fell down for the noise around me was deafening compared to what I was used to. I remember that the air felt sticky. It was a different kind of warmth; one that I didn’t welcome.

But, I was optimistic back then. I was excited about my first day of school. I was eager to make friends there where I could converse in two different languages and where cultures would blend together easily.

To me, heat isn’t the only warmth felt in India. The warmth you receive from the people is what makes India a heartfelt nation. On my first day of school, I felt welcome. I felt like I was a part of something bigger. I felt as though all those girls and boys I met in those few hours were my family. As a child who had spent so much time away from my relatives, I had lost my family connections before they even began. Yet, I felt welcome so instantly here. The people of India are wonderful individuals. They are caring, they are kind. The poor, the rich, the young, the old, the fearless, the shy – one will feel loved by them all.

During my time in India, I attended an international school up in the hills of Gurgaon. It would take me nearly an hour to reach school. And in those hours up and down the hills, I grew as a person. I grew into a citizen of India. I morphed into a being that began to really see the world. Every morning, I crossed the city center with its towering skyscrapers, which illuminated a yellow light by reflecting the early morning sun. I crossed concrete walls and glass windows. I crossed the small huts with one dimly lit bulb hanging outside the front doors. I crossed cracked wooden panels.

India taught me that the world wasn’t perfect and that there are true hardships in this world. It taught me the harsh reality of life in those hours on the way to and back from school. I witnessed wealth and poverty. It made me realize that I could help. It taught me to be thankful for what I had. It taught me acknowledgement. At the same time, I realized that there was beauty even in the imperfection.

I remember one specific day. A wedding. One of the villages was hosting a wedding in a small field. Sitting on the bus, I peered outside the window. There was neither flamboyance nor luxury. The people wore simple clothing. Women put on flowers as ornaments. But, there was an abundance of joy. The entire village was dancing. The air was rife with revelry. The children were playing and running around the small field cherishing the beauty of nature. This was not a land of milk and honey. But, these people made it one. Despite imperfections, they found joy and they seemed to be grateful for it. In my eyes, India finds joy in sadness. It finds beauty even in flaws. It finds perfection even in places where it cannot be found.

Each time I visit India, I go shopping with my cousin. Since I was little, I’ve always admired the beauty and colorfulness of bangles – be it in outdoor bazaars or indoor stores. I’ve always loved running my fingertips on these spherical objects that come in a range of colors and materials. Some are flamboyantly orange and made of glass. Others are wrapped in a light shade of pink thread. Over time, I began to think of these bangles as something entirely different.

India in my eyes is a collage of these bangles. 

I began to see these bangles as a representation of the people of India. Different colors and different materials of bangles state different languages and different ways of life to me. The north of India differs greatly from the south. The east does from the west. I was born in the east of India; in a coastal state where culture is so very different than that in Delhi where I grew up. From the clothes one wears to what one eats. In Gurgaon, the live entertainment theatre, Kingdom of Dreams, expresses the differences around India, meanwhile emphasizing that we are a great nation of lively culture. ‘Culture Gully’ (culture street) represents fourteen states of India. Pavilions are constructed to cater the state’s food, reflect the state’s style of architecture, and express what the state is known for through decor. I always enjoyed walking through this miniature India because it showcased variation, but represented that it was part of the same country for it was all under one dome. Even though the states of India are different, they are the same too. We are the people, who are part of the same country, who believe in the same country and who love the same country. In my eyes, India is a land of vibrant heritage – a crossroad of different cultures, lifestyles, beliefs and religions.

India is beautiful, diverse and dynamic. It is not a stereotype. I wish to tell the entire world the same.

I wish to tell the world to look at this nation with a fresh pair of eyes. To look beyond what India looks on the surface. The country has been covered under the clouds of dust called judgment. Peel away these scraps of poverty, noisy crowds, and chaos. Keep aside all set ideals, preconceived notions, biased concepts and a closed mindset. Peel away and remove this outer coating and find the beauty inside. Brush away the crumbles of vermilion sand, and build a monument of bricks. Feel the air and breathe in its fragrance. Erase trying to understand the country. Rather become a part of it.

From India, I learned how to love others and how to welcome different ways of life. I learned how to find beauty and joy where it cannot be found. I learned to be a part of something bigger. I learned to be different and yet the same. I am proud to be from such a radiant country. I am proud to say that I come from a nation that is growing every day, a nation that fought for its freedom. In my eyes, India will always be what it truly is: Home.

West Chester-based Shweta Nanda’s story “Look Beneath the Surface” is one of the our selected entries in Travel Beats Short Story Writing Content 2016 hosted by Indian Eagle, a leading travel partner of Indians in USA. A 9^th grader of Unionville High School, Kennett Square in Pennsylvania, Shweta wishes to make the world a better place with her sincere efforts. Swimming, reading, writing and traveling are her interests. Her favorite Indian dishes are Tandoori Chicken, Chhole Bhature, and Kulfi.

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The United States shortlisted 10 young scientists, including five Indian American students for Discovery Education Network’s Young Scientist Challenge 2016. Young Indians in USA have been riding the waves of innovation and invention contributing to the progress of society from different perspectives.

These five Indian American finalists are gearing up for the grand finale of 3M Young Scientist Challenge in St. Paul, Minnesota, while 13-year-old Anushka Naiknaware from Portland became a Google Science Fair winner yesterday for her cost-effective, biocompatible dressing material for chronic wounds.

Meghna Behari from Pennsylvania, Rohit Mital from Rochester Hills in Michigan, Rohan Wagh from Portland in Oregon, Mrinali Kesavadas from Illinois and Sara Makboul from Georgia are potential young scientists of America among the finalists. They will compete for the prestigious title “America’s Top Young Scientist.”

Among the finalists of 3M Young Scientist Challenge 2016, Pennsylvania-based Meghna Behari has created an innovative device to make it easy to reach waterways which are difficult to access. The device will also help to analyze the level of difficulty in accessing waterways by monitoring temperature and pH levels of waters. She is sanguine about the usefulness of her invention for scientists.

14-year-old Rohan Wagh from Portland will compete in the grand finale of 3M Young Scientist Challenge 2016 for his invention to eliminate deficiency of energy in underdeveloped countries. This student of grade 8 from the Portland Indian community in Oregon believes that his invention can increase the efficiency of microbial fuel cells. The device is compact in size and requires low maintenance.

14-year-old Mrinali Kesavadas from Illinois has built a cost-effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) simulator to save lives of the poor in underdeveloped countries. Made with low-cost materials, the simulator can give instant feedback through a computer-based program so that the accuracy of CPR tests can be checked. This device by the 8th grader is portable too.

8th grader Sara Makboul’s invention of Nano Cellulose Beads to improve the quality of water is her entry to the grand finale of 3M Young Scientist Challenge 2016. The 14-year-old Indian American girl from Georgia created Nano Cellulose Beads using absorbent cellulose from leaf remains. If combined with sodium polyacrylate and dispersed on land, the beads can absorb excess storm water to decrease the level of pollution.

13-year-old Rohit Mital entered the grand finale for his device to curb pollution caused by emission from diesel automobiles. The device will not only optimize filters to reduce the quantity of hazardous solid and liquid particles in the air but also save 250 million gallons of fuel per year. This 8th grader from the Indian community in Michigan aims to save people from life-taking diseases caused by air pollution.

The 10 finalists will present their innovations to a panel of judges including noted scientists and explain how their inventions can solve everyday problems in the grand finale of 3M Young Scientist Challenge 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The event will be held on October 16, 17 and 18. They will also compete in a number of scientific challenges during the event which will be held on October 16, 17 and 18. The winner will be awarded the title “America’s Top Young Scientist” and a scholarship worth $25,000.

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