Category Archives: World Opinion

Meet Niharika, the comedian behind viral Instagram videos

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Nri's / Pio's, World Opinion

Bengaluru’s funny girl Niharika NM talks to CE about her Netflix debut, life in California, and the muse behind her characters

Niharika NM (Photo | Instagram screenshot)

Bengaluru :

A South Indian aunty or a Californian girl – Niharika NM can imitate any with the same ease. Currently riding high on her latest stint in Netflix’s Behansplaining, featuring Srishti Dixit and Kusha Kapila, and her viral comic video strips on Instagram, Niharika has a lot to be beaming about these days. Getting into a show where comic artistes like Dixit and Kapila have made their niche might be a risk, but Niharika says she was ready to give it her best shot.

“It feels great to be a part of the Behensplaining universe. I was super stoked when Netflix reached out and wanted me to be a part of it. Kusha, Srishti and Aisha are super talented and I’m just trying my best to match their awesomeness,” says the Bengalurean, who is currently pursuing her MBA in Los Angeles.

Confessing that she started comedy with her ‘terrible dad jokes’, Niharika never knew it would go so far. “I did computer science engineering for my undergrad, and a year into it, I just knew that I’d be a useless engineer. I also knew that the only thing that made me tolerable to most people were my dad jokes, that were so bad they were almost good.

“So, I started a YouTube channel as a creative outlet. I started making comedy skits, sketches and rants about everything under the sun,” says Niharika. She initially started by creating characters from her childhood. “I’ve been trying to showcase my personality while creating content because it just feels more authentic to me right now and I’m getting slightly comfortable just being myself and dipping into my South Indian roots,” says the 23-year-old, who moved to LA in 2019.

“Life in the USA is different, but quite exciting. Quarantining by myself wasn’t the greatest feeling in the world especially as it was the first time I was ever away from my family. However, I did try my hand at cooking, which I very quickly realised I absolutely suck at,” jokes Niharika, who tried her hand on short format content for the first time during the lockdown.

“I think the Instagram rant that I made about the quote, ‘If you love someone, let them go’, has been a game changer for me. I did not expect it to get the type of response it got, but it definitely surprised me to see how many people could relate to it,” says Niharika, whose video was shared by South Indian actors like Khushbu Sundar.

“Every time a celebrity reposts my videos or tells me I’m funny, I can never digest it and I’m always excited about it,” says Niharika, who tries her best to stay calm while responding to them. “But Khushbu is such a legend that I could not even act calm about getting her attention,” she laughs.

Winning hearts

Earlier this month, Niharika NM posted a video on the popular saying – ‘If you love someone, let them go’. In it, she angrily rants to ask if she’s running a lodge, where one could come and go as they please. With heavy usage of Bengaluru street lingo, the video managed to reach, and crack up, all kind of audiences. The video has garnered close to 5.5 lakh views and has been shared by many. Actors Samyukta Hornad and Kavya Venkatesh left comments on it too.

Ansr acquires Bengaluru-based AI firm FastNext

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion
Representative image/Credit: Pixabay Image

The US-based Ansr on Wednesday announced acquisition of Bengaluru-based artificial intelligence (AI) firm FastNext in a cash and stock deal.

However, the company didn’t disclose the acquisition cost.

Post the acquisition, FastNext employees will join Ansr and work closely with its product Talent500.

“The acquisition will enable Ansr empower global enterprises to build the best teams for their global capability centres (GCC) by using deep learning and AI-powered tools across talent acquisition and management, smart workspace management and management and business workflows,” Ansr said in a statement.

The first of the capabilities Ansr aims to build with FastNext is in AI driven talent acquisition and management that will augment existing consulting and technology capabilities. It will help clients in areas such as talent acquisition and management.

“Ansr’s Talent500 will play a pivotal role in this partnership for achieving comprehensive 360-degree candidate profiles,” the statement said.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> City> Top Bengaluru Stories / by PTI / November 05th, 2020

Back with a bounce

Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Sports, Uncategorized, World Opinion

City hoopster talks about staying alone and training amid the pandemic in the US

Bengaluru :

 Bengaluru girl Sanjana Ramesh is currently in her second year with the Northern Arizona University (NAU) women’s basketball team in the United States. But this year has been completely different from the last season due to the pandemic, and with the 19-year-old living away from her family, life is not easy for her in the prevailing situation. 

Sanjana is adjusting to the new normal, wherein she gets tested for Covid-19 thrice a week, and gyms are also open during a specific time. Even when it comes to food, there is no dine-in and takeaway is the usual option. She has also been extra careful about isolation, and hopes to get involved more in the upcoming National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Basketball Season.   

“I have had to make sacrifices due to Covid-19,” the India hoopster said in a virtual interaction. “I don’t want to take any risks. I am here in the United States. What if I get the virus? I will not have the support system that I have back home. I am more isolated. It is the necessary sacrifice to make if you want to play this season and I want to do that.” 

After spending three months in India, Sanjana, who is majoring in business administration, travelled to the US in July. She had to quarantine for 14 days before starting her light training. Initially, she had to train one on one, before gradually picking up and starting practice with her teammates. With her team starting the NCAA Division I campaign on Nov. 25, she is now looking forward to it, but has a weird feeling too. “Now we all play as a team and we have progressed in training. And, I will have to change my mindset that I have to play against another team. It is a little strange, knowing that we will be touching, breathing and sharing the air in the same place,” said Sanjana. 

The team has also held a meetings about the dos and don’ts around Covid-19. This season is going to be a big test for all players, including Sanajana, at both the physical and the mental level. They have had sessions with therapists too. 

“My personal goals are that at least for 10 minutes a game, I want to be the leading shot blocker in our conference, get rebounds… Also, it is going to be hard if even one of the players gets Covid in our team. Even if everyone else is fine, we have a 14-day shutdown,” Sanjana said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / November 24th, 2020

The right match

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinion

City-based singer Soundarya Jayachandran on crooning her first Hindi song for Netflix’s new show Mismatched, which also features renditions by popular names like Prateek Kuhad and Ritviz .

Soundarya Jayachandran

Bengaluru :

 Fresh off its Friday release, Netflix’s new show, Mismatched, is all about teenage love and dreams, set in the scenic locales of Rajasthan. But besides winning hearts, the show – which stars Rannvijay Singha, Prajakta Kohli and Rohit Saraf – also offers an array of foot-tapping music, featuring songs by well-known names like Prateek Kuhad, Nikita Gandhi and Ritviz. Joining this lineup is city-based singer Soundarya Jayachandran, who lent her voice for the song Jaana. 

Jayachandran recalls this collaboration as things just falling in place at the right time. “Nigel Rajarathnam, who has produced the song, and I had worked together previously. When he got to know that Jasleen Royal, who has written the song, was looking for a voice for the song, he got in touch with me. He felt my voice will fit the song,” says Jayachandran, who adds that the song has a mellow yet dark tune. 

Mostly known for her English songs – original and covers – she does get nervous about singing in Hindi. “It’s just that I am too critical about my Hindi pronunciation. But I do love singing Hindi ballads, since I have been trained in Carnatic classical music for 10 years,” says Jayachandran, confessing that she still finds it a little difficult to write songs in Hindi.

Apart from being trained in Indian classical music, the singer, who is in her mid-twenties, is also trained in guitar from Trinity College of Music, London, and learnt western classical vocals from AR Rahman’s KM Music Conservatory in Chennai. 

Jayachandran also recently launched her first album, Riding Daylight, which has 11 songs. “It’s a visual concept album where every song has an abstract video. The first song, In The Middle, is out now and on the 11th of every month, I am going to drop the other songs,” she says.

She is also working on her own firm, Catiko Productions. “It will take care of content creation, ad films, set design, etc. The last six months have been tough. Through this production house, I look forward to financial stability,” says the singer. 

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Monika Monalisa / Express News Service / November 24th, 2020

‘Soorarai Pottru’: Sky is the limit for Captain GR Gopinath

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

From being an Army man to an entrepreneur, Captain Gopinath speaks about his life and the events that inspired the latest Suriya-starrer ‘Soorarai Pottru’.

Air Deccan founder Captain GR Gopinath (L) and Kollywood actor Suriya (Photo | PTI and YouTube Screengrab)

Bengaluru :

Captain Gopinath’s phone has not stopped buzzing with congratulatory messages ever since the release of Tamil movie Soorarai Pottru, which is based on his life and stars actor Suriya in the lead role. However, he still finds fame awkward.

While Gopinath is quite happy with the way the movie has turned out, he tells CE that Girish Karnad was the first person to convince him that his journey should be made into a movie.

“After reading my book Simply Fly: A Deccan Odyssey, he told me, ‘Captain, you have village, army, politics, helicopter, airplane… your story is so visually fascinating. It should be made into a movie’, but I was shy. He later told my wife Bharghavi too that if I am ready to give the rights, he is ready to wear the greasepaint,” laughs Gopinath, as he recalls the conversation that took place in 2017, two years before Karnad passed away.

Even when the film’s director Sudha Kongara approached him to get the rights of his book for a movie, Gopinath was still not sure.

It was when Guneet Monga, the co-producer of the movie, who has critically acclaimed movies like Gangs of Wasseypur, The Lunchbox, Masaan, Period. End of Sentence to his credit, reached out that something changed in Gopinath.

“Guneet Monga said the story held a special place for her because the first flight she ever took was Air Deccan. Then I researched her work and felt it would be good to give the rights of the movie,” says Gopinath, who was well aware that the makers would take creative liberty.

“My concern was that the message should not be lost. While there is masala, there is also meat beneath it. I am happy the message is loud and clear in the film,” emphases the 68-year-old, who shuttles between Bengaluru and his village Gorur in Hassan district, and remains busy with “writing, and mentoring inspiring entrepreneurs”.

Gopinath was also all praises for the makers for portraying the female lead as a “strong support than a subordinate”.

He says it was important to show the female lead playing his wife’s character as someone who had her own dream. “When there is a success story, there is usually a team behind it. My wife is that support for me,” adds Gopinath, whose wife still runs her bakery, Bun World Iyenger Bakery, which currently has four branches in Bengaluru, the oldest being the one in Malleswaram that was opened 25 years ago.

Talking about the scene in which Nedumaaran Rajangam (played by Suriya) asks Bommi (the wife, played by Aparna Balamurali) for financial help, Gopinath says no such thing happened in real life. “It was like a metaphor. Though I never asked for any financial help, she was my strongest support,” says Gopinath.

Thinking of a low-cost airline at a time when flying was still a luxury, he admits, was an audacious step. “One day, I was driving to my village and I came across a computer training centre, which was a new thing. It seemed like a new country, one with hungry consumers, where people had refrigerators and other electronic items displayed in their living rooms,” he says.

“It’s not always hard work and perseverance that brings success, it’s also optimism. It is important that you wake up and believe that things will work out.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Entertainment> Tamil / by Monika Monalisa / Express News Service / November 23rd, 2020

Exploring ancient skies

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Green Initiatives / Environment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Nature, Records, All, World Opinion

Former Planetarium director studies stone inscriptions to understand past celestial events

Bengaluru :

Looking at the stone and understanding the sky is what she does. And she is leaving no stone unturned to understand the celestial events of the past. The celestial world has always fascinated B S Shylaja. And therefore, opting for astrophysics to understand the astronomical occurrences and phenomena was not at all surprising. In 1994, she joined as an educator in Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru. Till her retirement in 2017 as the Director of Planetarium, she taught basics of astronomy and astrophysics to graduate students.

But now she is busy studying inscription stones to know how much ancient people knew about celestial occurrences and how they followed and recorded some rare and common events. Usually Indian stone inscriptions are edicts for grants and donations of land and kind to individuals or temples. The tradition of getting edicts recorded on stone can be traced back to 3rd century BCE. Stone inscriptions have been studied, translated and published right from 19th century by Indian epigraphists, British scholars and is now continued by the Archaeological Survey of India.

However, these inscriptions also provide records of eclipses, solstices and planetary conjunctions, Shylaja informs. She has studied not only Indian inscriptions but extended her studies to South and South East Asia – Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal and Thailand. This has thrown light on many new aspects such as the evolution of calendars independently from the influence of Indian system of time measurement as early as the 3rd century BCE.

Shylaja says, “We find a wealth of information on planetary positions in a limited geographical region. The words that are used to describe vary from place to place and from time to time. It must be possible to find many more records in India and nearby countries by a detailed scrutiny. Many interesting records of planetary conjunctions are also available.” This voluminous exercise has involved scrutiny of 38,000 inscriptions from 6th to 17th century and gathering of 1,100 useful information about celestial events.

The result of her effort has led to deciphering records of solar and lunar eclipses, solstices, equinoxes and planetary conjunctions. In all these cases, the dates and timings are meticulously written down while the details on the positions of planets are also available. She has also traced Kannada inscriptions to far off regions like Myanmar. She was assisted by Geetha K G (project assistant/co-researcher) for some discoveries in 2016.

Data was sorted out using software but was not an easy task. Astro-information was hidden as an adjective or as a simile in the long texts on praise of a donor/awardee.  Shylaja explains, “The event descriptions are very long, phrases are hidden, language tough with many technical terms. Simple phrases were hidden, difficult to scoop out. We undertook to scrutinize all inscriptions which require knowledge of astronomy and language command.

Our minute study has been useful in understanding observational tools and methods for eclipse predictions.” In the 2016 studies, Shylaja and Geetha mainly dealt with inscriptions found in and around Karnataka. Shylaja says, “A good number of Kannada inscriptions are found in AP, TN, Maharashtra and Goa. Many are bi-lingual. All inscriptions in Tirupati are in Kannada, Sanskrit and Telugu and at times, Tamil.

Three volumes from Tirupati cover 15-17th century — the peak period of Vijayanagar empire. During Krishnadevaraya reign, every auspicious event was used as an opportunity to offer gifts and donations.”


Most inscriptions begin with information about dates. In some, an eclipse is mentioned in the beginning of the text or at the end. The earliest stone inscription of total eclipse in 754 CE has been found in Pattadakal. In fact, European visitors learned the procedures of calculations from Indians. Records of total eclipses have made for an exciting study for Shylaja.

The mentions of totality in eclipse records have provided data for understanding the variation of the speed of rotation of earth over centuries. Now how has ‘time’ been marked on inscriptions? They are recorded as Saka Year, Samvatsara (a cycle of 60 years), lunar month, tithi (the phase of the moon) and Vara (the week day). “We see examples of the naksatra citation (each day is associated with a star, naksatra, the one closest to the moon among the 27), while in some examples, lagna, the ascendant zodiacal sign is cited, giving the time of the day,” Shylaja says.

GROUPING OF 6 PLANETS
There is one prominent mention of planetary grouping in 1665 when there was a solar eclipse. This is recorded as śadgraha yóga – grouping of six planets. They are sun, moon, descending node (Kétu) considered as planet and the other three planets. This occasion was used to donate special grants called “tulāpurushadāna”, which means gold of weight equivalent to the weight of the king was disbursed. This particular record pertains to the then Mysore Maharaja.

LANGUAGES USED         
Languages used in earliest inscriptions are Pali, Prakrit, Nagari and Sanskrit. Subsequent ones are in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Persian. Earliest Kannada inscription dated back 
to 450 CE.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Meera Bharadwaj / Express News Service / November 22nd, 2020

Hello, Hollywood

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinion

Still reliving the experience of acting alongside Alec Baldwin in his debut film, B’luru boy Rohan Gurbaxani is now looking forward to three more Hollywood releases.

Bengaluru :

Even after acting alongside big names in Hollywood, Rohan Gurbaxani feels shy when people ask him about what it means to him to be living his Hollywood dream. The Bengaluru boy, after all, has shared screen space with Alec Baldwin, Malin Akerman and Bella Thorne in Chick Fight, the action comedy that was released last week. 

Ask him about acting alongside Baldwin and he says it was a “surreal” feeling, with him soaking the same excitement that any of the star’s fans would have. “This was my first film, and he has done many. But we had this common ground where he also went to NYU and one of his professors taught me too. That was a nice conversation-starter with him. I, of course, observed him a lot, and learnt from him. He was such an approachable person,” says the 23-year-old. 

The newbie is now looking forward to his next film, Knuckledust, which is an action thriller releasing in December. It stars Moe Dunford and Gethin Anthony. The ball doesn’t stop rolling here. In 2021, he has two releases – RED 48, featuring John Malkovich and Tyrese Gibson; and Confession, starring Sarah Hay.  Gurbaxani may be currently living the life many dream of, but for him, acting in Hollywood was never the goal. “My initial dream, since I was in Class 8, was to go to New York.

I still don’t know why I picked the city. I never even participated in plays, but it was just a far-fetched dream,” says Gurbaxani, who has a Bachelors in Fine Arts from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He has also trained at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, Stonestreet Studios, and attended the Tisch Stanislavsky and Brecht program in Berlin. 

While he continues to revel in the experience, it was not easy for him to live away from home, “in isolation”. Luckily, he says, by the third month, the shoot for RED 48 had begun. “It was an interesting experience as we underwent three Covid tests every week. By the end, I had around taken 10 tests. There were Covid supervisors on the sets,” says Gurbaxani, who was a part-time Covid supervisor as well. 

He calls it unsettling to be based in two cities – New York and Bengaluru – but now Gurbaxani is back home after two years and is glad he could spend Deepavali with his family here. And the young lad is all praise for the city he grew up in.

“In Bangalore, I studied in two schools. I initially started off in a public school and then Class 8 onwards, I moved to an international school. I loved to dance and got a chance to join troupes. I don’t think my life would have been the same if any of these things had not happened,” explains Gurbaxani, who is currently also looking at projects back home.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Monika Monalisa / Express News Service / November 19th, 2020

Wipro’s Azim Premji emerges as most generous Indian in FY20

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

Premji pipped HCL Technologies’ Shiv Nadar, who had earlier topped the list collated by Hurun Report India and Edelgive Foundation, by a wide margin.

Wipro Chairman Azim Premji (File Photo | PTI)

Mumbai :

IT major Wipro’s Azim Premji donated Rs 22 crore a day or Rs 7,904 crore in a year to emerge as the most generous Indian in FY20 and top a list of philanthropy.

Premji pipped HCL Technologies’ Shiv Nadar, who had earlier topped the list collated by Hurun Report India and Edelgive Foundation, by a wide margin.

Nadar’s donations stood at Rs 795 crore for FY20 as against Rs 826 crore in the year-ago period.

Premji had donated Rs 426 crore in the previous fiscal.

Richest Indian Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries retained the third spot among the list of givers by donating Rs 458 crore as against Rs 402 crore a year ago, it said.

The raging pandemic had the corporate honchos repurposing their donations to fight the COVID infections, and the top giver on this turned out to be Tata Sons with a Rs 1,500- crore commitment, followed by Premji at Rs 1,125 crore and Ambani’s Rs 510 crore.

A bulk of the corporate commitments seemed to be given to the PM-CARES Fund, with Reliance Industries committing Rs 500 crore, and Aditya Birla Group donating Rs 400 crore, the report said.

It can be noted that Tatas’ commitment also includes a Rs 500 crore donation to the newly created fund.

Premji’s generosity pulled the total donations up by 175 per cent to Rs 12,050 crore in FY20, the list said.

Azim Premji Endowment Fund owns 13.6 per cent of the promoter’s shareholding in Wipro and has the right to receive all money earned from promoter shares, the report said.

The number of individuals who have donated more than Rs 10 crore increased marginally to 78 from the year-ago period’s 72, the report said.

With a donation of Rs 27 crore, Amit Chandra and Archana Chandra of ATE Chandra foundation are the first and only professional managers to ever enter the list.

The list has three of Infosys’ co-founders with Nandan Nilekani (Rs 159 crore), S Gopalkrishnan (Rs 50 crore) and S D Shibulal (Rs 32 crore).

The list of 109 individuals who have donated over Rs 5 crore has seven women, led by Rohini Nilekani’s Rs 47 crore.

Education is the highest beneficiary sector with 90 philanthropists, led by Premji and Nadar, donating Rs 9,324 crore, the report said, adding healthcare came second with 84 donors and was followed by disaster relief and rehabilitation with 41 donors.

The financial capital led by donor count at 36, followed by New Delhi at 20 and Bengaluru at 10.

E-commerce firm Flipkart’s co-founder Binny Bansal was the youngest donor at 37 with a commitment of Rs 5.3 crore and the average age of the donors on the list was 66 years, it said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Business / by PTI / November 10th, 2020

India’s first game designer to be inducted into Women in Games Hall of Fame, talks about her journey

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion
Poornima Seetharaman

Poornima Seetharaman did not set out to be a game designer. After her engineering, she landed her first job at a South Korean mobile game development company in Mumbai. She was given a month’s time to come up with the design for a 2D mobile game along the lines of Neverwinter Nights. “Back then, there were barely any resources available. I found Chris Crawford’s Game Design Document template. The company also provided me with Dungeon and Dragons (D&D) manuals which are considered the Bible for role-playing games,” she says. It was enough to get her hooked on.

Today she has become the first Indian game designer to be inducted into the Women in Games, Global Hall of Fame. The Bengaluru-based designer has managed to break into a strictly male bastion. “On one hand, there is the struggle of breaking the invisible glass ceiling and on the other hand you do get some opportunities because you are a woman in gaming. At times, it is a struggle to be taken seriously or to be considered an equal or better. I’m here because I refuse to give up and I’ve a support system that treats me on equal footing,” says Seetharaman, who is currently part of the Zynga family as their Lead Game Designer.

Screen grabsof the games she designed

In her almost 15-year-long career, Seetharaman considers Bioshock 3D Mobile—a remake of the original BioShock game for the BREW platform—the major turning point. Fitting a sprawling game into a feature phone with all sorts of restrictions was a huge achievement for her team and was one of the most rewarding experiences for her. It helped her grow as a professional, believes the designer, who is also visiting faculty, project consultant and curriculum committee member at the National Institute of Design, Bengaluru.

When not designing, Seetharaman likes to play Age of Empires II and Warcraft III, which according to her are “the reasons why I’m in game development today”. Quiz her about her dream project and she replies without hesitation, “Madhuram (sweetness), an infusion of Carnatic music with games, to take the player on a journey of Navarasa (nine emotions). The idea—inspired by my late aunt, Guru TR Balamani who devoted her entire life to teaching Carnatic music even as she sacrificed her concert career—has been brewing for almost six years now.

It shall hopefully see light of the day soon.” India is slowly edging towards becoming a gaming hub. But the prime focus is the mobile market that assures funding for companies that run fantasy sports, real money gaming, educational games ,etc. “The PC/Console game and generally the indie scene in India could use some more love. We have the talent and the skills. I’m setting up a community for women and marginalised genders in games,” says Seetharaman, who believes in using the power of gaming to create a meaningful and impactful change in thinking.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Magazine / by Medha Dutta Yadav / November 08th, 2020

Belagavi man elected to Michigan legislature

Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, World Opinion
Shrinivas Thanedar  

The elections in the U.S. have a Belagavi connection. Shrinivas Thanedar, who goes by the name of Shri Thanedar and has been elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in the U.S., has roots in Belagavi Old City.

A member of the Democratic Party, he unsuccessfully contested the elections to the Governor’s office in Michigan in 2018.

“My life has seen ups and downs. I came from a low income family to build a multi-million dollar business empire. I have suffered losses in business and recovered,’’ he wrote on his website, www.shriformi.com.

The 65-year-old multi-millionaire pharmacology industrialist began his life in the U.S. as an emigrant student of chemistry in 1979.

He left Belagavi five years before that. He studied in the Chintamanrao School in Belagavi. His father, a government employee, died when the children were young and his mother, Sulochana, worked hard to raise her six children. Dr. Thanedar worked as a clerk in the State Bank of India and studied for his B.Sc and M.Sc while in service.

He left for the U.S. after he cleared his post-graduation from Mumbai University with good grades. He completed his research in polymers and received a doctorate from the University of Akron and and continued his post-doctoral work in the University of Michigan. He also worked for a few years as a Polymer Synthesis Chemist and Project Leader at the Petrolite Corporation in St. Louis, in the late 1980s.

He has declared on his website that he has been elected to the House of Representatives in Michigan with 93 % votes. He raised over U.S. $ 4.3 lakh for his campaign in the primaries. He began his campaign in late 2018, with slogans like “Shri for We” . He spoke of his humble beginnings and the American dream that let a constrained emigrant student achieve success as an industrialist. He spoke of his “comeback story” several times in his speeches.

He bought Chemir, a small company in the U.S., in 1990 and turned it around. It went from U.S. $ 1.5 lakh in annual sales to over U.S $ 60 million and from three employees to 400 employees.

He wrote and published “Hi Shrichi Ichcha”, a book in Marathi about his life’s challenges.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Belagavi – November 06th, 2020