“I come from a humble background. My father was the sarpanch of our village in Turkapally, and the most honest man I have ever come across. One day on his way back from work, he met with an accident and passed away. There were several hushed discussions about whether it truly was an “accident”, as you tend to collect some enemies when you’re in a position of power, but I do believe nobody would ever try to hurt someone as genuine and humble as my father. I was 12 at the time, and soon after, my mother was elected to be the sarpanch. So as I grew up listening to the townsfolk come by and discuss problems, I was also taught to read the newspaper and stay updated with the going ons around the world- a habit I still have today. It is still physically impossible for me to go to sleep without having read the newspaper.

After my post graduation in Organic Chemistry, I was working a 9-6 job, and began to wonder if that’s all there was to my life. I began volunteering with NGOs of all kinds- orphanages, organizations that tended to the starving, the homeless, the elderly. I’ve worked with small local NGOs to international organizations like UNICEF, WHO and IMF. Coming from a modest background, it was only natural for me to empathize with those that could use the help. I launched a waste management company in 2018 which we still run successfully today. Being someone that absolutely loves travelling, I was fortunate to have a friend in China who forewarned me about the oncoming lockdown. Immediately, I approached several people in power- MLAs, ministers, our commissioners, the GHMC- to begin a welfare program.

A Thalassemia patient requires a blood transfusion as often as every 10 days depending on their immune systems. During the lockdown, we knew it would be a struggle keeping up the frequency of blood drives and donations, so we approached all the people I just mentioned earlier, who have supported and assisted us in organizing 30 blood camps with 30 police stations in 30 zones over 30 entire days. We had a lot of help from our commissioners and police department to socially distance and maintain covid protocols during the donations, which we are very grateful for.

Social work is actually quite addictive. Once you enter the world of social work, there is absolutely no turning back. As a human, our minds do not allow us to look away from someone in need once we have acknowledged that we can make a difference. I truly believe this is what I was meant to be doing, and will continue in my efforts to make a difference.”