On the makeshift stage at the Siddhi Vinayak temple, deep in Central Mumbai, the spotlight illuminated me. I balanced, in Dhanupada, a posture embodying Lord Krishna, trembling as the fear of judgment clouded my otherwise confident sensibilities. Adorned with bold, expressive makeup, I danced my first solo at Mumbai’s largest Odissi performance, a celebration of Indian classical dance, in front of a sea of Indians from all strata. Sensing that the cameras would broadcast my every mistake, I froze,...

The long-jump pit was raked ready. Diya, a third-grade Panther House contender, was up next, and fearful. She turned to me, her House Captain, for support. I knew that look. Not long ago, it was me who turned to my captains seeking comfort. Throughout my tenure I made it a point to personally get to know my House members. Having observed Diya at House events, I was reminded of her perennial spirit and evergreen smile, characteristics that embodied her identity....

Guruji’s voice echoes, “Your body tells me one thing, but your face another. Make them one.” My inner turmoil, to dance ‘perfectly’, to synchronize my torso to the beat, heightens. I struggle to emote—the essence of this Indian classical dance, Odissi. My mother has always pushed me to go “immerse myself in India’s exotic culture”. Now, with the innocence of a five-year-old, being urged to do something came the pressure to ‘impress’. Fast-forward six years, I found...

In 2015 my sixty-eight year old grandmother was diagnosed with kidney-stones. While a fairly common condition, the pain she experienced can only be described as tormenting. As I reflected upon the cause of her condition, I saw that the March 9th, 2016 edition of The Guardian reported: “Number of kidney stone cases increases by 115% in 10 years.” What could be causing this increase? I turned to chemistry for solutions. Once my greatest weakness, this subject is now my defining strength. Under the guidance...

‘Mo(ve)ment of Joy’ (MOJ), a regional sports movement that aims to redefine sports and create opportunities for the less privileged, emanated from my love for football and squash. In leading the MOJ team, I brought together individuals from diverse backgrounds, with the common goal of creating an impact in our community through sports. We invited students from multiple non-profits, low-income schools, and the slums to participate in sporting endeavours against our school’s teams. Here, I saw the...

Shanaya, my football teammate, diagnosed with nephrolithiasis, was unable to compete at the state championships. Without her, the entire team felt a void. Hearing of her pain made me reflect upon the root cause of her diagnosis. 9th March 2016: “Number of kidney stone cases increases by 115% in 10 years”, announced The Guardian. Shanaya was not alone. But what could I do to help? Dedicated to take this challenge head on, I turned to chemistry to seek solutions. With summer around the...

Chemistry, once my greatest weakness, is now my defining strength – a transition catalyzed by perseverance. Akin to protons, my passion for chemistry is charged and fundamental to my identity. My desire to establish the next ‘Beyond the Bottle’ movement is motivated by my aspiration to be an environmentally and socially-aware scientist whose impact transcends the laboratory’s boundaries. My research on softening hard-water challenged me to hybridize the impact of environmental factors on chemistry. The desire to unravel the intrinsic...

Balanced. Brown harmonizes, academic, extracurricular, and societal values all-in-one. I believe that Brown will be able to provide me with the opportunity of weaving dance with my academics, day-in and day-out. Redefining. Academic research transcends laboratory bounds. The Swearer Center integrates community engagement, dedicated to public service, manifested through close-knit, distinctive synergy. With UTRA’s support, I hope to extend my research in Water Chemistry and Nephrolithiasis at the Center for Epidemiology and Environmental Health. Open. Brown’s curriculum embodies...

Growing up in Mumbai, I’ve dipped my toes in multiple cultures. My joint-family of nine, a confluence of ethnic streams, mirrors this. As snack-time rolls in, we gorge on street-food from Mumbai’s every corner. The sweet-and-spicy, decidedly heady, multi-tiered ‘Bombay Sandwich’, epitomizes the city’s vibrant diversity. Dinnertime, we converge to share our day’s experiences, each different, for we’ve all commuted to various corners. Whether it’s my school, in the heart of a commercial hub,...

My favorite… Books that surprised me (creators of the best debates): 1. Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estes Estes’ ideas reflect both intercultural awareness and profound insight, inspiring me to instill greater faith in the risks I take, my intuition, and self-confidence—essentially guiding me through my weaknesses, reminiding me that I’m valuable, creative and important. 2. Life During Wartime: ‘Persepolis’ by Marjane Satrapi 3. Plato and a Platypus Walk...

In primary school, my teachers always asked for ‘charts,’ a misnomer for projects in the form of posters across subjects. But Mom, a designer, would continually instruct me, “If they ask you for a project in two dimensions, do it in three. And if they ask you for one in three dimensions, do it in four!” This declaration was always met with expressions of bewilderment, as I was left to deduce its meaning by myself. As a result, I have...

Back strained, hands sore, mind drained. Sitting on a desk for five-hours, I felt numb. Pieces of inked, crumpled paper dotted the floor: rejected ideas, failed attempts, incorrect calculations. I had no answer to a question as simple as, “What’s water?”. Under the mentorship of Dr.Mariwala, water chemistry’s fundamentals adopted a fourth dimension. Location one: study table. Laptop open, tabs overflowing. One question from Dr.Mariwala, “How will your research impact society?” had me re-evaluate every proposal....

4am mornings—enclosed by four-walls, profusely sweating, racket in hand. I couldn’t breathe, yet I’d never felt freer. Leaping to and from the ‘T-zone’, squash challenged me to face my fears. Fear of judgement—eyes following the ball, mind elsewhere. The transparent back-wall of every court enabled spectators to access my every move, every mistake. Was I good enough? Rigorous mental-training gave me the power to visualize, to isolate myself from the now nebulous onlookers. This gave me...

Growing up in the city of Mumbai which boasts a plethora of ethnicities, I’ve dipped my toes in multiple cultures. The Tibrewala household’s dining table, the heart of my joint-family-of-nine, was the confluence of nine different ethnic streams. As snack-time rolls around at 4pm, this table is laden with street food sourced from Mumbai’s every corner. My favorite, the sweet-sour-spicy, multi-tiered ‘Bombay Sandwich’, symbolizes Mumbai’s diversity. This perfect blend of flavours inspires me to fearlessly tread...