I joined Sahyadri School in Grade 4.

I am a student at Sahyadri School (KFI) in India, deeply interested in how people remember and how the past continues to live within us through emotion, memory, and culture. What draws me is not just history as something that happened, but as something lived, felt, and carried forward through storytelling and visual culture.

Over time, I have been exploring how media shapes cultural memory and public understanding. Through my academic work, I have examined how cinematic and popular representations can sometimes aestheticise or distort lived realities, and how more grounded portrayals create a deeper and more intimate connection with audiences. This has led me to think about storytelling not just as a way of presenting information, but as something that shapes what we remember, what we forget, and what comes to hold meaning across generations.

I am particularly interested in the relationship between cultural memory and storytelling, especially in visual and narrative forms. Film and media do more than represent the past; they construct it. They influence how it is felt and understood. My work so far reflects an effort to question dominant narratives, approach history from multiple perspectives, and understand how memory itself is formed and experienced.

Alongside this, I have explored these ideas through research, writing, and creative conceptualisation. In some of my work, I have tried to translate philosophical ideas centred on empathy and lived experience into narratives that feel inherently human, making them less abstract and more relatable in everyday terms. I have also been involved in community and environmental initiatives that engage with ideas of heritage, sustainability, and lived experience, which has further shaped how I think about connection and belonging.

What interests me most is the difference between history that is consumed and history that is experienced. I want to explore how storytelling can move beyond aestheticisation and spectacle to create something more grounded, more honest, and more emotionally resonant. Ultimately, I am interested in using media and storytelling to make the past not just visible, but felt, creating narratives that allow people to recognise themselves within it and carry it forward in meaningful ways.

Education: Sahyadri School (KFI) - India Higher Secondary Education (ISC), Humanities June 2025 - Present

Activities and Societies:

1. Student Leadership: Anchor, Cultural Committee (Student Council).
2. Editorial & Design: Core Team Member, Head of Design, School Newsletter; Contributor to school website design.
3. Clubs: Member, Film, Research and Phoenix (book tasting) Clubs.
4. Event Leadership & Creative Direction: Head Designer, Gifts Team, Farewell 2026; Organiser, the Art and Literature Fest 2025, the Science Fest 2026.
5. Community Service: Fieldwork with tribal and village groups (ESD); participant, Shambhu Hill cleanup-drive

Volunteering: I was an Online Media Contributor and Online Researcher for the Inheritage Foundation—an Indian non-profit specializing in the digital preservation of ancient architectural marvels. I focused on expanding the organization’s digital repository of regional heritage. I conducted comprehensive online research on the ancient temples of Pune, cross-referencing historical and structural data to ensure accurate documentation. By synthesizing this historical data and uploading curated media and text, I directly contributed to expanding the foundation’s interoperable database, making India’s rich, ancient architectural legacy accessible to global researchers and the public.

I also volunteered at the Living Lightly: Journeys with Pastoralists exhibition—an initiative by the Centre for Pastoralism—during its extended run at the Zapurza Museum of Art and Culture in Pune. I contributed nine hours each day from May 8 to May 10 during the exhibition’s special public festival, serving as a specialised assistant docent for the Jatre section. I guided visitors through this installation, explaining the complex economic, political, cultural, and spiritual significance of pastoral gatherings. I shared traditional folklore to illustrate how these spaces historically functioned as hubs for trade, conflict resolution, communal worship, and cultural cohesion. This helped contextualise the sociopolitical structures and heritage of India’s nomadic communities for a diverse audience.

With Club Heritage Pune, I helped boost public engagement and event attendance for expert-led historical tours and cultural walks by managing visual content creation across social media platforms. I designed eye-catching digital flyers and graphic assets for social-media promotion, transforming complex historical themes into visually engaging and accessible materials. I collaborated with organisational leads to ensure that all visual elements aligned with the educational mission. This work strengthened the organisation’s online presence and helped attract students, tourists, and history enthusiasts to local heritage events.

Finally, as a Therapeutic and Recreational Activity Support Facilitator at Umed Foundation, Kothrud, I strategically planned and organised daily schedules tailored to participants with autism, mobility impairments, and significant intellectual disabilities. In this high-support environment, I implemented tactile-exploration activities to support sensory processing, facilitated gross-motor games such as floor bowling to encourage purposeful movement, and organised sensory-motor races to support meaningful participation for people with significant physical challenges. I also guided social-interaction exercises, managed high-pressure situations calmly, and assisted primary-care staff with daily tasks and essential operations to maintain a safe, structured environment.

Experience: During my internship at Open Strategy and Design in Worli, Mumbai, I worked as an assistant creative conceptualiser. During the month-long internship, I attended meetings and presentations to learn about projects. I carried out in-depth visual research to support creative conceptualisation, drawing connections across art, photography, and design references. I also built an extensive slide archive to serve as a reference for future projects and idea development. I participated in collaborative discussions, offering input on themes, aesthetics, and narrative direction during the early concept stages. I also contributed to research-driven conceptualisation for a nature-centred organisation inspired by Jain philosophical principles such as non-violence, compassion, and detachment. I explored how abstract ethical frameworks could be translated into lived emotional experiences, shaping the organisation’s identity around intimacy, care, and interconnectedness. I also drew connections between philosophy, literature, and contemporary media to ground traditional ideas in present-day cultural understanding.

What I like about Sahyadri is the holistic development it offers students.