Ms. Sangita Sharma

Examination time and the desire to score high marks and pursue a particular field of academic interest is a potent combination to make life miserable for many students and also their anxious parents who have fixed goals to achieve. The rat race for scoring high marks in the exams is only getting egregious with time. Parents, teachers, friends and acquaintances all create a ‘pressure group’ as they look upon aspiring students with great expectations. In this gloomy scenario, there are a few youngsters who have taken a departure from the regular stereotypical path and are all geared up to pursue their dreams. They are relatively intelligent, educated and determined to chalk out a path of their own. Giving adequate importance to their academics and hobbies or interests, they live a balanced life, brimming with confidence, satisfaction and happiness. They have innovated and integrated their talents with education which has helped to create interactive and immersive experiences for them and enriched them as individuals. They are truly living their dreams and so need to be acknowledged.

Gitanjali Kerkar, a student of pharmaceutical sciences and a writer was born and brought up in a quiet village of Saligao, Goa. As a child, she was influenced by the bedtime stories of ‘Bhai’, her grandfather and that perhaps sowed the seeds of a future writer in her. While at school she performed fairly well. Later, her creative writing led her to pen down some rather intelligent children stories. Her efforts at writing have finally fructified into ‘Buki’, a children’s book based on the story of a cat named Buki who is a pet of a local fisherwoman and enjoys eating fish every day. As the story unfolds, a series of events makes the cat realise the importance of giving up eating fish during monsoons as otherwise it could be detrimental to the survival of the species. A truly honest and sensitive narrative infused with extraordinary imagination, ‘Buki’ is a must read for young children as it develops and nurtures a sense of responsibility and morality. Through her writing, Gitanjali endeavours to write culturally and socioeconomically relevant stories specifically for the developing minds of young children. Gitanjali’s interest in fine arts and photography have helped her to evolve as an illustrator. All the illustrations of ‘Buki’ have been made by her. Having done a diving course, she is intrigued by life under water. As a student of pharmacy, she is fascinated by the concept of drug delivery using nanoparticles and intends to do research in it.

Akshada Bandekar is a 2nd year student of Goa College of Engineering. Her interests go beyond her academic achievements as she is a versatile singer and pursues her passion with utmost dedication. Not only that she sings in English, Hindi, Marathi and Konkani but also writes lyrics, composes music and makes videos. Her journey in the field of music started as early as two and a half years of her age. Over the years she has won many awards and accolades. She received the National Child Award from the former President of India H.E. Shri Pranav Mukherjee at Rashtriyapati Bhawan, New Delhi and the ‘Big Goenkar’ award. She is generous and compassionate having done many stage performances from time to time to raise funds for various causes. At the age of six, she raised Rs 50,000/- for the Tsunami victims by holding a solo concert ‘Sadhabhavana’ at the Kala Academy, Panjim. The proceeds were contributed to the Prime Ministers Relief Fund. In 2007 her show ‘Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai’ raised Rs 75,000/- for the Special Children of Sanjay School. ‘Hum Kisi se Kum Nahi’ was a concert to raise funds for girl students in rural areas and the amount contributed by Akshada was Rs 1,00,000/-. She is passionate about improving conditions of Girl Child in India and has not only composed a song ‘Save the Girl Child’ but also made a documentary ‘Mujhe Bachao’ for the same cause. Though she is preoccupied with her academic pursuits, her love for music remains intact. She intends to combine her academic studies with music by pursuing ‘Sound Engineering’ after completion of B.Tech degree and intends to open a studio in times to come.

Yash Fadte, a student of Class XI at MES College in Commerce stream. He is an incredible squash player at the junior level. He has truly balanced his love for squash with his academics and today he is regarded as the finest squash player not only in India but also in the world. His incredibly consistent performances in squash and sound academic record have opened the gates for him of prestigious universities like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania etc, to pursue higher studies. Coming from a family of sportspersons, Yash has been encouraged to pursue the sport of his choice. He started playing squash in 2009 at the Naval Officers Institute, Vasco, Goa. He has under his belt over 40 squash titles, both in India and abroad. In the early years of his squash career, he has won tournaments at Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Jodhpur a many times. His first international win was at the Hong Kong Junior Open Squash Championship (2012) under 11 where he stood 1st and thereafter, there has been no looking back. In 2014, he was ranked as India Number 1, Asia Number 1 and also Europe Number 1, a record no Indian has achieved. He was the first Goan to play squash for India at the Asian Junior event in Iran and won the silver medal. In tournaments held in Germany he stood 1st and in the Netherlands he stood 2nd. The State of Goa felicitated him by awarding him Best Sportman of the Year. Lakshmikant Parsekar, the former CM did the honours. In the meanwhile, he continued playing in India winning the national championship twice. His performance at Kuala Lampur and Germany secured medals for India. His latest achievement is clinching the US Junior Open Squash Championship held at Yale University in 2017. An illustrious record no doubt but one that entails extreme hard work, dedication and determination to meet all challenges; something Yash has done and continues to do.
When one looks closely at these young achievers, there are certain things which are strikingly common. They all are balanced, focused, determined and ready to meet all challenges. They value whatever life has given them and have made the best of situations, against all odds. Their families, coaches and guides too have to be given the credit for realising their potential and supporting them to help ‘live their dreams’.

Puja Mapxencar, a fashion designer and entrepreneur born in Germany and settled in Vasco is an artistically inclined young lady with various hobbies and interests. As a student at school she wasn’t too happy to pursue academics and decided to chalk out her own path in creative arts. She took up Commercial Garments Design and Marketing under the vocational stream for her 11th and 12th standard exams. Later she cleared the NIFT with 16th ranking at the all India level and graduated from NIFT Bangalore. She started her own label ‘KANDIDA’ at Panjim dedicating it to her grandmother Kanchana (KAN), father Dinesh (DI) and grandfather Damodar (DA). Her grandmother encouraged her to pursue her dreams constantly. To her list of accomplishments, is the fact that she was the 1st Goan to showcase women’s wear at the Bangalore Fashion Week. She has exhibited her work at the Goa International Fashion Week held at Bay 15 and was adjudged as a budding designer and entrepreneur. Her latest achievement in the field of fashion has been the Spring Summer Menswear collection at the Fashion Week held recently at Taj Vivanta, Panjim. Her trendy collection of Orissa Weaves with the Ikkat print marked the finale of the show. Besides fashion, she is into travelling and photography. Easy going and charming, she also experiments with event management and ‘History Trails’ as visiting places and interacting with people especially weavers, gives her inspiration for her own work.