Mangaluru: In the quiet little city of Mangaluru resides a budding genius. A surfer, amateur writer and budding scientist, Aneesha Nayak is one in a million.
Raised by a single mother, Aneesha is a unique combination of smarts, grace and confidence. At just 16 years of age, she has earned accolades not just for herself, but for her country as well.
With her mother, Shaila Bhakta by her side, this teenage genius is about to participate in her second I-Fest (International Festival of Engineering, Sciences and Technology) in Tunisia.
In Jan of 2017, Anee did India proud not just by being the only Indian at the I-Fest competition, but also by bringing home the gold. This win is what gained her an invite to once again participate at the I-Fest in March of this year. Armed with a natural antibiotic as her project this time around, Anee hopes to once again bring home the gold.
Hurdles along the way
What is more impressive about this talented teen is that she is being raised by a single mother. Shaila Bhakta, a talented young woman herself, faced her own struggles not just to single handedly raise her daughter, but also fund her projects and participation in the various international competitions.
Anee’s participation in the I-SWEEEP was funded by the Science Society of India (SSI) – India’s largest non-profit professional association for research development and promotion in the field of engineering and technology – who she said was very helpful.
The expenses for her participation at the I-Fest, was borne entirely by her mother who, unfortunately was not able to accompany her daughter to the contest due to visa issues. Lamenting about not being able to be with her daughter when she won the gold, Shaila told NewsKarnataka that she was determined to be by her daughter’s side this time.
Even though Anee was offered a discount on the participation fee, Shaila still had to struggle to scrape enough money together to fund the expenses not only for Anee but also for her guide.
This time however, the thoughtful daughter decided to use the potential of the world wide web to fund their trip to Tunisia for the second I-Fest so that her mother doesn’t have to bear all the expenses by herself.
Speaking to NewsKarnataka, Aneesha said, “This year I have opted to raise funds online through impactguru.com. I did not want to burden my mother with the expenses. She has already done a lot for me.”
“The last time, I took out a loan against my fixed deposits in order to pay for the expenses which came up to around 2.5 to 3 lakhs,” she added.
When asked if the duo received any help from the government, they said that though they had approached various government officials, they did not receive much support and therefore, had to fend for themselves. They however, got a lot of help from various other private individuals who were more than happy to help them in some way or the other.
Raising funds for her projects and participation is not the only hurdle the child prodigy faces. Speaking about the facilities available in Mangaluru city, Anee says, “Right now, the kind of facilities that I need are not available in Mangaluru. The closest one that I could find is in the Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology in Manipal University.”
Anee’s however, found a great guide in Nivedita Nithyananda a Biology lecturer from St. Aloysius College, to help her for the upcoming I-Fest project. She also got help from Dr. Santanu Saha (Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacognosy of Nitte Gulabi Institue, Deralakatte), for the procurement of the lab facilities for the testing work for her project. The labs at the Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology in Manipal University and the labs at Yenepoya were also helpful to the child prodigy.
Aneesha’s other side
Apart from being a scientific genius, Anee is one of India’s youngest surfers and has earned many titles both national and international over the last four years in the sport of surfing. She is also part of the Mantra Club in Mulki, where she trains as often as she can.
Asked if she would rather be known as a surfer or a scientist, Anee says that she prefers being known as a combination of the two… a ‘surfing scientist’ if you will.
In Anee, the seemingly polar opposite interests – surfing and science – find harmony, as she tries to give equal importance to both of her interests.
When asked about what advice she would like to give to youngsters like herself, Anee said, “All I would say is pursue your passion. You don’t have to turn your passion into your profession but, make sure that you give enough importance to your passions so that you remain happy.”
Speaking about her experience as a single mother, Shaila said, “In the beginning it was really hard. I was emotionally shattered after the separation and we did not have a house or enough money. I was lucky to have friends hand well wishers who helped us out. I am extremely thankful to God that I had help whenever I needed it. I’ve never had to ask for help. I am also lucky to have a daughter like Aneesha. She has been a great source of support and has always been helpful and understanding.”
Many youngsters have represented India in various fields and are even working to contribute to the welfare of the society. Unfortunately, many of these brilliant minds go unnoticed and unaided.
Aneesha and her mother are now in Tuisia for the I-Fest contest. The NewsKarnataka team wishes Anee all the very best and hopes that she brings home the gold once again.
