Category Archives: Nri’s / Pio’s

Pioneer Of 24-hour Clinics In Malaysia Dies At 88

Business & Economy, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion

Petaling Jaya :

pic: The Malay Mail
pic: The Malay Mail

The pioneer of the 24-hour medical clinic in Malaysia, Dr K.M. Reddy, has died at the age of 88.

Dr Reddy, who set up 25 clinics nationwide more than 50 years ago, died in London on April 19.

Dr Romel D’Silva, who ran one of his clinics and worked with him for about 40 years, described him as “a man for all seasons, who would help people regardless of their background”.

“The clinics were his innovation, his brainchild. There were none in Malaysia at the time and so he contributed a lot in this regard,” he said.

Dr Reddy was the eldest son of a landowning family in Madras, India. After graduating from Madras Medical College, he travelled to Malaysia in 1952 to further his career in medicine, dedicating his first 10 years to government service.

He started his career at the Penang General Hospital, which was then considered the medical headquarters of Malaysia.

“He started out as a general practitioner at the Penang General Hospital looking after the TB clinic there, and later a leprosy clinic in Pulau Jerejak,” Dr D’Silva said.

“In 1957, he went on to become director and head of the Sungai Buloh leprosy settlement, the second largest leprosy settlement in the world.”

There, Dr Reddy was dedicated to eliminating public prejudice against leprosy and assisting patients in their return to society.

“He was the first to start discharging leprosy patients. However, the government at the time thought it unsafe, even though by then they were not infectious or posed any threat to society,” Dr D’Silva said.

He left in 1965 to open his own private practice in Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, which he ran daily until 9pm.

“His practice soon got a lot busier and it was then he thought it best that he run it for 24 hours,” Dr D’Silva said.

The clinic was equipped with advanced facilities and was staffed by four doctors.

“The original clinic was the biggest and busiest. After a while, he encouraged the doctors there to set up more branches elsewhere,” he said.

“The first branch was in Jalan Othman, Petaling Jaya, and the second in Setapak. By the time I first met him, he had set up 21 more clinics.”

Dr Reddy was a founding member of the Malaysian Medical Association. His pioneering work was at the forefront of rehabilitation projects, which the World Health Organisation and International Leprosy Association helped to develop further.

He was known to treat those in greatest need without charge. Such was his generosity that when in Bagan Datoh, Perak, he was known to receive gifts of coconuts in lieu of payment.

He moved to England in the 1970s where his five children and six grandchildren were educated and settled. Among his four daughters and a son, two of them — one daughter and the son — also became doctors.

Dr Reddy’s eldest daughter Jothi, who is a lawyer, said her father’s natural kindness and generosity carried over among his own children.

“He would often offer free services to those who couldn’t afford them,” she said.

“He was also a mentor to many and helped guide and inspire others to achieve their very best.”

source: http://www.malaysiandigest.com / Malaysian Digest / Home> News / Sunday – may 11th, 2014

– The Malay Mail
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/pioneer-of-24-hour-clinics-in-malaysia-dies-at-88#sthash.FxzKaYcc.dpuf

“Let’s help women navigate a world that is not so full of women”

Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, World Opinion

Indra Nooyi is the Charman/CEO, PepsiCo, a highly profiled and globally acknowledged businesswoman. Indra has entered into popular culture as the self-made female CEO. Indra began her career in her native India, working at Johnson & Johnson and textile company Mettur Beardsell, after studying for a BS from Madras Christian College in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. She moved to the USA in 1978 to study for a Master’s degree in Public and Private Management at Yale, interning at consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton during her studies. She then joined Boston Consultancy Group, followed by managerial positions at Motorola and Asea Brown Boveri, before joining PepsiCo in 1994.

At PepsiCo, Indra has headed up the company’s global strategy for more than a decade, as senior vice president of corporate strategy and development between 1996 and 1999, senior vice President and CFO of the company in 2000 and 2001, President and CFO from 2001, President and CEO from 2006 and CEO and Chairman from 2007. She has overseen major changes for the business, including the acquisition of Tropicana (1998), merger with Quaker Oats (2001) and divesture of the restaurant company later known as YUM! Brands, inc. (1997). 2010 saw the completion of PepsiCo’s $7billion takeover of Pepsi Bottling Group and PepsiAmericas, leading to the formation of the wholly-owned subsidiary Pepsi Beverages Company. The acquisition of Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods in 2011 was the company’s largest ever international takeover, making Pepsico the number one food and beverage provider in Russia.

Indra has a considerable public profile, being regularly ranked among lists of the world’s most powerful women, including in Forbes and Fortune – the latter naming her the most powerful woman in business each year from 2006-2010. Forbes also ranked Indra third in their list of ‘Most Powerful Moms’ and media attention often centres on her position as a role model for women (and mothers) in the business place. Honours and awards include her election to a fellowship at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2008, being titled CEO of the Year in 2009 by the Global Supply Chain Leaders Group and being named in the Best CEOs list published by Institutional Investor in their All-America Executive Team Surveys from 2008 to 2011.

Indra is married to Raj K. Nooyi and the couple have two daughters. The family is based in Connecticut.

In own words, “I grew up in the south of India in a city called Madras, about 10 million people there, now it’s maybe 15 or more.  And I grew up in a city where there was no water.  Every morning, my mom would get up at 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. in the morning and she’d wait for the taps to start releasing water because the corporation would release water from the central reservoir and water would trickle in. My mom would find every pot and pan to fill water in and to give the kids and my dad three containers of water, which was your quota for the day.  And you’d learn how to wash yourself, to clean yourself, your uniform had to be washed in it, everything with those three containers of water.”

“In the case of Gossip Girl, it really improved my standing with my kids because I never watched the show.  I don’t even know what the show is about except that I got a little text from my daughter saying, “Mom, what happened?  Why are you on Gossip Girl?”  And I said, “Did I do something bad that they’re gossiping about me?”  She said, “No, Blair wants to be like you.”

with me.  If you think of a name like, you know, a simple name versus say name that’s kind of complicated like Indra Nooyi, I think it sounds a little bit more exotic.  So, it has nothing to do with the person and all to do with the name.  That’s my story, and I’m sticking with it.”

“I’m going to tell you something from first-hand experience. Of all the countries in the world, the US is still the most open and the most welcoming country bar none. I don’t see any evidence of anything changing in a meaningful way.”

“We need jobs and I am not talking about 5,000 or 10,000 jobs, we need several 100,000 jobs fast so that we get confidence back in the economy, we can get people back to work then have the multiplier effect of people going back into construction jobs and then the multiplier effect of them dragging other jobs with it.”

“Growing up in India, I had a long-distance love affair with America. I admired everything about this country — its ideals, its commitment to justice, equality and its willingness to break barriers.”

While Indra advises business people to be ambitious in their careers – “there are no limits to what you can do” – she argues that “it isn’t money, prestige, or power (which constitutes success) because net worth can never define self worth.” Rather people should work out what fulfils them personally – “devoting your time, your life, to doing what you love most.”

She also wants her company to make the world better and expand at the same time:

“I watched the incredible meltdown of the global economy because there was a singular flaw in capitalism. Capitalism lost its conscience. There was a maniacal focus on today; there was a maniacal focus on 24 hours out. People forgot what the consequences of each of their decisions would be for society at large because they didn’t worry about the stakeholders; they worried very narrowly about a narrow group of shareholders.

“So, performance of purpose was born, and performance of purpose only means deliver great performance while keeping an eye on all of the stakeholders.  So, you as a company can do better by doing better. It is not corporate social responsibility. Every aspect of purpose delivers profit.  When you use less water, you have lower costs.  When you use less energy, you have lower cost. When you do a plant-based product, PET bottles and plastic bottles, you have less commodity volatility, you deliver more profit.

“Performance and purpose are linked; it is not corporate social responsibility.  But it’s born out of a deep-seeded experience that I’ve had, and it’s also born out of the nature of society today.”

Indra has always stressed the importance of sustainable and ethical business, in part stemming from her childhood experiences: “you can’t have a large corporation using excess water in a town where there’s no water to eat or drink or live –  I think that’s a fundamental problem with this.”

Behaving responsibly is, for her, entirely compatible with wider business goals: “Success comes with reaching out and integrating with the community…and giving back to the communities and neighbourhoods, more than what you took out of them.”

She particularly emphasises the importance of women being able to express and pursue their ambitions, listing her own mother as one of her “greatest role models”

For women to succeed in business she sees them as having to “help each other — coaching, mentoring, and providing tips.” She explains: “we all understand the issues we face. Many of us work in important jobs where we can also help other women navigate a world that is not so full of women.”

source: http://www.businessdayonline.com / Business Day / Home> Leading Woman / May 02nd, 2014

Sherpalo’s Shriram talks innovation at IIT-Madras

Business & Economy, Education, Nri's / Pio's, Science & Technologies, World Opinion

Chennai :

Billionaire investor Ram Shriram is on a hush-hush trip to his hometown Chennai, where he delivered a lecture at the Indian Institute of Technology on Monday that was completely out of bounds for the media.

The founder of  SherpaloVentures  and one of the earliest investors in search giant Google spoke on “What Drives Innovation at Stanford and in Silicon Valley” at a closed-door event at the 620-acre campus that was open only to the faculty and students as well as a few special invitees.

source: http://www.articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / Home> News> News By Industry> Services> Silicon Valley / ET Bureau / March 05th, 2014

History beckons GRH’s plastic surgery dept

Nri's / Pio's, Science & Technologies

Madurai :

It is celebration time for the department of plastic surgery at the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) here, as it enters its Golden Jubilee year. The department, then named ‘Plastic and Facio-Maxillary Surgery’ centre started functioning with 12 beds from January 26, 1964, thanks to the efforts of Dr Sam C Bose, one of the pioneers of plastic surgery in the country.

The centre was the second to be started in the state after the one in Government Kilpauk Medical College, Chennai. Now, it has become the only plastic surgery department across all government hospitals to provide comprehensive treatment for all kinds of problems including cleft lip and palette surgery, critical burns injury, hypospandias and other congenital disorders correction and facial ortho correction for accident victims.

To ensure that the standards are maintained high at the department, many retired heads of department and professors still contribute to help shape up the plastic surgeons. Every Saturday, about four retired professors and eight faculty members would teach the six postgraduate doctors. The special attention has helped the students of the department to excel in their field. PG students of the department consequently won gold medals at the Dr MGR Medical University for the year 2012 and 2013, said R M Raja Muthaiya, head of the department. The PG seats and two seats for MCH available in the department are much sought after by the students.

Best cosmetic, reconstructive and hand surgeons in the United Kingdom – Dr Mehboob Ali from Ilayankudi and Dr J Srinivasan from Rajapalayam are alumnus of the Madurai Medical College, said 84-year-old Dr Bose, who founded the department.

Within few months of its inception, the centre became famous for accurate surgeries. As many as 100 children with cleft lip problem were operated in just three months. The department was sought after so much that people from all parts of Tamil Nadu thronged the centre. The 2,600 cleft lip conducted by Dr Bose between 1964 and 1987 in his tenure was one of highest number of procedures in the world at that time.

The department was pioneer in all the developments in plastic surgery then. Specialists like Dr Harold Keith McComb from Australia along with a team visited the department and stayed here for three weeks in September, 1964. They were stunned by the department’s performance as it was advanced on a par with any hospital in the world, Bose said reminiscing the old days.

Now, the department treats around 600 critically-ill burn injury patients. However, cleft lip surgeries drastically reduced to just one or two in a month since Smile Train, an NGO, not only does it free but also provide monetary assistance to parents of the children.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai> Plastic Surgery / by V. Devanathan, TNN / January 25th, 2014

Extreme devotion on display as Malaysia marks Thaipusam

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Nri's / Pio's, World Opinion

Malaysian Hindu devotee Karthi Gan grimaces while tapping his feet to the beat of ritual drums as two men plunge dozens of sharp hooks into his chest and back.

The painful ritual is Karthi’s way of giving thanks to the Hindu deity Muruga as part of the country’s colourful annual Thaipusam festival, one of the world’s most extreme displays of religious devotion.

Celebrated also in India and other areas with significant Tamil communities, the three-day festival that kicked off yesterday is marked with particular zest among Malaysian Indians.

Hordes of Hindus flock to temples across the country with offerings, many showing their fervour via extensive piercing or by bearing the elaborately decorated burdens called “kavadi” that are carried to religious sites.

“I got what I asked from Lord Muruga,” said Karthi, a 31-year-old engineer, who prayed during last year’s festival for “a good life”.

“I got a new-born baby. I got a new home,” he said late last night, when he and thousands of others began the slow and painful process of affixing their kavadi in the northern state of Penang.

His styrofoam kavadi structure — a frame attached to his hips and crowned by a peacock-eye design — was relatively light.

The piercing, however, had him feeling “a little nervous” ahead of the ritual just outside a Hindu temple, but he soon joined dozens of others who submitted to the ordeal.

Installing the kavadi, however, is merely the beginning.

In Penang, devotees then paraded barefoot for hours today through the streets of the state capital Georgetown, carrying kavadi that can weigh as much as 100 kilogrammes.

Participants swayed trance-like to drumbeats that had throbbed since yesterday.

Cheered on by friends and family who danced and chanted, the processions culminated in an 800-step climb to a hilltop temple for prayers.

Thaipusam commemorates the day when, according to Hindu mythology, the goddess Pavarthi gave her son Lord Muruga a lance to slay evil demons.

More than two million of racially diverse Malaysia’s 28 million people are ethnic Indian, mostly descendants of labourers brought in under British colonial rule. Most are Hindu.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> PTI Stories> National> News / AFP / Georgetown (Malaysia) / January 17th, 2014

Winner of 1kg gold to help fund wedding, educate poor children

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All

Dubai:

Indian expatriate Jayaprakash Balureddy knows exactly what to do with the one kilogramme gold in his hand — help prepare for his wedding and help educate children in his hometown.

Balureddy, 30, from Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu, bagged the first 1kg gold prize (roughly worth Dh146,000) on Thursday from the Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group (DGJG) for this year’s Dubai Shopping Festival.

“This is definitely a big help for me. This is like receiving my three years’ worth of salary at one time only. That’s why I want to help,” Balureddy, an air conditioner technician, told Gulf News.

Balureddy said he plans on selling the gold bar so he could put the money to good use.

“I want to use a portion of the money to help my family and also for my wedding on February 10. I will use some of it to pay off my loan here,” Balureddy, the sole breadwinner of his family, said.

Balureddy said he will use the rest of the money, roughly Dh50,000, to help send underprivileged children to school in his village.

“I know how they feel. I myself had difficulty getting an education because we had no money when I was growing up. So I want to help.”

Balureddy was buying gold ornaments on Thursday for his wedding when he was given a raffle coupon. The Indian resident said he was clueless about the raffle and was surprised when raffle organisers called him.

“I didn’t believe it at first when they called me because I had just bought the gold an hour before that. I asked myself, ‘How can this happen?” he added.

Sunny Chittilappilly, DGJG chairman, described Balureddy as an extremely lucky man. And this, he said, was what they had meant by doubling the chances for everyone to win at the gold raffle.

“We lowered the minimum spend to Dh500 and gave two raffle coupons to give everyone more chances of winning,” Chittilappilly said.

Apart from the 1kg gold given away daily, the group is also giving away a diamond solitaire ring every day for 32 days.

source: http://www.gulfnews.com / Gulf News / Home> Gulf> UAE> Leisure / by Janice Ponce de Leon, Staff Reporter – Gulf News / January 04th, 2014

Indian Brit is new UK Dy HC

Business & Economy, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, World Opinion
Bharat Joshi.
Bharat Joshi.

Chennai:

Bharat Joshi is the new British Deputy High Commissioner in Che­nnai.

He succeeds Mike Nithavrianakis who had served here for four very active years. Joshi will have a challenging task ahead as a major part of his Chennai portfolio is focused on enh­ancing the trade and inv­estment partnership between the UK and the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Pudu­cherry.

Born in Croydon, UK, in 1969, Joshi joined the Foreign and Com­monwealth Office (FCO) in 1995 and has had dip­lomatic postings in Ga­mbia, Dhaka and Qatar. He was most recently British High Commi­ssioner to Cam­eroon and non-resident Amba­ss­ador to Gabon, Chad, Equa­torial Guinea and Central African Rep­ublic.

A specialist in crisis ma­nagement, he had be­en deployed to the scenes of major incidents invo­lving British nationals including after the bom­bing of the British consulate general at Ista­nbul in 2003.
He has spent much time in dealing with critical diplomatic issues, including promoting tra­de and human rights, besides climate change and UN policy issues.

Joshi said he is hugely excited “returning to my country of origin at a time when the UK’s relations with India are growing at a faster pace than ever before — evidenced by growing tra­de, the opening of new UK offices across India and regular high-level visits in both directions —  is a dream come true.”

He said he was “looking forward to getting to know this part of the country and its people over the next few years.” Joshi is married to Bhakti for 17 years and they have two daughters. Cricket, badminton, history, reading and travelling are among his prime interests.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / by DC / November 06th, 2013

The enduring promise of India’s daughters

Business & Economy, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, World Opinion

The IIFA Awards are a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Bollywood , including the actors and actresses who have seemingly attained a ‘god-like’ status among millions of fans. Some of the most popular actresses are: The peerless Aishwarya Rai , the much-decorated Sonakshi Sinha and rising star Sonam Kapoor. It might also be a good time, however, to celebrate a couple of other Indian women who are arguably doing even more for the greater good of the society.

Born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in 1955, Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi is today the CEO of PepsiCo, and was rated by Fortune Magazine, each year between 2006 and 2010, as the most powerful business woman in the World. Serving as Pepsi’s CFO since 2001, Nooyi has garnered extensive accolades for her part in Pepsi’s dramatic rise in revenue and profit during the same period. She has been praised for her dynamic leadership, decisiveness and ability to rally her organization to a cause.

That a little girl born and raised in Chennai has grown up to become the most powerful business woman in the world is a stirring testament to the power of her dreams, the foundation provided by her family, and the nation that shaped her. I like the story of Indra Nooyi, for it is a reminder – powerful, tangible and inspiring – of the enduring promise of the daughters of India.

Just as little girls in India today may be inspired to play tennis because of Sania Mirza, or to become an astronaut because of Kalpana Chawla, they may also dream of reaching the top of the business world, because of Indra Nooyi.

Growing up in Chennai, Nooyi developed in an environment that would lay the groundwork for her future success, though she probably busted through a few more glass ceilings than anyone thought she would. A Hindu, she attended a Catholic school. She played cricket, and even started her own rock band in high school. She was allowed to express herself, with numerous interests outside the classroom.

The story of Indra Nooyi seems all the more poignant to me after reading recent articles detailing with the growing number of female fetuses being aborted in India. Easy access to ultrasound has become a tool for evil, and combined with the pressure to have a son, has resulted in a form of “gendercide”. The long term consequences to the country could be dire, as such a dramatic shortage of girls will inevitably lead to increasing social problems among a restless young male population. The tragedy is not that most little girls in India may not reach the same heights as Indra Nooyi, but rather, that so many will never even have the chance, their lives cruelly snuffed out simply because of their gender.

The need for collective honesty and effort when it comes to women’s issues is one reason why I support an initiative that might be distasteful to many traditional Indians.

Recently, a young Delhi based woman named Umang Sabarwal launched on Facebook a plan for ‘SlutWalk New Delhi’. The idea originated in my home city, Toronto. A local police officer said that women should avoid dressing like ‘sluts’ to prevent being raped, and in so doing paid homage to the great lie – perverse, self serving and chauvinistic – that how a woman dresses somehow excuses verbal and physical sexual harassment. The successful ‘SlutWalk’ in Toronto ended up spawning similar events in a number of other North American cities.

Sabarwal, 19, says she is concerned about women’s safety in her home city, and about the shameless ‘eve teasing’ carried out with seeming impunity by men in public. Predictably, much of the feedback directed at Sabarwal and her initiative has been decidedly negative. But Sabarwal says she will press ahead. ‘SlutWalk New Delhi’ is scheduled for some time near the end of July. The great problems of a society – and all societies have them – are not solved, or lessened, or made less bearable, by a quiet resignation, or by the pretense that they don’t exist. Societies and countries become better, more just and more fulfilled when the problems are first acknowledged, and then tackled with diligence and forethought. Umang Sabarwal understands this, and has demonstrated a courage that belies her years.

To reach the pinnacle of the business world. To insist on the right to walk the streets of Delhi dressed as one desires, without enduring verbal or physical harassment. Indra Nooyi and Umang Sabarwal, despite their significant differences, are both contributing to a brighter future for India’s daughters. Both, through example and action, are championing the complete emancipation of Indian women.

Check out ‘SlutWalk New Delhi’ on Facebook, and offer your support. And the next time you have a glass of wine with friends or family, raise a toast to these remarkable Indian women, whose extraordinary examples make their country proud, and indeed, make our world a better place.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Contributors> Indra Nooyi / by Jair Irwin / June 28th, 2013

US national engineering body elects Indian-American

Business & Economy, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Science & Technologies

The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) has elected an Indian-American as its zonal Secretary/treasurer.

Sockalingam Sam Kannappan, Chairman of Enforcement Committee of Texas PE Board, was elected Secretary and Treasurer of Southern Zone (SZ). South Zone has 18 boards under its control.

NCEES is the American National Professional Engineers (PE) Board coordinating 50 national PE Boards, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands. Engineering organisations from Canada , Mexico, Japan  and other countries work with NCEES.

NCEES conducts examination for fundamental (FE) and Professional Examination (PE) through four zones.

Kannappan is a registered Professional Engineer in Texas with 25 years of experience in design, analysis, and software development for the petrochemical, refinery, and pipeline industries. He graduated with Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Kannappan is a native of Nattarasankottai in Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> PTI Stories> International> News / by Press Trust of India / New York – August 28th, 2013

Serving success from a court in Kovai

Amazing Feats, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Sports

Coimbatore :

Nirupama Vaidyanathan Sanjeev, one of India’s finest tennis players ever, still remembers that afternoon two decades ago in Japan when she lost a match from a winning position. She was done in by a sudden spell of cold weather. “I was totally unprepared as I was facing the extreme cold after coming from Chennai where the temperature was 42 degree. Internet was not so prevalent then for me to check the temperature level before leaving for Japan. The temperature there was sub-zero and I had just a light jacket,” said Nirupama, who was at her parents’ home in Race Course in Coimbatore on Wednesday, after releasing her memoirs, ‘The Moonballer’, in Chennai on Tuesday.

Presently settled in the US with husband and daughter, Nirupama calls Coimbatore her home, the city where her self-trained father taught her to play tennis. It was the Cosmopolitan Club at Race Course where she served and volleyed first. At Perks Matriculation School, she learned to be a winner. “The atmosphere at the school helped me a lot to hone my skills when I was a student there in the early 1990s”, she says.

Her father was her first coach. “I was from a modest background with no sponsors. It was my father’s effort that made me India’s number 1 tennis player at the age of 14 and the first Indian woman ever to win a round in a Grand Slam tournament,” she said.

Though tennis has a long history in India, women have had an insignificant presence. The Krishnans and the Amrithraj brothers at their peak figured in the top 25 ranks. The men did well in Davis Cup. So, when Nirupama started winning international matches, she was breaking new ground. “At a time when no one knew of professional Indian women tennis players, I ventured into this uncharted territory and scripted a path for youngsters to follow. I represented the country in SAF Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and the Sydney Olympics apart from the Federation Cup. I have penned the book to inspire girls to take up tennis,” she said. Like Nirupama, her daughter Sahana, 7, too wants to play tennis at the international level.

The title of Nirupama’s book recalls her modest beginning. “I had beaten the best in India with the Moonball style,” she said. “I realised that I had a lot of stories to tell. The attempt is to inspire youngsters that where there is a will, there is a way,” she adds.

Cherishing her formative years as a budding tennis player in Coimbatore, Nirupama credits Perks Matriculation School for making her a winner. “The school’s impact on my sporting career is irrefutable. I joined Perks in February 1991, and in March 1991, I won the national women’s title,” she said.

“The Moonballer’, Nirupama says, is just the beginning. “My next book will be on parenting a Wimbledon champion and it will be a step-by-step guide for both the parents as well as the aspirants,” she said. Right from choosing a tennis racquet to identifying the right coach, she says the book will break down the entire process of becoming a winner into simple steps.

She should know. For the past eight years, Nirupama has been running Nirus Tennis Academy in the US with her brother, K V Ganesh. “It is a revealing experience to be a coach and many of my students are playing at university levels in the US,” she said. And, she continues to follow the scene in India. “A couple of players in India are doing ok, but the real problem is the difficulty in conceiving a team beyond them,” she says. For that, she thinks, more people needs to take up tennis or the game needs to be made more accessible to the public.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by TNN / August 08th, 2013