Education Leaders | Top Interviews

In peaceful town Thanjavur, Tamil scholar Mani Maran has undertaken a mission of great importance, one that has now caused a hubbub in the country. His passion for teaching people about the vanishing art of reading Tamil palm leaf manuscripts earned him a valuable niche of information as well as provided the world with a pioneering step by the Indian government.

How one man's enthusiasm triggered a country-wide mission

Each day, Mani Maran is surrounded by students in the backdrop of a humble setup where he imparts lessons in Tamil Suvadiyiya, translation of classical Tamil literature. He initiated his project in 2017 upon discovering that there were thousands of old books unretrieved and unread.

Mani Maran, who holds a PhD in Tamil, began with 14 students and now commands a huge community of learners. Researchers, Siddha physicians, and even farmers are eager to study temple inscriptions.

Some others among them are using their training to decipher ancient medical manuscripts, and there are others who became teachers themselves.

PM Modi Sees Mani Maran's Work, Kick-Starts Gyan Bharatam Mission

The contribution of the researcher was recognized by the nation recently when Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself thanked him personally in the 124th episode of Mann ki Baat.

"Mani Maran Ji believed that if this generation is not forced to learn Tamil manuscripts, then in the future this rich heritage can become lost forever," said the PM.

Going on after stating his mention of Mani Maran's dedication, the Prime Minister stated, "He began attending evening classes in students, working professionals, and researchers. Mani Maran Ji was instructing other people to read and comprehend Tamil Suvadiyiyal, or palm leaf manuscripts. Today, a majority of his pupils have mastered this art, and some of his pupils have even begun learning traditional systems of medicine based on these manuscripts.".

With Mani Maran's initiative, the government has now come forward with the Gyan Bharatam Mission to digitize old manuscripts and a digital library of national importance accessible to the world.

"Imbued with this very thought, the Government of India has been suggesting 'Gyan Bharatam Mission' in this budget. In this mission, ancient manuscripts will be digitized. Then a national digital repository will be formed in which students and scholars from all over the world can access Bharat's tradition of knowledge,' PM Modi added.".

No sugar, please. We hear this everywhere, be it the kitchen and restaurants or local tea kadais. Urban India, with their health in mind, is reducing its intake of sugar and opting for natural alternatives. While, sugar-free diets are being endorsed by nutritionists and social media influencers, traditional foods, especially sweets, are being made healthier through sweeteners, and companies are selling products labeled 'no refined sugar'.

In the haste to get rid of table sugar, we tend to forget that all sweet substitutes are derived from the same thing — sugarcane. They vary only in processing, not in fundamental composition. So the question is: if we want healthier options, why haven't we experimented beyond sugarcane?

For Aishwarya and Kannan, Palm Era Foods founders from Thoothukudi, the solution was the palm tree, an old but declining source of sweetener, indigenous to Tamil Nadu. Kannan, an engineering graduate turned entrepreneur, is from a clan of palm tree climbers. While taking a holiday in 2021 from Chennai to his native village Valliyoor in Tirunelveli district, he saw 30 palm trees cut down at one time since the owner couldn't control the crop spoiled by wild boars eating discarded palm fruits, which could not be picked seasonally. This experience ignited Kannan's mission. “I started talking to palm tree climbers and found the main reason they were leaving this job was the lack of proper income. Adulteration and quality loss were other issues. There was no standardisation or industrialisation like that of sugarcane products,” explains Kannan. Recognising this gap, he set out to change the narrative.

Sweet beginnings

Palm trees are a pesticide- and irrigation-free crop that produces eight times the income of sugarcane per hectare and lasts for 150 years. "Sugarcane and paddy use the largest amount of water in Tamil Nadu," he says. "We cannot substitute paddy, but palm trees are an excellent substitute for sugarcane in the long run."

Kannan then approached palm tree climbers to buy palm fruit from them, with a plan to use it to produce karupatti (palm jaggery). It was through this that they established their company, Palm Era.

But manufacturing was not without its problems. Palm jaggery is prone to melting and also easily infests fungus, which makes it hard to store. To seek solutions to this issue, he collaborated with university researchers and came up with a powdered variety that improved shelf life and was as convenient as white sugar. "Customers no longer have to break the jaggery or boil it. They can simply use it in spoonfuls like sugar," he states.

Harvesting palm sap is seasonal, between April and August, sending climbers to seek alternate employment the other nine months of the year. Women traditionally boiled the sap into jaggery themselves and sold it, which put a cap on production. But with Palm Era's processing model assisting them, the volumes harvested have doubled, and the climber network has also grown with a rise in remuneration and decreased workload. Kannan emphasizes, "The country's economy grows only when villages grow."

To provide employment beyond sap harvesting, Palm Era collaborates with women's self-help groups to process palm sprouts, which yield round-the-year income for village women and their staff during the off-season.

Presently, Palm Era has 20 employees, out of whom 17 are women, in Tamil Nadu, and employs machinery for production, where tradition meets modern standards.

But it hasn't been smooth sailing. The startup company initially faced financial difficulties. Kannan used his own IT revenues and left his job only in May this year. He even sought investors, but they doubted the marketability of the product. In March this year, the brand appeared in Startup Singam, a startup reality show dealing with startups and MSME investments and expansion. "Startup Singam provided us with a boost, both sales-wise as well as visibility-wise," Kannan states. The company garnered an immediate investment of `1 crore from the investors. "Acceptance was very poor, but subsequently, with the growing awareness and publicity, acceptance began increasing," he states.

The journey ahead

Their product line currently comprises probiotic jaggery variants for women and children, supplement powder, palm sprouts powder, digestive bites, and palm macaroons. All their products, they say, are preservative-free and have a clean label.

Although there is limited research in the medical field, Kannan is convinced that bringing palm products from an early age can regulate blood sugar and other lifestyle disorders. "If you implement palm sugar in the children's regimen, their blood sugar level will not fluctuate," he says.

Kannan wants to expand the brand further. The next step is to go to Krishnagiri, source pathaneer, boil it, and ship it to Thoothukudi for production of products. "We want to benefit palm climbers as well as offer good products to customers — it's a balance," he explains.

Kannan also dreams of palm trees being a universal cash crop. "It is Tamil Nadu's state tree.If palm climbing becomes profitable, more people will take it up, and the trees will be conserved. This is my mission," he concludes.

In an era dominated by ever-evolving technology and endless distractions, remaining grounded in values while shaping future generations is a rare quality. Dr. Nagnath Bhagirathi Vasant Bhusnar, a professor in the Electronics Department at Nowrosjee Wadia College, Pune, has quietly but powerfully influenced the lives of hundreds of young minds. He is a testament to a career built on discipline, empathy, and vision.

From humble beginnings in a small village to completing his MSc from Fergusson College in 2008, clearing NET in 2016, and earning a PhD in 2024, Dr. Bhusnar has been part of Nowrosjee Wadia College since 2008. His journey exemplifies inner transformation alongside academic achievement, fueled by his mother’s resilience and his commitment to mentoring future generations.

In this interview, Dr. Bhusnar shares insights from his journey, his perspectives on education, and advice for today’s students navigating a complex world.

Q: What inspired your journey into electronics and education?

It all began with my mother. Her dedication to my education, even when we had very little, made me value learning early on. I chose electronics because I saw lasting potential in it,unlike many things, hardware doesn't become obsolete as quickly. We're still using the basic transistor technology developed in 1958. 

Q: Were there any key moments or people who influenced your career path?

I’d say it circles back to my mother again. She didn’t just support me,she believed in me. That belief shaped everything. There weren’t specific mentors early on, but her encouragement was enough to keep me focused.

Q: How did you grow into a leadership role within your department,and why did you choose teaching?

As a FYBSc student in 2003, I was extremely shy. Coming from a village, I had a deep inferiority complex. I rarely spoke in class. That silence made me invisible,and it taught me a valuable lesson that your voice matters. Once I found the confidence to speak, I realized people started listening. That’s when I knew I had something to share. I chose teaching not just to inform, but to guide,to help students like me find their voice.

Q: How do you keep students engaged in a world full of distractions and burnout?

By reminding them that learning isn't passive. I encourage interaction, hands-on tasks, and group work. We break away from textbook pages and lectures often. The trick is not fighting digital tools,but making students use them creatively, not mindlessly.

Q: In a technical field like electronics, how do you see the balance between discipline and creativity?

I believe it’s disciplined creativity. About 60% discipline and 40% creativity. You need structure to understand theory and hardware,but without creativity, you’ll never apply those principles innovatively. It’s like music,you need scales before improvisation.

Q: How is Nowrosjee Wadia College contributing to innovation in Electronics?

At Nowrosjee Wadia College, especially in the junior college bifocal Electronics department, we have taken a hands-on approach. Students start working on real-world projects using Arduino and ESP32 boards as early as Class XI. They are involved in creating automation solutions in fields like agriculture, medical, and environmental sectors, promoting precise farming, smart health systems, and more. These projects help students learn practical skills and also contribute to society in meaningful ways. This is our step towards imparting industry-relevant knowledge from an early stage.

Q: Is your department integrating technologies like AI, IoT, or robotics?

We’re working with robotics extensively,our students build real-time automation models and embedded systems projects. AI is in the syllabus, but practical exposure is still limited. That’s one area we’re pushing to grow.

Q: What’s your take on AI in education and decision-making?

AI is a powerful tool, but we must understand that it’s still just a structured system,an algorithm designed by humans. It works based on data and patterns, not emotions or values. In education, AI can be very useful for making learning more accessible, personalizing content, and even helping teachers manage time. But when it comes to decision-making,especially those involving ethics, creativity, or empathy,it cannot replace human judgement. AI can support us by giving us information quickly or showing trends, but the final decision must be made by a thinking, feeling human being.

Q: Is the current education system meeting industry needs?

Not entirely. Industry today demands skills like machine learning, IoT, real-time problem solving. Our syllabus updates slowly. We need to introduce tools like Arduino and Raspberry Pi at the early levels itself,other countries are ahead of us on this.

Q: What do recruiters actually look for in electronics graduates?

Basic electronics skills, strong decision-making ability, and hardware knowledge. I visited Minilec (an industrial automation company in Mulshi), where the Director told me many interns lack fundamentals and struggle with English communication because they overly rely on programming.

Q: What advice would you give to a student who feels “lost” or behind their peers?

Don’t expect others to solve it for you. Sit with yourself. Reflect honestly. What excites you? What frustrates you? Avoid choosing based on what your friends are doing. That never ends well. Your path is yours to shape.

Dr.Bhusnar is not just a teacher,he’s a mentor who believes in nurturing confidence, not just competence. From using his voice for the first time to helping others find theirs, his story is a reminder that leadership begins with listening, learning, and showing up,consistently.

By Aditi Sawarkar

A Bengaluru 35-year-old IT web designer left the internet buzzing with his rags-to-riches story. His faceless blog, which he posted on Indian Flex community at Reddit, has been a viral hit due to the emotional context and motivational content. The man explained how he had begun with a humble Rs 5,000 a month and, defying all expectations, with sheer will power and determination, had an annual compensation package of Rs 46 lakh as a working IT professional.

He was born in destitution and poverty. His parents were farm laborers and belonged to poor working-class families. His early childhood days were very heavy. His parents abandoned him and his elder brother in their home district village at a tender age of seven and moved to Bengaluru in pursuit of a better vocation.

At home, the mother herself took up a series of jobs to maintain the family upkeep. In other homes, she was a domestic worker by day and a sewing machine worker in a garment factory in the evening. Her existence was an endless cycle of labor, but never faltered from her resolve to alter the fate of her children. She was the family's motivation and emotional support, a symbol of strength and untiring love.

Despite all of that, the grandmother was the primary care-giver for the village. She tutored the two little lads on meager resources and instilled in them coarse discipline and useless patience. She took them to be educated until government schools at her own care, never allowing their socioeconomic status to get between them and their ambition.

Education Against the Odds

The boy had already enrolled in a polytechnic state-owned college after passing the 10th standard. It was not his priority list of an education institution, but it was a good prospect for offering him free hostel facility, which was disturbing the family to a great extent because of their financial status. He who was forever so keen on grabbing an opportunity worked hard and stood in the top rank holders. It was really a turning point of his life, which actually provided him with the actual worth of discipline, regularity, and determination.

He proceeded to earn a degree in B.Tech engineering, an achievement credited to the motivation he received at witnessing his older brother earn a superior job opportunity at the Power Grid Corporation of India. The financial assistance, as well as advice, provided by the brother weighed considerably on him to study. A profound sense of obligation for the brother's generosity still exists in him.

A Career Built in Perseverance

When he fainted, he got a job of being a junior web designer in an organization for a paltry sum of Rs 5,000 a month. Despite all his paltry wages, though, his interest in coding and web designing never wavered. He worked night and day solely with the objective of learning, self-critiquing incessantly and grabbing every opportunity that came his way.

It had taken over a decade of struggling hard in the IT industry to achieve this—battled for it, a corporate career ascent. His resolve paid off, and now he earns ₹46 lakh annually—money that is not only as good as the greenbacks but even a story of grit, resilience, and perseverance-driven hard work. In addition to being professionally well-off, his life personally also picked up—now he owns five acres of land, a house that they built, and an automobile. A Tribute to Sacrifice and Family

Looking back at his life, the web designer credits every success to the trust his family has in him. His mother's sacrifices are what he thinks is the pillar upon which his whole success story has been woven. Her work ethic, his grandmother's safe haven, and his brother's pillar of strength molded him into the individual he is today.

Reddit's Heartwarming Response

Reddit community reacted with worldwide wonder and appreciation. They all loved the modesty, courage, and gratefulness of the gentleman in falling for his family. The people were exchanging the motivational part of the story, discussing the values of thankfulness, flexibility, and never on this earth to give up. While some individuals were racing in terms of the worth of the pay check, most of them were relieved that the account was not monetary but commitment.

And most of all, his experience is a beautiful witness to the power of love, care, and resolve of family to bring about abrupt change.

From social anxieties and emotional issues to bureaucratic indifference and cyber burnout, the path towards quality engagement is too often marked with what are today referred to by experts as "abruptions"—unplanned interruptions that are obstacles to pace and motivation.

To gain more insight into this paradox of passion and disruption, Edinbox Intern Ananya Awasthi spoke with Ms. Pooja Sehgal, Principal of Kanpur's Kanya Kubja Public School, and experienced career counselor and educationist. In this honest interview below, she breaks down the math of youth participation in these times, peer and family network influence, and the need for mass-scale, comprehensive support networks that are able to equip young changemakers not just with their voice, but keep it.

Q1: Your views on the recent youth involvement in civic, political, and social life?

Ms. Sehgal: Young people aren't on the margins anymore—they're leading the revolution. Whether they're organizing about global warming or organizing social movements through the internet, they're redefining what it means to participate. They're a generation of native digital beings who can inherit the world and transform it with big ideas and a sense of fairness. Participation isn't something extra—it's how they live.

Q2: But this engagement isn’t always sustained. What causes disruption or what you’ve termed “abruption”?

Ms. Sehgal: From political to social activism, intellectual to cultural engagement, youth participation is authentic participation by young people in society's life. Participation is through one or more of a set of multiple entry points, but it is often interrupted by personal, emotional or social break points coming in between the ease with which young people get engaged into the social processes of their causes - we refer to it as "abruption."

Q3: What is the influence of peer networks and families in youth engagement?

Ms. Sehgal: Activism isn't an extracurricular activity anymore, it's a survival tactic. In India's 2025 Youth Civic Index report, *68% of 18 - 26 year olds* said they had participated in some kind of civic or social activity in the past year. From voter registration drives to campus demonstrations, content creation to community service volunteer programs, young people are changing what activism is and what participation means in the digital age.

Young people's involvement is neither linear nor innocent; it is often messy, affective, and relational. *The potential of peer networks and family connections* as bridges also become sources of peer pressure, judgments and exclusion if the balance is compromised.

The second approach is to construct *safe, inclusive and flexible ecosystems* where young people can feel heard, seen, and understood by peer and family members. Promoting critical thinking, rather than conformity; empathy, rather than expectation; and communication, rather than control on a continuous basis can better activate youth and abruption risk can be lessened.

As doubt builds and the necessity of youth voices becomes inevitable, we owe it to ourselves to keep an effort to involve them more - not only to start. 

Q4: How do we create settings that enable young people to flourish and remain interested?

Ms. Sehgal: Young people's participation is not a trend; it is at the heart of contemporary democracies. But with every great example of youth-led transformation, there is upheaval. Upheaval can derail progress but rarely will eradicate it completely.

Of particular importance is the response of families, the social media, and the institutions. Will they invest in this generation or shelf it? Will they sponsor or patronize? Will they let go and allow the youth to take over, or force them to fight for every inch of space?

Since we have more uncertainty ahead of us, it would seem there is an even better case than for resilience for intentional, intentional, and sustainable youth engagement. Because when youth thrive—not in spite of disruptions, but planned to thrive at worthwhile participation—society reaps the benefits in return.

Q5: Is youth participation sustainable in this world of disruptions?

Ms. Sehgal: Positive youth involvement in: political action, community building, education, expression and creativity, community service and community action, web activism. A measure of the overall democratic health of society and in fact a driver of social innovation.

Positive youth involvement can lead to:

Improved leadership abilities

Sense of identity and belonging

Civic responsibility

Educational and career prospects

Negative youth engagement can lead to disengagement or disillusionment (potential abruption) that can cause there to be other social pressures on the go, unmet expectations, or incentives because of mental burnout — typically peer groups and family systems.

By Ananya Awasthi

Japanese researchers have developed artificial blood, a substitute for natural blood. It is second-generation universal artificial blood and can be transfused to any blood group without pre-storing it in the fridge.

This technology will one day close one of the largest gaps in emergency medicine: instant access to blood type. There is a global shortage of blood supply overall, as reported by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This technology would be a financially highly rewarding device for the application of trauma medicine and may be applied in surgery as well as in the emergency department.

Japan's Nara Medical University is to conduct a clinical trial this year that will establish if donated blood and otherwise headed for the garbage bin after being used once can be recycled through being converted into synthetic red blood cells. Japan also dreams of being the first country to have artificial blood into real medical facilities in 2030 in case the trials do not turn out to be failures.

Since artificial blood is free from viruses and does not have the compatibility determinants (A, B, AB, or O blood groups), the blood can be transfused to any patient without cross-matching.

Artificial blood contains no viruses. The shelf life of artificial blood is as long as donated human blood.

Whereas the old blood has to be refrigerated and expires only weeks, this artificial blood can be kept years at room temperature and is therefore preferable to ship out to rural communities, following disasters, and even in times of war. 

HOW IT WORKS AND WHY IT MATTERS

It was designed by Japanese scientist Hiromi Sakai at Nara Medical University. The researchers created the medication by purifying haemoglobin, the protein that transports oxygen in red blood cells, from old donor blood. 

They injected it into small globular clumps of fat which are duplicating the natural size of the red blood cells so the haemoglobin will be released safely around the body without causing an immune system attack.

"If transfusion is urgent, transfusion waiting time exists because the patient's blood type needs to be confirmed," quotes The Japan Times interview with Hiromi Sakai. "Because artificial red blood cells fall outside of blood types, transfusion therapy can be provided instantaneously."

Since the process kills cells and other immune system stimulants that would trigger a reaction or infection spread, reaction or infection spread is virtually zero.

The technology is in clinical trial phases, though preliminary results are encouraging.

The synthetic blood will not be able to remove the cross-typing to be type O blood and will last for years, two at room temperature and five if preserved ice.

Whereas actual donated blood itself is only viable for 42 days or so, approximately a month or so.

Initial human trials, in 2022, were said to have been completed successfully administering the artificial blood to healthy subjects without side effects, and the trial is now at higher doses phase (100-400 millilitres) to test its efficacy and tolerance, according to a report by Tokyo Weekender.

If everything works out, it should appear on pharmacy and emergency room shelves at hospitals by 2030, where it's difficult to store and ship normal blood.

If things go smoothly, Japan's artificial blood not only will ease some of the pressure from blood banks, but provide lifesaving transfusions quicker and more easily, any type or device