Akshaya Patra - Annual Report 2015

WRITTEN IN THE STARS
When 14-year-old Shivu gazes into the night sky, he sees something written in the stars – the dream to become
an astronomer. While the universe and its splendour fascinated his young mind, this dream still seemed many
light years away. At The Akshaya Patra Foundation we asked ourselves, what if we could bring the dream closer?
An exclusive mentorship programme was hence charted out for Shivu,
with Ms. Preethi Krishnamurthy, Senior Research Fellow in Astrophysics,
as his mentor. Under her guidance, Shivu began to explore the marvels of the
celestial world from a wholly new light. In-depth one-on-one sessions, visits
to some of the best space and research facilities in Bengaluru, and an
opportunity to scan the skies with the Celestron telescope at the Yoga Nikaya
Observatory saw Shivu’s interest and knowledge grow day by day. As a fitting
display of the knowledge he had gained, Shivu put together a presentation on
the constellations of our galaxy and created a working model of a hand-held
telescope, towards the end of his mentorship programme, all by himself.
With his parents, special guests and an audience watching, Shivu presented
his creation with the confidence of a seasoned space enthusiast.
That was when we knew that for Shivu, we had helped launch
a dream of boundless possibilities. Much like the universe around us.
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