(February 9, 2022) In the bustling city of Mumbai lives 15-year-old Manasi Patil, a budding Indian teen author, TEDx speaker, and Stem aspirant. As she navigates life through a fast-paced city, her looming board exams, and varied interests, one thing is clear – if you have the will to do things, you will, regardless of the juggle involved. Through it all, she has been keen to reinforce the Gen Z potential through articles, events and workshops at schools.
In fact, this Indian teen author’s work has earned her five awards in 2021 itself. From Indian Achievers Award for Gen Z empowerment, 20 Under 20 Influencer Awards by Sri Venkateswara College, Inspiring Leadership Award, The Daily Point of Light Award, which is given in memory of former US President George Bush, to the Global Sustainability Award, Manasi has been raking in laurels through her grit, determination, and hard work.
Books started her journey
Born in Bhusawal, Maharashtra, to Gauri Patil, a math professor, and Mahesh Patil, a software engineer, the class X student now lives in Mumbai with her family, including her younger brother Shreekrishna. The student at St Paul’s Convent High School, discovered her love for books early on and confesses that she could spend hours curled up with a good book. “I’ve wanted to be an author since I was eight-years-old and have always loved reading. However, things began moving when the lockdown happened. Stuck at home, I began writing a little story in a notebook,” Manasi tells Global Indian, adding, “Before I knew it, this story grew into a full-fledged book.”
As she completed her book, she began looking for publishers. Her research led her to discover self-publishing and the teenager decided to go down that route with the support of her parents. So, in May 2020, this Indian teen author released her first book The Cousins’ Crime, a mystery, through Kindle Direct Publishing. “When I began writing, I wrote predominantly for myself. Selling my books was not on my mind. I wrote to Ann Evans, one of my favourite authors to review my book, and she did,” beams Manasi. The positive review encouraged Manasi to write her second book Why Ignore Them, a non-fiction work on the nine problems of the world.
Manasi during her TED talk
Then came the blog…
Her success spurred her to start her blog and she also began contributing as a writer and editor for various publications such as The Scientific Teen, RobinAge and Mind Champs. Manasi, who has a keen interest in all things science, plans to pursue a career in Stem also joined the New York Academy of Sciences in 2021 and is currently working on a project to restore aquatic ecosystems. The teen, who has been writing about space science at RobinAge for a year now, says that her favourite subjects are math and science; specifically, astrophysics. Space science is also an area of interest.
However, writing and space science are only a small part of her varied interests. At the core is her interest in reinforcing Gen Z’s potential through articles, events and workshops. To this end, the teen was also invited to deliver a TED talk on Being Your Own Candle for a TEDx Youth Event in Australia in 2021. “TED talks were always a dream; I would religiously watch TED videos and always wanted to be on the platform,” quips Manasi, adding that she delivered her talk online due to the pandemic.
Being the change
One of the biggest advantages of her global exposure through her work, says Manasi, is the fact that she has had the opportunity to work with changemakers from across the world including with Illana Raia of Etre, a mentorship platform for girls. Manasi is also on the board of several organisations including Etre, Nexteen, and The Clippers Child Council of India. The 10th grader, who loves bringing ideas to life, also loves listening to music and counts Arijit Singh and Taylor Swift as her favourites.
So how does this youngster, who has a finger in several pies, juggle her routine? “My principle is that you can if you have the will to do things,” she smiles, adding, “I usually break up tasks as either urgent or important, and address them accordingly. The rest I do once I’ve ticked off everything from the first two lists. However, if there are exams around the corner then my extra-curricular activities take a backseat.” As they currently have, as this bibliophile gears up for her board exams in the next few months.
- Follow Manasi Patil on LinkedIn
