Saina Nehwal is the first Indian to win a medal in badminton at the Olympics. A Khel Ratna badminton player and winner of the Padma Shri Award (2010) and the Arjuna Award (2009), Saina is coached by former All England Badminton Champion and Dronacharya Awardee, Pullela Gopichand. She is also India's highest paid sportsperson outside cricket.

Sacrifices are part of a top athlete's life. What sacrifices have you made to be where you are today?

I did not play with dolls or toys when I was young. I couldn't spend time with friends, or attend birthday parties. All the time it was badminton for me.

Read more at - http://www.coolage.in/2012/09/20/my-play-is-most-important-to-me-saina-nehwal/


Soha Ali Khan is a Bollywood actor. She has a degree in Modern History from Oxford University and a masters degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics. Besides films, she is also associated with many voluntary organizations such as Akshara and the CRY. Currently she hosts the famous show, 'What Not To Wear, India' on TLC.

What advice would you give young college students who want to do something different from what they actually studied?



Read more at - http://www.coolage.in/2012/12/11/my-history-teacher-in-school-inspired-me-soha-ali-khan/


Vikram Chandra is the Group CEO and Executive Director of NDTV Group and anchors for 'The Big Fight', 'Gadget Guru' and the '9 o'clock news'. He has also been awarded the 'Young Global Leader' award by the World Economic Forum in Davos and has been felicitated by the Indian Television Academy Award as the "Best Anchor for a Talk Show" in 2008.

You went to St. Stephen's College followed by Oxford and then Stanford Universities. These are dream colleges for most of our youth. What advice would you give to our readers about applying to such universities?

Well, I was in Stanford for just three months. However, these international universities are looking for well-rounded individuals. So, academics and co-scholastic activities like debating and dramatics are equally important. What the students need to keep in mind is that securing admission is not enough; education abroad is very expensive and so getting scholarships is critical. I secured admission in Oxford University but deferred it by a year. The next year, I won the Inlaks Scholarship and went to Oxford through it. Scholarships like Rhodes and Inlaks need a good co-scholastic record also. So try not only to secure admission in prestigious universities but also to arrange for a scholarship to pay the fees.

Read more at - http://www.coolage.in/2012/08/30/a-rendezvous-with-mr-vikram-chandra/


Arivalagan Gajraj is an independent musician, songwriter and composer. He is an alumnus of Michigan State University and received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering in 1999. Ari also worked at the University of Michigan doing post-doctoral research in Biophysics working on projects for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)and NASA. Ari is a published author with articles in many scientific journals. His musical initiative is called Listen Without Borders.

Is social media an effective platform to promote independent artists?

Well, it's the only viable platform for indie artists so you have to make it work for you. I think the best way to promote yourself is to be good, be extraordinary, draw people to you and your art – work honestly at the fundamentals: better and more relevant songwriting, better ideas, better execution. It might sound clichéd but it's the smartest way to take advantage of the decentralized nature of social media. Let viral work for you.

Read more at - http://www.coolage.in/2012/11/22/until-we-truly-listen-without-borders-we-remain-unevolved-a/