WHAT'S IN AN IDEA?

A world of possibilities, as shown by the extraordinary women and one young girl - who turned their spark of inspiration into flourishing enterprises and endeavours. Their stories and the remarkable impact they continue to make await you in the pages ahead...

- Primrose Monteiro-D'Souza, Sharon D'Silva, Karen Alfonso

THAARAGAI AARATHANA

INSPIRED BY THE OCEAN

The 10-year-old diver has fished out over 3,000 kilos of plastic waste from the ocean

A diver himself, Thaaragai Aarathana's father first took her to the ocean when she was three days old. She was floating by herself at nine months, and swimming at the age of two. At five, she had her first shot at breathing underwater, and, by eight, she was diving to the depth of two metres off the shores of Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. The 10-year-old has just achieved the distinction of becoming one of the youngest licensed PADI junior open water divers in the world, and the first girl to be certified in India.

Most young children would be thrilled with just that achievement, but Thaaragai has long been pushing the envelope. Her father has collected over 30,000 kilos of plastic waste from the ocean, and she is fast following his lead with 3,000 kilos. "My father is my inspiration," she tells us enthusiastically. "I love diving and I like colourful fishes. The waters off Manamelkudi have lovely coral and fish, but we also find so much plastic - bags, slippers, water bottles, caps, straws... Once we released two turtles stuck in ghost (abandoned) nets, but their flippers were cut and damaged from being entangled in the net for so many days."