INDIA'S RISING POP SENSATION

ONE RARELY COMES ACROSS A 26-YEAR-OLD SELF-STARTER, WHO IS HARD-WORKING, COMMITTED AND SUCCESSFUL AS WELL. TALK TO ANANYA BIRLA, DAUGHTER OF INDUSTRIALIST KUMAR MANGALAM AND NEERJA BIRLA AND YOU KNOW YOU HAVE MET SOMEONE WHO IS. LISTEN TO HER STORY AND YOU REALISE THERE IS A SOFT AND WELL-BALANCED SIDE AS WELL TO HER MULTIFACETED PERSONA. MARWAR TAKES YOU THROUGH THE RISING POP SENSATION’S INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF CARVING HER OWN LEGACY.

- Joseph Rozario

VOCALIST, SONGWRITER, ENTREPRENEUR, MENTAL health activist—Ananya Birla is all of these rolled up into one tireless youngster, who’s learnt to manage her time and compartmentalise her tasks rather successfully. How else could someone so young handle multiple responsibilities a the founder and leader of Svatantra, a financial technology company; the co-founder and vice-chairperson of Mpower, a movement that holistically promotes mental health and well-being; and, of course, a passionate vocalist and lyricist with several singles and collaborative releases to her name!

Actually, it all goes back to her formative years. When she was very young, she wanted to be an astronaut, Birla says. She was a very keen student, extremely studious and her typical day would be a mix of school, homework and extracurricular activities like swimming, table tennis, football, chess, playing the santoor, and more. As a child, she also loved playing with toys that involved putting together interlocking plastic bricks imaginatively to build animals, vehicles, buildings and the like. This fascination for the process of creation, Birla feels, not only evolved into her love for start-ups, but also led her to carve out a career in music later in life.

ENTREPRENEURIAL BENT