From Andhra Ratnam to the Face of Bharat Ratna - Dr. Senku Indraja
‘From Andhra Ratnam to the Face of Bharat Ratna. An incredible journey of a woman, a doctor, a dancer and a philanthropist “
As sir Albert Einstein once said “Creativity is Intelligence having fun.” describes DR.SenkuIndraja perfectly. From the young age she committed herself in broadening her horizon with every challenge life threw at her. It was her dedication which inspired her to work hard to achieve her real time goals in a short span of time. Her perseverance led her to explore and gain knowledge with every stepping stone.
From a masters in Environmental Science to holding a Diploma in Kuchipudi Classical dance, her journey has been distinctive. She has been honoured with numerous awards starting from ‘INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL NSS Award”in 2015 honoured by the than president Shri Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. She has also been bestowed with “Excellence Award,” “Rashtriya Gourav Samman” and “National award” in recognition of her tremendous leadership and outstanding voluntary work rendered in the field of Philanthropic Social Service activities.
Opportunitiesdon’t happen, you create them-Coming from a middle-class family from Palasa, Andhra Pradesh. DR. Indraja showed her artistic bent of mind at a very tender age, when she developed interest in dance, following heboytur mother’s footsteps she got enrolled in a dance institute, she learnt classical Odissi dance form under the mentorship of Shri Shanta Rao. Her passion for dance did not end there, she soon mastered the art of various classical dance form such as Kuchipudi. She took a step forward and made her passion her career and earned a Diploma in Kuchipudi classical dance at Andhra university. She has also been honoured by “Doctor of Classical Dance” from International Peace University, Germany at Puducherry. Her accolades don’t stop there, she made India proud by achieving a place in “Guiness World Record” for her participation in largest Kuchipudi dance ‘MAHABRINDANATYA’ held in Hyderabad.
Self-belief and hard work are the keys to success! This humble line encompasses the most indigenous mantra to success which was well comprehended by DR. Indraja. She always strives towards giving her best at whatever she does. No corner or place of the country is isolated from her creative touches and multi state cultural festivals to promote national integration and cultural values are worth mentioning.
Success is not an activity but a process! Being a young achiever, DR. Indraja understands the importance of accomplishments in youth, therefore she took it as her responsibility to be a guiding force for the community, she participated in many youth festivals all over India. She has been a successful volunteer for ‘National Service Scheme (NSS)’ under the ministry of youth affairs and sport from 2010-15. The promotion of Indian classical form of dance has also been initiated by her on many international forum such as ‘International Youth Exchange Programme’ in Seoul, South Korea (2012).
Philanthropy requires thoughts, action and passion! The art of voluntary giving or humanitarianism is what intrigued DR. Indraja. She has given her services on numerous such missions, actively participating in many humanitarian workshops such as ‘Disaster management,’ ‘Consumer Awareness,’ ‘Health Hazards due to smoking and drugs,’ ‘Human rights education projects,’ many programmes on ‘HIV and AIDS’ and ‘Gender Equality.’ It is said that you are a responsible citizen when you start taking the initiative towards the development of the nation, with that notion in her mind .
An exhibition related to pollution and its effects in the environment was also undertaken at R.K. Beach (Vishakapatnam). The team managed to collect signatures of 10,000 people on the issue of BRAI (Bio-technology Regulatory Authority of India)
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service for others DR. Indraja finds her inspiration from this quote, which reflects in her work. Apart from promoting Indian heritage and Classical dance forms all over the globe, she devotes herself to various social causes, starting from distribution of plants on Environmental Day and Ozone Day to giving away 500 Eco-friendly idols, creating awareness about the effect of non-organic material usage towards the environment. Literacy has always played an important part in her philanthropic journey which encouraged her and her team to visit slums and conduct literacy programmes. Her contribution in Pulse Polio drives and distribution of numerous basic items to the needy are some of her underlined efforts.
Truly a charismatic personality, who has always faced the world with her bright smile and rhythmic feet. We applause her craft of knitting the whole world together with her elegant mudras and sparkling eyes. Her virtue of patience, pursuit and perseverance is enough to inspire many generations to come.
Presently DR. Indraja is working with an NGO called Junior Chamber International(JCI) Visakha valley as a Programme Director, fulfilling her cherished dream of empowering the youth and contributing in every possible way to make India a proud nation.
