Dream, Do, Deliver

5 Kids who made Jammu & Kashmir proud in 2016

The young generation of Jammu and Kashmir has ditched the conventional rat race to strike out on their own. Their decision to follow their dreams has given them space and freedom to carve unconventional careers for themselves in a limitless world. Let's take a look at kids of Jammu and Kashmir who raised their bar and made the state proud on international platforms this year:

Meenal Gupta: The girl with Super Brain

This 14 year old daughter of Jammu participated in the Commonwealth Chess Championship held at Waskaduwa, Sri Lanka in August this year and made the state proud by winning a Gold Medal at the event. The tournament had more than 500 players from around 11 commonwealth countries and in such a tough competition, this girl with a super brain remained undefeated in the nine-round event and got first Gold medal in the category for Jammu & Kashmir. Meenal’s journey as a chess player started at the age of just nine years when most of don’t even know what chess is and in the last 5 years, she participated in more than 6 state, national and international level championships and won innumerable medals and appreciation. Very recently Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti presented Meenal with a cash reward of Rs. Fifty thousand. Mehbooba said she felt happy on seeing this young girl from the State rising to the top.

Tajamul Islam: The overnight Internet sensation

Despite the ongoing turmoil in Kashmir, an eight-year-old girl from Kashmir, Tajamul Islam, battled all odds and went on to claim a gold medal at the World Kickboxing Championship in the sub-junior category. Tajamul hails from a rugged village in Bandipora district, pipped her US opponent to the title in Italy’s southern coastal city of Andria, becoming the first player from the Valley to achieve such a feat. Her father, Ghulam Mohammad Lone, is a driver for a construction company. Tajamul’s journey as a kickboxer started in 2014 when she had just passed her upper kindergarten when she had just passed her upper kindergarten. Earlier this year, she had also won a gold medal in the Jammu and Kashmir Wushu Championships held at Haridwar. But Tajamul made her first mark in kickboxing when she won gold in the national sub-junior category which paved the way for her participation in the world championships.

Dhruv Sharma: Bollywood’s Rising Star

Dhruv’s parents knew that he will work in a Hindi Film someday when he first saw him entertaining guests in a family function with his charismatic acting skills. What they did not know that time that the day will come so early in their lives when the boy was selected to work in a Bollywood Movie named for "Hum Tum Dushman Dushman" which released in February last year. At such a young age, the boy named Dhruv Sharma has achieved the much-touted cinematic fame with his breathtaking performance and flawless dialogue delivery even though the film failed to make a mark on the box-office. Dhruv got his first acting break when he was studying in class 1st in a short movie ‘The Tip’ Directed by Sandeep Verma and his last flick was another bollywood movie “Nanhe Frishtey” which has been shot in Jammu too. The wonder kid is presently living in Muthi area of Jammu city with his family. During his free time, he likes reading book. He also enjoy dancing, playing any kind of sport, spending time with friends and family. His goal in life is to become a Bollywood star one day.

Zufa Iqbal: The innovator

A teenage girl Zufa Iqbal from Srinagar won the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE Award for her innovative idea of Namda Rolling machine. She received the prestigious award from president of India Pranab Mukherjee in a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi in the month of November.

Over 55,000 applicants from 458 districts of India were received for the award and only thirty students could win it. According to Zufa Iqbal, a fan of science fiction, her grandfather wanted her to become a doctor and serve people. Her Namda Rolling machine is the first of its kind for automating the process of Namda production. This machine takes almost seven to eight minutes to make a simple Namda. The washing and designing process is also finished within 15-20 minutes.



Galib Afzal Guroo: Excellence despite hardships



Ghalib Guroo, son of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guroo who was hanged three years back, has scored an impressive 95 per cent marks in the 10th standard examinations conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Examination this year. Ghalib’s performance in the examinations became a talking point on the social media with separatists lauding the boy “for excelling despite hardships”. A resident of Sopore, 55 km north of Srinagar, Afzal Guru was executed on February 9, 2013 when Ghalib was 12 years old. Ghalib’s feat remained the most commented and most shared story on social networking sites in Jammu and Kashmir for a long time.