Mahindra’s remarks celebrating Nitya. 

“What I’d like to do today is share three reasons why I’m really excited about celebrating Nitya. 
First, it has to do with my own motivation for starting Nanhi Kali.

There were, of course, many rational hypotheses about the benefits of education—a lot of left-brain arguments about why it mattered. But if you asked a therapist to put me on a couch and figure out what was really motivating me, I think they’d find many reasons. One of them, I’m sure, goes back to my undergraduate days in college.
I majored in photography and filmmaking, and for my thesis I came to India to make a film. I travelled to the Kumbh Mela, spent time in Madhya Pradesh and tribal areas, and saw firsthand the poverty in our country—particularly the deprivation faced by women. That experience, through the lens of photography, was one of the early provocations that made me aware of what was happening and ultimately pushed me to start something like Nanhi Kali. 
So, I’m delighted that what Nitya and I share is this passion for photography. For me, it was a spark that made me more conscious. For her, it’s something she has leveraged to also serve the community. Thank you, Nitya, for that.

Second, I’m delighted today because, as a group and as a family, we’re not very self-absorbed. We don’t spend much time gazing at our own navels. We tend to look ahead, and very rarely do we pause to chronicle what we’ve done. I think that’s a good thing—because it means we aren’t obsessed with how our biographies will look, or with producing coffee table books about ourselves. 
 But in a way, what Nitya has done fills that gap. She has become our chronicler. Through her work, she is immortalizing this project. That, I think, is a wonderful reason to celebrate her today. 
And third, something I just found out recently that makes me even more excited. When I was talking to Manoj and Aarti about Nitya, they told me she spent two months in the ICU, and Aarti put her own career aside to nurture her. 
And look at what she’s become. From that beginning, she has grown into a young woman who topped her IB class, who has secured admission into Ivy League colleges, and who is using her gifts to give back. In many ways, that journey is a metaphor for what Nanhi Kali is about. We take girls who are starting from positions of disadvantage, and by nurturing their talent, we help them grow into self-reliant, bright individuals who contribute back to society. 
So, with those words, it’s my privilege to introduce Nithya. The floor is yours.”