Forbes India 30 Under 30: Rising stars walking the path of glory

 
For decades, even a century, magazines were a window to the worlds of fashion, celebrities, business and investigations. Women on covers were—and still are—rare, except of course in the first two categories mentioned. That was largely because they conformed to, what feminist author Naomi Wolf termed, the ‘beauty myth’: Unrealistic standards imposed on women, which only seek to undermine their self-esteem and potential.

General magazines have sporadically attempted to go beyond the stereotype. Time magazine, for instance, has had on the cover leaders of countries (Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi), actors and entertainers, without succumbing to the beauty myth (Meryl Streep of the early ’80s in a very non-showbiz avatar, and unconventional illustrations of Sophia Loren and singer Joan Baez). More recently, their Persons of the Year were the women who spoke out against sexual harassment (‘The Silence Breakers’, 2017).

Women on covers of business magazines are a rarity, save for the routine lists of the powerful and the super-rich. They’re doubtless welcome, at least until the time there are enough women leaders who can grab equal share of cover space through the year.

The equation is slowly but surely changing, and perhaps this edition of Forbes India’s 30 under 30 is a landmark of sorts. Four of the five who feature on the cover—a dazzling joint venture of Forbes India’s Chief Creative Director Kapil Kashyap and Group Photography Editor Mexy Xavier—are women. The list itself has nine women, and 15 if you include the special mentions. The absolute number would be more since multiple under-30 founders of an enterprise are considered a single winner. For instance, the three founders of Nori Narrative, Kamya Khurana, Nimisha Saraf and Sonaali Bhatla, get a special mention in the Design category.

Also worth noting is that a few of the winners are a part of a larger team of founders that includes women. Consider Dilip Ramesh, CTO and one of the four founders of Thinkerbell Labs, who gets a special mention in the education category. Sanskriti Dawle, another founder of the startup that’s building products for the visually impaired and who’s also CEO, turned 30 in mid-February, narrowly missing out (winners need to be under 30 till end-February).

The 30 under 30 winners shortlisted by individual juries for each category are professionals or entrepreneurs who’ve shown remarkable excellence at a young age and are set for greater triumphs. Netra Ajjampur, 28, co-founder and managing partner of Studio Sorted, is one such individual forging a fresh path. Along with Abhishek Durani, also 28, co-founder and creative director, Ajjampur is attempting to infuse a much-needed youthful and fun element into architecture. 

Click here for Forbes India 30 Under 30 2024 list

“We’re pioneering a design movement that’s all about sparking joy and reshaping the branding landscape,” Durani tells Forbes India’s Creative Director Benu Joshi Routh. For more on that movement, and the young guns behind it, don’t miss ‘Shaping Fun Spaces’.

To be sure, the fun element permeates the Forbes India 30 under 30 list, to include musicians like Aditi Saigal, better known as DOT. Best known for her recent songs in The Archies, DOT has over 3 lakh monthly listeners on Spotify. So what’s so special about DOT? Singer and Songwriter Ankur Tewari sums it up well when he tells Samidha Jain: “She writes beautiful words that blend well with the music that she creates.” For more on the 25-year-old diva, turn to ‘Winning With Words and Melody’.

Our other women 30 under 30 listees and special mentions include those from categories like finance, ecommerce and F&B. Find out more in the pages that follow.