Shivani Chaturvedi (Chennai)

Turiya Uma Kalyan (17), a Chennai-based fisherfolk evangelist, recently launched an informal cooperative christened Nambikkai Alai (“Tide of Trust” in Tamil) — comprising a group of 30 fishermen and women — to address the socio-economic challenges of the fisherfolk community.

A socially aware class XII student of the city’s APL Global School, ranked among Tamil Nadu’s Top 15 international day schools in the EW India School Rankings 2024-25 (and also reputed for nurturing first generation learners and children with special needs), Turiya is the only child of Gururaj Kalyan, a management consultant, and Uma Krishnamurthy, a former leadership coach. It’s noteworthy that Turiya recently also co-founded a club titled World Issues Network together with three classmates.

Ably supported by her parents, this plucky teen launched a ‘thrift society’ to fund her co-operative initiative. With the funds collected thus far (Rs.90,000) from 30 members at the rate of Rs.3,000 each, she provides fisherfolk loans at subsidised interest rates of 1-2 percent per fortnight — compared to 20 percent per day charged by loan sharks — to fund the repair of their boats and nets, and day-to-day expenses, particularly during the non-productive monsoon season.

“Inspired by conversations I have had since childhood with our household help, who is from the fishing community, and an internship opportunity with Chaitanya, a microfinance company, I conceptualised the idea of Nambikkai Alai in the summer of 2023, and decided to write an independent research paper on this struggling community,” says Turiya, whose research paper was accepted by the International Women’s Research Conference 2024 and published in the peer reviewed International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Turiya’s cooperative model requires formation of three groups of ten fisherfolk. Within each group, women leaders are appointed to evaluate requests for financial assistance and trained to maintain accounts. These leaders allocate funds to those most needy. The decision-making process is fully decentralised, fostering ownership and trust among members.

A consistent academic topper, Turiya has set her sights on a career in development economics. Even as she is currently focused on her class XII ‘A’ level exams of the Cambridge (UK) board, she continues to make time for the fisherfolks thrift society. “I intend to enroll in a US university to specialise in finance and policy formulation. Meanwhile continuous expansion and strengthening Nambikkai Alai will also remain one of my top priorities,” says this precocious teen with a strong social conscience.