At 25, Smriti Nagpal was the youngest Indian woman to be named one of 'BBC's 100 inspirational women for 2015
Growing up with an older brother and sister who were hearing impaired, enabled Smriti Nagpal to etch an identity for herself by empowering the deaf community.
The 25-year old entrepreneur is the youngest Indian woman to be named one of 'BBC's 100 inspirational women for 2015'. She is in august company, sharing the honour with the likes of Asha Bhosale and Sania Mirza.
Nagpal learnt sign language at a young age, becoming a bridge of communication between her siblings and the world. When she was in class 10, the teenager volunteered at a function at the National Association of Deaf (NAD), offering to interpret for a large audience. It made her aware of the need for such services for the deaf community.
While in college, she began managing the Hearing Impaired Morning Bulletin for Doordarshan.
The turning point came when she met a deaf artist who created handmade products for an NGO despite having a Masters degree in Fine Arts. It brought home the glaring lack of opportunities for such people and the idea of setting up Atulyakala was born.
Atulyakala is a social enterprise that provides lucrative opportunities for deaf artists. It has a three-pronged approach.
The artists create artworks that can be commercially manufactured as branded products like mugs and bags. Its design studio takes up design projects from clients. Thirdly, the organization tries to spread awareness about sign language through workshops, videos, etc.
Smriti learnt sign language at a young age, becoming a bridge of communication between her siblings and the world
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