IndiaPost.com - New York Life unveils Bharat Yatra documentary

NEW YORK: For the fifth consecutive year New York Life Insurance Company conducted its annual 'Bharat Yatra' - a journey the insurance giant has committed to undertake every year to India along with a group of students, in an effort to further enhance its position as the company of the community.

Every year, the Asian Indian market unit of the insurance company conducts an essay competition for university students across the United States, following which, 16 winners are selected to eventually undertake the journey to India. The topic of the essay this year was "Wildlife conservation in India: Present day challenges and measures required for positive action".

And in keeping with the topic of the essay, the 16 winners were taken on an exhilarating two-week wildlife yatra -- Bharat Yatra -V -- to sanctuaries in Karnataka in southern India. At an elaborate luncheon event at the New York Life building in Manhattan on Sept 28, the company released a documentary on the experiences of the students during the yatra and provided an opportunity to each of those students to narrate their experiences before top New York Life executives and the media. The documentary, titled "It's a Beautiful World" captures the group's visits to different wildlife conservation projects in Karnataka and their interaction with officials from different governmental and nongovernmental organizations.

The trip focused on biodiversity conservation in India. The trip was designed to teach the winners about the culture, environment and other important aspects of present day life in India with the goal to inspire these students to stay connected and help alleviate poverty. The incredibly articulate students presented valuable insights and a unique perspective on India's efforts at conserving its wildlife as well as on the deep impact the country has had on their lives. President and Chief Operating Officer of New York Life Insurance Company Ted Mathas honored the sixteen winners of the essay contest with plaques.

Giving an overview of NY Life's India operations, Mathas said India operations (Max NY Life), were launched in 2001 and today the company has 4,000 employees and 20,000 agents. "In the next five years, we expect to have more than 24,000 employees and 200,000 agents all over India," he said. Mathas said sponsoring the Bharat Yatra for these students was one more way of showing the company's commitment to the Asian Indian community.

"This is New York Life's humble contribution to humanity and also an ongoing effort to bring two great nations - The United States and India closer," said Ashwin K. Verma, corporate vice president, New York Life. "The underlying premise of Bharat Yatra initiative is to instill sense of giving back to the community among the second-generation Indian-Americans.

We're glad we are succeeding in our efforts." Among the adventurous activities the students participated in while in Karnataka were wildlife safaris, nature hikes, river rafting and elephant rides. The group also got a contrasting perspective of a modern India on their visit to the ultra modern campus of Infosys in Bangalore.

Apart from hearing the student's unique observations, what was more inspiring was a presentation on the mission of the Dil Se Foundation, launched by the winning students of the NY Life essay competition last year, who had constituted Bharat Yatra IV to Gujarat. Many of those students have gone back to India to work for rural education, and creating health and hygiene awareness through the Foundation.

The 16 students who were part of this year's rich, learning experience are: Meghana Dhar, Sunnyvale, CA; Divya Srinivasan, Houston, TX; Harita Baxi, Middletown, NY; Priyam Kirit Vyas, Matthews, NC; Seena Patel, Phoenix, AZ; Ambareen Ahmed, Clarksburg, MD; Vidya Kumar, Philadelphia, PA; Julia Piper, Fremont, CA; Isha Antani, East Brunswick, NJ; Roshan Vora, Wayne, NJ; Vikram Venkatesh, Laguna Niguel, CA; Sahil Gulati, Pleasanton, CA; Tanya Panjwani, Houston, TX, Pranav C. Reddy, Colorado Springs, CO, Ayesha Shariff, Rio Rancho, NM; Raina Verma, Fremont, CA.