Indidoll Taara in Silicon Valley

Hello friends,

This is Indidoll Taara. As you know, my favorite subjects at school are science and math. Do you know all the internet and apps that you love to play with are developed by people who love working in computer science and telecommunications? The largest number of such people are currently working in "Silicon Valley" in California, USA. It is home to many of the world's largest technology companies as well as thousands of start-ups.

I would like to tell you about some cool technology companies and talk about people working in them. So I went there.

Indidoll Taara at Google

 

First I went to Google. Google is the most popular search engine on the internet. Besides search, People at Google are involved leading research in various technologies. All technology companies are ready to hire people who excel in math and science and Google is no exception. Your love for math and science will allow you to work in such cool and diverse technologies of future as self-driving cars and artificial meat!

Indidoll Taara at Yahoo

My next stop was Yahoo. Yahoo is another big internet corporation located in Sunnyvale, California. It is currently headed by one of the most powerful businesswomen Marissa Mayer who joined Yahoo from Google. Mayer graduated with honors from Stanford University with a B.S. in symbolic systems and an M.S. in computer science. For both degrees, her specialization was in artificial intelligence.

Indidoll Taara at Facebook

Indidoll Taara at Stanford University

Then I went at Facebook headquarters. Facebook is the most popular social network in the world with more than a billion people connected to each other through it. Sheryl Sandberg is the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook. In her interview here, she says, "We were raised in my generation with - You can do anything". 



























Finally I went to Stanford University. It is one of the world's leading research and teaching institutions. Some of the topmost research in machine learning and artificial intelligence is being done in this school. Imagine contributing to technologies used in self-learning robots and mission to Mars when you grow up!

There I came across an organization called She++ started by girl students. It encourages girl students to develop love for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). 

I think that technology will be everywhere in our future. I would like you to be curious about things around you and don't be afraid to ask questions. Learn while having fun and one day, when you grow up, you will be a part of a team designing a spaceship to travel the universe! Wouldn't that be a lot of fun?

Next time I will talk about my visit to companies in "India's Silicon Valley" - Bangalore.

See you around,

Your best friend Taara

Indidoll Taara at NASA Ames Research Center, CA

Hello friends,

I am Indidoll Taara. I want to be an astronaut when I grow up. So I went to NASA Ames museum near Ames Research Center to know more about all the people that work in the background and preparation that goes into taking an astronaut into space.



Ames Research Center is located near San Fancisco, California, USA.

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Taara near Kalpana Chawla exhibit

My inspiration, Kalpana Chawla worked at Ames Research Center. Her medals, astronaut dress and pictures are displayed at the museum.

Astronaut food

Because astronauts don't have ability to go to the grocery store too often, food in space has to last a long time. Dehydration and special sealing techniques are used to preserve food so that it is non-perishable, light-weight, and still appetizing. This is one of the many research projects done at Ames Research Center. Astronauts have to exercise up to 2 hours per day to keep their muscles and bones healthy. Weight lifting isn't very helpful in space so they must rely on cardio and resistance training to stay in shape. Their exercise equipment on-board International Space Station is designed at Ames Research Center.

Experiments like effect of having no gravity on plants and tadpoles that are born in space are setup and sent aboard space missions.

Future astronaut suite

Research in design of next generation space suites for astronauts Is also done at this center.












Taara with NASA astronaut

Kepler mission is to search for habitable planets where future generations can potentially go and settle. The idea is to survey a portion of our region of the Milky Way galaxy to discover dozens of Earth-size planets in or near the habitable zone and determine how many of the billions of stars in our galaxy have such planets.










Taara floating in International Space Station

ISRO Space Girls
In India, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and it's commercial arm - Antrix develop similar space technologies.

There are a number of women in ISRO who are working in space research and development. All women team of Project Director, Mission Director and Operations Director, T K Anuradha, Pramoda Hegde and Anuradha Prakash, was responsible for launch of GSAT-12 satellite.

To join ISRO, you have to be good at math and science. When you grow up, you can be a part of research team working on cool technologies and experiments. You can also become a pilot and then train as an astronaut.
ISRO's is preparing for a first manned mission after a decade. We can expect a woman to be one of the two astronauts in that mission.

I am ready to lift off. Are you?

Hope you enjoyed reading about my latest adventure. I would love to hear back from you.

Your friend,
Taara


Indidoll Mani and Indidoll Taara in Hollywood, Los Angles, CA, USA

Lights, Camera, Action....

Taara and I were in Hollywood, Los Angeles, US recently. We turned quite a few heads when walking in the streets of hollywood in our beautiful designer clothes.



Indidoll Mani in Dolby theatre, the home of Oscar ceremony in Hollywood, LA

Indidoll Taara in front of Hollywood sign, Los Angeles, US



 

And the Oscar for the best actress in a leading role goes to....

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Do you know?

 

• Hollywood is the home of the biggest movie industry in the world
• Hollywood produces 500 films per year on average and has a worldwide audience of 2.6 billion whereas Bollywood produces more than 1000 (not consistently) films every year and has a worldwide audience of 3 Billion
• Some of the famous Indian female actresses that have worked in hollywood are Aishwarya Rai, Parminder Nagra, and Tabu
• Mira Nair, born in Bhubaneswar,Orissa is considered as one of the top ten women directors in hollywood.
• Besides acting, there are a lot of diiferent people needed in movie industry - Director, Cameraman, Editor, Set Designer, Costume Designer, Makeup artist, Special-effect director. Women have been extremely successful in many of these roles.
• WIFT INDIA provides international platform of Women in Film & Television

 See you around,
Your friend,Indidoll - Mani

 

Indidoll Mani in Alleppey, Kerala, India

Hello My Friends,

I recently visited Alleppey also known as Alappuzha, a city in Kerala, India. Alappuzha in Malayalam means the land between the sea and network of rivers flowing into it. The Backwaters of Alleppey are the most popular tourist attraction in Kerala. Alleppey is also called "Venice of the East" due to numerous canals and lagoons flowing through it. A houseboat cruise in these backwaters is fun.

Indidoll Mani enjoying the houseboat ride

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Indidoll Mani on the beach

 

Do you know?

• Tessy Thomas,the scientist who is responsible for making the launch of India's Agni-V rocket successful is from Alleppey, Kerala
• A large number of women from Kerala participated in the freedom movement. Some of the famous names are - Accamma Cherian, A V Kuttimalu Amma, Lakshmi Sehgal and Ammu Swaminadhan
• Some other famous Malayali women

• P.T Usha, who has won 101 international athletics medals
• Arundhati Roy, a famous Indian writer and activist

Hope you enjoyed reading about my Alleppey visit. I will be back soon to talk about my new adventures.

Indidoll's travel around the world

Hi,

I am Indidoll Mani.

This blog is for my kid fans who would like to follow my travels to various places in India and abroad. I will describe the place, its culture, history, geography, language and interesting facts. I will also make sure to post my pictures here so all of you can experince my adventure. So keep on a lookout for my first adventure.

See you around,

Your friend,
Indidoll - Mani
http://indidoll.com