Fourteen - an age when school girls obsess over the Jenner siblings or swoon over the One Direction boys. However, for 14-year-old Nitya Rajan, it's an age when she gets to debate at the Swiss Parliament!
This bright teenager from Bengaluru, who now resides in Switzerland, impressed many by speaking at the Youth Session of the Swiss Parliament. Talking about her experience, she shares, “I sought a prohibition on weapons export, as I find it contradicts all the Swiss morals of being neutral. The experience of speaking on the floor of the Swiss parliament with 200 youth from all over Switzerland was amazing. I had terrible nerves, but in the end, I managed to say something.”
Having moved three years ago to Switzerland, Nitya managed to learn German in three years. Her debating skills developed in Bengaluru as she was part of the school debate team. Subsequently, her ability to debate in German developed as she attended a local school where every subject is taught in German. Despite the fact that clapping is now allowed in the Parliament, Nitya's speech garnered a round of applause.
“I was surprised with the great reactions I got to my proposal, given the fact that I was stuttering so badly in German, and I could not understand what the presiding chair was speaking in Italian. I was so happy,” exclaims the youngster, who believes in the Gandhian principle of 'be the change you want to see'. She adds, “My mom applied on the Youth Session website a few months ago and I got an e-mail saying I had been chosen.”
This hard-working and determined teenager says that she dreams of seeing a peaceful world. “Another thing that worries me deeply is global warming. I would like more awareness in this aspect. It may be a bit far-fetched, but personally, I think the whole concept of borders is unnecessary,” she says.
Coming to her school life, Nitya topped her class in German in one of the class tests, even though all her classmates are Germans and Swiss Germans. “I'm a regular in the local children's choir and I also like to participate in the village's athletics club. I enjoy reading and watching movies (Hindi/ English). I am a big fan of Katrina Kaif,” says the ambitious teen, who would like to study law or quantum physics.
As for her Bengaluru connection, Nitya has lived in the city from the ages of four to 10. “When I think of the city, I miss my grandparents the most,” she expresses.
