Tirthak Saha, is an engineer, painter and an innovator. He is also on Forbes 30 Under 30 list of innovators making a difference in the energy sector. That’s common knowledge. But no one really knows the chaos behind the success. We got a chance to meet Tirthak, break him into pieces and learn what geniuses are made of. His story is quite a roller coaster so fasten your seat belts.
“I Wasn’t Smart According To Indian Education System”
Tirthak says he was a very distracted kid which he later turned into his strength (more on that later). “I remember a note which was written to my mother which had words like ‘Distracted’, ‘Impatient’, ‘Irregular’, ‘But Has Lot of Potential’,” says Tirthak with a sheepish smile. Relatable?
“It Is Class 10th And it is Really Not Important”
Tirthak’s younger brother is in class 10th and he has no advice to give him. Not now, at least because A) Class 10th board is no battleground. B) If at all it is for some, the strategies should have been made much in advance because no student can change in three months. Makes sense? He further explains, “With my brother we have successfully created an environment where he knows the pros and cons of his actions and if he still decides not to put in the hard work then he is responsible for the repercussions.”
On His Failures
There was a couple of them. We all know that he couldn’t get through Delhi University, but that’s not what Tirthak thinks was a setback. It was after his 10th board when he wasn’t considered ‘good’ enough to pick up Science for further studies. Teachers suggested him to take up Commerce. “I thought am I that bad? And I made up my mind that I never would want to feel like that ever again, you know, that feeling of being written off,” says Tirthak.
The second one, he recalls was during a research project in Manipal University. “It is saddest when you want to do something and you don’t have the necessary knowledge to do it. I got the project I wanted but I failed miserably at that. Had I paid enough attention in 11th and 12th to learn the basic concepts it would have been much smoother. I was devastated. So I started hitting the library, even after the project was over, to educate myself and also incorporate a work ethic in my life,” says Tirthak.
What Does He Do, Now?
“I do no Engineering. All I do is sit on the Internet like a big spider and pull different strings from different sectors to create a product which is cost efficient and renewable in nature,” says Tirthak. This is where his “distracted” mind comes into play. So if you are distracted, be that, roam around, learn more and in the process channelize the distraction to comeup with something completely out of the box.
For the uninitiated, Tirthak is known for implementing ‘Smart Grid' projects at American Electric Power (AEP). One of his proposals won AEP’s Spark Tank Innovation Challenge and is now underway to improve energy delivery across 9 (American) states.”
How Does He Incorporate Art In All Of This?
Not many people know, and these are Tirthak’s words not ours, that he was a brilliant artist and won all the school competitions till class 12th. He made a 3D view of a street at the age of two. Believe that? And if not an engineer, he would have been an artist. His interest in Japanese art of Origami led him to design an origami-based modular solar panel array for Cubesats (A type of miniaturized satellite for space research that is made up of multiples of 10×10×10 cm cubic units).
Let us know how Tirthak's life inspires you.