rumoured to enjoy all kinds of music from hip-hop to Bollywood and is visibly tech-savvy – personality traits that are far removed from his wrestler-turned politician father Mulayam Singh Yadav and the fiery Dalit leader Mayawati whom he trounced in 2012 to bring the Samajwadi Party into power in UP.  Not only did he successfully appeal to the fence-sitters in UP’s urban areas, he also projected an all-new urbane and non-partisan  image for the party in the Assembly elections, leading to a more than convincing victory in 2012. Things in UP have gone downhill since, from law and order to investments and his inexperience as leader of a state fraught by deep caste and community
divisions has been bared too. Having said that, no party will dare ignore Akhilesh, the SP and UP in 2014.
Arvind Kejriwal,Activist-turned politician
AAM AADMI WARRIOR
Arvind Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), leader and former tax officer, shot into the limelight in 2011 as the alter ego and confidante of Gandhian activist Anna Hazare in the high-profile fast-for-Lokpal events in Delhi, in April and August of that year. In 2012, Kejriwal charted a path of his own, moved away from Hazare and decided to form a political party and fight elections. He is now pitted against three-time Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit in the state assembly elections due in November. Kejriwal, who was idolised along with Hazare in 2011, has lost some of the sheen because of his decision to take to regular politics. But his admirers believe that he has done the right thing and there is a need for passionate idealists like him to challenge the political establishment in the political fray. The 2014 election will be the litmus test for Kejriwal who once believed that it is not necessary to be a politician to demand accountability from governments. This year is crucial for him as it is for the
thousands who hope he can bring about real change.
Varun Gandhi, BJP leader
THE OTHER GANDHI HEIR
The irony of Varun Gandhi, son of Maneka and Sanjay, youngest grandson of Indira Gandhi, emerging as the promising young leader of the BJP, the ideological bête noire of the Congress, is not lost on Indian political watchers. Varun caused a few ripples in the 2009 election when he gave provocative speeches during a campaign in his constituency Unnao in Uttar Pradesh that landed him in prison. He won the election, came out of prison and was acquitted by the courts. In the new Rajnath Singh-Narendra Modi dispensation, the young Gandhi has found an important place for himself. He is the youngest general secretary in the party who is in charge of West Bengal. He has been assigned the important role of organising rallies along with fellow-general secretary Ananth Kumar in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Masaba Gupta, Fashion designer
WHAT’S YOUR STYLE
In 2009, a young girl showcased her collection at the Lakme Fashion Week’s GenNext segment and in the same year, won the most promising designer award. The following year, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire awarded her the Best Emerging Designer. By 2011, Masaba Gupta had not just ‘emerged’ but delivered and continues to deliver clothes that we now distinctively recognize as  a “Masaba’ design.  All this, and she was only 24. Masaba produces clothes, Indian  and fusion that has a unique Indianness in a very modern context. Her Tamil script sarees and jackets have made fashionistas sit up and take note. She uses cotton and muslin that challenge the rules of contemporary fashion to create a language of her own. Now wonder then, that everyone wants a piece of Masaba. She has spoken at national forums at Youth summits, been the Face of Fashion in India at many events, and is part of a large luxury house with a label that reads: Masaba for Satya Paul. Where will she be 10 years from now?  Probably with her head higher in the clouds, designing and pushing the frontiers of fashion, with her feet firmly on the ground, like she is today.
Reena Kallat, Artist, sculptor
A BIG PICTURE
She sees, hears, breathes, talks, walks and drinks art. Art lives with her as much as she lives with art. Internationally known contemporary artist, Reena Kallat’s world of art is an expansive space that spans painting, photography, video, sculpture and photography.  Putting her stamp on the world map, Reena belongs to the new generation of Indian artists who have successfully reinterpreted and given a new dimension to art. A trained painter, Reena deftly shuttles between several mediums of art and installation practice. “I really enjoy painting but I think spatially, so my leanings are towards sculpture,” she says. Her work has been exhibited across the world. Her artworks reflect her sincere spirit and unbound thoughts to explore new concepts. Besides exhibitions in Brazil, Norway and Denmark in 2012, at the Eigen + Art Gallery in Berlin, Reena created a web of global entanglements with names of people who were denied visas to various countries. Now she is preparing for projects in Korea and Taipei. The
world is indeed her oyster.
Amish Tripathi, Author
DIVINING THE TRINITY
Is there something called overnight success? Yes. And Amish Tripathi is proof.  Is there truth that you can be a huge publishing success with a divine hand ruling over you? Tripathi is proof again.  And can you make money out of writing? Here comes Tripathi to the rescue. Little wonder then, that he has been described as “India’s first literary popstar”, “India’s Tolkien” or “Paulo Coelho of the East”. And why?
Because Amish’s Shiva trilogy — The Immortals of Meluha, The Secret of the Nagas and The Oath of the Vayuputras has over 1.7 million copies in print with a gross retail sales of over Rs43 crore, making it the fastest-selling book series in Indian history. 
But this is not all we’re lauding him for.  At a time when publishers over the world sent him rejection letters in a flood, he didn’t lose hope. When the legend of Shiva was being rewritten by him, not once did he stop to think, “Am I doing the right thing?” Not even after he had quit his job to write full-time. He believes that he is only an instrument and that the divine writes through him. His trilogy indeed bears out that conviction. His fans, and they are legion, can’t wait for more.
Malini Chib, Activist, author
Yes, She Can!
Consider this: Malini Chib holds two Masters degrees from London, one in gender studies, and the other in library sciences and information management. She is the CEO and trustee of ADAPT (Able disabled all people together) and founder-chairperson of NATIONAL ADAPTS RIGHTS GROUP, the activist wing of the organisation. She is an academic, a lecturer, a writer and a researcher, conducting empowerment and sensitisation courses on disability for individuals, corporates, parents, professionals and disabled activists. She also heads the Library and Media Services. She travels extensively in India and abroad and has published several articles. She has presented papers in international and national conferences. Her book, One Little Finger, has been an inspiration to all who have read it. She recently launched a two year campaign: ‘Mumbai Rising for Disability Access: We the People too’ in order to make the city more accessible and disability friendly.
So what! You say? Not when you realise that Malini Chib has never let something like cerebral palsy stand in her way of reaching for what others would consider the impossible.  She has done all this and more from what seems like a confining space: her wheelchair. For achieving what people without disabilities find difficult to do, we salute her.
Sahej Bakshi, Musician
Mr SOUND MAN
Known by his stage name Dualist Inquiry, this producer, composer, guitarist is undoubtedly Indian electronica’s quickest rising star.
Having played at several packed gigs globally, Bakshi recen