Dear Reader,

As the sun rises on a new year and a new decade, DH unveils today its annual list of young achievers whom we expect will blaze a trail and leave us marvelling at their talent, guts and determination to overcome tough odds.

Welcome to DH Changemakers: 20 to Watch in 2020, our showcase of Karnataka’s best talent, which this year spans fields as diverse as music, sport and arachnology, which to the uninitiated, is a study of spiders.

In point of fact, this year’s list actually has 22 awardees. A quick note of explanation is in order. One of the awards goes to an architect pair who work together to create gender equality on the construction site; another goes to a pair of flautist twins whose notes blend perfectly with each other. In either case, we counted them as one nomination.

The rest of our awardees are every bit as interesting. Where else but on our list would you find a butterfly specialist rubbing shoulders with a youngster working on a space engine, the two jostling for space with an Everest summiteer, a builder of a makeshift bridge and a Ranji trophy opener?

We started this practice of shining the light on young talent last year with our 19 to Watch in 2019. This time round, we modified the nomination process to include entries from the public. And we will felicitate the winners at a function later this month where each young achiever will get a chance to meet talents as prodigious as his or her own in fields dramatically different. It promises to be a fascinating occasion. For the next few days, we are also giving you a chance to vote for your favourite changemaker.

For now, we leave you in the company of a score of the state’s best. We hope you find their stories as inspiring as we did. Do check out the videos where they tell you their stories directly.

Happy reading, happy viewing, and a Happy New Year!