Dr. Little Mahendra got the name Little as she is the youngest in the family among 3 sisters. She was born to Lt. Col. M.P. Singh, a colonel in the army and Dr. Rita Batra, a gynaecologist who served in the defence forces.
As both her parents had transferable jobs, there were frequent transfers every 2-3 years to different locations in India. Dr. Little therefore studied in different schools across the length and breadth of the country, learnt different languages, made new friends and also adapted to various cultures.
She did her Bachelor’s degree in Dental surgery at the Rajiv Gandhi University and proceeded to do her post graduation and PhD in Annamalai University in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu. She later went to the US to do post doctoral research on stem cells at the Michigan State University. Dr Little also studied hospital management and received membership in the faculty of Dentistry from the prestigious Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow, UK.
Blessed with a cherubic face, she received many modelling offers during her college days. As she wished to concentrate on her studies, she accepted only a few assignments and rejected many plum offers.
She is a good swimmer and loves to go for an occasional swim. She is also a graceful Kathak dancer and won the best dancer award during her school days. She took part in many dance competitions at the national level.
As she is an adept researcher, many of her research articles have been published in national and international journals. She is the recipient of many awards and accolades at national and international levels for her contribution to the field of research.
Dr. Little loves to cook and unwinds by cooking and baking for her family and friends. She relishes south Indian cuisine with her favourite items being dosa and rice with rasam.
When it comes to tourist spots, she likes temple hopping and loves to visit the Golden Temple at Amritsar and the Thillai Nataraj Temple in Chidambaram.
She met her match in college mate Ravi who went on to become an Orthodontist. Sparks flew between them while at college and their love culminated into marriage. They have a cute little daughter named Kiara which is an Irish name that means – God’s precious gift.
She settled in Dubai along with her orthodontist husband Dr. Ravi and joined Maktoum Bin Hamdan Dental College as head of research. Within a period of 2 years, she was promoted to the post of Dean of the college. She is one of the youngest persons to occupy this prestigious post.
Dr. Little gives all the credit for her achievments to her parents who gave her a free hand yet supported her in all her endeavours. Being the youngest in the family, she received a lot of affection and attention not only from her parents but also from her two elder sisters Dr. Jaideep and Preeti. As rightly put by Brad Henry, “Families are the compass that guides us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter.’’
Juliana Sridhar is a lawyer and columnist.
A lovely soul who values each and every one whom she met in her life and show her true affection for the one whom inspired by her and iam so glad to be one among them in tz universe.she is my sister and inspirer forever.ofcourse what more to say about her than a word synonymn for her is a great human