Humans of BASIS: Soaring High

Jay towers over everyone in the hallway, sort of like a penguin — calm and collected, but lost at the same time. If you have never met the guy, you can spot him in the hallways by finding his colorful duck masks, which range from purple to orange. He is a dedicated student; if you peek into his classrooms, you might see him either taking notes diligently or asking intellectual questions.

Jay’s classmate and longtime friend, Christopher Chen, notes his class demeanor. “He knows the balance between learning and having fun.”

Jay and Christopher take AP Physics C together, a class that uses calculus to delve into mechanical physics and electromagnetism. Jay’s passion for physics and engineering extends well beyond the classroom, where he has built his own scientific models.

During term project week last year, Jay constructed a wind tunnel—his first solo hands-on project. “It’s a wind chamber, where you can visualize the air flow over different bodies of solid objects using smoke,” he explains.

“I've always been interested in aerodynamics, airflow, airplanes and I really wanted to build a project that would let me test different models that I have. A wind tunnel seemed like a really good place to start. I had a lot of fun making it and it gave me a glimpse into engineering. My model made out of foam was already complex to make, I can only imagine the complexity of other engineering models.”

The wind tunnel now collects dust on his cabinet. He plans to build an engine next, which would be a great step up given its complexity. An engine’s extreme heat brings a new challenge—instead of foam, metal would have to be welded and cut. “When I learn how to use the CNC machine, a tool used to cut and form metal, I can start forming the skeleton.”

Jay’s enthusiasm and passion for physics and engineering is mirrored in the intense devotion he has for his favorite sport, cricket.

Jay has been a bowler (pitcher) on his cricket team for the past 6 years. Few can forget the time he convinced the P.E. teacher to let the class play cricket during the baseball unit, or when he brought his own equipment to teach and inspire his peers to play with him during lunch. His favorite player is Suryakumar Yadav, a batter for the Indian cricket team, who brings enthusiasm to the game — a trait Jay wishes to emulate.

Like Yadav, Jay has helped lead his team to victory in two tournaments this past year: the Woodley Cricket Tournament in Los Angeles and the Dallas Invitational in Texas. Jay performed well at the US under-19 trials two weekends ago, where cricket players aged 15-19 undergo a fitness and cricket selection process to be considered for the US National Cricket Team.

“The game seems so simple, but you have to understand so many more things. It's all about strategy,” Jay explains.

Unlike cricket, cooking is far more systematic than strategic. According to Anjali, his good friend, Jay is a passionate cook and baker. From the complex macaron to the simple yet classic chocolate chip cookie, Jay has a lot of culinary expertise. His favorite is sourdough bread, which can be surprisingly complex — requiring a combination of skill, experience, and patience as well as a perfectly fermented sourdough starter, which has to be meticulously baked.

In the Yellow Pages’ previous cheesecake-making competition, Jay’s cheesecake was Dr. Sanhita’s favorite by far. She was amazed by its smoothness, noting that his cheesecake was better than her own attempt.

Jay inherits his love for cooking from his family, who are all passionate cooks. He loves putting together new dishes, often offering to cook dinner for his family under the pretense of experimenting with a new recipe.

Jay often makes Indian food, more specifically, Gujarati food. His mother taught him how to cook the lighter, less spicy, and sweeter cuisine. Jay is thankful for learning his heritage and how to cook warm home meals, as these are skills he will remember for a lifetime.

Aaryan, his best friend, says, “Jay makes the smoothest toor dal — yellow lentil soup with dried chilies. It has the right consistency, spice level, and taste. It brings the best flavors out of the ingredients.”

Even when his dishes don’t turn out the way he wants them to, he strives to make the dish better. Aditya, another one of his good friends, notes, “He gave me a slice of his pizza and told me to be honest. Reluctantly, I told him that it tasted pretty average and that the tomato sauce was not great. He took the critique and came the next day with an even better pizza.”

Jay always aims to improve his skills and sees it as a chance to grow. He is always eager to improve and along with that, try new things. Jay experiments in the kitchen and creates fusion dishes with his favorite cuisine: Mexican. Indian and Mexican food both employ spices and similar methods of cooking, creating a beautiful selection of tasteful intersectionality between them.

“I decided to make a Mexican pizza with Indian curry on it; my family really enjoys the unique dishes I make for them, especially because they could never imagine the combination of flavors.”

Jay loves the vibrant flavors of Mexican food that burst in his mouth. He uses these flavors to enhance his other dishes. He makes tacos, burritos, and fajitas at home. Because Jay is a vegetarian, he finds creative ways to substitute the meat that is commonly found in Mexican food without sacrificing the dish’s rich flavors.

Despite his extensive knowledge of cooking, Jay has not found a recipe for love yet. He says that he “just [doesn’t] understand anything” about love. One source of confusion for him is the portrayal of love in movies, which can depict different views and expectations of love — “it’s just so different from movie to movie,” he says. We hope that he’ll discover more about love and how wacky it is in the future.

Aaryan, Jay’s best friend, leaves us with fruit for thought: “Jay is a plane.” When asked to elaborate on the model and type of plane, as well as the literal or figurative nature of his statement, Aaryan refused to say more. Perhaps Jay is indeed a plane, soaring high above the earth with shiny wings proudly outstretched.