From a small tailor’s shop in Hussainabad, Lucknow, to the global stage, Class 9 student of La Martiniere Girls’ College, Aaliya Fatima Rizavi has captured international attention for her environmental initiative. As she prepares for the award ceremony in Washington D.C. (USA) this October, she reflects on her journey with humility: “I am thrilled to have won the challenge, but the process of this small innovation of mine is far more satisfying for me than the prize itself.”
Her initiative, The Puppet Teaches the Planet, recently earned her a prestigious win at the 2026 National Geographic Slingshot Challenge. This achievement includes a $1,000 grant and an invitation to the award ceremony in the US.
Aaliya recalls her journey of inspiration: “While visiting a tailor in our locality with my mother, I saw his tiny shop was full of vibrant katran (cloth bits). I asked him, ‘Aap iska kya karte ho?’ He said, ‘Kuch nahi. We have to throw it away in order to get rid of the clutter.’ That just stayed with me. The thought came: Maybe something can be done about it.”
Her innovation not only addresses a significant real-world challenge but brings a unique cultural dimension to this environmental problem by merging it with the rich local heritage of Lucknow. She notes that her childhood favourite—the authentic Gulabo-Sitabo puppet show—had begun to fade into memory.
She adds, “Every kid of Lucknow is aware of the tales of the two puppet sisters. It was very common even till five years back, but currently it’s nowhere to be seen. I just thought to combine the two very different thoughts and that’s where this innovation happened, and with help of my mother, a government school educator, I started visiting tailors and collecting the cloth pieces in big stock. I decided to bring alive the idea of using waste cloth pieces from tailoring shops, creating puppets, and organising free interactive workshops and shows in schools.”
{{/usCountry}}She adds, “Every kid of Lucknow is aware of the tales of the two puppet sisters. It was very common even till five years back, but currently it’s nowhere to be seen. I just thought to combine the two very different thoughts and that’s where this innovation happened, and with help of my mother, a government school educator, I started visiting tailors and collecting the cloth pieces in big stock. I decided to bring alive the idea of using waste cloth pieces from tailoring shops, creating puppets, and organising free interactive workshops and shows in schools.”
{{/usCountry}}The initiative does more than just reduce waste in a meaningful way; it creates a hands-on educational experience by including the ancient act of puppet storytelling. “The shows aim to bring kids along in making the puppets and create puppet plays based on stories with the environment as their background,” Aaliya explains, describing her simple yet unique vision.
Aaliya shares that it was in March this year, at her mother’s encouragement, that she participated in the National Geographic challenge, with the results being released this month, setting her on the path to becoming one of the most promising young innovators of the year.