Break The Loop - Neha Swain

"I have grown up in Rourkela and the most fascinating thing about it is that it's like a Mini India. Due to the Steel Plant, every state's glimpse can be found in this city. When I went out for higher studies, I realized the warmth that my hometown had offered to me. 

While a teenager, I used to play basketball and had also represented Odisha in tournaments. During this time, I realized how disregarded this sport was, especially in case of women. Later, I was selected to go for training for the National Team, but I dropped. 

Being passionate about social work, I co-founded an organization called, "Rubaroo", a youth based organization. At this time, my parents wanted me to get married and then go where my husband's job took him. But, being an independent woman entrepreneur and working in Rubaroo, made me want to break the narrative which demanded the woman to migrate because of her husband's job. 

Later, my mother was detected with cancer. The problems of managing Rubaroo, looking after my mother and also my marriage kept piling one upon the other. The amazing Rubaroo team and Rubaroo's co-founder, Monisha, became my biggest strength.

Finding a guy for me was the most tedious, yet hilarious experience. Words like, "entrepreneur", "founder of an NGO" on my Matrimony Website bio, just got me rejections and nothing else. Through all the proposals that came my way, someone wanted me to go to America, someone wanted me to go some other place, but I had decided to stay put, because Rubaroo meant serious business to me. 

Finally, I met my husband, Cyril. He decided to shift for me to Hyderabad because he understood my job. My father always jokes saying that after so many Amars, Akbars and Anthonys, I finally found an Anthony, who just syncs with me. 

He moved in with me and my family, which is so unusual in Indian households. My mother needed extreme care and I had to be with her and Cyril knew this. Later, in 2019, I lost my mother. 

Today, I continue to work towards gender inclusiveness with Rubaroo. I have also been awarded by the Queen for the work that we have achieved. I believe in equality and I know it's fruits are sweet. I want everyone to have it and this dream helps me wake up everyday!'' - Neha Swain. 

Where There Is A Will, There Is A Way - Saikrishna Mohanty

"I lost my mother when I was just 7 months old. Then, my grandma and my father raised me. In the course of time, my father got married. Continuing my education was difficult due to loss in business, during my graduation. I managed to complete the 1st year of BBA and then took up a job in Airtel to fund my education. It felt burdensome to manage work and college, together.

I got placed as Admin & HR executive in an MNC in campus selection. I worked and concurrently completed my MBA. After promotion, I got married. The urge of creating my own identity and being independent was always on my mind. So, when I didn’t get job satisfaction, I decided to resign and start working on my dream.

Though I’m married into a rich household, I never sought any aid, for my business. I started with Rs.15,000 from my savings. I neither had any experience nor guidance, but my husband supported and encouraged me to advance undoubtedly.

In 2017, my company, ‘Solar Infra’, got registered, and soon after, a tender opening of Rs4.36 lacs took place. Due to insufficiency of funds, I applied for a loan to the bank, nobbut was denied because I lacked experience in the field. So, I applied for a loan of Rs.4,00,000 from a NBFC in exchange of my jewelry. After getting the loan, I participated and won the tender.

To gain knowledge and experience, my husband and I travelled to rural areas and outskirts, unaffected by the weather, and observed the techniques. I underwent training and at the end of  first year, the company’s turnover was Rs.5.38 lacs. Eventually, my company gained trust and recognition in the State and we started getting projects from the government and various NGOs.

I started from the scratch with Rs.15,000, overcame hurdles and now my company’s turnover stands at Rs.4.5Cr. I am an active member in various organizations like Indian Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of Indian Industry(CII), etc.

I have never differentiated between projects, be it of a large scale or small, I have always tried to deliver the best of my abilities. Without my family and in laws' support, I’d not have been successful in becoming a good mother, wife and an entrepreneur”- Saikrishna Mohanty

Multitasking Like A Pro - Ipsita Priyadarshini

"Just after my 10th boards, while I was surfing through the internet, I saw some super-glam pictures of Deepika Padukone. Her pictures sparked the inner model in me.

Coming from a well educated family, modelling was not seen as a career. But, I took the challenge of being a model and started looking for avenues. I entered into 10 events and finally, at 16, I hit the ramp for the first time.

When I posed in front of the camera for the very first time, though I was anxious, I didn't want to move anywhere away from it. At that moment, I became even more passionate about modelling, but at the same time, I wanted to pursue my engineering. I didn't want to choose between the two, hence I decided to work towards both.

Because of my studies, I had to travel to China and LA. In both of these countries, I also looked for modelling projects. I did some campaigns for small Chinese brands; they perceived Indian women to be beautiful. Later, I also got casted in a Marathi movie. 

Through all these projects, I was also working in Accenture. That's where I met my husband who has been with me like a rock. 

Basically, I am a believer. I wanted to achieve both in modelling and in my job. So, why to choose one? Definitely, it wasn't a cakewalk for me to manage both. Sometimes, on one hand, I had to complete a photoshoot and on the other hand, I had to meet a project deadline on the very same day! But, this is what I have chosen for myself and it keeps me content even though I have to overwork and spend sleepless nights. 

Currently, I have participated in Mrs. Femina contest. Odisha has been so good to me and I have always tried to share a glimpse of it. In Femina's beauty round, I represented the tribes of rural Odisha with Sambalpuri touch and for the cooking round, I made Pitha. I hope the Odias come in support of me so that together, we can bring the crown home." - Ipsita Priyadarshini. 

Retirement Has No Age! - Debjani Mishra

"My memories of school life are linked with my fondness for my English teacher, Ms. Nalini who inculcated in me the love for English language and literature.  I was sure that after I passed out from school, I would pursue my higher studies in English Literature only.

 And I did exactly that. After completing my M.Phil in Linguistics and then getting married, I had the opportunity to travel a lot. Seeing new places, meeting people, understanding various cultures is actually real education. When we returned to India in 2003,  I started teaching. 2012 was when I thought of retiring, having done enough of teaching and travelling. 

That was when I took to baking and I started my home baking business, called Sweet Truths. Initially, I started doing this for close friends and family, but with a lot of encouragement, I put up a Facebook page, and gained recognition in the community. I started without any training and struggled quite a bit.  I upgraded my skills myself and I continue doing that even now. I do everything single handedly, right from baking to decorating.

I soon started another venture, Pawlicious, which catered to pets. Having been a pet parent, this is something very close to my heart and making pet birthday cakes and treats for pets gives me immense satisfaction.

What feels special about all this is that, at a stage when people retire, I decided to start a new career. This keeps me busy and happy, because I do not have to take orders if I don’t want to, and I have the freedom to travel if I want to.

When I started this venture, not many people were happy about this, because they thought I was throwing away a secure job to pursue something else. However, my husband and children have been my biggest support. Leaving a good and secure job wasn’t easy either, especially when I didn’t have all the skills to start my new venture. The excitement to know something more, to do something better, to take the risk of doing it all on your own, drives me further."–Debjani Mishra.

Tougher Than My Problems! - Rajeev Chowdhary

"When I was in 6th Standard, our family went through a major financial crisis. My father's business totally declined and we were on the verge of bankruptcy. School fees, house rent, electricity bill, could not be covered. As a result, electricity was cut off and I was thrown out of school.

All this made me feel responsible towards my family. I started buying paan masala from wholesalers and sold them to retailers, earned enough to bear my personal expenses. I also managed accounts in small firms. 

During high school, my family was worried whether I would pass 12th or not, as I was poor in studies. Their doubt led me to challenge myself and I passed, not just passed, but became the college topper. 

Later, I went on to pursue CA, but I was also greatly interested in anchoring and modelling. People had always bullied me for my looks in school and had called me "not up to the mark". Their comments made me want to prove them wrong. I knew I had the talent and I was not ready to be bogged down by anyone or anything.

I started anchoring weddings and sport events. Gradually, I realized that I can also dive into the world of event management. One time, my vendors had failed to show up and I was left stranded, without any equipment and manpower to organize the event. With whatever available, I managed to do all by myself and it was a major lesson for me. People used to call me 'tentwala', 'lightwala' and so on. Unbothered, I continued my work. 

Today, I have anchored and organized around 1000 events all over India, out of which Khelo India is one. While a student, University had denied me to be the anchor for the annual function, but years later, the same University called me up and asked me to represent them in an event. The journey was tough, but so was I. Challenge yourself and see yourself soaring on the highest heights! - Rajeev Chowdhary. 

 

Perks Of Being A CA And A Comedian! - Jyotiranjan Dash

“I didn't think of comedy as my career. In Odisha particularly, we’re not at a stage where one can think of making comedy his primary job. By profession, I am a CA, and I enjoy that well. Comedy, for me, has been a distinctly incredible experience. Though getting into this field was by accident, I consider it a blessing.

Kenny Sebastian was once visiting Bhubaneswar, and there was this stage for young, local comedians to perform as well. I have always been the clown of the group, and with full confidence I messaged him for a spot. I started performing in open mics, and it was then, that reality hit me hard! There was no laugh from the audience during my performances, and after a few attempts, self-doubt crept in, and I decided to quit. Once a senior comedian pointed out, that though my jokes were funny, they were hardly relevant to the audience.

This changed my entire perspective. I put in a lot of work into making my content relevant. Being an Odia kid, I chose to make jokes on topics such as ‘Pakhala’, ‘Dahibara’, ‘Cuttack-Sambalpur’, and so on. Since these were very different from mainstream topics, I started gaining acknowledgement among the audience, and since then, this became my own genre; people recognize me for it.

However, since I am a CA, and a comedian, sometimes people take me a bit too seriously on stage, or a bit too lightly on desk. Creating a balance and delivering people what they want, on both the realms, made me learn a lot of things about life.

 

The motive of comedy is to lessen the burden of people, and make them cheerful. However, the remedy for a joyful life is not comedy, because that will make your happiness dependent on another person. The real remedy is being content in life and I hope people discover this soon and not rely on others for their joy. The key to their happiness is in their own hands!.” – Jyotiranjan Dash.

Persistence Is The Key! - Priyanka Bhattacharjee

"I have always been fascinated by the entertainment world. Since a very small age, I used to partake in dance competitions. My first performance made me feel confident and I knew there's something I really like and enjoy about it. When I grew up, the pressure of studies came. My family barred me from performing any further, but I persuaded them to let me dance. 

In 2016, I got into a modelling event. I was the first one from my family to get into a totally different world. Though my mom supported me, my Dad opposed it because he believed that only studies can help me earn. But, it didn't bog me down because I knew my dreams are worth every shot. I used to go to practice in the summer days where the rays of sun could let you down any time. I used to pedal my cycle in high heels in the hot summer to pursue my dreams.

I had my share of setbacks. Once, I had participated in a modelling competition and had dedicated my blood and sweat to win it, only to realize later that some participant had already "bought" the title. I was left without hope. I didn't want to continue modelling because of this unjust event. 

My family started mocking me, right after that. "Heels won't buy you a meal", "you will just walk by and nobody will notice you", "you can never achieve anything in this field", were some of the many insults that I endured. After my family, outsiders started bullying me about my height, weight, eyes, skin color and so on. 

I didn't pay any heed, did whatever projects came my way, persevered and landed many collabs with brands like, My Glamm. Eventually, my Dad also understood my profession and said that, "Yeh ladki ziddi hai, karke manegi!". Well, we all should be a little "ziddi" to achieve the dreams that we see for ourselves, shouldn't we?" - Priyanka Bhattacharjee. 

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Love Transcends All - Debajyoti Rath

"Always striving to be ahead of the competition, I found myself collecting accolades in education and extra curriculars. Like majority of engineering graduates, I took the route to join a multinational IT firm, only to realize the detestation. I decided to own my life and my career. Studied for GMAT and got admitted into University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to study MBA. Soon enough the pressure to land a job and recoup the loan kicked in. I did struggle, but then my mother’s words “you got this” worked magically for me. I immersed hard work and landed a job with my then dream company, Deloitte.

The most enticing part of my life is my soon to be wife, Kari Crawford. There are relationships and then there’s this relationship! Can the rhetoric of “crossing seven seas” be any truer? When I decided to come to the States from a small town in India for my masters, little did I know that I would find my better half. Likewise, Kari had no clue what storm she was going to face, coming from a small country town in Florida. But, love happens when you least expect it! A white girl making Indian food, a brown guy learning American colloquialisms makes it a match-up like no other. Our cultures are different for sure! But, right now, we are working on rising above it. 

No, we don't eat each other's native food for every meal, not every vlog we make on YouTube is a hit, our dogs aren't perfect, our traditions are opposite poles, but these imperfections keep things real between us. And as an answer to all the questions that society puts before us, I would simply like to say that, race, skin color, political affiliations, education accrued, and job titles shouldn't be counted as obstacles, where there is love. Love transcends all! - Debajyoti Rath.

Building The ESports Scenario! - Rich Rakesh

“2007 marked the beginning of my story with FIFA on console. Being the first competitive FIFA player from Odisha, I traversed on a road that was new to our community back then. Getting on the platform of ‘Indian Lan Gaming’ was in itself a massive achievement for me. DGamerz, BBSR, played a very important role in bringing the competitive scenario into the state and into my life by organizing a lot of tournaments everywhere.

Between 2017 and 2019, I had played in all major college fests and local tournaments and lost around 30 tournaments. I didn’t have a console of my own to practice on, and I kept trying and pushing myself towards a victory. 2019 proved to be a turning point for me, and I won both Cuttack and Bhubaneswar IGL Minor. I then tried for the regional rounds, and I even made it to the semi-finals in Kolkata and Mumbai. That was when I bought a PS4 of my own, and that helped me a lot to practice more and more.

Eventually, with all my hard work and consequent achievements, my reputation as a competitive player rose. I participated and won in several other tournaments, and I also started organizing tournaments for budding talents of the town. As I got in touch with a few well-known gaming brands, I got more exposure, and finally, I started the first virtual pro club of Odisha, by the name of “Utkal Putras”. I intend to put more work into it, so that we can reach greater heights.

A lot of esports club have tried to recruit me, but I deny all offers because I want to build the first pro esports club in Odisha. Odisha has amazing gamers, but they are unseen and unknown. I hope, one day, Odia gamers get the deserved recognition that we withhold from them, but freely give to gamers of other states and countries.” – Rich Rakesh.