Unlike a Lady

Shruti Sharma is a millennial who grew up surrounded by the world of books. She went on to take this passion to start a beautiful initiative for more avid readers like her, who wished they could live near a library full of books. Her passion project, 'Books on the Delhi Metro' (BODM) was established in 2017 and is a mobile library where people find books left anywhere in the premises of the Delhi Metro. They take it, read it & return it back on the metro for someone else to pick.

Tune in to the episode as we converse with her all about the journey of starting BODM, why reading tends to be a more common habit among females, her team of 'book fairies' who help BODM to reach to more people and more things in life which she is extremely passionate about. Head to the social handles to connect with her & her initiative.

Chhavi Gupta is an ambitious & inspiring woman who loves to keep diversity in her life - from working in a startup to mentoring people through their MBA & corporate journey. She completed her engineering from IIT Delhi in 2016 & went on to secure 100 percentile in CAT to pursue an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad two years later.

A millennial who refuses to let gender stereotypes get in the way of her ambitions, Chhavi brings forward an insightful perspective of how women should let go of society's expectation to live for others before themselves. From navigating her college years in the top IIT & IIM, to sharing her learnings along the way by becoming a mentor - her words will keep you gripped throughout. She even talks about keeping the same focus on her career post marriage, the need for a share of cognitive load between both genders, and why it is perfectly natural for women to be rebellious and strong headed in a patriarchal society like ours. The episode is a beautiful message to women that they do not need to guilt trip themselves for being ambitious. Whether married or not, it is absolutely okay for a woman to consider herself as a priority.

Head to Chhavi's social media handles for insightful tips across cracking CAT, corporate fields post MBA, productivity & more -

Dr. Sonali Ghosh is an Indian Forest Service (IFS) Officer from the batch of 2000-2003, who holds post-graduate degrees in forestry, wildlife science along with a post-graduate diploma in Environmental Law. Born into an Army background, Dr. Sonali travelled frequently and discovered her love for nature from an early age, leading her to eventually join the Civil Services to best contribute towards its conservation.

Tune into the conversation for some wonderful stories as told by a woman forest officer - her experiences of working in the remotest areas of the country (specifically the Northeast) and raising her daughter along with the demanding work life in the forests. You will further get to hear her beautiful insights and positive outlook towards life as we talk about the importance of living with nature and about the post-covid world. This episode is a little more two-sided than others as our guest even brought up certain question from her end - answered by me (your host!). Attaching links below with reference to the episode conversation -

Richa Khurana Singh (Founder at FreeWheelingLife, which organizes bespoke wellness retreats) is a boss lady who does not shy away from calling out the norms enforced on her, emerging out of each one of them stronger and staying true to herself. After completing her graduation in Economics from the University of Delhi, she started working at the Taj Hotels while pursuing a diploma in Hotel Management. Having worked with most luxury brands in hospitality like Taj and Oberoi, she diverted her career towards travel-based startups & freelancing after becoming a mother of two. Her professional journey does nothing but inspire at every step of the way as she coped with FOMO during her sabbatical from work, left behind the should's in her life and also very candidly spoke about the everyday struggles most working women face as a wife, mother & daughter in-law in our society. This conversation beautifully highlights how her experiences enabled her to discover who she truly is outside of these labels.

You can reach out to her on her social handles- 

Ms. Shikha Jain is a globally renowned architect who grew up in the city of Jaipur & is now based in Gurugram. As the founding director at DRONAH (Development and Research Organisation for Nature, Arts & Heritage) she has worked on more than 50 conservation & museum projects across the country. An alumna of the reputed SPA Delhi, her experience in cultural heritage ranges from representations at International World Heritage UNESCO Meetings to writing several papers & articles in International journals & conferences. 

Tune in as we dive into an extremely enriching conversation - from the minute intricacies of the heritage value attributed to historic sites, to how it is being one of the first few PhD holders in the conservation field, and even personal challenges as a career oriented woman architect. Ms. Shikha rises up to every challenge thrown at her and has beautifully called out the gender norms of society through her journey. The link to the coffee table book edited & recommended by her in the episode is attached below - 

Aastha Bhansali & Srishti Bajoria are both young female entrepreneurs who recently completed their under graduation in Psychology. Together, they started Õde Studio as sophomores back in 2019 - from stationery products (desk stationery, diaries, planners & more) to providing branding/designing to newly setup and revamped businesses. In a short span, they have built an impressive community of people who love planning & are now also taking up branding projects at a global level.

Tune into the episode where we converse with not one but two gen Z guests about everything related to Õde - how they started, expanding to new verticals and the passion with which they continue to build it together every single day. It is a truly insightful yet empowering talk about taking a leap into the male dominated entrepreneurial world where women still struggle to create a place for themselves. 

Neha Karode is a classically trained Indian vocalist, composer as well as lyricist who has made a name for herself in the music industry over the past 4 years. From taking admission in Delhi University on account of her singing to discovering her calling as a musician in Mumbai, she has come a long way. Not to forget, versatility reflects in her work as an artist - from releasing originals based on Classical Indian Ragas to performing peppy tracks as playbacks for Netflix movies and a lot more. 

Tune into the episode as we converse about music becoming a part of her life, how things work in the industry, her work as a lyricist and even female representation in the area of composing & instrumentals. Whether or not you're a music person, this conversation is surely a wonderful peek into the life of a female artist. Also, stay tuned until the end to catch a glimpse of her beautiful voice as she sings a few lines specially for our podcast listeners!

Chikirsha Mohanty is a trained Odissi Classical dancer as well as a practicing Lawyer. She is a student of Padmashree Guru Madhavi Mudgal, and has been actively performing at reputed platforms not just across the country but even at an international level, including the Darbar Festival 2019 in London. Tune into this beautiful episode about Chikirsha's journey as a performing artist and a lawyer, where she talks about balancing both her professions & calls out gender bias across different spheres of her life. Her social handles along with some of her recent dance performances have been linked below-

Ms. Vandana Sabharwal is an M.Sc. degree holder in Computer Science with a teaching experience of over two decades. While she was married at an early age of 21, it did not hold her back from growing professionally & pursuing her ambitions. Tune into this very wholesome episode (which I actually recorded for a trial run of the podcast) as we converse about her life growing up, her experiences post marriage which continued to make her more independent; and how it's like being a mother of two sons and then even a third one recently, that is, her lockdown doggo! 

Dr. Mithee Bhanot is a Senior Gynecologist & Obstetrician based out of Noida, with a professional experience of over two decades. From growing up in an army background to pursuing a medical degree from the renowned Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC); tune into this extremely insightful episode where Dr. Mithee has very candidly spoken about her journey in the field of medicine and also shared her expertise on pregnancy as well as the Polycystic Ovarian Disease & Syndrome (or PCOD/PCOS).

Head over to the links attached below in order to connect with her. You may also refer to the last link for a more in-depth talk by her on PCOD. 

Amishi Kaushik, winner of the NBT Femina Star 2020 (beauty pageant) is a model and currently an undergraduate student at Delhi University. Tune into this very interesting episode in which Amishi shares the entire journey that led her to enroll for the pageant, being crowned by Tapsee Pannu and her experiences of taking up modelling projects thereafter. We even talk about the stereotypes and misconceptions that society attaches with the field of modelling, behind the scenes of the industry, inclusivity and a lot more. 

Ms. Nidhi Saini is a lady who has constantly upgraded herself and lives life on her own terms. Tune into this extremely inspiring episode where we converse about her decision to step out of a marriage, taking on life as a single mother to a 5 year old; and how these challenges led her to discover her true calling as a life coach - helping people get unstuck with their lives. Even after being raised in a patriarchal setup, she has always openly called out the gender norms of society; and her life is a strong example of living 'unlike a lady'.