DREAM CATCHERS

From seeing a dream, to striving to achieve it. As the world celebrates International Women’s Day in the month of March, we at Yo! take inspiration from some amazing women in the city. With each of them having a unique story behind their achievements, and diverse scale of operations, these 40 women prove that all one needs to do is dream the reality they want to achieve.

Indira Vankineni, Venkatadri Vantillu

It was in 2002 that Indira embarked with the meagre sum of 5,000 rupees to financially support her family. With a stove and two helpers, she began making snacks. After receiving a positive response, she introduced the sponge dosa, which went on to become her signature dish. Her tiffins soon became crowd pullers and her customers named the outlet as Aunty’s Kitchen. It was only in 2006 that she officially named it Venkatadri Vantillu. Though she shifted her restaurant at least half-a-dozen times, the unwavering loyalty of her clients remained constant. Known for offering food like dibba rotti and kesari poori, her delicacies have been hot favourites among Tollywood stalwarts including Late Dr. D Ramanaidu, K Raghavendra Rao, celebrated Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and commoners alike. What started as a one-woman army is now a team of fifty dedicated staff.

Satya Chanduri, Sampoorna

While most believe in destiny, there are few who write their own stories. Despite being specially-abled, Satya home-schooled and passed matriculation with sheer grit. While attending interviews after graduation, she wondered about the spate of rural handicapped women. Deciding to help such ladies, Satya founded an NGO - Physically Handicapped Welfare Association in 2000, where she began training them in various fields. Realising that training them alone will not solve the problem, she started to employ women and market handmade products, under the brand Sampoorna in 2005. From candle making to cooking homemade snacks, from stitching cloth bags to manufacturing sanitary pads, she encourages them to choose their forte. Over the past twenty years, she has empowered over three hundred women and made them self-sufficient. To stay relevant and expand the market, she now plans to get a machine which manufactures winged sanitary pads.