Nupur Singh was living her dream before Covid struck. She held a senior position in an event management company which ensured a comfortable life, good salary and opportunities to travel. The pandemic, however, brought her world crashing down and dented her confidence completely.
“I was without a salary for a year. I have always been an independent woman, so I found it hard to ask my husband to pay for me. There were days I would confine myself to my room. All our plans for the future appeared hazy,” said the 45-year-old Noida resident.
Bereft of choices, she was forced to work as a data analyst with an American company. She is now learning coding. “Gone are the days of compulsive shopping. Now, I value money, and look at ways to save more. The lesson I learnt is to have a back-up plan at all times,” she said.
Like Singh, Kritika Kashyap from Delhi, too, found a life saver in an area which thrived despite the pandemic. After losing her job as a stewardess with Lufthansa, she dipped into her savings to go to Rishikesh to train as a yoga instructor. “Everyone is becoming a yoga teacher these days. I am upgrading my skills to study fitness and nutrition, which will help me become an expert,” said Kashyap.
Nitya Sudhakaran from Mumbai faced a prolonged period of distress when her employer, Jet Airways, closed shop. After spending 12 years in the revenue management unit at Jet, she found work in an allied field, but which required a different skill set. “Never be comfortable in one place. Keep upgrading your skills and move around. That is my big learning,” said Sudhakaran.
Denne historien er fra February 06, 2022-utgaven av THE WEEK.
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Denne historien er fra February 06, 2022-utgaven av THE WEEK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI