Sanghamitra Jena:: Woman Entrepreneur, A Trailblazer

“She took the path less trodden.

Lo and behold!

She made it a blazing trail!!”

Sanghamitra Jena’s inspirational story is one which everyone in this world must be told. Starting from just Rs.40, 000 capital in 2004, today her travel firm “Eastern Treasure India Tours” has a turnover of a whopping Rs. 1 Crore! She has recently been awarded with “Prerana Award” by OTV (Orissa Television), was featured in Forbes India magazine and also won “Woman Entrepreneur for Tourism” Award by TiE. I was first introduced to her incredible story by Mr. Subroto Bagchi, Co-Founder of Mindtree, who was speaking to enthusiastic MBA students at XIMB in 2010.

In his own inimitable style, Mr.Bagchi enraptured the audience with her story. Inspite of having gone through an immensely troubled private life and having battled a hostile ex-employer’s team, she gathered unimaginable courage with rock-solid family and good colleagues’ support and went ahead with her own enterprise as a 35-year-old single woman. Later I searched all internet links about her, talked to my school-friend Gopal over Facebook and found to my greatest surprise, that SHE was his eldest sister! From him, I learnt still more about her! Yet I learnt the most from the Lady herself, who is today a woman entrepreneur par-excellence!

Sanghamitra’s journey in the hospitality industry started in the year 1992 after joining a ‘Guide Training Programme’ by Tourism Ministry. Though she favoured assignments like her 35 male colleagues, she was refused. Alongwith her four female colleagues, she was told that since it was a male-dominated society, men would only become guides. The feisty lady took it in her stride. After getting guide license, she joined a Bhubaneswar-based tour company. Sanghamitra was the guide for an American lady Lyle Lawson, who after standard Bhubaneswar-Puri-Konark guided tour, asked for more. Sanghamitra described all the breathtaking mountains, rivers, beaches, forests, rich tribal-areas that Odisha proudly comprised of. 

She asked-“Mitra, have you gone to these places?” Sanghamitra replied-“No Ma’am. In our office, they say- U are a lady and U can’t go far on tours. Respect society’s opinion.” Ms.Lawson said-“Let’s go to your office”. There she said-“I’m excited to hear of Odisha’s beauty. Now I need to go on a totally different tour”. So the higher-ups made a costing of an 8-day-programme. Ms.Lawson insisted on adding another person’s cost to the programme. Sanghamitra’s bosses were aghast that she wanted “Mitra” to accompany her! They obviously contested this. So, Ms.Lawson extended her business-card and said-“I run a tour company in America. If I could come all the way from America to a small part of India on my own, why can’t Mitra be the guide INSIDE HER OWN COUNTRY? You are insulting me by saying she is a woman and cannot handle difficulties. Mitra will be my guide, else I’ll have no business with U”. Later on the journey, she said- “Mitra, all men will suppress U. Do ONLY whatever U want to do. Don’t listen to anyone.” Ms.Lawson has till-date been Mitra’s strong pillar. Sanghamitra has recently returned from a one-and-half-month stay at UK, hosted by Ms.Lawson! An invite to America for 2014 has already been extended! And accepted!

After this, Mitra’s wings opened. She travelled far and wide- all alone, to expand her company’s business right upto the North-East, Gujarat etc. She was made the Tour Division Head and established company offices in Calcutta, Delhi and Chennai. For the next decade, she slogged hard creating programmes, collecting worldwide travel agents’ info, coordinating among hotels, ticketing, passport provision etc.

However, in 2000, her immediate boss left. Then she had to face several problems with management. When she decided to leave the job, they tried to malign her by sending an e-mail containing false information. After learning of it, Sanghamitra asked the management to forward the same to her. The condescending men said- “This’ll hurt you. Why you want it? Go home and relax.” The daring woman replied-“Sir, you only see hurt for me. But I can see only business in this e-mail- I will use the 3000 e-mail contacts to make my own empire stand.” Her strong words echo- “Thanks to my ex-employer who gave a blow on my face. Without that, I may’ve taken life easily. But now, let me prove that I can give a blow back to him.” My Salute to the spirit of this truly brave Lady.

 As she resigned from her job in July 2004 on the one hand, on the other, the ONE MAN whose support she wanted most at this trying time, her husband of fifteen years, decided to leave her to her own life. This was a turning point. In her own words today-“Marriage is an achievement, and divorce is a second achievement”. Having spent almost all her savings for her erstwhile family life, she was left with only Rs 40,000. Sanghamitra had stubbornly rejected dowry property during marriage. So now Sanghamitra’s parents blessed her with Rs.30, 000 for her new venture. She spent all this money in travelling to Delhi and other places and rebuilding contacts. Ms.Lawson wrote a strongly-worded letter to Mitra’s ex-employer-“I’m cancelling contracts with U. Wherever Mitra goes, my company goes with her.” Similar sentiments were echoed by several world-tour operators. Her sister provided a printer-cum-scanner-cum-fax-cum-phone. Another sister kept her cyber-cafe open throughout the nights encouraging her to re-network. There’s been no looking back since she registered her company in 2005.

She recognised that tourists found something wanting in most conventional tours. So, she started with camping accommodation near Bhitarkanika National Park by leasing land from a poor villager, who encouraged her saying-“Daughter, do good for my village”. 

As a woman in tourism, she has got more support from people wherever she goes. People worldwide automatically trust her, as they confide that women will never cheat in business. She says-“Mine is not a commercial venture- this is a rural tourism project. A thousand rupees more will only go towards enhancing villagers’ life”.

Story of a woman who turned all odds against her AND came out trumps. Noble entrepreneurship. From a very noble woman indeed.

http://www.easternindiatours.com/

http://www.bhitarkanikatour.com/

http://www.odishareporter.in/top_news/otv-felicitates-women-with-substance-for-womens-day 

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