Defying age and gender, Santoshini Mishra of Sambalpur, Odisha, has created a niche for herself in the catering business and society, and today she is widely respected for her grit and hard work.
It was 36 years ago, when Mishra due to financial constraints was forced to become a caterer, entering a field dominated by men. Today at 74, she is the talk of the town and gets business of supplying food for birthdays, weddings, etc.
What is indeed interesting is that in her team of 100 people, most of them are women. At the peak season, she at times caters to four feasts. Helped by her sons, she still runs the show – supervising food preparation.
On the issue of breaking the glass ceiling she remarked to New Indian Express: “I chose this sector because I was good at cooking. I used to watch my mother cook and learnt from her. By the time I got married I was a skilled cook and used to prepare food for 30 to 40 people during our family gatherings.”
When her husband, Gopal Krushna Mishra, was detected with a heart ailment, she at the age of 38 had to take up cooking to support a family of five. Her persistence paid off as her business became successful. For the last three decades, she has single-handedly run her home, educated her two sons and paid the medical expenses of her husband, who passed away in 2012.
She faced a lot of flak for starting on her own. “I have faced a lot of resistance from my family as well as the society for what I was doing. But, I did not let the criticisms restrict me, because it helped me to feed my children and educate them.”
After achieving so much she now ardently wishes to cook for the State Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, if given a chance.
