Chaya - How did I get here, Tracing my Journey
How did I get here, Tracing my Journey
Dronamraju Chaya
I chose the hotel industry through this course in IHM, Madras which was not even a degree in a time and age where degrees and “first division” marks really mattered. An advertisement in The Statesman (a Calcutta newspaper) caught my attention and I applied for admission though a common entrance exam.
Even traveling to the nearest possible exam centre was a challenge because I lived in a small town called Belpahar - known for the first refractories plant in India courtesy the Tatas. The closest exam centre was Bhubaneshwar, an overnight bus journey away. And no, it was definitely not one of today’s luxury reclining seat buses, but a government-run rickety vehicle that threatened to overturn any time!
After I gave the exam, my next hurdle was the interview and this time the centre was IHM, Calcutta. I had to beg my parents to allow me to travel and going alone was out of the question. For parents whose main association with hotels was Helen gyrating in a bar singing raunchy numbers to Asha Bhosle’s voice, it was a difficult decision, but they gave in and my father accompanied me. We stayed at his friend’s place, I attended the interview and was given the choice of any of the four colleges in the country!
I was dreaming about Delhi or Bombay but had to settle for Madras because I had family there and for my not so conservative yet protective parents it was the safest, and most importantly cheapest, option. Plus, my elder sister was already doing her undergraduate studies at WCC. So why not.
I finally walked into college almost three weeks after classes started, taking a bus from Adayar to Indiranagar, crossing the famous Buckingham Canal and reaching the main gates after what felt like a long never-ending walk, both literally and metaphorically!
Without dwelling too much upon how college life went, let me cut to the final year and the campus interviews. We were 6 girls and 60 odd boys vying for the same jobs. Competition was fierce. I made it through the Taj, OSHM and WelcomGroup rounds. Then of course I was told at WelcomGroup that I could not join as a Trainee Captain (which was what I had interviewed for) because I was a girl. I had to prove to them that my gender did not matter by performing tasks like heaving crates of soft drinks (24 bottles makes a crate), picking up double shifts in the hotel (kitchen and restaurant) and never using ‘that time of the month’ as an excuse to take a break. It was difficult, but I eventually earned my promotion as Trainee Captain.
Post that, I left to join the Oberoi group in Calcutta. I had to eventually make the choice to stop working in a hotel since I had decided to marry another hotelier and have children, so I became a full-time mother. I do not regret the choice but there will always be a what if.
In our country there will always be a question of choosing between kids and a career for a woman. In my experience at least, men are not expected to make this choice. I had to follow my husband to whichever city or even country (in my case) he decided to go to.
I travelled with him to Egypt since he got a job opportunity there. Moving with a toddler and a 5-month-old in my arms was quite the adventure. I remember the difficulty of adjusting to a new lifestyle and environment, sending my elder daughter off to school and then just hanging around at home wishing I were working too. An opportunity did present itself at the famous Mena House Oberoi but I had to turn it down because again, the kids and his career came before mine.
After all that, getting back to work when the kids were old enough, starting from scratch and then finally being recognized as CHAYA and not someone’s wife or mother has been a challenging yet fulfilling journey.
This part of my journey included hurdles such as starting out as a part time lecturer in a couple of colleges, while being paid a mere 100 bucks per hour, travelling by local buses, missing my stop and walking because I was too tired and had fallen asleep! Then I was accepted as a full- time lecturer but not on the rolls of UGC, because I lacked a degree. This situation hit home and made me understand the importance of that piece of paper that maybe could have shaped my life differently.
A lucky and hard-earned break in mainstream hotels in the department of Training or L&D was what I needed and got in 2004. Learning and adapting to technology (even an Excel sheet was a new thing for me) and then going on to write a training manual on Housekeeping - was an exhilarating experience. But one unchanged fact was that even there I had to deal with people questioning my growth because I was a woman.
I am now known as a great trainer and a fantastic mentor, a fitting reward after all these years of being a single mom, struggling entrepreneur and all those initial hurdles which only made me stronger! And my message to all the girls out there who wish to make a career in this industry - you have to be tough, make the right choices and stay with them, no matter what.
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