Story Makers

If feeling comfortable in your skin is a crime then I am a crime lord – Ishmita Puri

All my life I have been bullied and body shammed by my relatives even my friends.

I struggled not to be fat. Started dieting, starved myself, threw up my food, did weight watchers and yet I was still fat and miserable

It was like a tag for me like this is what I represent!

So I didn’t participate in any competitions or dramas in school because I would have to change to other outfits and then give a chance to everyone to laugh at me.

I used to eat my feelings every time. It takes years and you just can’t love your body overnight.

There are so many insecurities and I try my best for them to not come in my way but the society reminds you and you shouldn’t listen to them because sometimes the person feels lonely and weak that is when the societies opinion makes you miserable and so it’s important to have a strong foundation and that’s what I did.. I decided to make content for Instagram in the form of reels, videos and raise awareness of body positivity, encouraging people to embrace scars, stretch marks, and cellulite visible on their skin.

I still face ton of discrimination whether it’s from strangers on street or from the doctors or trollers.

Change doesn’t happen overnight but it’s important for all of us to put ourselves in others shoes and above all be kind to one another.

When it comes to fat acceptance we still have a long way to go.

It took so long for me to accept myself and my body, regardless of my shape and size and if I can help any one person to love themselves and not go through all that I did, then it’s worth putting myself out there.

“When I encounter trolls they call me fat as if being fat is crime. If feeling comfortable in your skin is crime then I am a crime lord, then I am a very big gangster.”

It’s my body and I have been living in it since my childhood. It’s ok to have stretch marks, extra weight or body hair. It’s important to love yourself.

I want tell people that being fat is not the worst thing, that’s not life ending or life defining. You can be fat and beautiful, fat and stylish, fat and successful!

Doesn’t matter what size woman you are, live your life!

(Interviewed and written by Raavya Sarda)

Arundhati Choudhary – The world champion ruling the boxing ring.

I remember hitting a senior boy with my Milton bottle in school recess as he was not letting the girls fill water from tap, saying that only senior boys get to decide who get a chance.

I was the captain of basketball team in my school and also played to state level but growing up from country’s educational hub Kota, my family expected me to become an IIT. Then my mother came to my rescue and convinced my father to let me pursue my first love – sports.

When I wanted to pursue basketball further my father said don’t take a team sport ‘you should either take up wrestling or boxing as they suit your nature’.

The moment he mentioned boxing I immediately agreed and was adamant that I would play only this game.

My father warned that I could lose my teeth and my face could get disfigured in boxing.

I replied that I would do the same to her as well then. He just laughed at my response.

My dadi, chacha and chachi were against it. Dadi said ‘koi peth mein ladki ko maardega toh baccha nahi kar payegi…kaun shaadi karega’.

But my mother always stood by me. She never let me enter the kitchen but instead asked me to focus on my passion.

There was no boxing coach in Kota then I came across Sir Ashok Gautam a Wushu coach and started training under him.

I was 15, when I got selected for my first junior nationals and won gold. Then there was no looking back. In Khelo India Games I bagged gold for 3 consecutive years in 69 kg category.

I am an aggressive boxer and have bagged six gold medals in international.

But in 2018 I suffered an injury. Few local boxers did not like girls boxing so during training one of them hit me so hard that I went unconscious.

It was a serious head injury and I was hospitalized for a month. Many times I would collapse while hitting the punch bag but I never gave up.

My efforts were fruitful when I won gold at Adriatic Pearl Tournament in Montenegro. My focus is to win the Olympics Championship to be held in 2024.

I want to establish myself as the best in the boxing world. ‘log jaise Muhammed Ali ko yaad kartey hai, mujhe bhi boxing ki duniya mein yaad rakhe..bus’.

(Interviewed and written by Raavya Sarda)

Parenting is not gender based, meet worlds best mommy- Aditya tiwari

Why you wanted to adopt a child, aren’t you able to produce one biologically, how will you take care of a child- it’s a woman’s job. I was bombarded with all these questions by people while adopting Avnish, So legal issues aside the society wasn’t very kind to me!

After one and half years of struggle, I adopted 22 months old child with Down syndrome as a single parent in 2016.

Since then our journey has been very adventurous.

He is one of the best gifts from the god and I feel blessed to have him.

Avnish taught me to become a parent; it’s a stereotype that only females can take care of a child. Because of which I had to face a lot of issues during adoption.

After adopting avnish I started counselling parents with special needs across the country and I don’t do this alone. My six year old son accompanies me wherever I go.

I and Avnish have been to more than 22 states for meetings, workshops, conferences and 1000+ talks to more than 50 cities. We are connected to 10,000 parents around the world. Avnish is right in front, motivating parents who have children with special needs.

We were also invited to the United Nations to participate in a conference for work done by me.

My son was earlier diagnosed to have two holes but without any medical intervention the holes have filled.

He is 6 years old now and is still facing some medical issues and has to undergo two surgeries which are important for his life and he will be operated soon.

My vision for my son is to grow up normally yet be different and unique. Its important that he polishes his EQ rather than work on building his IQ.

He has been enrolled in normal school in Pune and he has started to learn a lot of things. He loves Bollywood music and playing dhol.

Avnish playing Dhol

I wish for him to paint his life’s canvas with many bright colours.

Last year I was felicitated ‘world’s best mommy’ on womens day. It’s a wonderful feeling as I believe parenting is just not gender based.

I have never put myself into any character of mother or father.

I have always tried to become a good parent for him and a good human being.

And the best part is Avnish has accepted me as a parent!

(Interviewed and written by Raavya Sarda)

My goal is to provide affordable eco-friendly cups to women and end period poverty – Ira Guha

In 2017 when I was in India from London visiting my parents in Bengaluru I learned that our maid was unwell due to rashes and urinary tract infection that she got after using low cost sanitary napkins. This fact shook me.

I had been using menstrual cups since years and so I asked the helper if she wanted to give it a try. To my surprise she instantly said yes and took it. In next few months she got soo comfortable with the cup that she asked few for her sisters and friends.

In no time I was sending cups to various domestic workers.

That’s when I got this idea of coming up with sustainable, best quality menstrual cup.

In 2018 the work on Asan began when I was pursuing master’s in public policy at Harward Kennedy school. It took over two years with many trials and errors at Harward innovations lab to design this product.

Which is protected by registered designs in US, UK, Europe and India.

The cup is made from medical grade silicone and unlike several cups that have a stem to pull, asan cup has a ring which is a game changer, and it doesn’t stain or discolor or leak.

‘Asan cup’ is a onetime investment and can be reused for up to 10 years.

Asan was introduced in India with the co-founder and COO Anuradha Mahadevan.

With the mission to address ‘period poverty’ in India by providing ecofriendly menstrual cups to women we run a campaign called ‘1-for-1’. For every asan menstrual cup purchased, we donate one to a woman in India who cannot afford period products.

I can proudly say that asan cup is called as magical cup by women in villages in Karnataka where we have partnered with Sewa and Belaku trust health workers.

Asan works closely with health workers from NGO’s to promote the menstrual cup. We tell them to try asan cup for 3 months and after 3 months they educate women about menstrual hygiene and guide them how to use cup instead of rugs or cloth.

We have learned from these women the biggest benefit of using asan cup is that they no longer have to dry cloth rags in public and it protects their privacy!

I feel every woman deserves access to the best period product. And asan cup makes life “Asan – easy” and worryfree!

Story by- Ira Guha (Founder – Asan cup)

(Interviewed and written by Raavya Sarda)

Meet the young sarpanch from Haryana – Nasir Khan

If you want to serve people, it doesn’t matter how old you are or where you come from or what people think about you. What matters most is your ability to it!

I am one of the youngest Sarpanch of Haryana and at the age of 21, I decided to stand for elections.

Born in Bijopur and educated at private boarding schools and colleges my ancestral roots lie in Bijopur village.

It all started when I was much younger, I always wanted to be a cop or a politician and serve people someday. I decided to choose politics over uniform job

I know I don’t fit the typical character of Sarpanch which is usually an elderly man, but the villagers here didn’t care they were more interested in what work I did and that’s what really matters.

For me it was more about shattering stereotypes, so I mainly focused on literacy rate of my village and started promoting education. There was no toilet in local school so people wouldn’t send their girls to study.

I understood the development challenges faced and wanted to help the village.

So I built toilets and encouraged girls to study. And gradually the number of girl’s students increased. In my tenancy my council has constructed 96 toilets and made bijopur an open defecation free village, to promote clean neighborhood dustbins were provided, drains were covered, brought water, power, and even bank to bijopur residents.

One of my proudest moments was when I convinced the council members to give up the sarpanchayats land to a shaheeds wife. This was a major accomplishment for me.

The Dalits in our village had to travel more than 10 kms for cremation so we built a burial ground for them in our village.

My family especially my father has played important role in my journey. It’s been tenure I was chosen to shoulder the responsibility as sarpanch and I have been able to overcome all the roadblocks because of their support.

Talking about the pandemic, during the initial months of the outbreak people were educated on what the virus was and how transmission took place.

We sanitized the entire village and I can proudly say that till date there is not even a single positive case in Bijopur.

My message to the youth is don’t criticize politics ‘Desh ko badalna hai toh Soch badal do thodi si,’ be the change you wish to see. One person can make a difference and everyone should try!

(Interviewed and written by Raavya Sarda)

Irtiqa Ayoub the fearless youngest rugby player from Kashmir

I was 16 years old when my PT teacher pushed me to participate in a training camp since I was active in schools sports circuit.

I had no idea about the sport or how it is played but then I decided to give it a try and then there was no looking back.

I have won many medals and trophies at the state and district level.

A silver one in 2016 and 2017 and Gold medal for snow rugby in 2017.

Even though I was the captain of sports team, initially my father did not want me to play rugby.

The roughness of the game was his main concern but inshallah, my life changed as I kept winning medals and trophies he saw my name appear in newspapers, TV and social media, he came around and has been my biggest pillar of strength.

Rugby requires sharp mental alertness, agility, strength and resilience and my parents make sure I have it all, they take care of my diet and fitness schedule.

I wear jeans, hit the gym, go to coach rugby so all the time me and my family get nasty comments from people, death threats due to which I was in depression for a year.

I literally used to cry for entire day with suicidal thoughts.

But my family helped me to move out of this black hole and made me smile.

Abba said, Ignore what people say.
When you makes progress there will be people to shame you and drag you down but we are with you and that’s what matters.

In 2017 I decided to take my love and passion for the sport to next level and started coaching in schools and colleges across the valley.

At the start there were very few girls interested but over the years Rugby has become a popular sport among the girls.

Rugby Coach Irtiqa Ayoub with her students

It’s altogether a different feeling when I see these girls believing in themselves and playing free.

I am proud that some of the girls I have trained have played at state and national levels.

Rugby gives me a passage to take out my pent up anger, aggression.

Come what may, I cannot stop playing because I live for the game now!

I am not shy, I am bold with ambition.

All I want is to be motivated and make Kashmir proud!

(Interviewed and written by Raavya Sarda)

Meet Devi Chitralekhaji- The youngest Bhagwath Katha preacher in the world

My Grandparents were spiritually inclined and used to take me to various religious events.

At the age of 4, I was initiated in ‘Gaudiya Vaishnavism’- A Vaishnava hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

One day I and my parents went to attend the preaching event of esteemed saint Ramesh baba. At the end of the event Ramesh baba handed over the mike to me to speak something. People around me were shocked but I was not afraid.

Devi Chitralekhaji in her childhood preaching Bhagwath Katha

I was 6 when I shared my spiritual views in front of an audience of more than 10000 people and never looked back.

I recited my first 7 days long ‘Shrimad Bhagwat Katha’ in Tapovan near vrindavan in UP. Although my parents were not sure about me narrating such long katha but my guru had complete faith in me that I would do it successfully.

Later I started reciting Katha at various events and became the youngest Bhagwat preacher in world.

‘World Sankirtan Yatra’ was established by me in 2008 with an aim to spread the wave of “Radha Krishna’ and ‘Hare Krishna Mahamantra’ globally, preserve Hindu culture and heritage of India, Preaching Bhagwat Katha all over the world and Gau seva

Apart from delivering pravachans I also work for welfare of abandoned and injured cows.

Every broken hope brings us closer to God, and everything that is connected with God never breaks….

One day I saw an injured cow on the side of the road and immediately gave her first aid but I was deeply affected by this incident and decided to do something for the welfare of cows. This gave birth to “Gau Seva Dham Hospital and Research Centre”, in order to provide proper care and treatment to cows in poor health.

Gau Seva Dham Hospital And Research Centre was Established by Devi Chitralekhaji to support abondened cows

I have faced many ups and downs in my life and lot of criticism too from people but giving up is simply not an option when you have a rock solid family support with you. My husband and my family and my followers have been completely supportive towards my work.

आप भक्त हैं आपका स्वभाव, आपकी चित्तवृत्ति और आपकी दिनचर्या ऐसी हो कि कोई भी जन, जब आपसे मुलाकात करे तो प्रेरणा मिले उनको और मन में विचार करने लगें कि”भक्ति करने से स्वभाव, इतनी सौम्य हो जाती है, वाह …! अब तो मैं भी भगवद भक्ति का रसास्वादन करूँगा । कृपा हे श्री राधेगोविंद …

Storymakers and Paancasa brings you stories of enlightened and sacred people

(Interviewed aand written by Raavya Sarda)

I see myself breaking stereotypes and working as an artist who can act and sing together Vanikki Tyagi.

My mother wanted me to be a singer and I wanted to be an actor. Acting ka keeda tha mujhme, so my parents trained me in classical singing as well as classical dancing from Gandharv Mahavidyalay Delhi. The joy that came with it made me discover my passion.

During my theatre workshops I realized how much I enjoyed acting and how it came to me naturally.

She used to love acting since a very young age

I shifted Mumbai and started working as an assistant director along with completed my masters in Journalism.

Gradually I got opportunities to work in ad films, short films and theatre in Mumbai.

I loved performing but never took singing seriously but Net Pix Raw Music believed in me and decided to give this chance to discover the singer in me.

A discussion which started off as a trial for me to record a single song converted into a full-fledged music album called “Din Shagna Da – The Wedding Playlist with 6 songs”. Din Shagna Da has already gathered more than one million views, with extremely encouraging feedback

Being a single child, when I told my parents that I wanted to stay back in Mumbai after college for my projects, they were not surprised and said if this was my passion to follow through with it and don’t look back All that I am, or hope to be, I owe it to my parents!

In a way my parents have inspired my career by showing how important it is to take on passion projects and really run with them if they are good fit.

About my duet with Sonu Nigam, I happened to be at the same studio where Sonu Nigam sir was recording. My music director asked me to sing my song ‘Avo Ni Sayo’ live. He liked my voice and I was fortunate enough to get my second assignment with the legend.

Life is better when I see myself breaking stereotypes and working as an artist who can act and sing together.

(Interviewed and written by Raavya Sarda)

Radio is the theatre of mind; it’s a great mix of infotainment to the world says Gaurav Sharma

I started working as a radio jockey when I was 20, playing cupid as the prince of hearts in Times FM for the show ‘Britannia Little Hearts Love Is on the Air’.

Since then I have been working as RJ at the same time completed my masters in Advertising & Marketing.

Little did I know, it was just the first step towards a life changing journey.

I don’t know what to call it but destiny planned it so beautifully along with having 20 years of experience working for ad agency like Lintas to launching music mega store planet M and India’s leading radio stations like Radio Mirchi and Radio city.

Presently I am the editor in chief at Fever Fm, Radio Nasha and Radio one.

The industry calls me G and people fondly know me as Sharma G

I think radio is the theatre of mind; it’s a great mix of infotainment to the world.

Radio is not just radio its radio plus digital so radio will not just be heard but also be seen in future.

I have an undying passion for theatre, singing and live events. Why be ordinary when you can be always a little extra!

Gaurav Sharma In one of his theatre acts

About Antakshari with Sharma G, all I would like to say is that lockdown introduced us to the joys of working from home so the Idea of live Antakshari on Instagram was born during this period.

I realized there was a lot of stress and people needed a lighter atmosphere. One family game that binds people together is Antakshari so my aim was to inspire viewers to stay positive during these times by playing antakshari with celebrities.

My love for music is eternal so for Indian music ther’s Antakshari and for International fans I host a cool retro show with Radio one called as “Night Shift” which covers the biggest hits of 70’s 80’s and 90’s from my personal collection of music and Trivia!

In conclusion, I believe everything is possible just follow your heart.

Most Importantly, Be Relevant you may be an artist, an entrepreneur or in business. It’s about how relevant you are in today’s world? And is that relevance creating an impact on people.

So in order to be successful in life it’s important to be present, be relevant and have an eye on the future!

(Interviewed and written by Raavya Sarda)

Courage is a frame of mind – Meet Anshul Bansal Rajasthan’s first Para-Mountaineer and Athlete.

I was 21 when I lost my right leg to a road accident; my dreams of being an army officer crashed in front of my eyes and shook my world completely.

While been taken to the hospital, I kept telling my mother ‘Kuch bhi ho jaaey, mera pair mat katne dena’. I asked them to put a rod so I can join the army but I had to go through multiple operations as it was unavoidable, resulting in amputation of my right leg.

I couldn’t tell anyone what I was feeling, I felt like a burden and many times thoughts of suicide did occur to me. When my father had to pick me up and carry me, ‘ Aisa lagta tha mein jee hi kyun raha hoon’.

Anshul Bansal during one of his NCC Cadet training

But families don’t have that option but to be with you, so I had to fight for them.

I never gave up on my passion for sports. A year after my accident I participated in 5 kms marathon more like a walkathon for me. I also did many activities like single rope walk which many people couldn’t believe I could do it.

In 2019 I did the kheerganga trek in Himachal, I remember thoughts of giving up occurred to me when my leg started bleeding but I gathered the courage and finished it.

Then in 2020, I went for Tunganath Shiv Mandir trek in Uttarakhand which is more than 11000 feet.

The same year I participated for the Para-games held in Jodhpur and trained myself by watching whatever I could find on you tube. Ultimately I won a silver in shotput and Bronze in Javelin Discus Throw and Powerlifting.

Anshul Bansal won bronze and silver at Jodhpur para-games

In October 2020, I made a decision to summit the Yunam peak (Lahaul). It was a team of ten people including an everester. Regardless I left no stone unturned and magnificently summited the peak and became Rajasthan’s first para-mountaineer.

Giving up is not my thing, I am a swimmer, biker and love to play cricket, badminton and all sports except football and squats.

I hope to get support from the government and corporates to achieve my ambition and make India proud!

I feel if you are truly passionate about what you want to do in life there’s nothing you can’t achieve, fuel your passion. ‘Jeena hai toh khul ke jeeyo’.

Push yourself harder every time you face a new challenge…

(Interviewed and written by Raavya Sarda)