Sanghamitra Jena, founder of Eastern Treasure India Tours, brings Orissa to the world
Bhitarakanika, Chandaka, Chilika, Circuit: Bhubaneswar-Chilika-Puri, Ecotourism, Gopalpur-on-Sea, National Parks and Sanctuaries, Odisha personalities, Puri, Raghurajpur, Similpal, Tour Operators, Tourist promotion, Village Tourism, Wild life February 18th. 2010, 4:24pmFollowing are excerpts from a beautiful Forbes India piece by Mindtree CEO Subroto Bagchi.
… it is called Dangamal.
This is a tiny village bordering 672 sq. km. of luxuriant mangroves that are home to the giant Indian saltwater crocodiles. It is an unbelievably beautiful and relatively un-spoilt place. There is the usual forest rest house here, but for the real enthusiast, there is tented accommodation of commendable quality run by a first generation woman entrepreneur named Sanghamitra Jena. I am here to see her.
… After some years, when we came back to Bhubaneswar, I contacted the government-run tourist office to check if they ran courses for would-be tour guides. There was a three-month course coming up and I signed up after paying a fee of Rs. 200.
… But how did you end up becoming an entrepreneur?” I ask. “It was a story of adversity,” she says. “After many years in the same organisation, I had to leave because of disagreements with a new supervisor. For a moment, I was at the crossroads. To my surprise and delight, it led to a flood of offers from other tour operators who had known my work. Seeing that, I told myself that these people are reaching out to me because they have confidence that I could bring them business. So why wasn’t I doing it for myself?
“I had a saving of just Rs. 40,000. I bought a laptop and started sending mails to people I knew from a cyber-café. Eastern Treasure India Tours was born. Clients started coming, I took them on my off-the-beaten track tours to not just places in Orissa but also Pelling, Gangtok and Kaziranga. Word spread. Business grew. Then one day, I felt I should have a product that enables the nature-lover to enjoy a place like the mangroves of Dangamal by living in a completely rural setting. So, I came to this village and I leased a plot of land for five years. I started a high-quality, tented accommodation, complete with Western-style toilets and clean food in a completely rural surrounding. I built a make-do Web site so people could check out the options and pay online.”
… I am not in Mumbai or Bangalore. This is Orissa. This is not a land of enterprise. For girls, there is a cul-de-sac called marriage. Yet, here is Sanghamitra who has built a business in the middle of nowhere.
Before we leave for the creeks to see the giant crocs basking under the mangroves, I ask her the size of her business this year.She is bashful for a moment. Then she replies, “I will touch a crore this year”.
Tathya.in also has a nice article on her at http://www.tathya.in/2009/story.asp?sno=3724.
Links:
- Website of the Eastern India Tours mentioned in the Forbes article: http://easternindiatours.com/index.html.
- Website mentioned in the tathya.in article: http://www.bhitarkanikatour.com/
- Website mentioned in http://www.bhitarkanikatour.com/: http://treasureindiatours.com/
February 18th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Hats off to Sanghamitra Jena. This is an absolutely terrific example of entrepreneurship. A couple of facts are commendable (1) She did this in Orissa (A state in which most people frown on entrepreneurship) and (2) She did this as a woman in Orissa (How many even Oriya men can have the guts to start a business in Orissa). She is my ‘hero’ for a long time to come.
February 19th, 2010 at 8:16 am
excellent, thanks for sharing.
March 1st, 2010 at 12:02 am
Gr8 work done by Sangamitra
Hats off
I have seen her website also its very simple and gives the visitor the exact information required on the tours
My Best Wishes to her
March 8th, 2011 at 3:40 am
On women’s day , I salute Ms. Jana for exploring such a great job. & hope to be at Dangmal very soon with my family