Keda

I can recall very well, whenever tech fest happened in the college, everybody was sure that there would be Keda’s stall… I was so much into cooking… Even though I couldn’t take any proper classes in cooking, it had built into me as a passion from the beginning.

In 2014, when I was in the last year of my intermediate, there was a financial problem in my family. My sister was already pursuing Bachelors of Technology. After her, it was my turn to make a choice. I had two options – to take up Bachelors of Technology or Commerce. I, on the other hand, wanted to pursue hotel management and become a chef. Unfortunately, my parents were not supportive about me being a chef or pursuing hotel management. Thus, I decided to go for Commerce. I found a government aided college that charged Rs. 13,000 per year. Given our financial crisis, it was favorable… I did not want to be a burden on my family. Though, it wasn’t by my choice, it was amazing experience. It was an open gate college. There was a lot of flexibility. I made a lot of friends who made my 3 years’ time memorable. It was full of fun. During the fests, I always put up stalls and over the time I had made an impression on everyone.

After completing my course, I had planned of taking up hotel management. At that point, my family was in a better financial condition. Hence it seemed doable. I thought, it was the time that I could follow my heart. Alas, it could not take place. By the time I completed final year, my sister expressed her wish to do banking. She did not want to have a job in IT. She wanted to take a break of one year to preparing herself. Hence, I had change of my plans to support my family.

I started working in TCS in May, 2018. Well, my father did tell me that it would not be a problem if I was not willing to take up this job. He had assured me that they could manage, yet I wanted to support them till my sister bagged a job. In the beginning, I was quite angry at my sister… What if she had taken up the job? May I would have had a different career which I wanted for a long time… Well, my anger was short lived. After a year, she got a job in Bangalore and she moved there before COVID hit us. Today, we are partners in crime. She is always there by my side.

During the lockdown, it was the first time I was doing work from home. I had a lot of time to spare after the completing my tasks. And then, I decided to start a food page on Instagram and other social media platforms. I made different recipes and posted pictures on the internet. Amazingly, I got a lot of positive responses. When I told my parents about this, they were surprisingly happy and supportive. From that point, they started helping me out. They helped me to shoot the dishes I prepared and even suggested how can I make them attractive. This took my experience and journey to another level!!! I am so happy.

Presently, I am thinking about starting a YouTube channel. I have also started reviewing different food while visiting restaurants and shoot them as blogs. I enjoy this whole thing!!! If this goes well I would love to pursue it as a full-time job.

Over the time, I have also faced criticism and ridicule. It has turned out to be a common thing. People are always there to question whatever you do. Come on… learning how to cook is nothing demeaning. It’s basic skill and everyone can learn it. Anyways, the criticisms seem like useless stuff.

While I was in school, I loved watching Master Chef on television. I heartily admire Vikas Khanna and he is the ideal person for me. I always wanted to pursue cooking and at present whatever I have done with the food page is a little step and someday I am sure I will take the big step. As I have already said, there have been criticisms but they can never stop me from doing what I love.

Total Work Experience : 3.7 Years (Tata Consultancy Services)