The journey of a woman isn’t easy. In fact, be it any field, gender discrimination is rampant. It is heartening then to see such stories of victory and success like the one of Swati Pandey. Her story, in her own words, has to be the most inspiring thing we read today.
My journey from a child to a bureaucrat has not been easy and of course, was not through a bed of roses! Born amid wilderness and growing up in the jungles of Dandakaranya in Odhisha, life has taught me the theory of “survival of the fittest” and nature is a great sustainer, since early childhood. Added to it was the life lessons I learned from my father, my greatest inspiration, who was a refugee doctor from East Pakistan and who had blended the spirit of freedom, courage and struggle since he was thirteen years when he walked all the way from his native to Kolkata, till he was owned by the saints of Ramkrishna Mission.
I grew up nourishing the idea of equality and independence all through; and perhaps that is why despite being a topper in school, college and university, I stood up for the rights of the underdogs of the society instead of being glued into books, like my counterparts! My passion of fighting for a cause was ignited during my university days when I worked as an intern in the tribal displacement issue during the Hydro-electric damn project of Lonavala, where I acted as the bridge of communication between the tribals and the government, making the relocation of the tribals possible in a fair way, by accepting their simple reasonable demands, that we, the educated and sophisticated lot often fail to understand. This experience grew me as a human being and helped me to know ‘my people’ and the real India, better!
They say that destinies play a pivotal role in shaping our desires! In my case, it was indeed so! Since I ended up finding my first posting of Indian Postal Services in the core Naxalite areas of Chandrapur and Gadhchiroli, where every day I left home without the guarantee of returning back safely. I was merely twenty-six years old and my work included educating the illiterate women of those areas and securing their futures by financial benefits through postal insurances. Trust me there have been incidents where they came and thanked me for guiding their way!
I have to admit, though, things turned very difficult when I got married and had a child. Becoming a wife and a mother opens you up to a whole new set of expectations from those around you, and leaves you dealing with stereotypes you might never before have encountered. Managing the house taking care of an infant as well as your aged parents and equally busy husband and working in threatening areas indeed is a challenge where when you leave for office in the morning you don’t know whether you will be able to return safely!
I remember every single day I used to get back home extremely crestfallen, in tears, with an acute dilemma of how to deal with the gender criticisms in office and nasty eyes of men!
At first, I thought I had to fight against everything and everyone. Things were difficult. Then I realized I needed allies. And I also realized that if I was open with my family about my goals, they may be supportive. The ones you love the most will also surprise you the most! You just have to keep them on board.
The ones you love the most will also surprise you the most!
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Eventually, I defeated the circumstances and took the lead. My tenure as Director (Administration) in Directorate of Atomic Energy was perhaps another milestone of my life and career that rendered me an opportunity to uphold the cause of my countrymen through the project ITER (International Nuclear Fusion Research), which was aimed to be world’s largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment, where I worked as the coordinator between France and India.
I have always been a sucker of challenges and my tenure of DAE was followed by my deputation as Director in Film’s Division under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting where I worked on one of the most beautiful parts of my country, i.e the North East. The North-Eastern part of India is one of the most underrated and most talented zones that produces some of the finest documentaries and films, which never come into the limelight. Being a Director, I worked especially on these films and even represented them in different national and international film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival. Also, during that period of time, Films Division won 4 National Awards in Indian Cinema.
After twenty years of unblemished service, I lead my team by staying beside them through all thick and thins!
Presently when the world is fighting against the deadly virus of Corona, we being a part of Essential services are striving to render uninterrupted service. Right from day 1, I have been attending office and doing as much as I can for my people, for my citizens and countrymen by delivering medicines, PPE kits across the city and suburb, by reaching to the senior citizens with their old age pensions right at their doorsteps, by creating a team that takes care of the corona affected officials and their families who work under me.
I have always believed that we should return something to the society, and trust me, it only takes a little of your determination and inner strength to fight for a cause!
About Swati Pandey
I am Swati Pandey, an Indian Postal Service Officer since 1997; presently working as the administrative head of India Post, Mumbai and authoritative head of the 229 post offices in Mumbai city & suburb, including Mumbai GPO.
INCREDIBLE WOMEN OF INDIA 