{"id":3157,"date":"2010-02-18T16:24:58","date_gmt":"2010-02-18T20:24:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.orissalinks.com\/orissagrowth\/?p=3157"},"modified":"2010-02-18T16:25:09","modified_gmt":"2010-02-18T20:25:09","slug":"sanghamitra-jena-founder-of-founder-of-eastern-treasure-india-tours-brings-orissa-to-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orissalinks.com\/orissagrowth\/archives\/3157","title":{"rendered":"Sanghamitra Jena, founder of Eastern Treasure India Tours, brings Orissa to the world"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following are excerpts from a beautiful Forbes India piece<\/a> by Mindtree CEO Subroto Bagchi.<\/p>\n

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… it is called Dangamal. <\/p>\n

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<\/u>.<\/p>\n

… 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. <\/p>\n

… 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? <\/p>\n

“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.” <\/p>\n

… 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.
\nBefore we leave for the creeks to see the giant crocs basking under the mangroves, I ask her the size of her business this year. <\/p>\n

She is bashful for a moment. Then she replies, “I will touch a crore this year”.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Tathya.in also has a nice article on her at http:\/\/www.tathya.in\/2009\/story.asp?sno=3724<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Links:<\/p>\n