I always wanted to do something different. There was a TV se rial by the name, "Udaan", which is the story of a girl in the police uniform. That inspired me to don the uniform and become a police officer because till then, there was no women officer's entry in the Indian Armed Forces.
The Journey of my career was to begin after my exams, but then, just before my exams, an advertisement about the institution of women's entry into the Armed Forces caught my attention. The only dissuading factor, however, was that there was no Permanent Commission for women.
When you are a part of the Army, you are trained to perform any role, in any capacity. Being a part of AEC, I was connected to education at all times.
I was also associated with schools for administrative purposes. I had four or five schools under me wherever I was post ed. After my service in uniform, I supported organizations raising schools. Destiny took its turn and my husband was posted to Shillong. I did my PhD in education from NEHU on scholarship.
It was then that an Army friend told me that they needed a principal for a school. When we moved to Indore, this became a major career path for me and that's how I joined direct school operations.
Education in the Army Educational Corps is different from the sector in civvy (civil) street. Both are very different with each having its own extreme challenges. The major difference is in terms of level of leadership; in the civvy street its more of an individual-to-individual relationship whereas in the Army its multi-faceted.
There is a great level of discipline in army which is blurred outside. The challenges are of a different level; your decisions can cost lives in the Army. Being in civvies arena is a battle in a different scenario. In the Army you get trained for anticipating and planning to tackle any situation, because once you have planned for the worst to be won over, nothing can surprise you then.
I keep telling my team that I come from an organisation where a good appraisal is when you come back without getting anyone killed. Incentive is not always monetary or a promotion. Sometimes, it's just doing something for a cause and feeling good about it.
Firstly, what the civil education system should learn from AEC is a well-defined approach. Everybody knows what improvements we need in the educational sector but where we lack is implementation. The civil education system needs to learn the three steps of conceptualization, application and progression, the way we do it in the army.
We need to harness our in trinsic strengths before we harbour dreams of the global system of education. There's no point criticising without go-getters approach aligned to a positive outcome.
I am an accomplished social entrepreneur. Social entrepreneurship is my love and passion. I endeavour to connect whatever I do with social entrepreneurship. Right now, honestly, I'm on the aspect of giving view wherever I go.
I'm connected with various organisations, few in Malaysia and now few in Indore, one in Shillong and one in Delhi. And then through these organizations, I am supporting them with whatever I have and that I was able to travel and do my bit. Depending upon the requirement. I have even travelled at my own expense to do my bit. It was a simply enjoyable soup for the soul