“My mother will fulfil her dreams through me”, – Says Priyanshi.
Like her parents, Priyanshi was born and brought up in a middle-class family in Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh. Women in her family would get a nominal education, be married off and become housewives. This is what happened to her mother, a talented painter, who never got the opportunity to pursue her interests. When Priyanshi was born, her mother promised herself, “I will not allow my daughter’s talent and education go waste, like mine did. I will fight for her”. After high school, Priyanshi wanted to go to a city college – this was turned down by her grandfather, the patriarch of the family.
Things turned for the better when Priyanshi was finally allowed to study in Banasthali Vidyapeeth, about 6 hours from Firozabad. When she was selected for the YWI initiative, it was another uphill battle to convince her family to move to Bengaluru for the boot camp and then Pune for the internship. “She will fall into bad company”, her father said. With her mother’s unflinching support, she received permission to join.
Priyanshi learnt to interact with people, improved her spoken English and picked up industry skills at the YWI boot camp. She was able to demonstrate her skills during her internship with BNY Mellon and converted the internship to a full-time role. For the first time in her life, she is an independent person.
Priyanshi knows how much her mother and she had to fight to get to this stage of her life. The first girl from her extended family to leave Firozabad. The first girl from her extended family to build a career. “The YWI initiative has provide me the required skills, confidence and a foothold in the industry to pursue my goals. My mother will fulfil her dreams through me”, says Priyanshi.