BY J.M.LEE
Growing up in a conservative Rajput family, Ssarita believes she’d taken a longer and more diverse route in her professional life. “I have experience in varied fields, including teaching, finance, publishing, movies, statistics, holistic development, and management. Everything has helped me learn, and I value them all. As a young teacher’s assistant, I left my family with nothing in hand. I made something out of myself, learning from all the obstacles, yet I cherished each part of my journey.”
Ssarita started working at sixteen, and never a day went by without working. Fearlessness for her doesn’t mean recklessly ignoring self-preservation. “It is merely not giving in to the irrational fear itself,” she philosophizes. “If you plan for something and aspire to do something in life, you must set aside your fear and dive into it with full might. My inspirations are people who have set their fears aside and rose from ashes—my mother, father, and many others have fought fearlessly in life.”
Ssarita values people who have beaten the odds in their lives, irrespective of their background and qualifications. They remind her of her mother’s struggles and the obstacles she has overcome. She believes that their determination to succeed is as bright as the sun mentoring women. “I’ve seen my parents moving ahead in life without fear of whatever’s coming their way. They hail from a modest background with limited facilities and development opportunities. But never let any of it hinder what they aspired to. They confronted everything headlong, which has been the primary source of confidence in everything I do.”
A leader’s most wrong decision is to divide the team into men and women, Ssarita believes. “As a leader, it is vital to keep the team together as one working unit and treat the different individuals as different parts of one unit. Neither all men pose resistance to a woman’s hierarchical position in the team, nor is the resistance limited to it. We are still in transition, and yes, there are many miles to go. Many men resist women in leadership positions, and many women face bias in their professional lives, not just in promotions.”
As women have taken on mainstream work responsibilities, it is imperative to strike a good work-life balance, which is not an easy task, Ssarita explains. “I just try to give my 100% at where I am and not let the other side interfere. Obviously, it is difficult to prevent one’s mind from drifting back to work problems in life and vice versa. Still, being a single mother, I know that my presence and indulgence in both places ultimately are significant. So I try, like all of us.”
However, she is convinced that society has come a long way from where we started. “There’s still a long way for women in their professional lives, striving toward their best. One of the most critical steps in this direction would be inclusion. As I grew in my career, many male employees treated me equally, while I faced much resistance from others. Inclusion is indeed the key to a better working atmosphere. When women feel a part of the working community as much as men, that is when the working environment will be equal for both genders.”
Growing up, Ssarita’s mother has been her biggest inspiration. “She was a fearless warrior all through her life. She never gave in to anything, be it society, people, peers, parents, or nobody. She was a go-getter with tons of confidence. She had faced so many challenges in life when my father’s finances broke down, but she never let any of it break her, not even an ounce. Despite all the difficulties she faced, she made everyone laugh with her wonderful sense of humor. She and my father shaped me into what I am, making me proud of what I am.”
Ssarita firmly believes that ‘once a mother, always a mother.’ In the back of the mind, a mother remains a mother no matter where and what. “A mother’s instinct is to provide ideal and be there for her children when they need her. I never knew and expected, but more and more, I grew as a mother, and more and more, my kids became the source of my strength. As I developed, they grew along the way. My invigorated strength and the unending love and support I receive from being a mother are things I love most about it.”
