An entrepreneur on campus

It is always inspiring when someone starts their own initiatives to become self-dependent. But when a woman comes up with one despite all societal pressure, it's always worth celebrating.

Proma Sarker, a second-year student at the Department of Economics, University of Dhaka, has launched an initiative named 'Biriyaniwali.' The initiative is based in Dhaka University's social science faculty area and operates primarily on the weekend. Proma and her team offer homemade biryani to the customers. They charge only Tk 70 for each packet of biriyani.
This arrives at a time when the food price in the DU campus is at an all-time high. A simple meal of 'bhat-dal-murgi' now costs students Tk 60 at the Charukala's makeshift canteen. The concerns over hygiene maintenance adds insult to injury.
Proma's initiative, although still in its infancy, has already gained popularity and people from across the campus and outside it are coming to taste it.
Proma hails from a small town in Netrakona where she completed her SSC before moving to Dhaka to pursue HSC from Holy Cross College. She used to reside in female hostels which she thought was the turning point of her journey.
"While I was with my family in Netrakona, I never helped my mother in cooking, " Proma regrets. "It all started seeing the disastrous food quality when I was residing in a hostel. After moving to Dhaka, I took up cooking almost unwillingly," she adds.
Proma thinks her passion for cooking took a new turn when she moved to a rental flat in Dhaka. "The pandemic was a blessing in disguise for me, it presented me with a golden opportunity to continue my experiments with cooking. I used to cook for my loved ones who responded very positively and encouraged me to stick to my newly found love. Of course, I took help from Youtube videos but I always tried to improvise it. In hindsight, these experiments worked wonders for me, " Proma reminisces.
Becoming self-dependent at such a young age intrigued her more than anything. She gives credits to one of her seniors at the college hostel whose company gave her extra motivation to work hard and become self-reliant.
"I know that by making money, I can help my family and save money for the future. These ideas make me more powerful and give me more strength to work harder, " Proma shares. The most inspiring part of her story is how she doesn't only believe in fancy quotes but also lives them.
"We are taught to respect all kinds of professions but we are not quite taught to take up them. I asked my friends to partner up with me in this initiative but nobody showed any genuine interest," she remarks.
Proma started on her own, with encouragement from her flatmates who ignited the thought of starting initiatives in her.
"I made my flatmates some fans of my biriyani and received plaudits every time I cooked. So, I thought why not give it a try to sell my homemade biriyani at the campus," says Proma.
Her first attempt was successful and people responded positively to her idea. This raised her confidence and she returned with even bigger arrangements. However, to her disappointment, her second attempt was not embraced well and she was demoralised seeing the food being thrown into the bin. However, her strong mentality and willpower helped her gather the guts to try it again this year and found an adorable name for her initiative -- Biriyaniwali.
"After returning home on the first day, I discovered that I can identify myself as Biriyaniwali. Hence, I gave the name to the initiative, " recalls Proma.
Proma is also very ambitious and doesn't want to get carried away with the idea of earning money. She thinks studies comprise a huge part of her life and she is very serious about studies.
"I don't want to lose long-run opportunities for short term gains," Proma promptly responds. When asked about future plans with the initiative, she said, " If things go according to plan, I would like to expand it."
Proma's idea is symbolic, but her mentality overpowers her idea. But she thinks it's the confidence and determination that set her apart. "I always feel very much confident about my ideas," She adds. We can only hope that Proma keeps on cooking bright ideas that will eventually set her apart in the long run.

The writer is a fourth-year Economics student at the University of Dhaka.
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