Category: Changing India

How Nikhat Zareen went from small-town tomboy to global boxing sensation

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Nikhat Zareen had been out of form for a year due to shoulder injury and surgery, so not many people had expectations of any big win when she represented India in the 51 kg boxing category at the 56th Belgrade International Tournament in April this year.

But – ever the obstinate rebel – she was determined to prove them wrong, so she went ahead and won gold.

There was always something different about Nikhat. Even while she was a young girl in the small town of Nizamabad in Telangana, she was a bit of a tomboy, comfortable in the company of her male peers.

Since the movement of girls was restricted, Nikhat adopted boys’ clothing and kept her hair short. Curious and fearless, she wanted to explore the world.

Nikhat’s father – an avid sports-person himself – had never encouraged his four daughters to take up sports. He himself had had to give up his passion in order to raise a family and he felt it was not a viable career, so he pushed them toward academics instead.

But when Nikhat was 11, she participated in her school’s sports day event at a time where her dad was posted in Saudi Arabia, and managed to beat much older girls. It was her first taste of sporting victory.

She got involved in her school athletics, and though her father was reluctant at first, he couldn’t help feeling proud when she won laurels. Then one day, when she was 13, she happened to notice that the district’s boxing centre had no girls.

“I found it odd,” recalls Nikhat, now 21. “Why are girls considered weak?” The adolescent took it up as a challenge, and began training. Eventually, it was time to spar with her male peers.

“I lost my first game and came home with a black eye and a bleeding nose,” she laughs in retrospect.

“But I was stubborn. I didn’t cry. I was furious.” Upon seeing her daughter’s face, Nikhat’s mother began crying: “We didn’t put you in boxing so that you spoil your face! Who will marry you?” the older woman wailed. The teenager stuck her chin out, defiantly: “Once I am a success, there will be a line of grooms waiting for me.”

Nikhat’s first big win happened in 2010 at the sub-junior national championships. “I prepared a lot for it,” she narrates, adding that, as the only girl participating from her district stadium, her coaches were more invested in her as her victory would encourage more girls to come forward.

“Those were long, tiring days. I had school, plus training, plus homework. My body was always tired,” she recalls.

Despite facing a more experienced player from Manipur in the finals, Nikhat struck gold and was award the best boxer of the match.

The tournament spurred her international dreams. In 2011, she travelled to Turkey to participate in the Junior World Championships. In her first round, she defeated a much stronger, more experienced Russian opponent with a knockout.

Then she won the semi-finals against Ukraine, and finally the finals against the home country Turkey. “It was such a proud moment for me when the referee raised my hand and our national anthem played. I wanted to cry,” she recalls. She was 15 years old.

Nikhat was a national celebrity after her return – her school friends’ attitude towards her changed considerably, and her photos frequently appeared in newspapers.

She completed her Bachelor’s in public administration, political science and psychology, while continuing to win matches everywhere she went – from Assam to Bulgaria and Serbia.

She was one of three boxers picked for JSW’s Sports Excellence Program, and – when she dislocated her shoulder in 2017 – the company went all out to get her the best treatment, physiotherapy and even brought down global players to train with her and keep up her competitive spirit and fighting skills.

But even so, many months after her surgery and recuperation, there were many in the field who doubted if Nikhat would ever get her mojo back.

Her Belgrade win this year shut all her critics up, of course.

She’s also won over more intimate naysayers. These days, when Nikhat comes home with a black eye, her mom says, nonchalantly, “Go put some ice.”

Aekta Kapoor is the Editor and Publisher of eShe magazine.

This article was first published in eShe magazine.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Ferrero aims Rs 2,000 crore investment in India, to double distribution network in 2-3 years

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Italian confectionery major Ferrero will invest another Rs 500 crore to take its total investment to Rs 2,000 crore in India, as part of plans to expand its production facility and distribution network, said a top company official. “India is an important market because the potential is very big… Today, it is relatively small but the idea is that India would grow many folds. The ambitions are big. The idea is to multiply our turnover of today and it would take some time,” Ferrero India Managing Director Stefano Pelle told PTI.

The company is now aiming to further penetrate into tier II and III cities by doubling its distribution network over the next 2-3 years.

Besides, Ferrero — which has brands like Ferrero Rocher, Kinder, Tic Tac and Nutella — is considering to get into the affordable segment in the sugar confectionery with value-based offerings and small SKUs (stock keeping units) in chocolate side.

Once, Ferrero has right kind of portfolio and have right through the market, then definitely India would be among its “three biggest priority market for us,” Pelle added.

On being asked about the investment, Pelle said: “There are plans to increase it.”

“Now we have invested already more than Rs 1,500 crore but we have plans to cross easily Rs 2,000 crore in some time to come. It could also be more depending opportunity in the market. Certainly, the group is very clear that India is a priority,” he added.

Moreover, the premium chocolate maker is also aiming the mass market by having some affordable products in its offerings.

On being asked about the strategy, Pelle said affordable “packaging would be a part of it”.

Ferrero is also expanding its distribution network and plans to be available in top 100 cities soon.

“One of the ambition which we have, is to double our distribution in next 2-3 years,” Pelle added.

The company has a plant in Baramati, half of its production is for the domestic market and rest is for markets of South Asia, South East Asia and Middle East.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Lemon Tree Hotels: Bringing Opportunity Deprived Indians into mainstream

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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One of the largest hotel chains in India in the mid-priced segment, Lemon Tree Hotels, has made its business model to hire opportunity deprived Indians (ODIs) and include them in mainstream workforce.

ODIs include employees with disability (physical & mental) and those from economically/socially weak backgrounds.

“Four years ago, we started working with people with intellectual disability down syndrome  and slow learners and autism. Hardly a year ago, we started working with acid survivors. We have to find ways to engage with each of these disability types, for which we take help from the subject matter expert, the NGO,” Lemon Tree said.

“When we say our business model is to hire people with disability, we mean that the way that employee will be engaged by the company, is the same way in which a person without disability will be engaged. They will work for 6 days a week, they will work for 9 hours a day, they will receive the same salary that another guest service associate will receive,” it said.

Lemon Tree Hotels is aware that their ‘inclusiveness & not charity’ business model could pose challenges for other employees.

The hotel, however, is not fazed.

“We have observed over time that people with speech and hearing impairment, in fact, might work faster & more efficiently than others. The room boys are cleaning about 16-17 rooms a day, those who are hearing and the boys who are deaf, are actually cleaning 19-21 rooms a day,” the hotel said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

This Actor Is Using Provocative Social-Media Posts to Make a Feminist Statement

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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In August 2016, Saloni Chopra posted a series of photos on Instagram. They depicted the actor holding cigarettes and placards that read, “I’m a virgin,” “I’m an introvert,” or “I want to explore my sexuality,” with captions that explained why a woman should feel comfortable in her body, and why no one had the right to judge her for it. In other posts, “I’m a rape victim,” and “I didn’t deserve it,” she recounted the experience of survivors of sexual assault.

Her series went viral. Not only because of her provocative photos but because her campaign came soon after she had declared her support for the global hashtag: #FreeTheNipple. In July, Saloni had posted a picture holding up a bra, criticizing social hypocrisy about exposed bra straps. “#FreeTheNipple argues that men and women should be granted the same freedoms, and protection, under the law. The campaign is asking for gender equality and opposing sexual objectification,” she explained later in a video and on her website.

Instead, the MTV Girls on Top actor and social-media icon was attacked for being a “pseudo feminist”, “a publicity whore”, and for diverting attention from “real women’s issues”. Her critics used her posts to slut-shame her, ironically proving her point: misogyny is ingrained in social mores, and internalized by women themselves.

But the controversy also earned her an army of new supporters, and the follower count on her Instagram handle @redheadwayfarer swelled. The outspoken Saloni lost no opportunity to trigger discussion on rape and domestic violence; using current events to make statements; releasing videos to inspire discussions on sex and female pleasure; and her own body as a kind of performance art to hold up a mirror to viewers.

Do my exposed breasts or thighs make you uncomfortable? her pictures seem to ask. Does the sight of my menstrual blood leave you disgusted? her eyes question, defiantly.

It’s a huge career risk for an aspiring actor in India’s still-patriarchal entertainment industry to be this blunt, this honest, this woke, this firecracker vocal. But for Saloni, it is who she is. Take it or leave it.

Born in India, Saloni was brought up by her maternal grandparents in Adelaide, Australia, and continues to be very close to them. A quiet child, she preferred writing to speaking as she grew up. “It was a peaceful place but I wanted to get out of there,” she recalls. “The chaos of Mumbai attracted me.”

Though her mother – who was a stylist in Bollywood – had wanted Saloni to take up acting as a child, Saloni signed up to study fashion at NIFT Mumbai. Soon, however, the big screen beckoned, and she ended up as assistant director in films such as Hrithik Roshan-starrer Krrish 3 (2013) and Kick (2014), starring Salman Khan. Around the same time, she got together with a friend to make and produce Maya, a short film about post-rape trauma that won several awards and was even screened at Cannes.

Three years ago, she was offered the role of Isha Jaising in MTV’s Girls on Top, and she identified with it completely. “TV has awful hours,” she recalls jokingly of her year shooting a full season of the show. “It doesn’t matter if you have fever or a broken leg, the show must go on. The experience changed me,” she affirms.

What set Saloni apart in those years was how she refused to conform to social standards when it came to her body and looks. “Women role models are stereotyped into looking ‘pretty and perfect’,” she rues. “I’m an actor; it’s not my job to look pretty. My job is to perform and look the part.”

Her MTV season had another personal significance for Saloni: she had taken on her mother’s last name Chopra in her screen credits in deference to her brave single parent. Her decision to speak up for women’s rights was also born from having been through toxic relationships herself. “I dated some really horrible men who were controlling and sexist,” she recounts. The experiences had sapped her of her confidence and self-love.

“If this could happen to a girl raised in Australia, imagine how girls raised in India must feel, having been brought up with everyday sexism and being told they are to blame whenever anything goes wrong,” she says, adding, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Now I don’t take shit from anyone.”

Her observations about Indian men found their way to her web series Waking Up With Maggie in which she plays a girl who wakes up from one-night stands and confronts a strange new character in her bed each time. Her new web-series Screwed Up by filmmaker Harry Nath will be out this year.

The 27-year-old has taken her turbulent past in her stride and credits her challenges for shaping her personality. Her boyfriend Rahul Bhattacharya, a Melbourne-based lawyer and her childhood friend, travels frequently to spend time with her, and Saloni is unabashed about posting their romantic pictures on social media:

“The more you put yourself with all your truth out there, the more people relate to you.” Looking back at her trajectory, she says, “I wouldn’t change a thing.”

This article was first published in eShe magazine.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow