It is hard to sail in the uncharted seas of entrepreneurship when the path or the destination is probably not known. Yet the thrill of the journey convinced me to take up a career path in Entrepreneurship in web development after my engineering. I am passionate about programming and the feeling of working for myself convinced me to take the risky path.

Since my under-graduation in 2014, I have been involved in running my web development agency. It took me two years to learn everything and build my first product, a WordPress based multi-purpose theme. It did not sell online for more than 2 days. The reasons were some copyright issues. Yet I was able to make the US $354 in just 1 day.

I persevered and built more products. My second product, an add-ons plugin, did not sell very well. The sales for the third one, a “coming soon” plugin was not enough for me to afford a proper breakfast. I suffered huge setbacks, yet I learned the different ways I could fail. My fourth product was similarly rejected.

And, yet I kept going!

Finally, I built the fifth product, a “website header, and slider” WordPress plugin. The plugin was accepted in the marketplace and the sales are slow but coming. This is what I want to do. I somehow found the willingness to keep going when I had nothing in return. Now, though, I have hope that my future ventures will be more successful!

Durga Puja Shopping At Pantaloons

As I write this article sitting here at IIFT, I recollect one of the dearest moments of my life! Durga puja.

Durga puja is the main event for Bengalis. The Bengalis cherish it and celebrate the occasion with pride and joy. There is a shopping season just before the puja during which they go out and get their favourite clothes, apparel and accessories for the whole year. Even wedding shopping is done at the same time.

The importance of this month-long shopping season is so much that the sales are almost entirely non-existent for the rest of the year. People wait patiently for the stores to launch the latest collections and then the fad begins.

Being a Bengali, I and my family do the same. We go out shopping and Pantaloons is our most preferred destination for fashion purchases. The range and options that are available are huge with brands like “Allen Solly”, “Peter England”, “Van Heusen” and “Louis Philippe” available inside a single store. We have been going to the Pantaloons store since my childhood when the largest mall of Kolkata back then, South City Mall, came up.

The reason why I trust Pantaloons is because of the range, helpful floor staff, the ability to compare the choice of clothes that are available to us and the great rewards program. Pantaloons have made a special place in the hearts of Bengalis who believe in Pantaloons to fulfil their fashion craze.

Usually, two sets of jeans and two sets of t-shirts are enough for the five full days and night events, where we visit the different pandals and appreciate the craftsmanship and skills of the idol makers. Yet, after daring the long lines, when we are finally able to reach the cash counter, we realize that two jeans have become four, two sets of t-shirts now have two different sets of t-shirts and full sleeve party shirts, sportswear for I don’t know why and a jacket even when Kolkata is not very cold for a jacket.

This is not an isolated situation but is the same story repeated over every counter again and again which we witness while standing at different queues waiting to get to the end at the earliest. Thank you, Pantaloons, for these wonderful memories that we get to experience every year.

Arka Bhowmik

Celebrations And Struggles Of Life - An Entrepreneurs Journey | Arka Bhowmik, IIFT Delhi