Grandma Runs One of Odisha’s Favourite Catering Services

Santoshini Mishra, a 74-year-old from Sambalpur, Odisha, runs a catering service that is quite popular at weddings

“I cook well, and I enjoy doing it, so I decided to take this up as a job when the situation demanded. So, I have been working for the past 40 years,” says 74-year-old Santoshini Mishra who runs a catering business in Sambalpur, Odisha.

Santoshini took up cooking as a means to live when women were not allowed to work outside their homes. Years back, her husband who ran a paan business, fell ill and was unable to continue his business. So, the responsibility of the household and the education of the children fell on Santoshini. She used to go to people’s homes and cook for them. Later she established catering business. This was when the catering business was done only by men.

Santoshini recalls that things were not easy. It was even very difficult to find a marriage proposal for her daughter because nobody wanted to marry into a family where the lady of the house worked outside and ran a catering service.

But Santoshini still loved her job as she loved cooking. Usually, the wedding season is very hectic as she often has to cater to three or four weddings per day. They serve vegetarian and non-vegetarian food like Paneer Butter Masala, Paneer Tikka, Mushroom Masala, Veg Biriyani, Chicken Biriyani, etc.

Credits: The Better India

Read the full story here.

-Staff Reporter