Innovator: Deeksha Bhatia
Vocation: Alternate educationist
Location: New Delhi
Deeksha Bhatia, who was born in a small town in Haryana on December 5, 1989, graduated in English from the Delhi University and then pursued a Master’s degree in advertising and public relations from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication in New Delhi.
From a very young age, Deeksha had been interested in the creative fields. During her college years, she actively participated in street plays and stage plays, and contributed to scriptwriting, acting and direction. Through her plays, Deeksha helped raised attention towards various social issues such as drug addiction, rural migration, homosexuality, development, education to start a debate on these issues.
However, as is the case with most youngsters in search of a better livelihood, Deeksha finished college and took up an advertising job in the corporate sector. Initially, she enjoyed her new well-paying job where she also saw scope for promotion. She thought she was living her dream but that didn’t last long. She soon realised that the dream was just a mirage, and that she wasn’t making any real contribution towards the society. Her work began to take her away from her real self. She was no longer happy at work and was questioning her job every day.
Deeksha wanted to go back to the issues she was dealing with in college. She wanted to do something creative with children. But she didn’t know what or how. She was like a caged bird who wanted to fly high but loved her cage too. One day, when she realised she could no longer be confused, she decided to break the cage.
She then approached Sweccha, an organisation she was part of during her college days. It’s now been three years since she started working with Sweccha again. At Sweccha, she plays a key role in activities related to education and development targeted at youngsters. Initially, she thought children will be able to learn a lot from her but, in fact, she too has learnt immensely from the children.
Now when she looks at herself in the mirror, she feels at peace. She says, the decision she took three years ago has helped her find a new path in life. In the last three years, she has seen many changes in her and faced challenges but she has also bravely overcome the challenges. Now, her perspective of looking at the world has completely changed. She is working on issues, in depth, that mattered to her in college. And in this journey over the last three years, she has met many people from whom she has been able to learn something. And Deeksha says her journey of learning still continues.