Sharmila BasuThakur – M A in Philosophy and Gold Medalist Sharmila is a Professor of Philosophy and taught in a college in Kolkata for 15 years before taking up journalism as a full time profession. She is currently the Editor of Sananda, it’s a lifestyle magazine of an esteemed group in India. She is an Indian Classical dancer and trained in Odissi style of dance under the guidance of Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra. Sharmila performed in India and abroad. She is extremely passionate about culinary art, conducts workshops and classes on cookery and is the author of a recipe book. She has great interest in designing apparels and has her own label called Cottonwala. Travelling is another passion of hers. She is a Mother of a daughter who is an established chef and lives in Australia. Let’s see what Sharmila had to say in today’s Trailblazer.

How do you define career success?

Satisfaction, money and stress are my driving factors that define career success.

How does one create a supportive environment at work and home balancing work and personal life?

To have a dependable team and loving and sensitive family members are at the top of my list. Also, one has to learn to ignore petty issues both in the workplace and at home in order to create a supportive environment both in work and home.

What advice did you receive early in your career that has stayed with you throughout your journey?

One bit of advice I was given from a young age was to always give 100 percent in everything you do.

What is your superpower?

My superpower is to make sure I have the ability to do what I’m doing and work really hard to achieve everything that’s needed to get really good results.

Why do you think diversity is so important in the workplace?

Without diversity it becomes monotonous which brings stagnation. Diversity brings spirit to move forward and should be the mantra in every workplace.

Some lovely answers here from Sharmila. Come back tomorrow for the next in our series.