| Shubha | Kolkata | Feb 02, 2008 5:30 pm |
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As per Bengali customs, soon after birth, an infant is faced with a choice. A book and a coin would be placed in front of the baby, the book representing Goddess Saraswati, the giver of knowledge, and the coin representing Goddess Lakshmi, who bestows wealth. A true blue Bong family would delight and celebrate if the baby chooses the book over the coin. I recently attended such a ritual, where my Bengali friend literally thrust a book onto the tiny hands of her puzzled daughter.
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| E Week Pledge card and pins |
I was reminded of this while discussing the influence of culture on entrepreneurship with Malaya Chatterjee, Director of Pailon School of International Studies. Chatterjee believes that one of the biggest challenges to entrepreneurship development in West Bengal is the cultural detachment from pecuniary pursuits. "Bengalis are usually meek and averse to taking risks. They would prefer the security of a government or an academic job. A modification in our thinking pattern is the need of the hour," she feels.
After spending two days this E Week exploring the college campuses in Kolkata, I am convinced that such a modification has begun to take shape in this culturally rich state.
Economic growth; increased awareness; successful entrepreneurial initiatives by peers ; innumerable opportunities in sunrise sectors like hospitality, media and tourism; and access to organizations like NEN that provide a platform to support, encourage and develop entrepreneurship have all contributed towards this transformation.
Just visiting these campuses, it was obvious to me that more and more students are now talking about entrepreneurship, dreaming of entrepreneurship and daring to take the road less taken.
As I see hundreds of flushed, excited faces taking the E Week Pledge across colleges, I suddenly find E-Week so meaningful.
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