An eminent classical singer and a well respected academician, Adyasha Das dons both the roles with élan. An assistant professor in business studies at the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, Bhubaneswar, Adyasha, daughter of award-winning writer Pratibha Ray, is gifted with a magical voice.
Although she had a keen interest in music as a child, being an academician was not something she had in mind when she joined Ravenshaw University for her Class XII. “I wanted to enter the corporate world,” she says. And accordingly, Adyasha went ahead to graduate in sociology from the same university and completed her PG in Economics from Delhi School of Economics. A brilliant student that she was, Adyasha also did an MBA from the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar. “However, I later realised that it was teaching where I was comfortable the most,” she says.
She is also a recipient of Leipzig Literaturhaus Scholarship for literature, tourism and cultural transmission and junior fellowship in Literature from Sahitya Akademi.
What did college teach you?
College gave me the confidence, to believe in my dreams and most of all, instilled a great love for learning.
Your proudest moment in college?
Since my school days, my parents had always motivated me to excel in everything I did. In Class XII, I secured the third rank in the state and during my graduation, I had topped my university and received a gold medal for this. During my MBA days at Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, my proudest moment was when I won a coveted trophy for my college despite tough competition at the Inter-Business school meet at IIM-Kolkata.
Any embarrassing moments in college?
There aren’t many, but there is just one incident that happened during my MBA days. This was when a professor overheard our (I think, mild) complaints against him. He had corrected our marketing papers and given us low marks. We were actually expecting better marks in the subject. Dissatisfied with what we got, we were kind of grumbling that the professor was deliberately acting strict and biased. He heard us saying all of this.
How did you score with the opposite gender?
Where ever I studied, I had a friendly group, but I never missed a chance to show we were undoubtedly better! Be it education, extra-curricular activities or any other stream.
Was bunking a part of your college life?
Never. I was in love with classes.
Did you have any rifts with your professors in college? Why?
No. I was very lucky to have some of the best teachers and I continue to be inspired by them.
— diana@newindiaexpress.com