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Divya Iyer in her office |
Born in Mumbai and
brought up in Chennai
in a traditional South Indian family, Divya learnt Bharatnatyam, music, art and culture. Inclined towards painting and the traditional way of cooking food which was served in her family, she followed her heart.
A topper at school, she completed her schooling from the CBSE board in Chennai and stood state first in Tamil in SSC. Her high marks in SSC, could easily have got her into Science or Engineering, but Divya wanted to plunge into whipping, blending and grilling. Whats that? The sound of pots and pans! Her parents completely supported her. At her mother's suggestion she enrolled for Home Science at SNDT, Pune. This brought Divya to 'amche Pune' and she began living a hostel life away from her family. She says, “The sudden change in lifestyle was initially horrifying... Moreover, I didn't know Hindi/ Marathi at all. My friends and Professor Dhonake helped me overcome the language fear and taught to me how to deal with a new language. The then Principal of SNDT, Mrs. Frenny Tarapore earned the love and respect of the staff and students. I remember she use to personally write remarks on my report.”
In her first year of college, she participated in several extra co-curricular activities like speech, quiz, drawing, organizing cookery exhibitions, fashion shows and the youth forum. In the second year of college she took up specialization in Dietetics and Food Service Management, which was nerve-racking and involved a lot of Chemistry. “I worked on spices and herbs as a part of a project at Pravin Masalewale in Pune, besides assisting in the website development for the same project. B.Sc taught us various subjects. We visited several food industries, learnt mass cooking and preparing numerous dishes, and selling them too”, says the plucky gal. She stood first in BSc in SNDT and 2nd in Maharashtra and Gujarat state. Wanting to court the love of her life- food - she got an MSc seat in Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai.
At this time her father took retirement from the post of CEO in Bharat Gauge ltd., wanting to serve society. “It was not that my father could not afford my fees but it would not have been possible for him to serve and work for the society which was his dream. It was then that I applied for the LPF scholarship for MSc and also received one from Nirmala Niketan. I really thank Lila ma'am who helped me to perform better. I was able to concentrate on my Masters programme”.
| “MSc at Nirmala Niketan was an experience in itself-the hard work, research oriented professors, visiting slums to teach those folk about food and heath, exposure to all national and international programs, visiting hospitals and restaurants. I had taken Foods, Nutrition and Dietetics as my specialization and worked in Tata Cancer Research Institute's Advanced Center for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) as a part of a sponsored project for 'comparative analysis of polyphenol content of three brands of green tea' in Mumbai. I also worked on a sponsored project for my M.Sc.dissertation on 'antioxidant and anticancer properties of tea' in the same institute between the years 2001 and 2003. MSc was hectic, grilling and put me to test, which actually made me tough.
She states, “After MSc, I got admission for Phd, but I never wanted to settle abroad. Suddenly I did not feel good about what was happening. My parents being very supportive didn't press me on, so I decided to put a full stop to research and help my mother's friend, Mrs. Kasbekar, who owned a catering business-Corporate Caterer. It was a challenging job. I took care of everything right from marketing, organizing, and value addition to recipes and incorporation of nutrition in the catering industry. I was also consulted on the complete set up and market of SMS café.”
Currently Divya is working as a freelance consultant to software companies, caterers, restaurants, social institutions and individuals. She also organizes and prepares various menus, demonstrations and buffets for Seva foundation, Hermes health line and the Surya Shakti gym in Pune. She is presently associated with the international group Quest International the principle of which is, 'Money should be used in the right way.' It is about learning the business aspects of banking, finance, technology etc. She was recently invited to Dubai by the Quest group.
Divya loves Maharashtrian food. She likes all the traditional ways of cooking, various dishes. She believes in the cultural and traditional way of cooking and mentions that everything has a reason; the ancient way of cooking was very scientific, which states Let food be your medicine.
Sharing her vision with us she says, “2/3 years down the line I would like to start some food business or own a restaurant or an institution to promote and teach the Indian dining etiquette.” She advises Lila fellows never to give up as whatever happens, happens for the best and to 'listen to their bodies.'
That's some 'healthy' advice. Keep 'whipping and dishing out' your best!
- Sunetra Chaphalkar |
