Love for the machine from a young age drew Pallavi Sapra to the world of engineering and manufacturing and gave her the opportunity to unleash her potential. Today, Pallavi, a Senior Executive at Alwar based TMTL and an industry professional with 10 years of experience in the field is inspiring many other small towns to chase their dreams.
There was this girl who fancied fixing her mother's broken sewing machine while girls of her age fancied playing with dolls, a girl who used to constantly walk around the electrician, looking at him with her big eyes filled with awe. This is the story of Pallavi Sapra: a small-town girl who dared to dream. Pallavi was allured by the intricate nature of machines around her from a very young age. The way they worked, the way they sounded, how a small piece of metal can throw a giant structure off-balance, and how the same can make a broken one run again, excited her!
She was adamant about fixing every broken thing she could find. Even though she would fail at times, she never gave up on trying again or finding another way. And now it looks like the little girl has manifested the same after she had immense support from her father who was always there. Today she is a senior executive at TMTL Engines – Eicher Engines. The only thing he ever asked her to do was to do good in life. It still resonates in her every action.
Making the right decision
Being the only daughter of the family didn't make it easy on her. At the time, girls didn't have the clarity of what they wanted to become as they grew up, but by the time Pallavi completed her 10th, she was sure that she wanted to do engineering. “At the time of my higher secondary education, I attended PET Exam, which ensures the highest-ranking candidates’ seats in Government colleges. I scored around 7000th rank and got admission to Bharatpur college which was far from my home and the area was not safe.
My family was very protective and gave me an option to repeat 12th board exams and improve PET ranks so that I could get placement in a nearby college,” she says. But this would cost her a year. Pallavi was extremely confused in coming up with a decision. She had to also consider her family's financial situation.
That is when she heard about Polytechnic from a friend. She gathered as much information from her friend and presented it in front of her father. At the time she was interested in Civil and Mechanical streams. Her father, being the support system he always was, gave her a green flag and suggested that she should go ahead with Mechanical Engineering. Pallavi did the same and got admission to Alwar Government Polytechnic college.
Overcoming gender bias and small-town complex
Even though it was a government college, it had really good Labs and an array of accomplished and supportive faculty. But being a girl in the Mechanical Engineering class had its hardships. There were only a small number of girls who chose this course and even among them there was a division between girls from the city and village.
The girls who came from more rural areas were conservative and wouldn't even talk to other girls, let alone the boys. Pallavi couldn't take this, and being an action taker, gathered up everyone and said that “this is our class, and if we want any sort of help, we will only have each other, so we shouldn't divide among ourselves”.
This helped and also as the classes and cultural activities progressed, divisions among them slowly faded and blossomed into beautiful friendships. “But that wasn't it. Even though the college had great Laboratories, the lab assistant was a very conservative man. He believed that girls are not capable of such hard labour and he used to ask them to just give to just mark their attendance and some boy will finish it for them,” she recalls.
But Pallavi wasn't ready to accept that. She said to the lab assistant that she wanted to try it out for herself, which he dismissed with a smirk but she insisted. He gave her a sample and dimensions and stood there all set to mock her if she failed. But that never happened. Pallavi made the replica of what she was handed with the craftsmanship of a professional. She still believes in getting her hands dirty, and states that “every time you do something with your own hands, you are getting an opportunity to learn something new, and I'm never going to miss out on such an opportunity!”.
Taking big stride
Finally, it was the day of college placements which they'd all been eagerly waiting for. “Every single one of them was nervous and excited at the same time as this was their first-ever interview. The recruiter was Koyo Bearings and there would be a written exam as a qualifier. We kept on waiting but were not even called for the qualifiers.
The placement manager told us that the company wasn't planning on recruiting girls and this news devastated all of us as we had come well prepared and had high hopes.” Pallavi took the matter into hand and approached the principal with a suggestion of just letting them attend the qualifiers as part of a self-evaluation; they were not asking the company to hire girls, but to give them a shot at a real interview as a learning experience only.
The company's HR was pleased by the idea and every girl was given a chance. And as expected many girls got qualified. Out of the 110 candidates who were there only 2 girls made it to the final cut. And one of them was Pallavi. This was a great accomplishment and confidence booster for her and also for all the girls who were given a chance.
She even received the offer letter but it collided with the date of their final year project and presentation. As per college rules, the final year project presentation was mandatory. Pallavi contacted the General Manager of Koyo Bearings and he put forward a solution for completing the project from the company itself. They would be given leave for presentation, plus salary. This suggestion was agreed upon by the college board and Pallavi and her friends became the first bunch in college history to do so.
She joined the quality control department as a Diploma Engineer Trainee (DET) and worked with every machine in the standard room. Being a fresher, getting hands-on experience on machines such as Roundness machine, Roughness machine, counter tester, etc. she started getting a clear idea of what exactly is Quality Testing and why it was necessary.
After working in Koyo Bearings for 3 and a half years as a DET for a year and as an engineer, she decided to switch her field and joined Honda two-wheelers as a customer quality executive. She had to run audits in-house and among the suppliers and make sure that the product quality remained undisturbed in the market. To ensure quality, she needed a deep understanding of machinery from the biggest to the smallest parts. She was thriving there and she loved her work. In 2017 Pallavi got married and a year later she was faced with an unexpected yet unfortunate incident.
Her father's health was deteriorating due to diabetes and being the eldest child, Pallavi had to choose between her career and family. She took a medical leave for 2-3 months and returned to Alwar. Even though she was needed at the company, they respected her situation and cooperated. Pallavi was silently praying for her father to regain health or to get a job in Alwar so that she could be there for him.
She joined TMTL Alwar in the quality department but wasn't content with her role. She knew she was capable of performing more and informed the firm. She got the Engineering and Projects department as it suited her profile and started it from 2019 onwards.
Her duties were to look at all line balancing, support the manufacturing team for smooth functioning, fabrication, and digitization to provide the operator with an easy guide. “We work for production line so that we can provide the tool, fixtures (as per their requirement) & poka-yoke for smooth functioning of the manufacturing line. The main objective of the team is to adopt and implement the latest technology.”
Working for women empowerment
Even though her career was going well, she felt more women should be recruited into the industry. But Alwar isn't a mechanical hub and most youths have already fled in a quest for better options. Like she did in the beginning. But she puts forward an interesting thought that moulding a girl and nurturing her interest, especially in manufacturing, should begin at a young age.
“It should start from schools and not only girls but also boys should be given awareness about this so that they can grow to be a better support system that understands the women around them. Government should also contribute to the cause by reserving seats for girls in mechanical studies and reducing their fees. Such policies are being implemented, but they should become mandatory and uniform. After all, revolutionary women like Kalpana Chawla, Kiran Bedi, Lata Mangeshkar were all those who were given the chance to follow their passion.”
Pallavi adds that she does her part by going to her college and giving the necessary guidance and motivation to girls out there. Pallavi proudly adds that when she started, she didn't even have the slightest clue that after just a decade she'd be sitting here sharing her story with us. “If you remain confident and work hard for whatever your ambition is, one-day success will inevitably come knocking on your door. Till that day never lose that ray of hope and always dare to dream!”
