DECODING DRAUPADIBeyond the Bio
The women behind the job titles.
Long conversations with women building careers in marketing, finance, tech and startups across India: the choices, the detours and what they'd tell someone starting out.
16 Oct 2026
Remove ‘Am I Good Enough’ From Your Dictionary. Replace It With ‘Am I Doing My Best?’
Niharika Bhatnagar has built her career at the intersection of brand reputation and public perception: at Ola when it was tumultuous, at Nestlé when it was complicated, and at Bajaj Auto, where she led PR, media, and events before her recent promotion to Brand Content & Social Manager. She knows what it costs to shape…
31 Aug 2026
I Don’t Need to Earn My Seat in Every Meeting
A conversation with Isha Patwardhan, Sr. Digital Marketing Manager at ICICI Lombard, who has built brands across fashion, financial services, and insurance Isha has spent her career moving between categories that share almost nothing on the surface, fashion, financial services, insurance, and carrying one conviction across all of them: people don’t buy products, they buy…
29 Aug 2026
The Strategy Slide Is 5% of the Job
A conversation with Monika Kewalramani, Director – Marketing GTM at Disprz, leading go-to-market strategy across APAC and MEA Monika runs go-to-market strategy across markets that don’t share a language, a time zone, or a playbook, while raising a two-year-old who wants the same toy shown to her for the fifteenth time like it’s brand new.…
25 Aug 2026
Not My Monkey
A conversation with Yamini Malpani, who last served as Modern Trade and Exports Controller, Pan India, at L’Oréal, on self-doubt, stakeholder blind spots, and refusing to carry what isn’t hers. Yamini’s career runs through Grant Thornton,Colgate-Palmolive,Estée Lauder, and most recently L’Oréal,in modern trade and exports, for India Market. But the through-line in this conversation isn’t…
15 Aug 2026
As Long as I Can Go Back to the Blank Page, I Am Doing Okay
A conversation with Sanjana Menon, 29 (Y) Senior Manager (Brand Marketing) at Swiggy, who fought to get into advertising, pivoted to comedy writing for a YouTube channel and performed standup at open mics before anyone understood why, became a Creative Director at 27, had an existential crisis immediately after, and found out who she really…
13 Aug 2026
The Best Kept Sword Is Being Present
A conversation with Anupama Sharma, Deputy Manager at Godrej & Boyce, on ownership, unlearning, and choosing presence over performance. Anupama has moved through copywriting, agency life, client servicing, and brand management before landing in an in-house leadership role at Godrej & Boyce. Somewhere in that shuffle of titles, she picked up a habit most of…
25 Jul 2026
Explore. Then Commit. Leave Little Room for Regret
A conversation with Bhavika Mehta, Brand Manager at Home Centre India, who has seen branding from every angle: social media, traditional advertising, digital to omni-channel, from an agency lens and now from the brand side, and who thinks a non-linear path is not a problem to explain but a strength to own Bhavika Mehta transitioned…
24 Jul 2026
She Is Still Becoming. And for the First Time, She Is Okay With Not Rushing It
A conversation with Adhya Singh Parmar, Marketing Manager at Godrej & Boyce, who moved from psychology and HR to leading a student music collective, to marketing at Godrej, and who learned the most from her grandmother without her grandmother ever saying it directly Adhya Singh Parmar is Marketing Manager at Interio by Godrej, Godrej &…
20 Jul 2026
Reinvention Is Not Disrupting Growth. It Is Growth
A conversation with Anushree, Senior Brand Manager, Digital Commerce at P&G, who went from software engineering to IIM Calcutta to leading quick commerce, and is now asking bigger questions about what a fulfilling life actually looks like Anushree has spent seven years at P&G, but her story does not begin there. It begins in telecom…
16 Jul 2026
You Cannot Decode Others Until You Have Decoded Yourself
A conversation with Saloni Mehta, Marketing Insights Manager at Kraft Heinz, who has spent a decade decoding Indian consumers across Nivea, ITC, Meesho, and now Kraft Heinz, and who will tell you the whole field is built on a misunderstanding Saloni Mehta has spent over a decade in consumer insights, moving through Nivea, ITC, Meesho,…
15 Jul 2026
The Best Instincts Are Built on Evidence. Just of a Different Kind
A conversation with Madhur Gupta, Brand Manager at ITC Limited, who leads with heart, thinks in data both quantitative and qualitative, and is still quietly carrying the question most ambitious women carry Madhur Gupta is Brand Manager at ITC Candyman. She is also, by her own description, someone who leads with heart regardless of the…
14 Jul 2026
From Outdoing Others to Doing the Best Version of Me
A conversation with Monikanika Bhowmick, Co-Founder and COO at Yuvrus Botanicals, who spent two decades building digital commerce inside large organisations, never thought she would start her own company, and is now building one anyway Monikanika Bhowmick has spent twenty years building digital businesses inside large organisations: Castrol, 3M, Polycab, Bajaj Electricals. She has an…
7 Jul 2026
You Don’t Have to Choose One Version of Yourself to Be Authentic
Ashmeet Bagga started writing long before it was a career, filling diaries with dramatic entries about small incidents, the kind she now cringes at when she reads them back. She has since moved through content writing, brand communication, and marketing into a role at Bajaj Markets. She is also the wife of an army officer,…
3 Jul 2026
Be Obsessed With the Customer. Everything Else Follows
A conversation with Ishita Taneja, Product Marketing Manager for YouTube APAC at Google, who built the spam-call warning feature millions of Indians now see on their phone screens, took up improv theatre to unlearn her own need for a plan, and is still, by her own account, one of the most straightforward people you will…
3 Jul 2026
Worst Case, the Answer Is No. Knock Anyway
A conversation with Ami Jagani, Manager in the AI Unit at Bajaj Finance, who moved from engineering to a remote plant posting during Covid, to an MBA at IIM Bangalore, through consulting and fintech, and into AI, by knocking on every door that looked interesting and never once being afraid of the no Life rarely…
28 Jun 2026
Returning Back to Myself
A conversation with Manmeet Kaur Sethi, Lead, OEM Alliances at Bajaj Pay, Bajaj Finserv, who turns 40 this July, has spent over a decade across media, payments, banking, and fintech, and is more at peace with herself now than at any point along the way Manmeet Kaur Sethi turns 40 in July. She has built…
24 Jun 2026
The Dreams Have Morphed. The Urgency Has Not
A conversation with Bipasha Biswas, Brand Manager at Classmate, ITC Limited, who let go of a design dream, climbed mountains, just became a mother, and still wants to dance in the rain Bipasha Biswas has worked in storytelling at Pratilipi and now builds brands at Classmate, ITC Limited. She is a mountaineer. She wanted to…
23 Jun 2026
Patience Is a Virtue. Tolerance Is Not
A conversation with Jinal Patel, Senior Brand Manager at a rapidly growing startup Jinal Patel is 26. She has worked across community building, public relations, client servicing, and brand management. She published her views in her masters’ dissertation on the impact of social media on mental health of the youth. She became a PRO at…
22 Jun 2026
The Challenge Is Not Choosing Between Ambition and Balance. It Is Finding a Way to Have Both
A conversation with Aditi Nagpal, Brand Manager at Safari Industries India Ltd., who built a marketing career without an MBA, across fashion, lifestyle, consulting, beverages and consumer brands, and is still working out what sustainable success actually looks like Aditi Nagpal has moved across fashion, lifestyle, consulting, beverages, and consumer brands. She does not have…
18 Jun 2026
Being Enough and Becoming More Can Coexist
A conversation with Ritesh Kumari, Senior Project Manager at DTDC Express, who grew up in a small village in Haryana, studied at SRCC, graduated with a Gold Medal, failed UPSC, published a poetry book, became a mother, and is still building Ritesh Kumari’s story does not move in a straight line. It moves through a…
18 Jun 2026
Your Non-Linearity Is Not a Liability. It Is Your Edge
A conversation with Apoorva, Growth Marketing Leader who has spent seven years building growth engines across fintech, hospitality, e-commerce, entertainment, and mobility, and who will tell you plainly that growth marketing is a boring process, and means it as a compliment Apoorva has spent seven years across some of the most complex consumer funnels in…
15 Jun 2026
Ambition and Well-Being in the Same Hand
A conversation with Sayali Kalsekar, Brand Manager at Pittie Group, who grew up in Vengurla, built a career across food brands, customer experience, sales, and marketplace growth, and is now learning to measure a good life by more than what she has ticked off Sayali Kalsekar grew up in Vengurla, a small town in coastal…
8 Jun 2026
The Artificial Structures We Built Around Success
A conversation with Shimee Gupta, Director at Meesho and a seven-year P&G veteran who decided to redefine success on her own terms Shimee Gupta has spent her career at the intersection of legacy brand building and hyper-growth consumer internet, moving from seven years at P&G to leading categories at Meesho. What runs through every answer…
8 Jun 2026
You Don’t Have to Earn the Right to Slow Down
A conversation with Ishita Paliwal, brand builder and marketer, on what it really takes to launch something new, why emotional memory is the only metric that matters, and what happens when a high-functioning person finally stops performing. Ishita Paliwal launched a 117-villa luxury resort in Udaipur, relaunched New Balance in India, and took ITC Hotels…
4 Jun 2026
What Looked Like Randomness From the Outside Was Just Me Collecting Context
A conversation with Shivangi P Deshpande, Brand Marketing Manager at Tira, on why India never moves in one direction, what rest actually means when everything is loud, and why jack of all trades might just be the whole point. Shivangi P Deshpande is a 29-year-old in Mumbai trying to make sense of adulthood, ambition and…
2 Jun 2026
Don’t Compare Your Chapter 1 to Someone Else’s Chapter 10
A conversation with Priyanka Agarwal, Deputy Director FP&A at PepsiCo, on bridging the gap between finance and people, what high performance actually costs, and the resilience she inherited by simply watching her mother live. Priyanka Agarwal is a gold medallist CA who has skydived, fallen out of a river tube, shared stories with strangers, and…
1 Jun 2026
Working in Media Taught Me How to Capture Attention. Working in FMCG Taught Me How to Earn It
A conversation with Aparna Balachander, Assistant Brand Manager, Glow & Lovely at Unilever, on what effective communication actually requires, why the invisible work is what creates the conditions for everything visible, and why becoming more curious and less certain is the real sign of growth. Aparna Balachander has moved from Star Sports to Unilever, from…
29 May 2026
Every Relationship Has an Internal Journey. Engagement Is Critical There Too
A conversation with Aishwarya Anand, Manager Brand Solutions at Flipkart, on what a career in brand performance teaches you about people, why D2C brands get attention and traditional ones don’t, and the ghungroos she bought herself when she was finally ready to go back. Aishwarya Anand spends her days thinking about brand performance at Flipkart:…
28 May 2026
Good Work Does Not Come With Immediate Recognition. But That Doesn’t Mean It Doesn’t Matter
A conversation with Neha Masurekar, Marketing Manager at Johnson & Johnson, on what healthcare communication demands of you, why restraint is a skill, and what motherhood taught her about work that nobody warned her about. Neha Masurekar works in surgical sutures. On paper, that sounds technical and distant. But spend five minutes with how she…
25 May 2026
Ambition Is Not Something to Apologise For. It Is Something to Honour
A conversation with Stuti Kachhwaha, Brand Manager at ITC Limited, on what happens when you stop being afraid of failure, why not all invisible work is created equal, and the mother who made sure her daughter’s dreams were not up for negotiation. Stuti Kachhwaha keeps a ledger. Books read, quotes loved, places visited, things she…
22 May 2026
Good Companies Follow Data. Great Companies Make It
A conversation with Keha Sagar Gupta, Brand Manager at Unilever on building for the person nobody designed for, why influencer marketing is headed downhill, and the circus of life you never actually master, only juggle. I was not prepared for Keha. I went into this conversation with my questions ready, and within ten minutes she…
15 May 2026
Most Brands Don’t Even Have a Personality. So That Tracks
A conversation with Arushi Sood, brand and marketing professional, on what consumers actually trust, what brands keep getting wrong, and what it looks like to walk away from a corporate job and start living. Arushi Sood has spent years building trust for brands in beauty, wellness, and everyday care. She knows what makes consumers actually…
14 May 2026
Healthcare Marketing Is Quieter, But Much Deeper
A conversation with Tanu Kasana, brand manager in healthcare and pharma, on communication as responsibility, trust built in quieter rooms, and living a life that genuinely feels like yours. Tanu Kasana works in one of the few industries where communication carries great responsibility, as every message can make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. That…
13 May 2026
The Resume Will Fill Itself
A conversation with Divyankshi Puri, brand marketer at Minimalist on values that don’t move, conviction that compounds, and what ambition looks like when it stops being a race. Divyankshi Puri joined Minimalist already a fan, and became a bigger one from the inside. That trajectory says something. In an industry where people regularly trade conviction…
12 May 2026
The Person You Forget to Design For Will Eventually Become Your Biggest Problem
A conversation with Ajita Swaroop, Marketing Head at a commerce technology company, on ecosystems built on trust, campaigns that stay in memory rather than trending for 48 hours, and the long project of becoming someone worth watching. Ajita Swaroop has spent her career thinking about the sides of a marketplace that don’t shout. The mid-tier…
12 May 2026
Confidence Follows Action. It Does Not Precede It
A conversation with Sukeerat Kaur Mitra, operations and supply chain professional, on what actually turns ideas into products, why complexity lives in people not plans, and the real work that happens when things break. Sukeerat Kaur Mitra works in the part of business that most people never see and that most organisations cannot function without.…
11 May 2026
From Chasing Milestones to Building a Life That Holds
A conversation with Aashi Maroo, brand manager, XLRI alumna, and someone navigating the gap between ambition and the life she actually wants. Aashi Maroo has done everything the plan said she should. Studied well. Got into XLRI. Landed strong roles at Reliance and ITC. Moved from learning to owning. Ticked the milestones. And now she…
7 May 2026
My Competition Was Always Belief Systems
A conversation with Gayathri Ranganathan, brand and product strategist, and someone who has worked every gear in the machine before deciding where to lead from. Gayathri Ranganathan has not followed a straight line. Retail marketing, sales leadership, brand strategy, product. Each role a different gear in the same machine, each one teaching her something the…
6 May 2026
Being Right on the Data Is Never Enough
A conversation with Bhawana Raj, finance and strategy leader, the invisible glue in every room she is in, and someone learning to let go a little. Bhawana Raj leads a team of over fifty people. She is the person everyone turns to when things need to get done. She is also, privately, someone who is…
5 May 2026
The Right Decision Is the One That Puts You Where You Can Stretch the Most
A conversation with Ashima Gaur, growth and category strategist, and someone who traded certainty for proximity to impact and has not looked back since. Ashima Gaur left a stable healthcare MNC role straight out of her MBA for a category role at Swiggy. From the outside, it looked like trading certainty for chaos. From the…
1 May 2026
Strong in Ways That Don’t Look Loud
A conversation with Manvi, brand manager, early ownership taker, and someone quietly building a self that feels a little more whole. Manvi moved fast. From social media and communications into brand ownership earlier than most, she has spent the last few years figuring things out in real time, taking responsibility before she felt ready, and…
30 Apr 2026
Just Getting Up and Doing It Again
A conversation with Sneha Vohra, brand and content strategist, quiet observer, and someone who shows up even on the days it feels impossible. Sneha Vohra thinks carefully before she speaks. You can tell from her answers: precise, honest, occasionally uncomfortable in the best possible way. She works at the intersection of brand marketing, content strategy,…
29 Apr 2026
Marketing Can Amplify Desirability. It Cannot Create It
A conversation with Ruchi, brand manager, dancer, and someone figuring out how to hold all her worlds at once. Ruchi came to brand roles through product, curation, and merchandising. That path matters. It means she understands desirability from the inside out. Not from a brief, but from being close to the product itself: how it…
29 Apr 2026
Real Women Don’t Want to Aspire. They Want to Feel Seen
A conversation with Jyoti, brand and growth strategist, and someone building resilience from the inside out. Jyoti has a very clear point of view about what women actually want from brands. Not aspiration. Not the polished version of a life slightly out of reach. Recognition. The feeling of seeing yourself in what a brand puts…
27 Apr 2026
Good Work Rarely Looks Polished in the Process
A conversation with Mallika Fatehpuria, marketer, content creator, and someone learning to let things be what they are. Mallika Fatehpuria doesn’t think of good work as something that reveals itself after it’s out in the world. For her, it’s usually visible much earlier, in the process itself. In the energy in the room, the back-and-forth,…
11 Apr 2026
The Traveller Who Happens to Work in Marketing
A conversation with Pranavi Chhikniwala, marketer, solo traveller, and someone who quit her first job with 20K in savings and never looked back. Pranavi Chhikniwala will tell you she is a traveller, reader, and writer, in that order. Marketing comes after. She leads Marketing at Zostel, one of India’s most beloved travel brands. She manages…
10 Apr 2026
The Race No One Admits They Are Running
A conversation with Oshian, influencer marketing strategist, builder of real relationships, and someone figuring it out one version at a time. Some people walk into a conversation already performing. Oshian does not. She works in one of the most visible corners of modern marketing, influencer and content-led growth for D2C beauty brands. The work is…
3 Apr 2026
The Yapper Who Knows Exactly What She Wants
A conversation with Aanya Jain: brand communicator, enthusiastic learner, and proud people person. There is a particular kind of woman who walks into a room and immediately makes it louder, warmer, and more alive. Aanya Jain is that woman. She will tell you she is a yapper. She will also tell you she works best…
20 Mar 2026
Validation Is Temporary. Progress Is Not
A conversation with Vatsala brand strategist at HDFC Bank, IIM Ranchi alumna, responsible middle child, and self-described pressure-activated achiever. There is a particular kind of professional who doesn’t need applause to keep going. Vatsala is one of them. Trained at IIM Ranchi and now working in brand strategy at one of India’s largest financial institutions,…
16 Mar 2026
You’re Better Than You Think
Anju Jayaram on the myth of the linear career, why the gender pay gap burden keeps landing on women, and what fourteen years of building taught her about staying the ground. I went into this conversation with a list of questions and came out with something more useful: a clearer way of thinking about several…
16 Mar 2026
Afraid, and Moving Anyway
A conversation with Shibani: a brand manager, a city explorer, and someone learning, one step at a time, that the detours are where the real learning lives. Shibani has built a diverse cross-category marketing journey, starting with on-ground sales experience, then moving into beauty and personal care, followed by e-commerce and digital-first retail, expanding into…
13 Mar 2026
Wholeness Over Performance
A conversation with Mitali brand strategist, eldest daughter, and someone learning, deliberately, to live in the present. Some people think out loud. Mitali thinks in clarity. Working at the intersection of brand strategy, client servicing, and creative direction at a creative agency, she has built a career on turning ambiguity into structure, on asking the…
10 Mar 2026
The Storyteller Who Never Finished the Story
A conversation with Suhani brand professional, explorer, and proud work in progress. There is a particular kind of woman who refuses to be summarised. She has the degrees, the career pivots, the international chapters and yet none of it quite captures who she actually is. Suhani is one of those women. A strategic marketing professional…