Stories let us share information in a way that creates an emotional connection. Here’s Macmillan Kahani Café – bringing you extraordinary stories from everyday life.

From selling ad spaces to baking heavenly foods in her own café” – listen to the amazing personal journey of Asha Chhetri who braved the odds of leaving her job to pursue her dreams.

 

Watch the full video here – Kahani Café – the journey of Ms Asha Chhetri

Host

So welcome to another episode of Kahani Cafe, where we are bringing you stories that are brooding with reality. And our guest today is someone who is an inspiration in her own right, who has embarked on an uncharted journey in her life and is extremely proud and, most importantly, content with what she is doing today. Let me introduce you to Asha Cheetri. Welcome, Asha. Welcome to Asho.

 

Asha

Hi, Sumanjan. Thank you so much for this great opportunity. And I’m really happy to be sharing my story today. I haven’t shared my story today. This is my first story, which I’ll be sharing. And I’m all ready to share whatever I can or have. So I start.

 

Host

Yes. That’s lovely to hear, Asha, and we promise to be gentle. Asha, tell us about you. Who is Asha Chhetri? Let’s start with this.

 

Asha

My name is Asha Chhetri. I was born and brought up in Sikkim. I did my schooling in Sikkim only. And yeah, I was in Sikkim until my 12th standard. Then I did my master’s in English at Delhi University. I got my master’s in journalism and mass communication from Amity University. And I’m halfway through the year I’ve been in Delhi. I worked in Delhi. And I’d say I was fortunate to work for one of the best organisations in Delhi and to meet and work with some of the best people in the city. I was in Delhi for ten years. I was in media. I did media sales for ten years. And I had a wonderful time in Delhi. I made good friends and met good people. I had a really good life in Delhi. The kind of life that I wanted was the kind of life that I thought was possible. I thought what I was doing in Delhi, what was happening to me there was what I wanted to do throughout my life—until baking happened. I was in Delhi for ten years, and I don’t remember a single day when I was really unhappy about being in the media.

 

In fact, I was enjoying it. I was really loving what I was doing, until when? 2016. I decided to head back home. So my heading back home was not just a plan. I used to travel with my best friend, and I really started liking the culture of homestays. So I’m from Sikkim, and Sikkim is a tourist destination. So I decided to return home and open a homestay because I enjoy meeting new people. I like entertaining them, and I like being entertained by them. So I decided that a homestay would be a good place for me to meet new people and talk to them. And I did manage to open a homestead. I ran the homestead for eight months when I realized that being the ghost was not what I wanted; I wanted to be the guest. Yes, I enjoyed every bit of it—like, for eight months when I was running the homestead. Enjoyed. I loved all the guests that came to my homestay. But eight months down the line, I realized, yeah, I wasn’t living. I was just surviving then. So this was not something I wanted to do. So I decided to go back to Delhi.

 

One thing, I’ve learned in my life is that you can’t force yourself to do something you don’t want to do. So I didn’t want to force myself to stay back and run my home state. So, yeah, I did my March tip tips, and I decided to come back to Delhi and, you know, join one of the media and continue with my career in media sales or whatever I go through, willing to compromise on my salary because there was a significant difference. And then I don’t know how everything that happens to me happens by chance, and then this baking happens. So since February 2016, when I started baking, I don’t think I’ve ever looked back.

 

Host

So lovely. Asha, that brings me to our next question for the day. So you started your career, as you said, in media sales, right? And like you said, you worked for the best media brands in the capital.

From there, you got a taste of Texas hospitality when you decided to return to Sacramento and begin your journey in your home state. Yes, you did that for a good eight months. I’m sure that was quite satisfying for you. You were happy doing what you were doing, but then, down the line, you realized that’s not something you would want to do for a longer time. And then you came back.

 

Asha

No, he was planning to come back. When baking occurred, I told you that whatever happens to me happens by chance. The baking was also a chance. It happened by chance. It didn’t come to me; it just happened. So it was time to come back, and join media sales when baking happened—it just happened. I’ll tell you the story later, but it just happened. And after that, as I told you, I never looked back. I just cancelled my ticket. I’ve been baking since 2018, and I don’t think I’m ever going to stop. I mean, I think I’m going to retire from baking. I love it so much.

 

Host

Asha So, taking that point, you are in second place in your own home state, entertaining guests, when you suddenly decide to come back to Zillion and possibly go back to doing what you were doing, which is the media scene.

 

Asha

Right.

 

Host

Tell us about that. You say that things happen by chance in your life, and that’s been your story thus far.

 

Asha

Right.

 

Host

Tell us about the time Bacon called you, okay? And you respond. Tell us about that moment when you realised that, okay, this is something that you would want to do because baking is something that is not related to your previous two stints. And media sales, I mean, are as far away from baking as they could be. Tell us about that moment when baking called and you decided to try your hands at it.

 

Asha

Yeah, as I told you, I’ve got this habit of talking to people. So I met this woman out of the blue. She was sitting alone in a cafe in her hometown, where you couldn’t talk. And I actually thought she was a tourist. So she had come to my cousin’s brother’s cafe, and my cousin had gone out, so I was handling his cafe that day. So I’ll just go talk to this woman, who I thought was Japanese and a tourist. And when I started talking to her, I discovered she was only from Sikkim and was much older than me. But we clicked. She had come there alone. I started talking to her, and then she told me how she was planning to open a cafe in Gandhik. She’s got a small baking unit here, and then she planned to open a cafe here, blah, blah, blah. And I told her, like, how I had opened a homestead, but I lost interest. I lost interest, but I realised that was not what I wanted to be. So I told her I was returning to Delhi, where I knew I’d get through somewhere because I’d been there for ten to twelve years.

I know, like, a lot of people, and I know for sure that if I ever come back to Delhi, I’m going to get a job. Like you, I have that confidence when it comes to Delhi. So she just asked me, and I remember it was February 14, 2018; it was Valentine’s Day, and so we had become friends. She didn’t have friends. I don’t have many friends in Yankov. So we started meeting, and though she was older than me, we became really good friends. Her name is Aishwarya Prepi. We became really good friends. And one fine day, on February 14, 2018, she asked me if I wanted to check her baking unit. So, she had not opened a cafe; she had bought the unit. And I told her, “Okay, let me go and have a look at what a baking unit looks like.” I had not seen an oven because, although I say I love cooking, when it came to baking, I only used to watch baking shows. I used to love watching baking shows, probably because I was meant to bake at some point. So, yes, I used to watch baking shows; however, I had no idea that one day I would be baking.

But I think I’ve seen all the baking and chocolate shows. So I told her, “Yeah, I want to see what a baking unit looks like.” So I was still at home on February 14th. Then she took me to a place. I love the unit. I mean, it was like a cute little unit. She had an oven and a freezer, but no category had been sand-tarred. And she told me that if I want to see how it works, that’s fine; I like the oven. I have no idea.