Malti Haldar of Uttarakhand is also one of the people who got jobs in the lockdown during the Corona epidemic. However, instead of succumbing to the situation, Malti, who holds a PhD in Mass Communication, faced it and took a step towards fulfilling her childhood dream, turning ‘disaster’ into ‘opportunity’. She established one of her ‘home kitchens’ named ‘Mal_Cui’. Now she is spreading the taste of different fish dishes to the people. Through her Homemade Food Startup, she has also employed five women.
Corona changed everything
Malti, who lives in Mothrovala, Dehradun, told The Better India, “I was earning 60 thousand rupees every month while working as a director administration in a health care NGO (NGO). If seen, there was no shortage in my life. But, the Corona era changed my life. Because of the lockdown, we were imprisoned in homes. Meanwhile, there was no job. After two months of passing, when it seemed that things were not going to change soon, I started working on future plans. ”
Started food startup
Wanting to do something herself, the first question before Malti was, what can she do? She had many options but, she considered reshaping her childhood dream. According to Malti, she is fond of eating non-veg and especially fish since childhood. Even after marriage, she continued her hobby of calling friends home, feeding and hosting fine food. As such, she turned her attention to starting a food business and decided to start a non-food food startup, involved in fish dishes. This is how home kitchen ‘Mal_Cui’ started.
Social media success
Malti named her home kitchen ‘Mal_Cui’ (Malti Cuisine) in her own name. She got her initial success through social media and WhatsApp. She debuted with menus of ‘Fish Fry on Banana Leaf’, ‘Arabian Chicken Biryani’, ‘Prawn Malayali Curry’, ‘Wild Gosht’ (Mutton with Pahari Flavor), ‘Silky Chicken Kebab’ and ‘Hariyali Chicken’. Malai Kofta has been offered to the veg people. Her early customers were her friends and some acquaintances. She would fetch items from the market, prepare recipes and deliver them herself. In this way, they started getting orders and as the order grew, Malti’s work also started to grow. After about two months, Malti started receiving more than 20-25 orders every day.
Formed a team of five women
When Malti’s work increased, she also hired some associates. Now, she has a team of five women. Apart from this, he has also taken a rented place in Clement Town, Dehradun. In which she is busy arranging for customers to sit and eat. For the time being, she will continue to deliver home on customer orders. But in the coming few days, customers will be able to sit in this home kitchen and enjoy fresh fish dishes.
Hill spices are giving a boost
The special thing about Malati’s home kitchen ‘Mal_Cui’ is that she is using pure mountain spices in every one of her dishes. She has also promoted the fisheries production of Uttarakhand. She is making some of her dishes from the local fish of the government ‘fish outlet’. Malti’s husband Indresh Maikhuri is also a state agitator and social worker. In such a situation, they get emotional support, but the responsibility of ‘Mal_Cui’ is on them.
Chose the job of your choice
In 2002, Malti started her career as a field mobilizer in the ‘Nature Group’. Subsequently, she worked for several institutions in the Garhwal and Kumaon region of Uttarakhand state during her nearly 20-year career. Malti, 41, earned a masters degree from Garhwal University after graduating from Nainital University. After that, he also earned a PhD in Mass Communication. Also, she is a member of the ‘UN Women’s Civil Society Advisory Committee. They could have many other ways to live life. Instead, she considered moving forward in the field of her choice and now, when her hard work is paying off, she and the people associated with him are extremely happy.
Make sure you get on the ground
During the bad phase of lockdown, we saw that many people succumbed to depression on leaving the job and many people ended their lives. These cases were mostly of people who had family responsibilities. Malti says, ‘It is cowardice to end life. No matter what the circumstances, we should not give up from our lives. All that is needed is to identify yourself and know your interest. By working in this way, you will definitely get success if not today or tomorrow. In the end, all she says is, “Make plans, make plans, and then go down to the field.” Nothing can stop you from succeeding. The proper use of available resources is another name for success. ”
Read Also: Four Startups Disrupting The Real Estate Investment With The Concept of Fractional Ownership
