As part of our endeavour to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world, this week we invited Bhavna Pandey for an exclusive interview with BrilliantRead Media. Bhavna is an Entrepreneur, Educator, Leader, Mentor, Coach, Eminent Speaker, Author, Influencer and Change Enabler. She is the Founder of Word Pro – A Battle of Words. Let’s delve deep into her background, her inspiring journey, and her invaluable advice for our growing community.
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Bhavna:
Could you please talk us through your background and your journey?
I spent my childhood growing up in various Army cantonments where we got lots of opportunities to study in different kinds of schools, learning about the diversity and culture of India, spending hours reading in libraries, swimming, playing sports, socializing in clubs etc.
My father was my role model as he had commendable vocabulary and communication skills. He encouraged me to participate in dramatics, debates, essay writing competitions. I was appreciated whenever I won but never scolded when I lost. He encouraged me all the way to do my best.
When I got my first job at The Taj Group of Hotels in 1994, my parents and grandparents were elated as back then I was one of the few girls in the family who started working. Those ten years with The Taj sowed the seeds of professionalism, ethics and hard work.
Working with a phenomenal team and handling massive events like National Days, Product Launches, International Conferences, high-profile weddings etc made me resilient, taught crisis management and got many opportunities to see and meet celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai, Akshay Kumar, Madhuri Dixit, Sri Devi, Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn, Shahrukh Khan, Shilpa Shetty, cricketers like Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Kumble and many more.
I also got married and became a mother during my Taj days. In 2004, I embarked on another journey by transitioning to the field of education as the long hours in the corporate sector were not working well with a toddler to look after at home. I worked in some of the notable educational institutions like DPS, Basava International School, GD Goenka Public School, Sri Venkateshwar International School and The British Council.
Initially, I thought that I would work in schools for a couple of years and get back to the Hotel industry but God had other plans. Although this field was not my first choice, I started enjoying working with children and witnessed the magic of learning. I completed my Masters and B.Ed during this phase.
I ended up gaining experience of teaching pre-primary to post-graduate students from 2004 to 2016. I opened my own academy, The EnglishBytes in 2012 and started working on an educational venture, Word Pro.
Spell Well Genius Merit Awards 2023
‘Word Pro-A Battle of Words’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving?
During my time as a teacher, I realized that very few students in a class have good knowledge of words as children are not reading, listening and speaking as much as they should.
The kids struggle with spellings, they hardly try to find the meanings of words they come across, they don’t make an effort to use different kinds of words and most of them hardly read beyond their textbooks. As a child, books really fascinated me. I used to spend all my free time delving into all kinds of stories and books. It was way back in 2014, that I decided to work on content that would help young learners to enhance their word prowess.
It took me two years to develop an age-appropriate curriculum for students to help enhance their word power.
I started using the content with my own academy students. Within three months of running the course, all 72 of them showed remarkable and measurable progress. Now, this was learning for life for them as they started using what they had learnt in their written and spoken English and were ready to go to the next level of the learning program.
How did you execute this beautiful idea? What was the key event/challenge that paved the way to success?
I had the name ‘WORD PRO, A Battle of Words’ in my mind and the concept was ready to be executed. As I have also been involved with several NGOs for the past many years. During one of the campaigns in 2015, I met Mrs. Sudha Sinha, a renowned social activist and Managing Editor of Dwarka City Newspaper in Delhi.
I spoke to her about launching Word Pro with the newspaper and she agreed to meet. After that it took several meetings and nearly two years to develop the concept and finally on July 2, 2017, it was introduced by the newspaper in 25 schools of Delhi.
This year is the seventh edition of Word Pro which has become synonymous with educational engagement and a joyous learning experience. Year after year the competition has grown and thousands of students participate from Delhi NCR and now schools from other cities like Pune, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Ajmer and Jaipur are also showing great interest in participating .
You are involved with a number of NGOs and are also mentoring the youth through ‘Anubhav’ a Youth Community Program. Our audience would also love to know more about it.
I was introduced to social work by my daughter who was encouraged by Ms. Nita Arora, her principal, and started volunteering when she was in Grade 8. She participated in numerous campaigns of ‘Sulabh’, looked after stray animals in distress, got them medical aid, worked diligently towards the ABC (animal birth control) programme and significantly reduced the population of strays in the neighbouring areas.
Eventually, she was nominated by her school and was awarded a silver medal at the highly prestigious, Spirit of Community Awards (SOCA) in 2016 where school students are recognized for their social impact initiatives. Thereafter, I started working with a number of NGOs like Pahal Pathshala for the underprivileged kids, Aashman Foundation for book donation drives and Ek Mutthi Trust for menstrual awareness and grain collection and distribution drives.
Along with Ms. Sudha Sinha, President-Ek Mutthi, we introduced a unique internship program where we mentor students from schools and universities under ‘Anubhav’, a Youth Social Community Mentorship Program. This program empowers the youth with skills and opportunities to thrive in an ever-changing world. Every year, 80+ student volunteers get an opportunity to be a part of this internship program.
One of the major events is ‘The Indian Wheelchair Premier League’, which is held in Delhi wherein 10 teams from different states participate in The Indian Wheelchair Cricket Tournament that transcends physical limitations and celebrates the spirit of inclusivity. The volunteers receive invaluable training from a dedicated team of experts in sports management for the specially-abled. These players inspire everyone with their grit and determination.
The involvement of the youth in these endeavours will not only enrich the present but also sow the seeds for a more compassionate and inclusive society in the future.
‘Anubhav’ Youth Community Mentorship Program
What have been the challenges, what keeps you going when things get tough?
No one can reach the top of the ladder as soon as you start, there are all those steps from the bottom to the top. However good your concept or product might be, it is very difficult to find people who are willing to accept it, nurture it and help you in the journey.
I have heard things like, “Had this been on a National level, we would have loved to partner with you.” or “Our company does not support local events.”
It’s very challenging to find support while you are growing. When something gets established, then everyone wants to know how it grew without realizing the hardships and obstacles one had to overcome.”
The initial years were all work and no pay. Having a mentor and a guide who believes in your dreams is really important for any startup. Mrs. Sudha Sinha, who is the Co-Founder, showed trust in this concept and is equally passionate, involved and committed towards providing a great learning platform to the students.
Also, I am inspired by Ankur Warikoo and his nuggets of life lessons so to keep me going, I watch his journey and read his books, follow him across various social media handles. No one has had it easy, everyone has had to do the hard yards to attain success.
What are the three most important lessons you have learned in your life?
One, learning is a never-ending journey, be ready and open to expanding your horizons.
Secondly, listen to the young generation, learning is a transactional process with them. Try to understand their thought process and have faith in their abilities.
Lastly, use your own experience to mentor others, build empathy, and compassion and nurture passion so that someone else is able to achieve their dreams.
Directors, Word Pro Olympiad Sudha Sinha and Bhavna Pandey (Right)
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
When I started working on Word Pro, I surrounded myself with its printed Logos, Posters and Study Material at my workplace, home, phone, laptop…practically everywhere. I breathed it every single moment of my life.
I worked relentlessly for 12 to 15 hours a day and missed out on festivals, meeting family and friends, and going out during the first year so that I could bring it to life.
Now, when I see a huge event taking place with the school toppers proudly wearing the blue Word Pro jerseys on the stage, facing the highly competitive rounds in ‘The Battle of Words Quiz’, it gives me a feeling of accomplishment that somewhere I have been instrumental in raising the learning bar of each and every child who has prepared and taken the exam. So, to achieve success, we need to manifest it and be completely devoted to the process.”
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
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