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By:

Asha Tripathi

14 April 2025 at 1:35:28 pm

Stop Comparing, Start Growing

Success does not grow in comparison; it grows in focus. Over the years, women have made significant strides in every sphere of life. From managing homes to leading organisations, from nurturing families to building successful careers, women have proved that strength and resilience are deeply rooted in their nature. Financial independence has become a significant milestone for many women today, bringing with it confidence, dignity, and the freedom to shape one’s own destiny. However, along...

Stop Comparing, Start Growing

Success does not grow in comparison; it grows in focus. Over the years, women have made significant strides in every sphere of life. From managing homes to leading organisations, from nurturing families to building successful careers, women have proved that strength and resilience are deeply rooted in their nature. Financial independence has become a significant milestone for many women today, bringing with it confidence, dignity, and the freedom to shape one’s own destiny. However, along with growth has come another silent challenge — the tendency to constantly observe, compare, and sometimes even compete with the journeys of others. But a crucial question arises: Is it necessary to track the growth of others in order to grow ourselves? From my personal experience of more than two decades as an entrepreneur, I have realised something very powerful — true growth begins the moment we stop looking sideways and start looking within. A Small Beginning I had a flourishing career of teaching abroad, but when I restarted my career after moving back to India, my beginning was extremely small. My very first assignment was a simple home tuition for a single student, and the amount I earned was meagre. There was nothing glamorous about it. No recognition, no large batches, no big earnings. Just one student and one opportunity. But instead of worrying about how others were doing, how many students they had, or how much they were earning, I made a conscious decision—my only focus would be on improving myself. I focused on teaching better, preparing better, and becoming more disciplined and consistent. And slowly, without even realising it, things began to grow. One student became two, two became a small group, and gradually, over the years, the work expanded beyond what I had initially imagined. Looking back today, I can confidently say that the growth did not happen because I competed with others. It happened because I competed with myself yesterday. Comparison Creates Noise When we keep watching others' journeys too closely, we unknowingly divert our own energy. Comparison creates unnecessary noise in our minds. It brings doubts, insecurities, and sometimes even negativity. Instead of walking our own path with clarity, we start questioning our speed, our direction, and our worth. True success grows through focus, not comparison. Every woman has her own story, her own pace, and her own struggles that others may never see. The path of one person can never be identical to another's. So comparing journeys is like comparing two different rivers flowing towards the same ocean — each with its own route, its own curves, and its own rhythm. As women, we already carry many responsibilities. We balance emotions, relationships, work, and society's expectations. In such a life, the last thing we need is the burden of comparison with one another. Instead, what we truly need is support for each other. When women encourage women, something extraordinary happens. Confidence grows. Opportunities multiply. Strength becomes collective rather than individual. There is enough space in the world for every woman to create her own identity. Each of us can build our own niche without stepping on someone else's path. Choose Encouragement Envy weakens us, but encouragement empowers us. Rather than questioning how someone else is progressing, we can ask a more meaningful question: "How can I grow a little better than I was yesterday?" Lift As You Rise Today, after twenty years of experience, the most valuable lesson I have learned is simple yet profound — focus on your own work with honesty and dedication, and success will quietly follow you. We, women, are capable, resilient, and creative. We do not need to pull each other down or compete in unhealthy ways. Instead, we can lift each other up while building our own dreams. Because when one woman rises, she does not rise alone. She inspires many others to believe that they can rise, too. And perhaps that is the most beautiful form of success. (The writer is a tutor based in Thane. Views personal.)

The Czarina of Content

The nine days of Navratri celebrate goddesses who embody strength in different forms; valour, compassion, creativity, austerity, devotion, justice, protection, forgiveness and wisdom. In our annual Navratri series, we celebrate the lives of nine women who strive to build happy and safe spaces for themselves and those around them.


PART - 12


Name: Ekta Kapoor | Where: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Name: Ekta Kapoor | Where: Mumbai, Maharashtra

Version 2025 of the hugely popular serial, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi is back on television and topping the ratings charts, exactly 25 years after its original avatar transformed Indian television. When Ekta Kapoor stepped into the world of television content production, with Balaji Telefilms, in 1994, she was a young woman, barely 20 years old. This year, the ‘Czarina of Indian Television’—as she is often known as—completes three successful decades in the world of content production, through television and then OTT.


Among her early creations was the lovable sitcom Hum Paanch, the father ably played by veteran actor Ashok Saraf and five young actresses playing his daughters, While the show was widely watched and appreciated for its refreshing take on family relationships, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi catapulted Ekta into the big league of enormous recognition and success, only five years later. Those were the days when family dramas on television were fading and channels struggled for mass content. Balaji Telefilms kept Indian glued to their screens with Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii Kasautii Zindagii Kay and many more. All of a sudden, the alphabet K was seen as the lucky charm.


Ekta gave Indian audiences drama-filled family sagas layered with a virtuous leading lady, scheming in-laws, an evil woman, men who were nothing more than fillers in the story. Avant-garde costumes, jewellery and make-up were normalised as routine domestic looks. There was drama and of course, moral conflict. These were stories that women could relate to and yet, were way larger than life. It was a popular joke that the streets would go empty when these daily soaps would be aired.


Ekta brought characters to life and gave thousands of young men and women a chance at fulfilling their dreams in tinsel town. Suburban Mumbai became home to thousands who flocked with new hopes to rise to celebrityhood. All that they needed was the attention of the ‘queen of content’.


The shows came with rightful criticism; Ekta was accused to creating ‘regressive characters’ of women who kept suffering domestic battles. But Ekta put women at the centre of her storytelling—stories of sacrifice, empowerment, survival and resilience resonated with millions of viewers, cutting across the urban-rural divide.


In a recent interview, Ekta said that awareness and innovation are key. Spotting the move from television to digital platforms, the media maven moved her content to the digital world with ALTBalaji, creating content for viewers who didn’t watch the more urbanised shows on Netlfix.


Using new ideas and concepts and new creators, she experimented with new genres—thrillers, romances, crime dramas—that broke away from the traditional saas-bahu mould.


With Balaji Telefilms, she gave viewers movies from the critically acclaimed The Dirty Picture and Udta Punjab to youth stories. Ekta gave several a launchpad to showcase their talent—as writers, moviemakers, actors, musicians and costume designers. Thirty years as a leader in an industry where people’s attention is hard to hold, isn’t a mean feat.

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