Piyali’s Journey to Self-Reliance: How a Homemaker from Jamshedpur Started Her Own Multi-Speciality Lab

Piyali Banerjee, owner of Safal Multi-Speciality Services, Jamshedpur.

Behind every successful woman, is herself. But driving this journey to success requires consistent effort, and a strong-willed dedication to keep going even when challenges begin to crop up.

One such touching tale of the value of perseverance comes from Piyali Banerjee, the 34-year-old owner of Safal Multi-Speciality Services, Jamshedpur.

Piyali, a native resident of Kolkata, was 21 when she got married and shifted to Jamshedpur with her husband.

Her husband was employed in a private company, but soon it was becoming difficult for them to make their ends meet.

At that moment, Piyali decided it was time for her to stand up on her own feet, and contribute her share to maintain their household. And since then, she has never looked back.

Choosing the Right Path

Piyali’s journey to self-reliance was hardly easy. At the onset, her qualifications held her back from pursuing several avenues and opportunities.

Piyali had only been able to complete her higher secondary education. “I always had interest in pursuing something in the medical line”, recounts Piyali, “but with my limited education, it was difficult to get an opportunity easily”.

However, soon she learned of the Vocational Training courses offered by the Vikas Samities in Jamshedpur, an NGO venture supported by Tata Motors.

Piyali enrolled herself for a 6-month training course in Pathology. By 2019, she successfully completed her training as an Assistant Pathology Lab Technician.

Eager to do something truly for herself, Piyali decided not to take up a job, and instead opted to start her own Pathology Lab—‘Safal Multi-Speciality Services”.

Commenting on her admirable zeal, Mr. Vinod Kulkarni, CSR Head, Tata Motors, said, “Tata Motors has always attempted to support diverse sections of the society by means of its social efforts.

Through our association with the Vikas Samities in Jamshedpur, we have attempted to open up a range of different avenues for men and women like Piyali, so that they can pursue vocational courses of their interest irrespective of their educational qualifications.

Piyali’s determination to lead rather than follow, is testament to the spirit of self-reliance we always seek to imbibe in individuals who pursue these courses.”

Labouring Through and Through

Remembering her initial struggles, Piyali says, “We had to sell my jewelry and some other valuables to gather enough money to start our lab.

Slowly and steadily, we built up our enterprise from the ground.” Soon, Piyali saved enough money to invest in a semiautomatic biochemistry analyzer for her lab. As the lab slowly grew, she also hired some other people to assist her.

“We have just recently bought a fully automatic analyzer,” says Piyali, “We are still paying for it in installments”.

An enterprise that initially yielded somewhere around Rs. 7000, currently, Piyali’s lab services yield Rs. 20,000-25,000 per month.

Besides providing for herself and her family, in the past two years, Piyali has also given employment to 5 people.

An Ambitious Future

Piyali harbours ambitious aspirations for her lab, “I have had to struggle a lot to reach where I am. And well, I am still struggling, doing my bit. But I know I’ll keep going on till I can take my lab to a respectable place. I want to see it grow, maybe help it become a brand.”

“Women have to struggle a lot,” she adds, “Managing our homes and then our work.” Yet, Piyali’s relentless perseverance, and single-minded commitment to follow through, has fuelled her journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

As she braces herself for what the future brings, her resilience and self-reliance continue to inspire many other women within her community.