Rashmi Rekha Das, OP
Some of the most admired women in our midst are those who have had the courage to break into traditional male domains and blaze a trail for others. Gender stereotypes have not changed much over time. Girls still dream of winning beauty pageants, while boys dream of growing up to be firefighters or pilots. Sunday POST talks to a woman who has successfully subverted these stereotypes and emerged as Orissa’s first woman marine engineer.
Meet Bibhusita Das who as a little girl loved poring over colourful pictures of oceans and seas, beautiful tropical islands and the swank port cities around the world. She dreamt of being a globetrotter and wished she had a ship to sail.
“Yes, it was my wish to do something different from routine jobs. I loved reading stories on sea voyages and expeditions. And the job of a mariner seemed to be a natural choice. Initially everyone seemed apprehensive about my storming a male bastion but my family members especially my parents despite having no link with shipping or the marine sector encouraged me to follow my passion,” says Bibhusita.
“The road to success was not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, I made it possible. I defied societal pressure and conventions to work in the cargo ship, MV Biswamalhar. I must admit one thing that my family, especially my father Kurunakar Das, a retired BSNL employee, was very supportive,” she says.
After completing a four-year BTech course in marine engineering at CV Raman Engineering College in Bhubaneswar in 2007, Bibhusita did lectureship in Tirunelveli for six months. Later, she got the job of the fourth engineer in the Shipping Corporation of India in 2008, the country’s largest shipping company, and within eight days was promoted to the post of third engineer.
“While pursuing engineering, we were seven girls in our batch but I was the only girl who opted for onboard sailing. One of my teachers used to tell me that no company would hire me because I was a girl. The shipping sector is mostly an exclusive preserve of males. His words had no impact on me because I was sure about my ambition and aspiration. I opted for onboard sailing along the rough and tough seawater almost throughout the year,” she says.
Narrating the experience of her first stay in the ship, the mariner says: “My first stay taught me a lot about a woman’s place in society. It was tough but very exciting. The fact that I was the lone woman officer in a crew wasn’t a problem. When I joined my first vessel going from Chennai to Port Blair in 2008, I developed sea sickness. My master mariner was not impressed. The mariners on board thought that I had made a mistake of plunging into a rigorous profession. For being a woman, they felt that I might not withstand prolonged sailing and sea exposure. But I stuck to the task with tenacity and renewed vigour. I proved them wrong”.
Recalling one of her memorable experiences, she says: “When I was in a cargo ship, cyclone hit the sea when there was just a day left to reach US. I was there when the alarm rang in the main engine. I sorted out the problem without taking help from anyone. The chief engineer praised me like anything. He said, ‘I never expected that you would sort out this kind of a major problem. When you joined me as my subordinate, the immediate thought came to my mind that the joining of a lady engineer would increase my workload. I was wrong. You are capable of doing things which men can’. Those words really meant a lot to me and boosted my morale.”
The publicity-shy woman has opted for onboard sailing along the rough and tough seawater almost throughout the year thanks to constant support she got from her family. “One of my relatives was in the shipping sector. When he came to know about my desire to join the sector, he rang up my mother and told her that despite being a boy he was finding it hard to sustain in the sector. He advised my mother to ask me not to join the sector. But my mother advised me to follow my passion,” she says.
Attributing her success to her parents’ efforts, Bibhusita says: “My mother, Punyaprava, and father, Karunakar, always encouraged me to give my best in studies. They never made me feel I was not a boy. All my three sisters are engineers. But I am the only marine engineer. I have travelled to Australia, South Africa, Turkey, Britain, Germany and other countries in ship. I fulfilled my dreams, thanks to their support.”
“Girls should not diminish themselves. Women are equally capable of doing what men do on the vessel. They simply need exposure,” she says.
“Though girls are shying away from marine engineering, it’s a challenging job that befits the fairer sex. However, one needs to be gritty to cope with the needs of the job. One needs to be prepared to face all kinds of problems during shipping, be it mental or physical, because no family member is there to look after you. You need to take care of yourself,” she adds.
