ECONOMY

A MICHELIN STAR RESTAURANT MANAGER FORCED TO RUN A FOOD TRUCK


Uddhishtir started out a company called RTC. A food retail company that assisted key American brands like Häagen-Dazs to establish outlets in India, he worked with them for 17 years. Later, Uddhishtir moved on to work as a Programme Manager at House of Celeste, a restaurant run by a Michelin star chef. However, during the pandemic, he lost his job. Following which, he rented a food cart called Hot Pot. Making money remained difficult. In this story, Uddhishtir talks about how he's an educated man with a degree and yet, during the pandemic, he struggled to make ends meet. 
During the reporting of this story, Uddhishtir shared that he was unable to afford letting his children continue their education. As a result, various audience members got in touch with The Mojo Story and sent him money. Uddhihstir was then able to buy mobile phones to let his children continue their online education. 

Lastly, the story also looks at the setbacks the restaurant industry went through in India. While many countries, including the United States, extended support to the industry, Indian government did little for its restaurant owners. I spoke to Ankit Mehrotra, CEO of Dineout, a tech platform that tracks the restaurant industry across various cities in India. 



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Reporting 
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A BEAUTY SALON OWNER AND SINGLE MOM STRUGGLES MONTHS INTO THE PANDEMIC

Ritu Verma started her beauty salon in 1994. When the pandemic struck, she lost the business to the lockdown. Even after repeated attempts to set up a new business, Ritu felt defeated and helpless. Money from loans and selling family jewellery couldn't prevent her children from starving on certain days. A single mother with four kids, Ritu hustled by setting up stalls, and trying out odd jobs. In this story, she welcomes us inside her home and shares the daily struggles of keeping herself and her family afloat. The story also takes a look at how the beauty industry dealt with the blow of the pandemic.
After this story was posted, numerous people reached out to Ritu to assist with funds. 

Lastly, for the story, I also spoke to Deepak Jalhan, the creative director of Looks, a  leading salon chain in India. He shares his insights and numbers on losses in the beauty industry, and most importantly the hesitation people felt returning to beauty salons. 



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Reporting 
Voice Over Narration
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