Twenty-four-year-old Devanshi Rungta has always loved coffee. Today she has taken her passion to the next level by turning into a certified barista. What helped Devanshi chase her dream is the gap year she took. This September, she is supposed to join the Royal College of Art in London, UK, for a master’s programme. “I was supposed to start classes last year. But I stalled my plans because of the pandemic. I utilised the time in between to learn different things,” said the Calcutta-based student who has recently turned entrepreneur.
Prolonged virtual classes and the frustration of missing out on campus life has egged students to learn different skills that not only make their resumes look attractive but also give them the multitasking tag. This has also helped them reach out to different people and make new friends. From coffee-making and jewellery-making to mixing music for virtual parties, students have been pushing boundaries and breaking stereotypes right from last year. Most of these courses are short-term and conveniently timed.
“A few years ago, coffee lovers in Calcutta had no place to go to know their coffee better or learn the latte art. Today they can be experts with a certification from the American Hospitality Academy after a four or five-day course,” says Varsha Singh Sondhi, the founder of Café Kathmandu and DMI Global Barista Training Academy.
Calcutta girl Varsha, married into the family of Tenzing Norgay and Gyalzen Norbu Sherpa family, moved back to the city after over two decades in Kathmandu to open a barista academy in September 2019. The academy offers short-term courses in coffee-making and latte art, both of which require expertise and practice. Says Varsha, “Initially we taught in batches. Our courses took coffee lovers through the process right from knowing their beans to making espressos, Americanos, lattes and other coffee drinks with the right dosage and tamping. It is not as easy as it seems.”
The DMI Global Barista Training Academy has trained over 100 students in the past eight months. A large number of her students are apparently freshers looking to start their own cafés or looking for a part-time job while studying. “We have been getting students from Baruipur, Chandernagore, Murshidabad, Siliguri, Jharkhand and Patna,” says Varsha, who is now using one room of her café for lessons. She teaches students one-on-one or in twos now, giving them some hands-on-experience at the café too.
“I have started an art studio and this knowledge of coffee making and latte art will help me start my own café too in future,” adds Devanshi.
Sreshtha Banik, 25, has also done the five-day barista course before she takes off for Australia to pursue a degree in international MBA and business analytics. “You need to cover your expenses when studying abroad. I will have to get a part-time job and this training will help me,” she says.
It’s coffee-making for some and jewellery-making for others. From school students to college, the social media is flooded with young entrepreneurs selling their handcrafted jewellery and accessories. Some have also gone on to register their own brands. Meghma Banerjee, 20, is one such student. She has started selling handcrafted jewellery and home décor since last October. “Getting through the National Institute of Fashion Designing was a dream come true for me. But all too soon I had to stop going to college.” Soon after, she began making earrings, necklaces and other accessories with raisins and dried flowers. Very soon she was flooded with orders. “I grow, dry and press my own flowers and shoot my products for social media. It’s a full-time engagement that keeps me happy,” says Meghma.
According to Vanshika Goenka, 26, who has been running her jewellery label Nive since she was a student, along with her sister, online selling has been a whole new learning process. “I now have hands-on training in promotion and marketing,” she says. From trinkets, home décor, wellness items to even clothes, the number of students joining online market portals is growing every month. And, students form the bulk of customers.
In an effort to carve out new fun spaces for themselves, many are trying their hands at mixing music for virtual parties too. Says DJ Akash, “Since last year, we have been getting messages from students who want to train online to be disc jockeys. It is possible to conduct theory classes and show students how DJ-ing works on a video call. There are apps like Rekordbox and Virtual DJ that act as online consoles. But students still need practical experience. I ask mine to download the apps for practical classes and sometimes call them for a demo. The interest is so high that we also conducted a workshop for 13 to 19-year-olds last year. I also offer virtual classes on weekends.”
And as the virus shows no sign of abating, this may well become an accepted way of life.
