Subhechcha Ganguly 
Dr. Padmani Panigrahi was born and nurtured in Rourkela, Odisha. She has always been eager to learn new things and has gotten them right from an early age. That’s why she began receiving lessons in classical Hindustani and Odissi vocal styles from renowned figures in the performing arts when she was six years old. Dr. Padmini Panigrahi was a remarkable prodigy as a student since she preferred to do multiple tasks at the same time, making her way through grinding one skill and switching to another skill once the first was mastered.
After finishing her education, she pursued her passion for performing arts; she pursued Visharad in Hindustani classical vocal from Gandharva University in Mumbai and her Masters in Performing Arts from Sambalpur University, Odisha and became an AIR and TV singer . In addition to that an MSc from Sambalpur University; an MBA in HR and marketing from Xavier’s Institute of Management Bhubaneswar . She later earned a Ph.D. in Arts & Culture and is presently pursuing her2nd PhD in marketing at IIM Sambalpur.
Her list of academic accomplishments does not stop there. Dr. Padmini believes in sharing her knowledge with others and has worked as a guest speaker at several prestigious institutions and universities such as NIT Rourkela, Rourkela Institute of Management Studies RIMS, KIIT Bhubaneswar, IIPM Rourkela, Times Institute Rourkela, and several others.
Dr. Padmini Panigrahi began her business career in 2000 with Sanjog mobiles. She worked there for six years, expanding her knowledge and expertise. She started her entrepreneurial path in 2006 when she became the director of Koshala Hyundai. She excelled in her job position and is still the director today. She is currently an active director of six Indian enterprises, including the Koshala Group.
She is a multi-lingual woman who appreciates the beauty of diverse languages coexisting in India. She speaks three languages fluently: Hindi, Oriya, and English. This national and internationally renowned Odissi dancer got the award for Elite Dealer in the Eastern Zone in 2008, followed by the title of the best dealer partner in CATI H2 in 2013. She even won the title for the best overall performer in KPI in 2014 and a slew of other honors, including the Sarat Samman in 2017, times Power woman in 2020 at Bhubaneswar and the Juhar Sammaan in the same year in Varodra.
This philanthropist has experienced her fair share of failures and successes as a woman, which is why she collaborates with numerous groups to promote women’s empowerment. This multi-talented beauty queen was honored in 2017 for her unwavering devotion to the issue of women’s empowerment in the steel city of Rourkela. She was also honored at the Sammanita organization’s 2nd annual celebration in Cuttack. The police commissioner arranged the International Women’s Day ceremony. She has also contributed by playing at the Sambalpur Lok Mahotsav in 2015 and 2018, where she was afterward honored throughout the show.
Being a businessperson in today’s society, especially if you’re a woman, requires a lot of confidence if you want to rise to the top and establish your brand. Padmini’s success is like a tight slap on the face of our so-called modern, yet stereotypic society filled with taboos like “females are only bonded to the kitchen” and “women can’t handle the pressure and workload like men.” Dr. Padmini is a renowned classical folk dancer, singer, social activist, businesswoman, philanthropist, and yoga therapist; after these achievements, is there anything else left for her to prove?
Dr. Padmini Panigrahi was once again for the second time invited as a speaker to the TED event at TEDxIIM Sambalpur held on 20th august this year, where she again motivated countless through her ted talk on the idea that travels where she explained why traveling to a new destination is a rare experience and how this would result in a life-changing experience for all of us Her message motivated and inspired everybody to evaluate the locations they travel to and the personalities they come across.
The future is about equality without gender bias, and she acknowledges that women are capable of taking a stand and executing any given duty with the same precision as any male. She aspires to be a role model for modern women who want to make a difference in their lives and stand out from the crowd. Being a successful businesswoman, Dr. Padmini Panigrahi could have lived a luxurious and comfy life, yet she stayed humble and pursued a simple lifestyle. According to her, a being who hasn’t dedicated their life to the welfare of others has not lived their life to the fullest. Padmini Panigrahi is the clearest illustration of a person who has committed her life to improve society when you think of the best personality attributes in a responsible individual.
In one of the latest Interviews, Dr. Padmini Panigrahi revealed that she donates a huge portion of her wealth to charity; she even sponsored physically challenged, financially weak, Third gender students, athletes, and performing artists. During that 10 min short Interview, she also addressed the current situation of Odisha’s traditional folk culture and how it is fading rapidly; she is the first and currently the only one trying her best to preserve it without anyone’s support.
Apart from this, Dr. Padmini also has an NGO named Koshal Darpan to promote and preserve folk culture by teaching dance to children from unprivileged families. She is also the founder of dream team foundation, the same famous organization that provides food to homeless and low-income families who were starving during the 1st phase of the covid lockdown back in April 2020; Dr. Padmini also mentioned that during that period, she took the risk and personally inspected the whole process each day by visiting the slums to ensure that the food is properly distributed. Their efforts got noticed by the municipal corporation of Rourkela, and they collaborated with the dream team foundation under the project “Purnanjali “During that interview, she was also revealed that due to so much exposure, she even got covid positive by august 2020; despite all those odds, she never stopped the social service and is continuing it proudly as you read this.
Despite being a role model who inspired millions of women in India and a well-known personality in fields like entrepreneurship, philanthropy, classical folk dancing, etc. Padmini Panigrahi is a normal human being just like everyone else, a very passionate one, to be more accurate, but what makes her so unique and different from others is something our current society ignores the most that are working hard to achieve one’s goals, being humble, not giving up in challenging situations, and pushing past one’s limits. This separates her from others and makes her who she is today.
