I was born and brought up in the town of Duliajan, sandwiched in the far eastern tip of India between Bhutan, China, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. It’s a company town dominated by Oil Limited India. My dad was a drilling engineer for the company, and it was expected of me to follow in his engineering footsteps. Many young people in India choose engineering or medical school for their studies. But I decided to pursue law, which was not the usual path. My parents accepted my decision, but I was very privileged, since my father was an officer in an oil company. If I came from a tougher background, I might not have been able to choose law.
DataArt was Destiny
My life took an exciting turn after marriage. My husband was offered a job based in Poland, so we moved together. It was quite scary for me; I had to take the risk of trying to find a job in a new country, where I didn’t even know the language. My initial job application attempts were followed by a frustrating few months during which I spent hours trying to learn Polish, while also networking, in hopes of getting a lead. I would apply to 30 to 40 companies a day, because I had nothing else to do.
Then I got an email from DataArt about my CV being short-listed for the legal specialist position. I was so happy when I heard back! There were multiple levels of interviews, and after each one, I was thinking how amazing it would be to work for DataArt. I was really praying it would happen.
I keep telling people that the stars really aligned for me, because just before I joined that May, DataArt’s Indian office was officially opened. So, it was an advantage for me that I had a legal background in India.
Learning a New Culture and Climate
Right from the start, DataArt and the legal team have always accommodated my needs. One major shock for my husband and me in Poland was the weather. Polish winters were unlike anything we’d ever seen before. But my colleagues were very helpful. They helped me through rough patches in my cultural assimilation and gave me a place to learn.
The only challenge I faced in DataArt initially was getting people to understand my Indian accent. Plus, the tone and the manner of giving feedback, or answering questions, are different from one place to another. So, finding the right tone, and getting people to understand me, has been my biggest challenge. If someone is joking, or it’s something that shouldn’t be taken seriously, I get it most of the time now.
My boss works in Japan. One of our colleagues is in Armenia, and others are in Georgia, Serbia, Ukraine, everywhere. I hear everyone's stories, and I'm very much in awe of everyone. I feel like I'm part of the world here. I always feel motivated to go the extra mile because of the team I have.
Trust
Most of the companies I worked for in India before forced me to deal with their constant micromanagement. It’s difficult to say no to seniors.
When I transitioned to DataArt and joined Elena Nasalskaya's team, I felt at first like I had to get everything checked and approved by her. Elena has always trusted me to do my own best work. She was always there for me if I had questions, but she also trusted me to be effective on my own. That's a really nice way to work. When you know you're trusted, that's when you do your best work.
Back Home
In October of 2024, I moved back to India to join our Bengaluru office. The teams involved in the relocation process were very helpful during all the steps, and my transition back to India went very smoothly. The process didn’t hinder my day-to-day responsibilities. All I had to worry about was packing up my bags and reaching my destination. I’m very glad to have met an equally supportive and warm team in the Bengaluru office.
I work from home now. I live very far from Bengalauru, in Assam. DataArt gives me the flexibility to manage my work time my way.
I’ve been in our mentorship program as a mentee, and the program has been really helpful.
I also love how I can reach out to anyone in the company with questions. It might be a higher-up person in the company ranks, but I can approach them and not feel like I’ll be ridiculed. That's a huge thing.
I’m thankful that I went to Poland, because I may never have found out about DataArt otherwise. Even though the winters were difficult there, the stars aligned for me.
