Litisha Mangat Panda: Ascension Of A Scion

Litisha Mangat Panda: Ascension Of A Scion

By Debi Prasad Sahu

Litisha Mangat Panda, Business Development Officer and Executive Assistant to MD, Odisha Television Network Group, is poised to take on the corporate responsibilities at Odisha’s biggest media house. She is a person with many facets and yet simplicity defines her demeanor. A software engineer by education, a passionate dancer and an excellent production manager. Recently My City Links caught up with Litisha on a tête-à-tête. Here are the excerpts. 

Tell us who Litisha is

I am an ambivert. How I am depends on the situation and the people I am with. I think I am a very friendly person to interact with. I would love to go out more and meet more people than I do now. But after a hectic day at work you just get so exhausted and don’t have the social battery to deal with more emotions, people and conversations. So that’s me. 

Who gave you the name Litisha?

My mom came up with the name. She came across a flower with a similar sounding name while she was traveling in the UK. The latin word ‘Letitia’ means joy. That’s how my name got derived. While growing up I used to be upset about the fact that my name is so uncommon. I would see my cousins’ and friends’ names everywhere when we go out but I would never see my name anywhere. Now, I understand how unique my name is. 

Tell us about your growing up years and the bond you share with your parents 

I was born and brought up in Hyderabad and every year I would visit Bhubaneswar during vacations. I have always celebrated my birthdays here. Both my paternal and maternal grandparents live in Hyderabad. I actually moved around quite a bit so I never managed to make any really long term friends. In my first school in Hyderabad I studied till class 3. Then I moved to Maldives for a year. Then I came back and went to this little place called Tandur where my Badi Maasi (mother’s elder sister) has a school. I had a fun childhood. 

My parents are fun to be around. They are more like friends than parents. I have a name for my dad which of course I am not going to reveal and he also has a special name for me. So that’s the beautiful bond we share. Both of them are very chill and they are very balanced individuals. They are amazing teachers. We have a lot of fun together, whether at home or when we are traveling.  

Tell us about your stint at the New York Film Academy. What did you study and why?

From 2016-18 I was working here at Tarang TV as a Production Operations Manager. I had to visit the sets and read the scripts and did all that an Executive Producer does. Back then I was not very fluent in Odia. Then I figured out that people were making a fool out of me because I didn’t understand the technicalities of a production. However, I used to manage my way around because I am naturally good at crisis management. Then I decided that this cannot go on forever and I need to do something about it. So, my mom and dad suggested that I should do a professional course at the New York Film Academy. It was a two month full time workshop in Mumbai that the academy was conducting. There I learned the nuances of script writing, screenplay, editing, sound design, directing, cinematography and everything else about how to design a production. That was an amazing learning experience. I came back to my job and went to the set and when I asked people why something was not done, they would answer ‘aeita heiparibani (this is not possible)’ and I would ask ‘mun dekheibi kemiti haba? (Do you want me to show you how to do it?)’ That is how the course changed me.  

You worked at a real estate firm for sometime. Why did you shift from real estate to media? Was it always the plan to join OTV at some point of time?

That job had landed on my desk without me even trying for it. I was visiting some friends and family and someone asked me if I would like to take up the job. Although I loved working here, it was challenging for me because everybody treated me like a kid. So I asked my parents about the offer and they thought it was a good idea. Hence I took it up. It was a marketing job but I also got to work with different teams at the firm HR, Admin, Legal, Finance etc for two years. Those two years were a great learning experience. But of course, the plan was always to come back and work here. 

What did you learn at your previous job that has helped you at your current workplace?

The fact that I was treated like a normal employee without any special favors created an environment where I could relax and focus on the work. Since I was looking into multiple things, it gave an overall perspective of how to manage things in and around the workplace. Managing is not an easy job and it takes years to learn. Just a degree or certification is not enough. This job gave me the freedom of not only to learn how to manage things at work but it also gave me the opportunity to know more about myself. 

When you joined OTV as the Operating Officer in March 2020, the world went into a lockdown. How did it affect you and your work?

I was not supposed to join here in March. I was about to take a break and decide what I wanted to do next and how. But at that point of time our digital head was leaving and the new person was not able to join because of the lockdown. That’s when I decided to take over the job. I had to make some decisions with respect to the technological changes we needed to adapt to as a company in the wake of the pandemic. 

The pandemic affected OTV just like it did everyone else around the world. Everybody was scared. Being a media house, our people had to be out there in the field and everything was so uncertain as we were fighting an invisible enemy. We managed to wade through those scary times with only half of our staff. Obviously our advertising revenues were hit hard. We made the best of what we could. 

For me, personally, I never knew about the concept of work from home. However, I got used to it as I was looking into the digital aspect of our work. 

How did COVID 19 affect your family and loved ones? How difficult was it to deal with it? 

Both my parents got infected by COVID 19 last year when they were in Delhi. It was very stressful for me as I was here. Even though we were in touch over the phone and the internet it was difficult for me to fathom what they were going through. I was extremely worried, especially for my mom. Both of them experienced all the symptoms; loss of smell and taste, cold, fever, and congestion. My mom still experiences a little uncomfortableness sometimes. 

During that time I lost a teammate to sickle cell anemia but people misunderstood it as COVID 19. He was only 26. By the time we took him to the hospital he passed away. He was a very promising young boy. 

Tell us about the initiatives that OTV took up to help people during the tough time last year and the second wave this year. 

We were constantly on our toes. There was one team that was constantly organizing relief materials like food, medication and other basic necessities. Me and my parents were constantly on Twitter trying to reach out to people in need of help. We realized that a lot of people needed home cooked food as they were not able to venture out during the second wave. So we tied up with some NGOs and started delivering cooked meals. We launched the initiative called OTV Cares through which we reached out to thousands of families during the second wave. There were so many times during the second wave when we were trying to help someone and things were starting to improve and then suddenly they passed away. It was a heartbreaking experience. 

One of the issues you care about is related to children. Why? Throw some light on it.

The most important priority in my life is to make the lives of children better because they are our future. We should not bring a child into this world if we cannot provide them with the basic necessities like nutrition, education and shelter. Although orphanages and shelter homes do take care of children, the infrastructure is not enough. I have already started saving whatever I can which I want to use for children’s education. I also want to focus on their mental health, especially those who have been abandoned. 

Over the last five years the conversation about gender equality has picked up steam and we have seen many changes happen. Where do you think we stand as a society? 

I have myself faced resistance because of my gender. Even my mom has faced it, especially when she began. Today, in our organization, we have many women leading their respective departments which is something that I am extremely happy and proud of. These women are not just outdoing themselves, in fact they are better than any man in their respective field. It proves that women can equally prioritize work and family. We still have a long way to go when women can choose whatever they want to do without getting pushed back. Women are performing exceptionally well in every field but the acceptance by society is still due. We should aim for equality of opportunities with neutrality of gender. But people confuse it and hire more women just to show that theirs is a women centric organization. For women to be successful, both men and women are equally responsible and need to support each other. 

Many youngsters (especially young girls) in Odisha look up to you. What would you like to tell them to become a better professional and more importantly to become a better human being?

One thing I would like to say is that there is no short-cut to success. You have to have a goal that you want to achieve and you must work very very hard for it. The success, money, name and fame will follow only if you are good at what you are doing. Being passionate and enthusiastic about something you like will take you forward. So, spend more time in finding out who you are and what you want and work hard. You won’t feel like you are working, instead you will like you are following your love for something that makes you happy. Today there are so many more opportunities to follow our passion than a few years back. So follow your dreams and along the way be nice to people and stay humble.