Udyogjyothi: Lighting the Path to Dreams

Udyogjyothi. The name in itself felt heavy, maybe something that belonged in a government file. Little did I know that, it would become one of the most real, raw, and heartwarming experiences of my internship journey.

I can still remember the day when I walked into a classroom for Udyog Jyothi. Half the students were drowsy, few were curious, and a couple of them didn’t even bother to look up. With an expected silence, I put forward my first question towards them:

“What do you want to become”? The expected silence was blasted with a hand shot up - “I want to be a chef on You Tube”. Someone else said, “Police officers - but not like the ones who shout”, someone else whispered - “Can I say dancer? Will you laugh”. And suddenly, the room wasn’t silent anymore.

That’s the beauty of Udyogjyothi. It isn’t just about careers — but, about conversations. Real, messy, sometimes funny or emotional conversations with students who own dreams, doubts, fears, and fire in their eyes. We, team Udyog Jyothi, weren't there to lecture. We were there to listen. And in that listening, we discovered so much.

There were days when we engaged with college teachers, discussing the shortcomings of placement cells. Some of them had no industry contacts, whereas certain others felt alien to the Digital Workforce Management System(DWMS). But they had intention. Udyog Jyothi stepped into a gap, to bridge the intention of the teachers of wanting to help out their students, to a pragmatic goal oriented approach. As interns, we got to play that tiny but important role of connecting the dots and helping institutions see what's possible, and helping students believe in what’s possible for them.

Some memories stay etched — like the girl from a rural college who said no one had ever asked her what she wanted to become. Or the boy who walked up after the session just to say, “Chechi, I now know I’m not the only one who’s confused.” Moments like these make everything worthwhile; the planning, the travel, the last-minute changes, even the days when nothing seems to go right

Udyogjyothi doesn’t try to force a single definition of success. It respects aspirations in all forms — a teacher, a driver, a coder, a stand-up comic. It also respects the silences, the students who couldn’t speak up, the one who stayed behind, eyes that searched for something, those racing thoughts. This essential aspect of the project is what I love most.

Looking back, Udyogjyothi was more than a project. It is a reminder that change doesn’t always come with big slogans or events. Sometimes, it starts with one conversation, a question or a student finally feeling seen among the crowd and in helping them figure out their paths. Somewhere along the way, I could find light in my paths too.

Udyogjyothi lit a spark — not just for them, but for us too.