Where is Shila Ghosh? The 97-year-old entrepreneur is a role model to many

With no sound income in the family after her husband's death, Shila decided to sell home-made chips and snacks in the streets of Kolkata back in 2006.

With no sound income in the family after her husband's death, Shila decided to sell home-made chips and snacks in the streets of Kolkata back in 2006. The then 80-year old daily travelled an hour journey from her home in Bally to reach the bustling Exide more at the heart of Kolkata.Image Courtesy: Madanmohan Samanta

Published on:

21 Jul 2025, 2:30 pm

Now 97, Shila Ghosh's determination to earn at her age became a role model for many and her entrepreneurship journey is still widely discussed not among the 'addabaaz', but by entrepreneurs, industry tycoons.

Her story grabbed the blogger and vloggers attention with stories, videos started circulating with lots of misinformation, NewsGram is the first media portal to do a series (see here) on the then 87-year-old Shila Ghosh and the story not only gained public attention, but the government and non-government bodies reached out to the aged lady to support her and family.

Where is Shila Ghosh now?

At the age of 97, Shila Ghosh is no longer selling chips in the streets of Kolkata. NewsGram tried to contact his son to take a stock of her condition, but did not receive any response.

Here is an excerpt from the NewsGram's staff writer Arnab Mirta's old interview with Shila Ghosh:

AM: From where do you get your mental strength?

SG: In the Gita it is written, "Work is life. Do your work, never think of the result." This has been my source of mental strength.

AM: What made you sell chips at this age?

SG: I don't know, maybe it was written in my fate. I was born into a feudal family, my father was a doctor, my husband was a station master, and my son worked as an Upper-Division clerk at the Eastern Railways. After my son's death in 2010, everything changed. My grandson was jobless, my daughter-in-law was a kidney patient, and I had to work to feed them.

AM: But your grandson should get his father's job, according to the Government's policies.

SG: I wrote a letter to the former Railway Minister Mamata Bannerjee, and she gave my grandson a job. But the locals felt jealous and my grandson was forced to leave his job on a court order.

AM: Can you give any details about that court order?

SG: I don't know the details, maybe he did not have the requisite educational qualifications for that post.

AM: You are soon going to enter into the 90s club, for how long will you continue with your struggle?

SG: I want to work till my last breath. I have already got a chance to act in an upcoming Bengali film 'Panther Panchali.' I will play the role of Harihar's mother in the film.

Shila Ghosh. The writer Arnab Mitra is seen sitting beside her. Image Courtesy: Madanmohan Samanta

This is an updated version of the story done by Ex-NewsGram reporter Arnab Mitra, who is now with Times Network. He tweets from @arnab_edu.

kolkata