Swetha Kadiyala By Express News Service KOCHI: At the end of 2019, when food delivery app Swiggy came out with its annual report, a women delivery partner from Kochi was conferred with merit, hitherto unprecedented. Sudha Jagadeesh, who had joined the company not more than a year ago, emerged as the top woman delivery partner across India by successfully completing 6,838 orders. For most of last year, Sudha logged onto to Swiggy at noon delivering every order that came her way, finishing her shift only at 5 pm. Her stint at Swiggy began quite by chance. Sudha didn’t know if the company was hiring women. She was also in doubt about her age which was higher than the average age of most delivery executives but her love for riding made her pick up her phone a give a call to the recruiter, a quick interview later Sudha was zipping through the streets of Tripunithura delivering packets of happiness. “I am doing what I love most, riding my bike.” “At first, I only told my mom that I was taking up a job as a delivery person. She was a little hesitant initially. She was concerned about what others would say and thought it was something only boys could do. I was unsure of even telling my husband who works in Dubai but eventually, I convinced everyone,” says Sudha who lives with her mother and brother’s family. A BCom graduate with a computer applications diploma, Sudha worked with multiple companies before she met with an accident in 2015 and was forced to take a hiatus. Needless to say, a woman knocking at their door with the delivery has taken many people by surprise. “Even now, a lot of people are shocked when they see me. A woman, in fact, told me that she has never come across one even in a metro like Bengaluru.” But one incident stands out for Sudha. “This happened the last monsoon. I had to deliver an order in the pouring rain, by the time I got to the location, I was completely drenched and shivering. When I called the customer to inform I was at the gate, I asked her if I could come inside the compound for a while. When she came out to take the package she asked me if I would like a cup of coffee to get a little warm. That was very heartening and it made my day,” adds the 40-year-old. Little did Sudha know that each of her trips was taking her closer to a unique distinction. Her initial reaction was that of disbelief. “Someone had posted about it my team’s WhatsApp group and I got a call from my colleague. I thought it was someone else with the same name. I called my fleet manager Eldho the next day and he confirmed that it was indeed me, there is no other Sudha,” she says about her accomplishment.

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