This shop looks like any other neighbourhood sweet seller on Netaji Subhash Road in Howrah. Whitewashed walls, a squeaking ceiling fan, wooden benches and a glass case stacked with kalakand and milk cake. But what stops most visitors in their tracks is the signboard above the door: Ghosal & Daughter.

A name that plays tricks on assumption

At first glance, the name can evoke a familiar picture: a father running the business with the daughter who may inherit it one day. Across India, business names ending in “& Sons” have made male succession feel familiar.

Ghosal & Daughter carries a different story. Sutapa Ghosal founded the shop herself in 2018 and hopes to pass it on to her daughter, Momoiro Mukherjee. The business begins with a mother and may one day continue through her daughter.

From newsreader to sweet maker

Before she ever thought of selling sweets, Sutapa Ghosal worked as an announcer and television host with Doordarshan. She also holds a PhD in drama from Rabindra Bharati University, a background far removed from the world of syrup and chhena.

When she decided to enter the food business, she returned to the classroom. Sutapa pursued a degree in food processing from Jadavpur University before opening her shop in Howrah.

Her professional experience and academic qualifications did not shield her from the gendered assumptions she encountered as a woman building a business.

"It doesn't matter who claims our society........

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