As the sun begins to filter through the windows of her home in Baraut, Uttar Pradesh, 27-year-old Richa Jain settles down with a notebook, a stack of reference books, and her phone. Before the camera starts rolling, there are hours of preparation ahead — researching topics, cross-checking previous years' questions, creating PowerPoint slides, and organising lessons for students she may never meet in person.

For many educators, recording an online class might involve laptops, professional setups, and high-speed internet. For Richa, however, it began with none of those things.

What started as a simple desire to share knowledge during the pandemic has today grown into one of the most trusted Hindi-learning platforms for students preparing for competitive examinations. 

Through her YouTube channel, Hindi With Richa, and more recently through her app, she has helped thousands of students prepare for NET and JRF examinations — all while pursuing her own academic journey and overcoming personal challenges that could easily have discouraged her.

Building an identity through education 

For Richa, education was never simply about earning degrees. Growing up in Baraut, Uttar Pradesh, it became a way of building confidence, independence, and eventually, a life on her own terms.

Today, she is pursuing a PhD from CCS University, has qualified for the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), and mentors thousands of students preparing for NET and JRF examinations. But the road to becoming one of the most recognised Hindi educators online was far from straightforward.

Alongside her academic ambitions, Richa was also navigating the emotional weight of living with vitiligo. The condition often attracted unsolicited comments and social judgment, experiences that could have easily shaken her confidence.

Instead, she turned towards books.

“My family encouraged me to continue my education and keep learning,” she recalls. 

That encouragement stayed with her. Through school, college, postgraduate studies, and later while pursuing her B.Ed., education became both her refuge and her strength. 

When she cleared the NET examination, a new thought began taking shape.

“Since I had acquired this education myself, I felt I must take it further. I needed to teach other students as well,” she says.

There was another reason, too, one that many young women may relate to.

“The desire to achieve something entirely on my own,” she adds.

That desire would soon change not only her own life but also the lives of thousands of students across the country.

In 2021, as the pandemic pushed classrooms onto screens, online education was witnessing an unprecedented boom. While many educators were investing in professional setups and digital infrastructure, Richa had neither a laptop nor a Wi-Fi connection.

Still, she decided to begin.

Armed with a smartphone........

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