Hyderabad: Every person has a story — a story of triumph, defeat, love, longing, despair, grit and much more.
Hyderabad-based startup Hatke Story strives to tell these untold stories, some of which are just restricted to conversations between friends. From the love story of a young happy couple to the struggles of a mentally ill, homeless person to those of people whose lives have been affected by superstitions and also stories of survivors of terror attacks, the platform has them all.
An online platform, HatkeStory.com has stories like the ones mentioned above and of people from a diverse range of societal backgrounds, written by their team of freelance writers. Though it is based out of Hyderabad, it has stories of people from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi etc.
The seeds of this platform were sown in founder Gopi Krishna’s mind when he was a child. “I once asked our milkman what he does after delivering milk. He said he delivers water cans, then works in a small shop, then goes to Vijayawada (I used to live in Jayyagapeta then) to bring pamphlets and delivers them putting in newspapers,” says Gopi Krishna, adding, “I was shocked to see him doing so many jobs just to give his children a comfortable life and it was then that I truly understood the comfort and privilege I come from.”
During his Master’s in JNTU in Hyderabad, he was supposed to deliver a presentation on an inspirational person and while everyone around him was speaking about billionaires, his presentation was on the milkman.
“That man might not be a billionaire but is nothing short of an inspiration. My story connected to everyone there and it was then that I decided to tell more such stories. The idea of Hatke was born then,” explains Gopi Krishna.
Later in 2015, when the 29-year-old software employee was working at a corporate company, he met his co-founder Rohit Buddharaju. The interactions with their colleagues on sensitive topics like religion, casteism and more made the two want to speak about these without any hesitation. And they now talk about everything, even sensitive issues like LGBTQ, mental health, disabilities, menstruation, beauty standards, and other sensitive aspects uninhibitedly.
“I believe people evolve and change when the right knowledge is presented to them and get over their prejudices and inhibitions. I evolved with every story I heard. That is why we don’t shy away from speaking what needs to be spoken,” says Gopi Krishna, who earlier also conducted talk sessions called Hatke talks.
To get a feel of the stories, visit HatkeStory.com.
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