Kolkata | August 19, 2026: Some lessons are difficult to find in textbooks. They come from listening to people who have faced uncertainty, failure, fear and seemingly impossible challenges and chosen to keep going.
With this thought at its heart, Techno India Group hosted the Tenth Edition of its acclaimed talk series, Unwind – BoiKothaKow, featuring elite open-water swimmer Sayani Das. Titled “Beyond Limits: Endurance, Exploration & The Human Spirit,” the session brought students closer to a remarkable story of resilience, discipline and the determination to push beyond perceived limits.
For the students in the audience, it was not simply a conversation about swimming. It was an opportunity to understand the mindset behind extraordinary achievement.
With more than 20 years of experience in competitive swimming, Sayani Das has built an inspiring journey across some of the world’s most challenging waters. She has successfully completed six of the seven challenges of the prestigious Ocean’s Seven Challenge and is among the first Asian female swimmers to achieve the feat. Her achievements also include crossing the North Channel as the first Indian female swimmer and completing the Strait of Gibraltar crossing as the fastest and youngest female swimmer of the 2025 season.
As she reflected on her journey from a small town to international waters, Sayani spoke about the endurance, discipline and mental strength required to perform under extreme conditions. Her story resonated with a larger message for young people, that extraordinary ambitions are often built through consistency, resilience and the courage to continue even when the journey becomes difficult.
The interaction with Prof. Manoshi Roychowdhury, Co-Chairperson, Techno India Group, explored these ideas through a conversation centred on resilience, discipline and the balance between physical endurance and intellectual growth. Sayani also spoke about how her academic background in History and Anthropology has shaped her understanding of human resilience and adaptability.
Speaking about the vision behind Unwind – BoiKothaKow, Prof. Manoshi Roychowdhury said: “We introduced the concept of Unwind – BoiKothaKow with a vision to inspire young minds to move beyond textbooks and engage with individuals whose journeys reflect courage, perseverance and a relentless pursuit of excellence. The students learn from them that why failures should not be considered as blockages but as stepping stones to success. Sayani Das’s extraordinary accomplishments in the field of open-water swimming exemplify how determination and discipline can help overcome the most formidable challenges. Such interactions motivate our students to dream big and pursue their ambitions with dedication and purpose.”
The quote captures what Unwind – BoiKothaKow has gradually grown into at Techno India Group, a space where learning moves beyond the conventional classroom and becomes a shared exchange of experiences, ideas and lived journeys.
A brainchild of Prof. Manoshi Roychowdhury, the series has created opportunities for students to engage directly with eminent personalities from diverse fields. Over the years, Unwind – BoiKothaKow has brought together voices from cinema, governance, global leadership, science and the arts, encouraging students to ask questions, remain curious and learn from journeys that may be very different from their own.
Inspired by the global Human Library movement, Unwind – BoiKothaKow continues the idea of “lending people instead of books,” allowing students to engage with experiences that cannot always be captured within the pages of a syllabus.
The session concluded with an interactive Q&A, where students raised questions about global swimming challenges, careers in sports and the mindset required to achieve excellence at an international level.
At its core, Sayani Das’s interaction offered something more personal than a story of records and achievements. It reminded students that limits are often tested long before they are overcome—and that behind every extraordinary accomplishment lies patience, discipline and the willingness to keep moving forward.
For Techno India Group, platforms such as Unwind – BoiKothaKow continue to reinforce an important idea: education is not only about preparing students for examinations, but also about exposing them to stories, people and experiences that inspire them to think bigger about what they can become.