"My grandfather wished that I learn different languages," says Sai Shidhaye
"Japanese language is very interesting, it has pictorial script. From a very young age I was fond of languages and Japanese was taken out of hobby. Initially my female cousin was learning Japanese out of her interest, which inspired me to do the same," says Sai Prakash Shidhaye. Sai even stated that very few people in India know about Japanese as a language. And Sai from her childhood had keen interest in different types of languages. She loved studying literature and linguistics. Sai's Japanese Tutor boosted her, for taking up Japanese as the main academic subject.
"My grandfather was overfond of languages, he was a professor of Sanskrit and used to write novels. So it was my grandfather's wish that I learn different kinds of languages. He was happy when I took Japanese as my university subject," says Sahi Shidhaye. Sahi's entire family is very fond of languages. Hence, she didn't have any resistance from the family. Sahi further said that her family is open minded and they supported her in everything she did.
When other scholars from India usually choose to go to western countries like the United Kingdom, USA, Spain, Germany etc. Sai had picked Japan as the land and it's Language to accomplish her career.Japan is an aging country so they offer many scholarships for youth to study and work in Japan. "The Ministry of Education in Japan conducts a scholarship examination called ‘Japan Studies Student’ every year. They recruit students by the examination all over the world. says Sai Prakash. Shidhaye had to work hard to qualify her Japanese Language Proficiency Test. It was in a descending series from N5 to N1. The N1 is the hardest. This level has more vocabulary and larger paragraphs to read and analyze. To inspire Aliah University students she further stated "It's difficult but not impossible."
She has been studying there for almost 4 years and has been part of two different universities. When she was a part of Osaka University, they formed a community of Indian students. Together they used to celebrate every Indian Festivals which symbolizes small 'India' to her. But in Niigata where currently she is pursuing MBA in Entrepreneur studies, she is the only Indian student. Japanese students are usually very shy in nature. They do not want to open up easily . So as an Indian she has faced that difficulty in communicating. But her overall experience of studying in Japan is very good. Because Japanese people are highly professional and education quality is excellent.
In an interview Sai Shidhaye states, "her experience as a translator and interpreter was an easy task to perform at the software and technology department but a post like 'Language Engineer' was a bit troublesome. Because the machine doesn't understand emotions, she has to post edit or engineer the language for many different purposes to give morality to the sentences."
Sai switched her course from language specialization to MBA in 2020 because She found in near future there is no scope for a career like Translator and Interpreter, as machines are doing the needful. But for literature purposes they would be hiring translators to give the taste of emotions. Hence for a sustainable future she opted for an MBA programme.
Sai's inspiration is a Sindhutai Sapkal, Maharashtrian social worker, who continued doing good deeds despite the hardship she faced in her own life. She died with the title "mother of thousands orphans," on 4th January 2022. Sai Shidhaye was an executive committee member of the Japan-India Student Conference (JISC). She was the only Indian in the committee, her department was International affairs. The 25th JISC was an important event to be addressed as the theme was "Looking forward to 2030 and beyond from the perspective of 'Food'." Sai and his entire team lead a successful event. In India where students choose typical career, Sai Shidhaye makes herself distinctive by choosing a niche area of academic.