Oruali is a small village, about 25 kms from Puri. The village is home to many economically backward families. Nikina Pradhan, studying in Standard VII in Oruali, Project Upper Primary School is a topper in her class and also excels in all extracurricular activities. She is blessed with various talents like music, dance, painting etc.

However, Nikina has many tough situations in her life at this young age. Her father earns a very small sum of money through farming. Her brother works as a labourer in Cuttak. She stays with her grandparents since her father is a single parent. She aspires to attend college after school and study literature. However, Nikina's family is quite conservative and wants her to start helping her father earn money after school.

Her biggest passion is dance and according to her teachers, she is a good dancer too. She learns on her own and trains her classmates when there is a need for a stage performance during cultural festivals at school. Her science teacher, Babita Rout, appreciates Nikina for her interest to learn despite her parents being conservative in nature.

Bijaya Laxmi, who teaches history and literature to Nikina says, "Despite all her familial pressures, Nikina continues to excel in her studies and we hope that she will achieve her dreams to study masters in Arts and Literature."

Nikina loves the paneer dish which is part of the Akshaya Patra mid-day meal at her school. She believes that the nutritious food she gets at school combined with education imparted by her teachers will enable her to study further and pursue a career of her choice.