Superwomen

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First published by

Srishti Publishers & Distributors in 2016

Copyright © Prachi Garg, 2016

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The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publishers.

Disclaimer: This is a work of non-fiction, charting the stories of twenty women entrepreneurs and their start-ups. All the stories and pictures herein have been narrated and given to the author by the person concerned and have been reproduced herein with their due permission. Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

Dedicated to my parents.

I owe this success completely to them.

Contents

Acknowledgements

1.The Revival of Art, Culture and a Country

Medhavi Gandhi • Happy Hands

2.Beauty – More than Skin Deep

Ria Sharma • Create Love Not Scars

3.Your Friend in Need

Richa Singh • Your D.O.S.T.

4.She works in Style!

Masoom Minawala • Style Fiesta

5.Business of Happiness

Rachana Nagranee • Pitaraa

6.What Shines Underneath?

Richa Kar • Zivame

7.A Store Full of Fun

Sneha Raisoni • Tappu Ki Dukaan

8.Nurture of Nature

Swati Maheshwari and Sunita Jaju • Rustic Art

9.The Art of Life

Alicia Souza

10.The E-market Mantra

Anisha Singh • MyDala

11.The Perfect Spot for Life and Learning

Charnita Arora • Perfect Life Spot

12.All in her Good Books

Falak Randerian • My Little Chatterbox

13.Masterpiece at Work

Geetika Chadha • Imagenie

14.Home is where Grabhouse is!

Pankhuri Shrivastava • GrabHouse

15.Petting One’s Dreams

Rashi Narang • Heads Up For Tails

16.The Ceremony of Success

Saumya Vardhan • ShubhPuja

17.A Web of Women’s World

Sneh Sharma • Ittisa

18.Beauty beyond Skin

Surbhi Mahajan • Dermatocare

19.A Refreshing Taste of Creation!

Tina Garg • Pink Lemonade

20.Advertising a Balanced Life!

Vidula Kanitkar Kothare • Think Creative AdSolutions

Acknowledgements

This book has been possible due to the enormous love and support that people have given to me. It was their constant support that kept me going and ensured that I should be able to deliver it on time. I would like to thank the following people to make this journey smooth for me.

My father, Mr. Brejesh Garg, who has been a constant support to me and inspired me at every step.

My mother, Neeru Garg, who motivated me whenever I lost hope and got tired.

My siblings Himadri Garg and Anant Garg, who read each chapter and gave their critical feedback.

My husband, Nitin Gupta, who made sure I don’t get disturbed while writing it.

My friends Amrita Marik and Smruti, who guided me at every step of publishing.

Shrishti Publishers for putting faith in my concept and agreeing to publish it.

All my friends who gave me constant moral support to make this happen.

And finally, all the entrepreneurs who took out time and shared their brilliant stories with me, so that I could share it with you all.

I hope you all get inspired with their journey and contribute to the progress of the nation.

Medhavi Gandhi founded Happy Hands to revive traditional/folk art and craft with an aim to empower rural artisans and hone potential in women and young people.

The Revival of Art, Culture and a Country

Medhavi Gandhi

India is a country full of history, art and culture. Every corner sprouts a variety of creativity – both subtle and profound. The families of artisans have carried it on for generations. And yet, when the son of a lac bangle maker in a small village says he doesn’t want to carry on the family craft, not be a bangle maker like his father, it does not come as a surprise. Thousands of artisans across the country have been forced to look for alternate sources of income, many compelled to give up their art altogether because their hard work did not reach socio-economic recognition for bare minimum sustenance. While many may stop to consider this loss of national heritage for a moment before turning their attention towards the commercially potent and prominent products in the market, a very small handful of people halt for a little longer. A shining example of the latter is Medhavi Gandhi, a young and dynamic activist who has emerged as a reformist, dedicated to provide a sustainable platform for artisans.

At the young age of twenty-two, the art enthusiast started what she thought was a movement to promote local artists and fast dying traditional forms of craft, especially in the rural areas of the country. Ask her what brought her to this road, and you will realize that it has been a journey of internal reasoning and external observations. As an eager learner, Medhavi interned in some of the most insightful environments, the most significant of which turned out to be her experience in UNESCO.

I increasingly encountered situations which forced me to realize that while the youth potential of India was huge, their awareness and recognition of Indian arts, crafts and heritage was embarrassingly low. This of course included me because our education system was such. Though we train to be doctors, engineers, and MBAs, nobody trains to be a traditional artisan – designer yes, artisan, no, she expresses vehemently.

This became the motivation to create a platform where the undeniably dying art of the country can be exposed and evolved to an audience to reclaim its appreciation and existence. The basic idea was born out of the distress of the artisans who were forced to sell their products not at the value of their effort and skill but at throwaway prices that was threatening their mere survival. I knew right away this is what I had to work for. This was something I dived into right after completing my education, explains the English honours graduate who has specialized in Master’s in communication. On the way to finding, meeting and promoting colloquial artists, Medhavi crossed paths with many women, a lot of them from foreign countries, residing in the hearts of cities and towns across the country, dedicating their lives to the causes of the eclipsing heritage. Committed to their service, these foreigners had learnt the local language to communicate better. All this was more than inspiring for a young Medhavi to bring together her motivation and resources into an amalgamation of art and business, with a vision of creating happiness for those who create and engage in art, known today as Happy Hands.

Somewhere between her movement, Medhavi encountered what had been the endeavours of the world-renowned Kamla Devi Chattopadhyay, who contributed immensely in giving the country a perspective strong enough to form the National School of Drama, the Craft Council and the Performing Arts Museum. This motivated the dynamic leader into institutionalizing her vision into a forum that could not only be recognized as a gateway for all forms of artefacts but also provided for linking the craft with its rightful value in a demand and supply chain.

In 2009, we worked across villages with artists, and marketed their products in the city tirelessly. In 2010, we started workshops and public interventions to enable the public to interact with the artisans. It was something we saw as imperative to boost the perception of folk art, explains the insightful entrepreneur.

The mobilization of the enterprise happened through collaboration of friends and well-wishers who believed in Medhavi’s cause and concern. While she confesses to having no knowledge of the social sector, the legal system and commercial liaising in the initial stages, Medhavi acclaims the contributions of her associations who came in the form of legal advisors, volunteers supporting market linkages, company registration and even fund flow were immense. This was also the time we strengthened our relationship with multiple corporates and were given interesting work – using folk arts for promotions, communication, or simply as gifts! she explains the strategic growth of Happy Hands.

And hence, with the help of a dedicated team of employees, volunteers, interns and contributors, Happy Hands found itself expanding and diversifying into different means for promotion of art and craft of the country. From workshops, to engaging in art, to corporate linkages for product supplies; from the innovation of a residency studio of art for artists, to a platform of education of heritage to rural and urban population that would lead to academic absorption and promotion of heritage art – Happy Hands is spreading its reach with the passing of each milestone.

Though things have streamlined and focused into what looks like an institution in itself, Happy Hands has seen its days of challenges and hurdles too. There were times we faced a severe financial crunch, confesses an honest Medhavi. We needed to bring together an efficient staff but often found ourselves at a loss of funds.

Learning through the tough times, Happy Hands floated with volunteers and interns in its more critical moments, a support Medhavi continues to accredit and employ even today. Not having sufficient experience with entrepreneurial management also made things a major challenge to bring together artists from different backgrounds together and convince them to collaborate for the enterprise. It took me a while to bring the artists into an enterprising mode, through workshops, training; it was a long process to bring together this platform to a convincing standard.

Being an off-beat business idea has had its own trials. Not only are small and individual suppliers of products hard to convince, but even more so, dealing with fraudsters who conveniently target women-based businesses thinking they would get by easy has been a challenge. However, not easily discouraged, Medhavi has learnt her lessons well in the world of business and continues to accept such challenges graciously.

Overcoming the hurdles of initial uncertainties was what has brought the artist at heart this far with her passion, My parents have always pushed my limits and stood by me. Initially, they were only a little worried about my financial health…but understood soon enough that I was too charged up to bother about finance. The support that has come to Medhavi in the form of volunteers and friends is what has kept her encouraged and persistent in the trying times, she acknowledges heartily. Today, we have a strong bond with both the artists and the customers of art, we surely have come a long way in the process of building of the original objective, she accepts with a humble glint in her eyes. Having started with a core team of three members, today Happy Hands stands strong with seven permanent employees and a bouquet of talents in the form of interns and volunteers from all disciplines of education and experience to help them grow.

In the course of running an organization, I have learnt how to budget, recruit, design, travel on minimal resources, and how to function with no sleep, but occasional dreams. By most importantly, I have learnt about people and their traditions and cultures, she sums up the essence of Happy Hands in just that one sentence.

Travelling through the cross section of cities across the country and diving deep into the rural synergy of the states has brought out an entirely new perspective in the compassionate observer that Medhavi is.

We connect with the artists over a cup of tea at most times, she springs candidly at the hint of the subject. Spilling with passion and excitement of stories she has witnessed through the many roads travelled, Medhavi talks about her strategy of collaboration with artists as one based on relationships.

"Once we have narrowed