Who says housewives are not achievers?
Rajdeep Bains
“I am a woman and I’m not working.” In today’s world where the “modern working woman” is a byword, one needs a lot of courage to say that. There is much being said in favour of working, and saying that you choose not to, is asking for trouble. Not only do you have to deal with outraged feminists, who think you’re committing an offence, but also have to cope with the “sympathy” of well-meaning people who think you’re probably denying yourself your rights under some kind of pressure.

The spicy taste of success
Shveta Pathak
BE positive and take things as they come, has been the mantra of success for Geeti Bakshi, the proprietor of Spicy Treat. The lady who started the venture six years after she got married is, today, the proud owner of a company which manufactures 2 tonnes of pickles, sauces etc daily and has employed 100 odd people for the job.

Who says housewives are not achievers?
Rajdeep Bains

“I am a woman and I’m not working.” In today’s world where the “modern working woman” is a byword, one needs a lot of courage to say that. There is much being said in favour of working, and saying that you choose not to, is asking for trouble. Not only do you have to deal with outraged feminists, who think you’re committing an offence, but also have to cope with the “sympathy” of well-meaning people who think you’re probably denying yourself your rights under some kind of pressure.

It does not matter that you might genuinely like staying at home; if you are educated and qualified, you must “step out of the confines of home, into the freedom of an independent salary.” The emphasis is on the word independent, but what if you don’t want to be that?

It is difficult not to conform to the idea of “enlightened” womanhood, which, today, is being a workingwoman (so much so, “workingwoman” is an accepted word in the latest dictionaries). Therefore, when people sympathetically cluck their tongues and remark that it’s too bad that you’re wasting your education by sitting at home, you tend to just silently gnash your teeth and go on smiling or make a farcical answer as to how you will soon start working, just as they expect you to. Why is it that being modern is so important? Who decided that freedom comes only from working outside home? Does not true freedom come from within? Is not working too a form of bondage?

True freedom is being happy with oneself. If you are happy with the idea of sitting at home, there is nothing wrong with that. There is no reason to feel guilty. A large number of women today are choosing to stay at home and look after their house and families. With joint families being virtually non-existent, in the cities at least, the choice lies between leaving the house and children to the whims of servants or day-care facilities, or staying and doing it on your own. And whoever said staying at home meant not working? The housewife, too is an achiever. She is a fascinating combination of many things. She looks after the house, that makes her a home manager and market analyst; she prepares well-balanced meals for the family which makes her a chef as well as a nutritionist, she looks after the children’s educational and emotional needs which makes her a teacher, child-psychologist and nurturer all in one, she’s a source of inspiration and strength to her husband and family, she looks after all the nitty-gritty of home affairs. Yet, she’s a non-worker. Indeed!

A lot of women are working because it’s expected of them. They feel that they have to work and achieve as much as men in order to be equal to them. Take away the pressure to conform and they just might be happier being able to spend more time with their families. Shalini Sethi is a qualified fashion designer who has opted for staying at home and looking after her two children instead of a well-paying job outside. Her views on the subject are clear; “My children come first. I would like to be there for them just as my mother was always there for me. Working is out of the question as that would involve depending on servants. I have a very fulfilling life at home and have never missed working. Fortunately, no one in my family expects me to be any different.”

Mona Sood says she took up a job for some time but did not find it a liberating experience. “I was getting tied down by schedules and work pressure and was not being able to give enough time to my family. There is a kind of freedom in staying at home. Once my children are grown I would like to work again, although I would prefer doing so from home as I can then incorporate both home and work into one unified whole.”

This is not to say that everyone should give up working and stay at home. It is creditable what women are achieving a lot these days. There should, however, be no compulsion to work. There is a need to clear our heads of the indoctrination in favour of a work culture and take a good look inside, at what we really want.

Sheena Pall, a lecturer in Panjab University, is very happy with her job. “It’s very important to find a healthy balance between a fulfilling job and a happy family life. Every woman should do what she’s happy doing, if it’s working, let it be that. No one should work out of any sense of compulsion. That takes away all the positive aspects of the entire exercise.”

Gulshan Virk, a mother of two, runs a beauty parlour from her home. She says that working from home is a definite advantage as she can spend more time with her family. However, she says, “Working does not necessarily mean ignoring your children. In fact, I think I am able to provide a much better quality of life to my children by working. You cannot count love by the amount of time spent with your child. If the woman feels frustrated at not being able to work she is likely to take it out on the children at the end of the day.”

Nina Mimani, a schoolteacher, juggles her time between running a home, looking after her family, and working. She, too, feels that a balance is required. “I feel that the woman is the primary homemaker. Even as she steps out to seek her identity, she needs to strike a balance between her home and workplace, otherwise she would risk neglecting one at the cost of the other.”

Working or not working, women are clear about their family being most important. Are we then so very different from our mothers and grandmothers? To what degree has modernity changed us? I would say, not so much. The basic values remain unchanged, why then should we force ourselves to change just for the sake of it? If any change were required it would be in the mentality of men so that they accept even housewives as achievers.

The spicy taste of success
Shveta Pathak

Geeti Bakshi

BE positive and take things as they come, has been the mantra of success for Geeti Bakshi, the proprietor of Spicy Treat. The lady who started the venture six years after she got married is, today, the proud owner of a company which manufactures 2 tonnes of pickles, sauces etc daily and has employed 100 odd people for the job.

Never had she thought that the small venture started as a hobby from her home at a very small scale with being the only one to manage everything right from production to marketing of her product, would become a name that is a familiar one in the North. It was way back in 1990 when she , after six years of her marriage, started making pickles as a hobby. After taking a few orders from friends she went ahead. "I had started it because of that urge to do something and what else could have been better than turning your hobby into your profession?", says the dynamic entrepreneur. She also did a short-term courses in food technology. The variety of pickles her company manufactures includes a fancy combination of pickles like garlic ginger, mango etc.

She feels that if you aim to venture into something like this , it has to be done in a very professional manner. Every type of work, right from carrying a market survey to determining the product, one wants to enter into and explore the opportunities needs to be done judiciously. "For instance, when I entered the market, there were not many players in this field and it helped". Every lot of the produce undergoes testing for salts, taste etc. A consistent quality control and taste has to be maintained. That helps in building up the brand image . The company today has separate administrative, production and marketing departments. There are two food technologists, a production department of 30 people and a full-fledged marketing team here and also in different states. This marketing team arranges for the distributors, stockists etc.

While a major portion of demand comes from the north- Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, UP , the company has also exported a few small lots to Boston and Dubai.

Expansion is already on the cards, says Geeti. Though exports have just begun, these would be done in a bigger way.

Geeti , however does not fail to mention the pivotal role that the family has played in all this. Today the business has become a family business and family members also help in the operations. Despite her busy schedule, she manages to strike the right balance very few of us are able to between work and the family. " Initially it was difficult to take out much time as that was the period which witnessed the maximum growth", she says. But a deliberate effort for the same was done. "One has to draw lines consciously and follow one's schedules strictly".

The need for starting a venture was essential. "Today I cannot imagine my life without my work. With my kids having grown up and in boarding , I would have been nowhere had this venture not been there". Work, you must , for your own satisfaction, but not at the cost of ignoring your family, she suggests.