Carving out a niche for themselves

By Rajni Lamba

"YOU’VE come a long way baby", was the saucy caption of an ad for a popular cigarette in America in the early 70s. This title was prophetic of the strides taken by women in various fields in the following decades. At the close of the century it is worthwhile to take a look around and assess the kind of activities in which women are holding their own. The earlier concept of invisibility of women’s work has worn thin. Now even the household work done by the women, (always thought to be a ‘thankless job’) is going to be reckoned in the many a research assessment.

Women entrepreneurs are being recognised by bankers and raw-stock dealers alike for their "sincerity of purpose, straightforwardness, forthrightness and abject honesty." The earlier concept of a man holding the puppet-strings while the woman was a mere "front" or "face" has virtually vanished.

Women too have come to terms with "the woman having to be twice as good to be considered half as good as the average man". They only worked harder, with a greater sincerity of purpose and were willing to put in more than their share to achieve the results to their satisfaction.

A few case studies where the women have created their individual niches demonstrate how they have pursued their talents and have succeeded in making a name for themselves. The home from where they all began continues to be their source control — their strength and strong point. The enterprises they have established, and are nurturing successfully, vary from candle-making to leather work, and from working exquisite designs into art jewellery to the tasteful collection and sale of the Objets de’ art.

Most of these women were not extraordinary or especially blessed. They were, however, endowed with generous helpings of grit and the will to succeed. They belonged to ordinary households with the only exception being that each was given encouragement to follow her talents to fulfilment. Usually women complain of facing many hurdles to their desire to set up a concern. They feel restricted by needless encumbrances and discouragement on the part of their family.

Harjote Sodhi, Simrita Singh and Guneet Malik are young women who have ventured into entrepreneurship with their wits about them and have survived thus far to tell the tale of their success. All of them are exceptionally talented and have a flair for creativity which they have nurtured. Each of them has family support and proudly say that they have drawn great strength and support from their respective families.

Harjote Sodhi was married at a tender age to an officer in the Merchant Navy. She found that she had plenty of time on her hands and decided to pursue her studies further. After picking up a Master’s degree she decided to go in for a venture which would satisfy her inborn creative instincts and provide her with an occupation that would not disturb the running of her household with a small baby. She says, "I had a fascination for traditional jewellery in the ethnic designs of the North and the South Indian forms. I found that most of these pieces were very expensive. Even if I could afford a few pieces in gold and precious stones, there was a lot of heartburn for all those that I could not buy. Then I thought of those people who could not even pick up some of the lighter pieces. They must surely be yearning for them nevertheless. There was also the angle of the gold ornaments being a "dead investment".

To experiment with her marketing skills and to test the market for such jewellery, Harjote decided to purchase some pieces from the established centres of Hyderabad. She travelled there and did an in-depth study of the many designs and how they could be replicated. She found pearls to be the motif of choice and traditional forms being replicated to gold-plated silver. She made up her mind to make a small investment in the pieces and try them out first on her relatives and friends and then go on to manufacture them on her own if the marketing exercise proved profitable. She had a small budget of Rs 7000 which she used for her purchases. Little was she to know that her investment would more than double!

Today she has tied up with the Phulkari outlets in Chandigarh, Delhi, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Amritsar and even the recently commissioned one in Calcutta to have a counter for her wares. Even abroad, her designs received an encouraging response. Harjote has managed to motivate other women entrepreneurs to pool their resources. At any exhibition one finds her at the helm of affairs. She believes in the participatory approach towards all matters, and takes into account others’ issues before taking a decision. This habit of hers of not asserting herself has often landed her in a soup like when the Surajkund authorities refused to give her permission for a showing as they thought her jewellery pieces were too good to be hand-crafted. She continues to pour in all her energies into manufacturing, displaying and marketing of her products. She says she could not have achieved this without the tremendous support she received from her husband and family.

Guneet Malik, a soft-spoken, unassuming young lady, is a commerce graduate with a postgraduate stint in leather garments and design technology at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi. Besides the basics, she embellished her learning with training at the Central Leather Research Institute at Madras. She also did her internship at the Moolchand Leathers with hands on experience in the manufacture and design of garments.

Guneet’s experience with leather work was further enhanced when she worked as a free-lancer for an American designer, Steven Cutting. Here she helped in the manufacturing unit for Dunlop and Walter Da Vouche ranges of leather garments. Thus with a wide range of work and hands on experience, Guneet found that she could comfortably work with her chosen medium — leather — and discussed with her father, a marine engineer, the possibilities of setting up a leather work unit. She was encouraged by her parents who gave her all the necessary support. Guneet insisted on going the whole way on her own professionally. Her determination and hard work paid-off and Guneet finally put up the board of Hous Enterprises at an industrial plot in Mohali. The large work room has rows of tables on which different functions of leather craft are carried out. She has several skilled workers, most of whom, Guneet trained herself. A stickler for finesse, Guneet felt that she had to personally supervise all the stages of the craftsmanship lest any shoddy work passed through. Mercifully, after these few years of diligence her devotion and sincerity to the work at hand is paying off.

Simrita, a stately, beautiful and very gentle young woman, who has the needs of her fellow creatures close at heart, seemed to be a natural choice to look after the affairs of a state of the art private hospital. In a dramatic shift at a tender age, Simrita saw herself uprooted from the home and friends of her childhood in Amritsar to an alien environment.

A keen photographer, Simrita’s portfolio was picked up as the best by the Administration. It was a poignant feature on the environment and Simrita says she worked painstakingly on it.

She is an avid art collector and dealer in art. Her enterprise is artefacts which she has not housed as yet and would love to tie up with one of the bigger art houses at the national level to be able to give vent to her creativity. She is probably the only one in this field in the city and her deals are always pro-artist as she does no let commercialisation creep into any of her transactions.

Presently she is helping her father in the management of a private hospital where her personal touch is evident almost everywhere, be it the decor, the ambience that takes away the smells and sounds of a typical place of healing or the actual rooms where the patients rest from their many ills. Even the organisation of the staff on duty at moments is perked up by her gently persuasive ways. All of them have a good word to say about this young lady with regal countenance.

All these women have had the motivation to get up and do their bit. These women are known for a sensitivity to the needs of their fellow beings and have had a hands-on experience of striking a balance between their responsibilities and demands of their talent.