07/03/2019
“I was in school, when one day my dad jokingly said I was spending a lot. At that moment I decided that I wanted to be financially independent. I’d recently gotten an opportunity for modelling...so I took it! For the next couple years, I worked hard and became self sufficient.
But I was always interested in interiors–I loved exploring different places. So by the time I was 20, I started pursuing interior design. I learnt everything about it on the job. At my first internship, there were only men! Initially they didn’t send me out on site and would tell me to stay in office and work. But I stood my ground and convinced them to let me go.
The job wasn’t easy, sometimes we had to be on site for hours, standing in the heat and dust. Many people couldn’t handle it, but not me – I loved it! At my first job, I had a brilliant boss. He constantly pushed me to do better, it didn’t matter that I was a girl. Once I even went to Mohammed Ali Road during Ramadan, at 8 at night to look for artifacts!
After a few years, a friend of mine and I decided to start our own firm, but we faced a lot of rejection – ‘you’re too young’ is what we heard everywhere. That only pushed us to work harder! When we got our first project, my friend was sick. So we made all those drawings sitting on his hospital bed!
But it was worth it. Some clients assumed I was better with colours, or the design for kitchens because I was a woman. But I used that to my advantage. We got more clients, and over the years our business grew. Along the way, my partner and I even got married! And a couple of years ago we had a baby girl! I worked till I was 6 months pregnant.
Getting back to work a year and a half later was hard. I had to split my time between work and my daughter -- finding that balance took some time. My husband and I took turns to work from home.
But, I’ve realised that ever since my daughter was born I’ve gotten bolder at work. I know exactly what I want, and don’t shy away from demanding it. Since I’m spending time away from my daughter, I better make it count. So now I’ve got my own firm, and I’m a mom and I’ve got a long way to go for both. There are always bad days, but if my journey’s taught me anything, it’s that they are just stepping stones on the road to success.”
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Humans of Bombay in association with brings you stories of women who have fought all odds and made it known that there is no limit to what they can do and achieve.
