I started working at the age of sixteen!
It was the summer vacations of class 10th when my mother challenged me to make 200 handmade things with my creativity. She even promised that she’ll organize an exhibition for me and help me sell those things. Well, I took the challenge pretty seriously. I still remember I collected little things like the pencil shavings, old newspapers, colors and made the best out of the waste product. And as promised, we hosted an exhibition and sold off everything. A few newspapers even covered my exhibition. People appreciated me like anything. It felt amazing. That was the moment, I decided to take this further. I knew my calling!
I kept on trying my hands on different things. Sometimes it got difficult to manage my work with my studies but my mother helped me. I somehow juggled with things but kept it going because this was not just a business for me, but my passion. At the age of eighteen, when I received an international order for gel wax diyas I was nervous. It was a big order and I was still an amateur. But, I believed in myself and took the order. The moment they got their delivery, they called to thank me. They were happy with the diyas and I couldn’t stop smiling.
Even in college, I took part-time jobs and funded my business myself. I got registered for the government certified handicrafts and have even put up stalls in the famous fairs and festivals all over the country. People always advised me to leave art and craft and go for a ‘proper’ job. According to society, arts can only a hobby, not a career option. And, here I was trying to build a business out of it which apparently ‘isn’t for girls’. But, I was adamant to prove myself. I took every taunt as a challenge and gave in my two hundred percent. My customers liked my work my sales kept on shooting. I even had to hire labor to help me complete my order. And just a few years back, I was listed as the youngest entrepreneur and got an interview published on the front page of a magazine. The appraisal and support that I received from my people after that was amazing and always keeps me going.
