A social entrepreneur, a musician, a politician and educator, an investment banker, a public relations expert, a medical administrator, an author and a restaurateur got together recently to chat about how they balance home and work and yet take time out for their passion, be it food or weaves, textile or crafts.
The conversation around How To Have It All: Pursue Your Passion, Whilst Balancing Home And Career was moderated by social development expert Tehnaz Dastoor.
Women in Power: An inside insight
The women, each of who has carved a niche for themselves in their respective fields and beyond, unravelled the unknown sides of their lives, lauded each other for their indomitable spirit, and for being torchbearers of their individual legacies.
The conversation around How To Have It All: Pursue Your Passion, Whilst Balancing Home And Career was moderated by social development expert Tehnaz Dastoor.
Rita Bhimani
Author, PR guru and management consultant Rita Bhimani is a respected name across many fields. Rita, by her own admission, may not know how to cook, but her columns and books on food are unputdownable reads. Coming from the lineage of Pandit Sivanath Shastri, a lesser-known fact about her is, she has made a film on Raja Rammohun Roy. The fashion icon charmed everyone with her grace and outlook towards life. “Learn from your failures” is a mantra she holds close to her heart and lives by. A prolific author, “keep writing” is a rule she goes by wholeheartedly.
Rupali Basu
The MD and CEO of Woodlands Multispeciality Hospital Limited, Rupali Basu, is a pathbreaker in many ways. The doctor broke prevalent ideas and chose to study hospital management as a speciality, and even bagged a degree from Harvard University to complete her dream. The preventive and social medicine degree holder today heads the vast matrix of complex organisations behind running a hospital and has a career span of over 20 years. Additionally, she is also the force behind the Kolkata chapter of the group Doctors and Saris, which was formed in 2018, and has 42,000 doctors from all over the world. “Wear those six yards and give our artisans and weavers the meaning to live their lives,” said the sari enthusiast.
Saira Shah Halim
Her electoral candidacy created quite a stir in the 2022 by-elections. A vocal advocate of social rights, Saira joined the session straight from the airport, returning from the NAM conference in Baku, where she spoke about the contribution of Indian women right from Independence to the present day. Juggling several roles and never failing to put up a fight for the right, Saira’s personal mechanism of coping with trolls is: “Politics is not for the faint-hearted.”
Rajlakshmi Syam
A cancer survivor, Rajlakshmi Syam is full of zeal and positivity. She is not only a well-known concert pianist but also a management consultant and a fashion designer. She is also carrying forward her family legacy and exporting tea. “Every day is an extra day of my life and I am going to enjoy it” is how Rajlaksmi sees her life. The musician is passionate about her personal wellness and her daily meditation, which extends up to four hours. “Success is a journey, not a destination,” believes Rajlakshmi.
Roshni Mukherjee
“Life is extremely precious. You should do everything that you want in this life” is what Roshni Mukherjee, a popular face in the fashion circuit, believes in. Her outlook towards life took a 360-degree turn when she was held at gunpoint during a raid at her bank. The recipient of Women in Business — Empowering Other Women award at the Indo-UK Business Meet at the Palaces of Westminster focuses on living life to the fullest and strives to make sari not only a fashion statement for all seasons but also towards making it easily available in Europe with her brand Myosutra.
Sonika Dey
Sonika sold off her wedding trousseau and used her maternity leave from her corporate job to pursue her dream of becoming a restaurateur. She looks up to Nita Ambani’s journey of creating an identity for herself. From starting her brand Krazy for Waffles in a 100 square feet shop with a two-month-old in her lap to setting a milestone with opening the biggest cafe, Bunaphile, in the eastern region with a sprawling space of 7,000 square feet, the MBA degree holder has put her academic learnings into practice. An accomplished cook, her knowledge of food and her determination to “do something new in Kolkata” helped her create two prominent F&B brands. “I have to follow my own passion” drives Sonika till date.
Shaleni S. Biswas
She has climbed up to the Everest Base Camp and she gets her adrenaline pumping from life. “I am passionate about living” is how she describes her love affair with life. The owner of the stationery brand Classnote believes in braving all odds and rising like a phoenix. Shaleni has also started her own manufacturing unit and is working with pan-India key stationery players on the workfront. The spiritualist and philanthropist believes in a clear conscience and her spiritual practice helps her sail through her life by giving her strength.
Farah Khan
For ‘serial entrepreneur’ Farah Khan, apparel and fashion were not a part of her education, but medical science was. Today, the kantha specialist runs a one-stop shop, Kantha by Farah Khan, inside Fort William for all things kantha, and is also nurturing her other business Diva Fabrics. The army wife did not pursue medicine, but carved her own niche, something that she describes as, “I like playing with fire, mujhe challenges bahut achche lagte hai.” The entrepreneur wants to have it all in life, and strives towards reaching her goals.
Sanhita Moulik
Promoting Bengal weaves is an integral part of Sanhita Moulik’s life. The educator with a career spanning 19 years is also the owner of the sustainable fashion line Twine Tales. Her foray into sustainable fashion started during Covid in 2021, and the label works towards exhibiting Bengal weaves and handicraft. A believer in lessening the carbon imprint on the planet, the sustainability advocate and entrepreneur tries in her own way to protect the environment. “We have to leave enough resources for the next generation,” believes the entrepreneur.
Devika Mazumdar
For Devika, “identifying a lack in the business world and addressing them” is one of the driving forces that keeps her going. Her endeavour Mobile Spa that focuses on public wellness has been featured in noted publications. The Brand Strategist and Start-Up Consultant, who moved to the US when she was 17 to complete her graduation, now juggles between America and India, also spearheading an IT solution company along with her vocations.
