Breaking glass ceilings

It’s not easy for women to prove their worth in a male bastion. They have to work doubly hard. However, they have time and again challenged the notion that they are not the weaker sex. There are those who have translated their dreams into reality by sheer dint of passion and hard work. They’ve not only dared to take their ideas out into the market but have also been successful in getting people to notice their work.

Aparajita Dasgupta quit a full-time job as ground assistant with Jet Airways to take care of her daughter but she found that she was left with a lot of time in her hands. That’s when she decided to try her hand at what she was good at doing best — cooking.

Aparajita says, “I always received compliments on the food and the snacks that I would make. My friends and family encouraged me to take the idea foward and give it a concrete shape. It was not until a few months ago that I started ‘Yummy Tummy’, my own venture which focuses on home-cooked food,” she says. Aparajita decided to focus on making healthy snacks for children. “I try and make the snack as healthy as I can but I do add a little bit of cheese because kids need some amount of it,” she adds.

She confesses that more than profit, the idea to start something of her own was to keep her passion for cooking alive. “In fact, I spend more than what I earn but I have no complaints because I am doing something I enjoy,” she adds.

It’s a love for everything natural that prompted Aparna Kumar and her sister-in-law Vidya Sadanand to start ‘Adi Naturals’, an organic venture. Aparna is a metrobiologist by profession and it is an interest in organic farming that inspired her to start her venture for organic products. “My father’s friend is an expert on sustainable agriculture and he bought a patch of land in Bengaluru and started an organic farm. I was still studying then and he sought my help for his farm. That’s when I began taking more interest in organic farming,” she explains.

With so many organic farms and outlets in the City, Aparna finds it a challenge to take her venture forward but she says that it is her conviction in the products that she stocks that gives her the strength to move foward. “I am not saying that consuming organic food will keep you away from diseases but it will definitely make you feel healthier and ensure a better life,” add Aparna and Vidya. They say that they are happy when they know what they are consuming is free of chemicals and has been grown in most natural way.

Jayanti Bhattacharya gave up a plush job in an advertising agency to start her own venture, ‘The Leather Boutique’ a while ago. This she says gave her a lot of time to spend with her children who are still very young. “My experience in advertising helped me define and mould my own venture which is a reflection of who I am. I always strive to redefine fashion and try to reinvent the designs,” she reasons. It hasn’t been an easy journey thus far but Jayanti says, “I believe in hard work and always trust my intuitions. I’ve also learnt that this life is fleeting and time is precious. I try and surround myself with positive people who don’t zap my energy,” she says.