Born in Hoshiarpur and brought up in Mandi, HP, this girl had a thousand dreams in her eyes like any other child. She was shy, obedient, determined, sharp, and highly graceful for her age. She always stood up for the right and put her foot down for everything wrong.
She completed her studies from Himachal Pradesh, where her father was a contractor. She was a patriot by heart, so she wanted to fight for the country someday. She was a state-level shooter and was an ace cadet of NCC in her school days. At the age of 15, she underwent BSF training to prepare for the selection. Everyone used to call her “Kiran Bedi” after observing her passion for doing big for the country.
All those dreams came to the ground when demeanor overpowered passion. Everyone was so sure that she would be the first one on the selectors’ list, but destiny had other plans for her. She could not make it because the officers of the selection committee selected the bunch of girls based on their height. Shattered, she tore all her training certificates and accolades into pieces and moved away from that dream thoroughly to never look back.
Her father’s business deteriorated with time, and the real struggle started. Second eldest amongst her siblings, she was a “Prabhakar Graduate” in a family of 8. She was brilliant at studies, so her father brought her to Haryana to undergo a teacher training course. The officials quite liked her academic accolades and asked for a donation of Rs. 20,000/- for admission. It was a massive amount 40 years ago. Her father had faith in her daughter, to which he agreed to take the risk, but she stepped down and left. She didn’t want to burden her father with the loan in such a crisis.
At the age of 18 years, they sold everything from HP and moved to Delhi to earn their living. A palm reader told her that “Naukri ki rekha to hai hi nahi aapki kismet mein” to which she replied “Kismat to mujhe badalni hi padegi Pt ji”. Her job hunt started. One of her relatives helped her get a salesperson job at a cloth shop in Karol Bagh. She took that job for Rs 300/- per month. Her father used to earn in lacs, it was a hard pill for her to swallow. She broke down for the first time when she received her first prorated salary of Rs 180/-. The way she used to conduct herself, people used to notice that. This was her best trait because of which she received immense support from different people in life. They could build a house in Kirti Nagar in a few years after being into various jobs and finally usne apni kismat badal hi daali.
She finally joined a steel wire rope manufacturing unit, where she received proper growth and understanding of the business. She was whole sole responsible for every aspect of the business. She finally started to settle. Her employer and workers became her second family.
She was pitch perfect, she got an offer from Tips & Toes, she used to sing on AIR FM Radio occasionally, and she also tried her luck for the air hostess job in Air India.
She got married while she was working in that manufacturing unit. Her father-in-law used to take so much pride and tell her that “Tu meri bahu nahi, mera panchva (5th) puttar hai”. After three years, she entered into motherhood – a baby girl. Her employer didn’t want her to leave because of the baby; he offered to open another unit in the vicinity instead. That was a turning point in her life as she became an entrepreneur. She also got featured in the local newspaper.
After a month of starting her unit, her employer passed. There were 45 workers, and business evaluation was in Crores. The employer’s wife did not know the business; hence she wanted to sell it off for a few lacs. She convinced the employer’s wife to have faith in her and continue with the business. She was able to run that business for 8 years successfully. She got blessed with her second baby – a baby boy.
Then a third person entered into their business relationship who empoisoned the relationship, and the employer’s wife pulled the plug. The struggle hit back. Since she had a great sense of that business, she and her husband decided to run it separately. During all of this, she also lost her mother. On the other hand, the business needed capital; she invested whatever she had – cash, gold, everything possible. They even availed loan. They were able to pull it off for a few years, but it didn’t work out well. She also faced patriarchy and left the business to her husband to maintain her self-respect. In 1997, she completely turned into a housewife. She not only struggled professionally but on a personal front too. Two of her brothers broke up with her.
They lost their business; they were unable to re-pay their loan. The other family businesses also collapsed one after another. Her husband used to sell lottery tickets to earn a beard at one point. She didn’t have enough money to run the household or her kids’ studies. She asked for help from her brother, who used to worship her.
They sold their 200 yards’ house and shifted to a 2bhk flat in the vicinity – Another low point of her life. She inspired her daughter to be independent. Her daughter got a job, and things started to get better. Her son also started to earn. She made delicious pickles, knit beautiful woolen baby sets, stitched designer home furnishing. Her kids, especially her son, encouraged her to start something of her own. She wanted her kids to get settled, and then she could start over. She always believed that one’s competitor is only self, and she has always strived for the better.
One night, her son met with a severe accident. First, they amputated his right leg and performed grafting to save another. After 13 days of fighting for life and death, she lost her 26 years old son.
Ever since she has been trying to find herself back, she has been suffering great pain, but she also believes that the show goes on. Her foot fractured right after a few months of the demise that never fully healed. She feels constant pain in her body and her heart, but it looks like she has learned to live with the odds. Yet, she is stronger than ever.
She lost herself in taking care of her family and her relationships. Though the fire is still there somewhere beneath the pain, she wants to heal her wings and put them back. She received all this courage from her mother, who was qualified till 8th standard and got married at 17. Her mother was a powerful woman with strong family values and principles. She inherited strength from her mother and other skills like cooking, knitting, and stitching. The cherry on the cake is her timeless beauty and grace. She turned out to be “Sarva gun sampanna”.
She quoted during the conversation –
- Competition with self is the only competition you’re in
- Mere dukh se koi dukhi na ho
- Paisa to kahin se bhi kama sakte hai but rishtey nahi bana sakte
Fav food – Paneer Tikka
Fav Actor – Amitabh Bachchan, whom she admires as a personality for his parents and family values.
Five traits – Strong, Determined, Positive, Family oriented, Go-getter.
Fav Ice cream – Butterscotch, Fav drink – Cold Coffee, Fav fruit – Mango (she left eating all three after her son’s demise because he used to serve/make/bring for her every time, they had similar favorites)