Women Lines

Vacation time has always been fun and you never want to come out of it, and this was the reason for my long absence from the blogging world!

Work-life balance, kids, office, health, friends, whole year we go around with them planning, managing, discussing and carrying our duties and thus at times we get exhausted. Vacation comes as a blessing to us as it helps to rejuvenate every member of the family. Kids come out of their school world, parents come out of their work environment and grandparents also get a chance to have some fun outside their regular routine.This change fills them with fresh energy to face rest of the year with firmness.Thats’s why always enjoy your vacations and never let those moments go waste in life. Most of the time vacations are planned while keeping in mind the location of the place, may be you want to explore some new country or some new city. But besides this one place should always be their in your list which is the native place where you belong. That place should always be in the list as that place connects you th place of your origin. Where you can take your child and show his roots and cultural values.

This topic can never come in my mind if I would have been staying in India.But when we are far away from our country then we really miss the love and warmth of our near ones back home.Our kids are growing up in such an isolation that fills me with fear about their future that they won’t be aware of the love we got. That’s why its very important for them to visit their native place once a year so that they never feel alienated there.The charm of once native place is incomparable with some other place in world.Where ever you go in this world you will be alone only. Or you may have a circle of friends. But the love which your near and dear ones shower at you has no comparison in this whole world.

The point is to enjoy those precious moments. Don’t waste it in doing those tasks which are not relevant at that time. Prioritize having fun with near ones. Spend time with them and catch up with their life, plan big family outings together, play games together, and moreover do plan a party.

Vacation can be planned to a tourist destination also which you explore with your family. It can be a good time to spend some quality time with your kids and help them to gather knowledge about the new place. Where is the place located on map, what are special feature related to place like weather, food, people etc. You can explore tourist activities at that place with your kid which can give you some relaxing time together.

Romantic vacation is the other type which helps to create a special bonding between you and your partner and it has also to be planned periodically. Time passes off and you never realize that  you have missed some fun time together as a couple. Exploring new country together can really add value to your relationship in a better way as don’t be surprised to come to know the real funloving side of your partner(which is not reflected in routine life).

Start planning all types of vacation yearly. After all we have to make our life fill with happy memories!

Womenlines presents women of substance Ms Malini
Srivastava, entrepreneur who loves to fill colours in everything related to her
life

1.Please share with our readers little bit about you?

I am an artist of varied interest right from making creative handicrafts, to canvas paintings, wooden creations, Tanjore paintings, glass paintings, clay work, fabric painting, candle making, flower making and arrangements. I was a science graduate but had a natural flair in arts & crafts. One of the professors at Agra university who was very much impressed by my paintings offered me a seat in MA fine arts course directly from science stream. I was selected as a member by Sanskar Bharti at state level for arts and crafts. In addition to my MA in fine arts I did a lot of short term courses in textile designing, computer programming, Interior decoration, beauty culture, fashion designing, arts & crafts and also passed the Government of Maharashta’s intermediate grade drawing examination. Later I taught pro-bono at Shri Varshney College Aligarh degree college as a arts teacher as a part of social service for my community.In addiion to handicrafts I have the finest collection of various brass statues and collectibles including Nandi, cow with baby, God Ganesh, Lord Krishna, Radha Krishna in a Jhoola, Buddha faces, Fine Bell with figurines of various Hindu gods , Pots with engravings, Brass Shankhs with gods embossed.

2.So when did you venture into this business? What conspired or motivated you to take a plunge into this venture ?

After marriage when I moved to Mumbai I started on my entrepreneurial journey by creating handmade Ganesha statues from coconut shells which proved to a big hit in Mumbai with the local community who kept it in their houses for auspicious reasons .Later I started my own corporate gifting company in Mumbai by the name of Anushka Gifts and Accessories and in a short span of six months it proved to a big hit with the corporate world in Mumbai. I provided a variety of gift items from key chains, T-shirts, Ties, Pens- Stands, Watches, clocks, brass figures, and leather organizers to various local and multinational companies like Pepsi, Johnson & Johnson. Pillsbury, Godrej, Kodak etc for their corporate gifting needs. Having relocated to Singapore in 2008 I have now set up my base in Singapore to cater to the Singapore market I started small from my house, then set up a registered company AnishAnuska Gifts & Accessories and have started by taking part in exhibitions at community centres, fashion events etc where I primarily display my range of artistic creations and brass works

3.Can you share with us, some of the challenges you faced during your initial days?

Some of the challenges which I faced in my early days were to give a commitment based on somebody else’s commitment and in India I found that there were a lot
of times when I faced panic situations as people did not honour their commitments especially if you were a small company. I had to pay advance upfront and when I sold to companies they would have 60 or 90 day payment terms and lot of time even after that I had to run to get my money. The lesson I learnt is always keep a sufficient margin before you commit anything because in India there can be a variety of reasons why your delivery could not be made on time or your consignment got stuck, Also you need to have deep pockets for your working capital otherwise you just cannot operate.

4.So how do you balance your personal and professional life?

Since I mostly operate from my house I am able to balance both my personal life and professional life. Most of my intricate work like Tanjore paintings or glass
creations is done at night after my little one is put to sleep. I try to keep my weekends free for my family and do most of my work on weekdays when children are in school and husband in office.

5.What would you suggest to other aspiring women who want to venture out on their own?

My advice to other women who want to start something is first and foremost it should be your passion and hobby and not another job, secondly start small keep it simple and only take on what you can with your resources. Never overstep beyond your capacity both financial and physical. Lastly enjoy what you do.

7.What do you have in the pipeline for your company’s/business future development?

In future I see my company AnishAnuska Gifts & Accessories and items website www.anishanushka.com become the first choice of Singapore Indian community for all their art, crafts, gifting, brass statues & artefacts. Finally I would love to see my items treasured in every Indian home in Singapore.

8.How do you feel being part of Udaan?

I feel proud to be a part of UDAAN team as I feel that it is a tremendous learning opportunity to meet each other, learn from one another, get new ideas and thought process and develop contacts from networking. UDAAN gives me a platform to showcase my skills and be among like minded people which acts to
motivate me whenever I feel slightly down.

Visit www.anishanushka.com

to have a look at Malini’s work.