Women Lines

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.

Tags: art, brass, canvas, colours, craft, singapore, udaan

Womenlines brings health section for benefit of  its readers. Every month one disease will be taken in consideration and  Ms Ketki Vinayachandra, a trained naturopath in Singapore, Herbalist, Nutritionist and Iridologist will be sharing her opinion about the disease.Trained in Sydney, Australia and is registered with the Australian Body NHAA – National Herbalist Association of Australia – the only association that registers herbalists in Australia.

MIGRAINE PAIN

Migraine is a debilitating condition characterized by moderate to severe headaches, and nausea, about 3 times more common in women than in men.

The typical migraine headache is unilateral pain (affecting one half of the head) and pulsating in nature, lasting from 4 to 72 hours; symptoms include nausea, vomiting, photophobia (increased sensitivity to light), phonophobia (increased sensitivity to sound), and is aggravated by routine activity. Approximately one-third of people who suffer from migraine headaches perceive an aura—unusual visual, olfactory, or other sensory experiences that are a sign that the migraine will soon occur.

Q.How to control Migraine Pain following naturopathy ways?

Ketki:Migraine pain can be due to various factors. it can be hormonal changes that induce such changes especially prior to periods or one of the accompanying symptoms for severe PMS ( premenstrual syndrome). The other factors we need to consider for migraine pain can be due to skeletal issues or misalignment , which then requires some adjustment. It can be dehydration, food allergies, constipation , lack of sleep. So a Naturopath would look at various factors and rule them out before deciding the treatment approach through diet, supplements and herbs.
 For details about Ms Ketki visit-

http://www.alternative-naturalmedicine.com/about_us.html

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001174265880

Tags: herbs, migraine pain, naturopathy

 Andre Maurois, French novelist and essayist, wrote, “A happy marriage is a long conversation which always seems too short”

Do you agree with it! Well, ideally every couple should be talking to each other rather than talking at each other. But life is not that ideal my friends and every couple goes through up and downs of relationships where at times it’s challenging to come over few issues. I really find it interesting to observe how various couples interact with each other and how well they know about each other. When as a couple we are talking to each other then we are giving undivided attention to our partner. Reason for a proper communication is to remain connected to each other. When we communicate as a couple we have our feelings and thoughts heard and respected. Whenever any problem or issues arises then we can sort out through positive communication. In fact to reach out to solutions also we have to communicate properly so that we can reach an understanding of one another. 

There are few topics which are common between couples to always discuss like- weather, kids, jobs, money, health issues, friends etc. But effort should be made that always we are not talking about same issues everyday. Life will become monotonous, isn’t it?

1.Couples can plan about their future trips and vacations.

2.Share about some new thing you discovered throughout the day

3.Take out time to share about your childhood memories.

4.Share about things you would like to experience in life.

5.Have an interesting discussion ‘If you could?  Do you believe…..

What ever topic you  are taking up think out of box how to add spice to your relationship and how to make communication fun between you and your partner!

Tags: ciommunication, husband, wife

Womenlines brings health section for benefit of  its readers. Every month one disease will be taken in consideration and  Ms Ketki Vinayachandra, a trained naturopath in Singapore, Herbalist, Nutritionist and Iridologist will be sharing her opinion about the disease.Trained in Sydney, Australia and is registered with the Australian Body NHAA – National Herbalist Association of Australia – the only association that registers herbalists in Australia.

THYROID

The thyroid is a small gland resting in the middle of the lower neck. Its primary function is to control the body’s metabolism; the thyroid does this by producing T4 and T3 hormones, which tell the body’s cells how much energy to use. A properly functioning thyroid will maintain the right amount of hormones needed to keep the body’s metabolism functioning at a satisfactory rate. As the hormones are used, the thyroid creates replacements. The quantity of thyroid hormones in the bloodstream is monitored and controlled by the pituitary gland, located in the center of the skull below the brain. When the pituitary gland senses either a lack or a high level of thyroid hormones, it will adjust its own thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and send it to the thyroid to tell it what to do.

Q.How to control thyroid related diseases following naturopathy ways?

Ketki:Thyroid is like a chief operating officer of our endocrine system and it controls lots of important hormones like the thyroid hormones – which in turn control lots of our body functions including metabolic rate and even hormones that affect our female reproductive system.

The thyroid gland is also highly sensitive to many factors, especially stress, be it physical , emotional or mental as well as environmental toxicities. I have repeatedly seen with my female thyroid patients that usually some huge stress has occurred at the time their thyroid function malfunctioned, which then gives to weight gain, fatigue, difficulty in losing weight, cholesterol and many other complications.

Naturopaths would look at the holistic picture, understand the causes, and then would start addressing the thyroid conditions via diet, supplements, herbs and stress management. Women are particularly susceptible to stressful emotions and this needs to be handled. Taking synthetic thyroid hormones like thyroxine only address the symptoms short term but it does not address the underlying cause. Its difficult to detail what therapies are used, as each individual is different, an experienced naturopath would address case  by case basis, and good results are achievable.

For details about Ms Ketki visit-

http://www.alternative-naturalmedicine.com/about_us.html

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001174265880

Tags: ketki vinayachandra, naturopath in singapore, naturopathy, thyroid