Riya is 28yrs old and runs a cloud kitchen in Lucknow Pragya is 24 years old from Rajasthan and has a tag designing business. Kushagra is 30 yrs old and is from Bullan in UP and has a business of CC TV business Ajit is 30 yrs old and has a tour and travel business. He is from Meerut.
Riya: I never wanted to do a 9-5 job, for a limited salary. A limited salary will not cover my personal expenses.
In business my capacity to earn is more, though it varies month to month.
Kushagra: Right from school days we are told your expenses are Rs 25-30,000—when you are not earning yet. When [you are old enough to] earn, how much more will your expenses be? So I never even thought of doing a job. Rs 10-15,000 after working 9-5 is just not going to do.
I’m clear that even in business, I will not work for a margin of Rs 5-10. I want 100% - 500% - 1,000% margin.
Riya is 28yrs old and runs a cloud kitchen in Lucknow
Riya: There is a slow acceptance that women can do more—whether it is in a job or as an entrepreneur. But a gap still exists. You rarely see a woman as the owner of a business—the big sweet shop or bakery is run by men. Many still can’t accept it; we need a change in thought process—and the change needs to be more than just adopting Western attire.
Pragya: Even five years ago we didn’t have the ideas and opportunities that social media now allows. I see the difference in my family, in my circle. Girls’ education is now given equal importance. Now we too have more opportunities.
Now, there are business families where the sons don’t want to run it and the daughters are.
Now I also see more young women who are working or running a small business even after getting married.
I was the first person in my extended family to start a business. Everyone was a little afraid, and so was I. I had no knowledge about this business. But still, I got a lot of support from my family and are proud of me now.
Ajit: Pre-Covid, we had slowly built a team and a network of vehicles, guides etc for the tourists we took to the forts. During the pandemic those links dissipated as business plummeted and we couldn’t pay.
I want to make India’s history better known. For example, the issue about Shah Jahan buying the land for the Taj Mahal from Hindu owners. But one version has it that the emperor gave four Havelis in return. I wish there was research to unearth the truth. Or facts like the second longest wall in the world is the wall of the Kumbhalgarh Fort. Or that the architecture in the South is as grand as Mughal architecture.