Story Makers

Silver Sisters – Divya Batra Das & Pragya Batra

It happened so, after completing my college I started working as a Jewelry designer with Amrapali. And so began my lifelong love affair with silver.

I started creating a collection for myself and my sister. We often stepped out wearing our own designs and came back home with lovely compliments and orders to recreate the same.

My sister Pragya came up with this idea of working together and creating a brand and we quickly decided to do it. She left her 9 years well-paid career in consulting and strategy. Soon we decided to name our designs ‘Quirksmith’ that fusions woman’s quirkiness and feelings with the touch of craftsmanship.

What I know best is designing and Pragya enjoys marketing and selling part so we complement each other in our skill sets. While Quirksmith is based out of Bangaluru, the craftsmen are from both Jaipur and Bangalore. We wanted to see where the designs take us so initially we started with flea markets and realized that people loved our work. Women kept coming back to us for multiple orders, which led us to move to online platform which remains our biggest source for getting new customers.

I wanted to try my hand at pieces that would tell story of the wearer.

Our designs are unique and unconventional made of carved hindi words and Like most artist we believe there is inspiration everywhere- people, poetries, stories and sometimes when I write a poem that’s the starting point to some collection or designs.

Jewelry for a woman is a means of self-expression and we want our designs to be the conversation starter. Quirksmith offers a range of silver Jewelry that is not only attractive to look at but something that reflects the wearer’s boldness and spirits.

We hope that our jewelry provides strength comfort and hope to the wearer no matter what they are facing in life and on their journey.

Helping others in anyway gives meaning and purpose to what we do.

It is gratifying and rewarding to know that you or your jewelry have had a positive influence on someone’s life.

(Interviewed and written by Raavya Sarda)

Rope Skipping Champion | Raunak Damle

My fitness journey started when I was 7 years old.

I was teased by friends for not being fit so my parents introduced me to Gymnastics to make me physically strong and flexible.

One day I randomly came across the sport, Rope skipping and thought why not, I only planned to use it for quick warm up but ended up jumping for 15 minutes without even realizing it.

I was actually enjoying rope skipping so much that I started doing it every single day.
And so began my quest and lifelong obsession with rope skipping.
The more confident I became the more tricks I could do, leaving around everyone duly impressed.

My friends used to mock me by saying that ‘This is a girl’s game and you should not play it.’ But their words didn’t matter to me because this was my ‘thing- I overcame all the barriers and people couldn’t believe how good I was.

I made it my mission and now I have been actively involved with the sport for 13 years.

During an international trial, I did not make it but that was a motivation for me. I made sure I make the best out of it and practiced so hard that I was eventually selected for internationals and won gold medal in the championship which was held in Hungary in 2017.

I have earned several titles Including National and international Championship and have been blessed with many opportunities to travel more than 10 states and 2 countries to promote the sport through competions, shows and workshops.

Raunak Damle showcasing freestyle Rope Jump

I am an international bronze medalist in Arnis- Martial Arts as well as I am a national squash player.

My parents are my backbone, they have shaped my journey. Rushing from work for my game, watching me win, lose they have been there all the time. Encouraged and motivated me to practice more.

As a competitive athlete my fitness goals were never centered on diets or weight loss but rather striving to reach peak physical performance and when I jump I feel a little closer to the sky!

(Interviewed and written by Raavya Sarda)

Story of Mr Paanwala | Mehul Patel

I was 9 years old when I learnt the art of making Paan from my grandmother. She made them with precision and it was a treat to watch her picking out different ingredients swiftly and putting just right amount of each into the betel leaf.

Sometimes if she felt generous, she would give the leaf from the box to me. So at a very young age I was drawn towards the tastes of Paan. The explosion of flavors, sharp bite of leaf, hit of menthol and satisfying sweetness of gooey gulkand. As a child I grew up with the fragrance of homemade Paan.

In 2009 when I moved to USA, I didn’t find many resources of Paan available around so I started making one at home for myself. Then I began experimenting with different flavors and mouth fresheners and served to friends and family. They all loved it and started calling me Mr. Paanwala with love.

I simply followed my internal guts and started Paan Casa in 2018 with the desire to serve traditional Paan in an international way and then I never looked back.

Paan Casa is a unique family Paan café where we don’t just sell Paans but we offer a concept – exceptional live events, gatherings, art exhibitions. All our products are made traditionally in an authentic way.

I am a Paan artist and I do what I simply love doing -Making Paan.

Paan Casa is a one stop destination for every Paan lover. Be it a celebration or a tiresome day at work, there’s a Paan for every occasion. We offer more than 80 varieties of customized Paan on our menu which are uniquely handcrafted – Thandai Mousse Paan, Boondi Fusion Paan, Cookies & Cream Paan, Mojito Mint Paan (Non-Alcoholic), Maza Mango Paan and many more.

Anupam Kher with Mr Paanwala Mehul Patel

At Paan Casa we are always excited to share our craftsmanship with others and so we have built a Tobacco and Nicotine free café with friendly environment for families.

Today Mr. Paanwala is the fastest growing brand in USA with 9 franchises in Philadelphia, London, Surat, Kolkata and Goa.

We are a proud business that makes any event absolutely Paantastic for you and your loved ones.

(Interviewed nd written by Raavya Sarda)

Skin deep and beyond – Shivaji Choudhary

I wasn’t born with Vitiligo. It developed when I was 9 years old. The patch was very noticeable so my mother was terrified and immediately took me to a doctor and started the treatment.

My skin changed dramatically. Growing up, I was called ‘Spotty’, ‘Dalmatian’ by my friends. Some elderly people around even said ‘ Ye pichle Janam ke paap hai’. Just Imagine a 9 year old boy was bashed about something, he didn’t have control over. I was stared upon everywhere I went and was made fun of. I was looked at with disgust which made me vulnerable.

I was a swimmer during my school days. One day the swim coach didn’t let me enter the pool and told me to bring an approval letter from the doctor. I don’t think one could feel any worse than that at such young age. People don’t realize the kind of impact on a vitiligo person who is already dealing with trauma.

Over a period of 20 years, I have witnessed my skin transformed from brown to white, Small freckled dots to large white patches. Vitiligo has affected my skin but the unfeigned reality is I still live a normal life.

Vitiligo is a lonely journey. Your friends and family will always care for you but they will never understand what you have actually faced.

Dealing with Vitiligo and people certainly taught me a lot about life.

It made me so mature and wiser that I have a different mindset altogether. I have created my own identity through my skills. Being an entrepreneur and a traveler, I have also stepped up to educate people about the skin condition and in order to do that I have created a page on Instagram @vitiligoIndia- to “showcase vitiligo patients from all over the world and let them embrace what they have”.

You have to keep growing as a person and see what you are capable of. Achievements bring happiness. So either keep crying or go out there and do the best you can.

People ask me all the time, how do you have the confidence to take on the world when they are trying to overpower you? And I say I am proud of who I am. I just have one life, it has given me a unique challenge and I will embrace it.

Written by – Raavya Sarda

Bringing back Kabir’s poetry to life | Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Cafe

Neeraj Arya’s Kabir café is a folk fusion band that brings alive poetries of Sant Kabir infused with rock and pop spreading awareness on how the poets work is relevant even today.

I (Neeraj Arya) am inspired by the values of Sant Kabir and started performing on streets as a resident artist of NSPA (National streets of performing arts). That’s where I met Mukund Ramaswamy the violinist of the band. We jammed together and hit an instant vibe.

Later chain of events gave birth to the band that has fruitfully bonded the mystic saint’s age-old philosophy with a modern outlook.

The band includes Viren Solanki (Percusionist) Poubuanpou Britto KC (Bass Guitarist, backing vocalist) and new addition Vicky Bramhankar (Percussionist) who added more depth to the music and we immediately found the spark.

It seems that the band came together by sheer destiny! The sounds of our band have touch of pop, rock, reggae, folk fusion and Carnatic music.

Kabir is the first member of our band and helps us see beyond music that is free of structure. Café is a place for discussions, and our conversation is focused around Kabir who resides in our hearts and can only be experienced with faith and devotion.

Throughout our 7 year old long journey the band has performed in more than 900 shows and earned a name in the most loved musical groups of the country.

Neeraj Aryas Kabir Cafe Performing live in one of their concerts

We have spread verses of Sant Kabir not only across India but to more than 10 countries- Singapore, Thailand, The USA, The UK, Russia and Egypt. Kabir Café has also lent music to mainstream Hindi films like Baadshaho (Hoshiyar Rehna) and Hindi Medium (Fakiri). And latest Mat Kar Maya Ko Ahankar included in Hansal Mehta directed web series 1992 Scam: The Harshad Mehta Story

As a band we believe no matter what, humans are spiritual deep within which keeps our music alive. Kabir’s words are relevant even today and we want to spread his message and see the change as we sing.

Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart and the beauty of Kabir’s café is the conviction with which we perform and learn new things bout Kabir. And we don’t just perform for people; we make them a part of us.

So that’s the story of Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Cafe.

(Interviewed and written by Raavya Sarda)

Fashion from trash | reCharkha- The Ecosocial Tribe

I was in 8^th grade when I got to know through school textbooks that plastic waste is not decomposable. After that I started questioning and bugging people around me to not use plastic all the time.

I completed my bachelors in IT and worked in the same sector.

But I was looking for something to do for the environment so I quit my job and completed my master’s in business but with focus on sustainability. Along with my work I kept volunteering with NGO’s for social cause.

I realized even if a small organization takes some step to preserve the environment it is going to make a big difference. Then I started upcycling plastic on my own and that’s how I landed up in sustainability and waste management.

As I am a trekking enthusiast during my travels I saw that people in rural India needed employment options other than agriculture. So I launched my company reCharkha with the idea of conserving environment and creating employments for remote villages.

The entire approach of upcycling at reCharkha is very interesting. Because we not just recycle plastic waste but we weave it using charkha and handloom. So the complete process is very special.

Although recycling waste plastic into usable products is laborious and time consuming process; for making one bag around 50 wrappers or plastic bags are upcycled and a single item can take more than 3 days to make.

The process begins with collecting upcycling non-biodegradable and difficult-to-recycle plastic bags, grocery bags, multilayered wrappers of cookies, chips and glittery gifts wraps.

Then washing the plastic bags and drying them under the Sun. Tribal craft workers cut the sun-dried plastic bags with scissors. Then it is spun on a charkha to make yarn and later woven on a hand loom to make fabric.

Amita Deshpande with a tribal artisan in reCharkha unit

This hand-woven fabric is stitched like any other fabric to create consumer accessories like tote bags, clutches, laptop bags, purses, water-bottle holders, book covers and more. The demand is gradually picking up and we plan to expand globally. we upcycle your waste for better tommorow.

I want people to understand that plastic has become massive threat to our ecosystem. It takes hundreds of years to decompose in soil. Only recycling and upcycling is not going to help.

So say no to plastic. We have no right to snatch from our future generation their right to have a clean and beautiful earth!

Interviewed and written by Raavya Sarda

The second most famous Chaiwala in the world | Prafull Billore

I am not an MBA but everyone knows me as MBA Chaiwala. My name is Prafull Billore and I started my career by selling tea roadside.

I am a very ambitious person and wanted to pursue MBA. After giving many tries in CAT, GMAT; I did not get admission in top colleges. So I was depressed and traveled around India and landed in Ahmedabad.

My parents had many hopes from me but I was clueless what I wanted to do next. So I joined McDonalds and worked as a kitchen staff who would take orders, make burgers and serve the customers.

All this time I kept thinking of starting my own café but the minimum investment needed was 15,00,000. I did not have any money to invest so I finally decided to start a tea stall but did not have the courage as roadside tea stall is considered as uneducated labor class work. Also the thought that, how would I answer to my parents questions and face their anger as to why I am not pursuing MBA. Instead running a chai ka thela.

Honestly, It took me 45 days to gather the courage to set up a tea stall.

As my tea stall was getting popular the nearby tea stall owners in the area got jealous of my popularity and brutally threw me out of the vicinity.

Prafull Billore making tea in his roadside stall

But this did not stop me; shortly I rented out a space for my tea stall and was back in business with enthusiasm. The name MBA stands for Mr Billore Ahmedabad Chaiwala.

I reinvented the approach of selling tea to my customers. Including selling tea at political parties, naming tea after their projects to making a corner in my shop for jobseekers to leave their name, number and qualification. The job providers would often come for having tea and pick numbers of suitable candidates.

Prafull Billore making tea in Delhi for AAP Campaign

People have been judgmental with harsh comments. Some of them even mocked saying ‘Now educated MBA’s are also selling tea’, but once you succeed everything falls in place on its own.

I believe my courage and vision has helped me grow my business and earn whooping crores every month. I have been invited to IIM’s and Harvard Business School to share my success story and motivate others.

None of this happens without hard work so never underestimate the Power of consistency and desire. I am not successful because I am lucky; I am successful because I built it.

Interviewed and written by Raavya Sarda

Long distance love | Tanmaya Pai

Yes I am in a happy long distance marriage.

My husband and I have been married for 14 years and have a daughter under 12. He is an ENT surgeon and lives in Dubai for his job. I am an International Zumba trainer in Mumbai for past 7 years. We meet twice a year for 3 months stretch. So if you feel how does our marriage work? Let me be completely honest with you long distance relationships can work. It just takes efforts and communication. He is the perfect person; it just happens that he lives thousands of miles away.

The main ways we make it work is by genuinely loving each other, being Independent, supportive, trusting and yeah Totok!

In our case we are both Independent people with very different nature, different manners and reactions to most of the things. I am the social one while he is the one happy on his couch with his book. He is the disciplined one and I am the entertainer.

We text, call, email and facetime each other many times a day, video calls every night allow us to read body language and tell if other is having a bad day. I also encourage my daughter to leave voice notes and videos for her dad to stay connected.

I feel the most important thing is not to see yourselves as living separate lives. Trust is essential. Without it being apart could be really difficult.

People around me keep questioning- How do you manage on your own? Is it difficult to be able to do things without spouse?

On the contrary I feel long distance marriage works for me because we don’t see or hurt each other every day!

I would like to ask if you were offered a good job, would you move to a different city without your spouse? Most of the people would answer yes.

I wouldn’t want my husband giving up something that he has worked so hard on!

So sometimes you have to make sacrifices and this one I feel is worth for us. There are moments when I feel emotionally low. On festivals, birthdays or couple parties but I have seen it all and battled it.

A long-distance relationship has worked for me because its best of both worlds: I have someone I care about, but I also have a lot of much-needed solitude.

Interviewed and written by Raavya Sarda

Bangaluru blaster | Luvnith Sisodia

I was 9 years old when I first picked up a cricket bat. In no time I was head over heels over the game. Seeing my love and dedication for the sport my parents enrolled me in a cricket camp and arranged for my coaching. I started playing cricket for the school team.

The turning point of my life was under 14 states selection where I was wicket keeping and dived in full length to catch the ball. That caught eyes of the selectors and they complimented me on my anticipation and reflex. I was enjoying being out there; in fact I wanted every ball to come to me.

I am a left handed batsman. My coach encouraged and convinced me to focus on my batting. That year I played for Karnataka team under 16 and then went on to play under 19.

The Afghanistan National team was in India for a practice tournament. I scored 45 odd runs against them. That was a life changing game for me. I needed that breakthrough which everyone needs and that’s how I made my Twenty20 debut for Karnataka team in 2018-19 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and finished as leading run scorer 234 against Punjab Cooch Behar Trophy.

I practice cricket for 8-9 hours a day while continuing my studies. My father always says- we don’t value things if it comes easy, so work hard to get them, then they’re precious. And I believe the same. At the end of the day you have to work hard to achieve your goal.

My father loves cricket but my mother gets nervous. She hasn’t watched me play cricket, not even one game. Even when I made my debut my entire state was watching it but she didn’t watch the game. She knows the timing of T20 matches as soon as the match ends she calls my dad and asks for the score. She just waits for the end result. My goal is to make her watch at least one of my games.

I have perfected my craft in the grind of domestic circuit, fought it out stumbled and got back up for new innings.

I am a big Saurav Ganguly fan and admire Mayank Agarwal’s shot selection and calmness. My dream is to wear the blue colour of team India one day.

Interviewed and written by – Raavya Sarda

Spread love not scars | Acid attack survivor Daulat bi Khan

After losing my mother in 2009, I was living with my elder sister and brother in law in Mumbai. The couple was forcing me to marry against my wish and when I turned down the marriage proposal they threatened me with fatal consequences.

The following day my elder sister, her husband and their 18 year old son barged in and retaliated by throwing acid on me, my two young sisters and a toddler. Now 10 years old, still struggles in pain. My face chest and arms were disfigured beyond recognition. It also left me partially blind. I couldn’t open my eyelid or my mouth and had to undergo almost 17 reconstruction surgeries for my present changed appearance. I sold my house and jewelry to fund our treatment.

I learned to live with physical pain but what hurt me most was the way society reacted. After spending almost a year on the bed, I started hunting for a job but nobody was ready to give me one because of the way I looked. I used to work as a professional makeup artist but now there was no work for me. My face had become my identity. I wanted to shout out to the world and say- ‘Acid has changed my face not ruined my soul.’ I am not a victim I am a survivor, people who attacked me should cover their face, I won’t!

After a lot of struggle right from getting treatment to finding a job as a maid and begging outside mosque to feed my family. In year 2016, I formed my NGO – ‘Acid Survivor Sahas Foundation’. It provides counselling, education, as well as employment opportunities to other survivors. Till date we have empowered 26 acid attack victims.

Daulat bi khan with an acid attack survivor

During Covid 19 outbreak I found it more difficult to support myself and other survivors through the Ngo so I decided to start ‘All In One Mini Supermarket’, Which is Mumbai’s only supermarket to employ acid attack victims. My aim is to build shelter home for acid attack victims who have been abandoned by their families. Assist and employ them by giving them freedom to live.

All in one mini super market started by Daulat bi khan

Today I am still recovering from the wounds and boldly facing the world without hiding within four walls. I refuse to give hope; they burned my face but not my will to live.

To support her, please click on the link –https://www.payumoney.com/paybypayumoney/#/34C6E86F6A53AF257DBBC59CECAF644E

Interviewed and written by — Raavya Sarda