Being born and raised in Mumbai surely had its own perks but we all have a story to tell and each one is unique in its own way. Since I was a kid, I have always had a great inclination towards fashion. Seeing my mom sew and dressing up my dolls made me want to pursue Fashion Designing. Not that I was bad as a student or didn't score well that I decided to take up that. So, there I was after my 12th grade giving my entrance exams for fashion colleges but didn't get through NIFT. I would have had to wait for a year for the next entrance, so I decided to go with SNDT (I was one of the 30 girls selected from 1000 candidates).
The course started and I was doing fairly well but then I flunked in one of my major subjects and was pushed back by 6 months. I wanted to give up. I thought that maybe I was not meant for this but then I gathered myself and thought about what I always wanted to be.
Three years passed by and I joined the future group as an intern. It was an amazing experience with so much learning and creativity. I also worked on zoom channel and styled celebrities but felt like I had no life because I had no time for myself. There was something missing. I used to work day in and day out and I couldn't deal with the working hours. But when I decided to freelance, there was no routine to my day, so I randomly decided to do a course called Ecced for being a teacher. I started enjoying it and used to look forward to it. While my friends were taking up jobs, I was still figuring out my passion.
After pursuing fashion designing and working in the industry, I made a career switch and became a pre-primary teacher and took a job for a very minimum salary. Teaching and interacting with young minds gave me a different high. I taught pre-primary for 10 years and worked as an admission counsellor. I love upgrading myself, so I try to take up courses every two years. I studied psychology a year ago. I am a trained jolly phonics and grammar teacher and a certified counsellor.
People thought I could earn better by doing a corporate job and said that I was overqualified for my job. I heard people say "Oh! You are just a teacher". Many people questioned my salary, but I had my family supporting me and standing by me so that I could do what I loved.
The next phase of my journey started in March 2019. I was in my comfort zone, so I thought of pushing myself. I had a secure job, fixed income, and fixed working hours. So, the question was whether to continue with my job or leave it and start something of my own. Path A was the easier one while path B was filled with uncertainties. With a leap of faith, I chose path B. This is How Happy People Co started.
We started with a basic summer camp for kids and then started conducting corporate workshops. We also introduced our DIY art kits for kids in November 2019. There was no looking back after that, we are now into events, conceptual art classes, reading and grammar classes and art workshops. Now, I am the co-founder my own company which is an all women organization!
Teaching early years is an art and my platform gives me ample opportunities to interact and teach young minds. I look forward to teaching and blooming buds into flowers. The main aim is to spread happiness through my work. Follow your heart, believe in yourself and its okay to get lost in the way.
