As part of VFS's Customer Connect, our executives had reached out to our customers enquiring about their well-being and the health of their enterprises during the lockdown. While we anticipated distress calls, all we could find were stories of wit, grit and above all, might.
When Hira Mazumder lost her husband, her bright days were suddenly turned into a shadow of gloom. Overnight the happy family of four turned into a grieving family of three. While the bereaved son tried to take care of his mother and sister, he prepared to join the Air Force. Soon, with much strength and courage, the family managed to force their way out of financial challenges when he got selected to serve the country and fly high. Hira's daughter soon followed her brother's footsteps to serve the nation and joined as a school teacher.
Things were finally looking up for the family. But for Hira, there was a sense of lack. Now, that both the children had flown away from their nest, forging their way ahead, Hira was left all alone back in her little village of Deuripara.
From one phone call to another, Hira's life happened in between those few moments of contact with her children. She recalled her days before marriage when her hands spun and stitched colourful "gamchhas" or cotton towels and sold them to locals or even at times to tourists.
Her yearning to go back to the old days made her chance upon the idea of starting her own handloom business. However, small it might have been, it was born out of talent, a desire to do something, and sheer determination. There was an idea, but there was no plan. Hira's years of cloistered life had kept her uninformed about the changing economy sphere of the country. Fortunately, her niece Mannu was visiting her and Hira confided her entrepreneurial dreams.
A graduate student, Mannu was well aware of startups and she showed her the ways to secure a starting capital. In a few days, Hira was part of the local JLG group, under VFS's Bongaigaon branch. With the fund, Hira bought in materials from the city and installed looms in her backyards. Her business was up and running. Hira finally felt a sense of self-sufficiency, the joy of achievement. She didn't have to rely on the money sent by her children. She was earning her own.
Just when everything looked up and sunny, the gloom of lockdown cast a shadow on the entire country. Economies around the world came to a standstill. There was a paradigm shift in people's behaviour and way of living. The cost of Pandemic was paid in lives and livelihoods. While medics and health workers battled the disease, small businesses struggled to stay afloat. The call of "Vocal for local" came like a fuel for the stagnant economy. Local businesses were again renewed with the goal of "Atmanirbhar Bharat".
Hira's small enterprise, though initially affected, learnt to thrive with expansion in production. Apart from gamchhas, her backyard now produced bed sheets. Customers from nearby villages started flocking to her. Hira realised that hurdles and challenges teach us to evolve and grow big.
VFS Customer Awareness Training sessions had already made Hira realise the need for financial knowledge in day to day conduct of operations. With all the lessons and Mannu’s assistance, Hira plans to move ahead and expand her range of handloom products, as she looks forward to employing young women from her village and buy more looms.
The busy backyard of Hira tells a story that it’s never late to find your calling; it’s always the right time to start that business that you planned for ages, to re-imagine things, and gain new perspectives.
