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I’m born and brought up in Jaipur. I’m the only child of my parents. They wanted a single child - be it a boy or girl. And their vision was to provide the best upbringing they could give. My father wanted me to become an IFS as he is an Environmentalist. But he never forced his desires upon me and let me choose my way.
I still remember, during the vacation, they would engage me in various activities such as stitching, typing, pottery, and cobbling. I often got angry at my parents for wasting my vacations or free time on mundane activities. However, I later realised that these activities were experiments to pick my interest. You know, just the way we keep several toys around a child and let him pick one according to his interests. My interest lies in creative works!
Anyways, with their perfect guidance, I was a school topper and then Rajasthan topper in graduation. After that, I pursued an MBA from Pune University, followed by an exciting career at O&M for eight years. At O&M, I worked as a Rural Communicator. It was a niche work, and I travelled across 139 villages in India.
And those days allowed me to peek into the daily routine of village women. You know, the works like claying, weaving, painting, etc. I was intrigued by their artistic works, and sadly, they didn’t understand the value of those precious works. So, you can say that these encounters subconsciously fit into my mind, and I wanted to do something for them.
In between, I got married. After five years, we decided to have our first child. For that, we shifted to my hometown Jaipur from Mumbai. I left my job, and Udit was born. My parents were there to care for him, so I restarted corporate life and joined Vodafone. At O&M, I enjoyed doing the creative work. But Vodafone was all about numbers.
My work schedule was hectic. I could barely meet Udit even after two days of intervals. And within those times, I was so tired of work that I could hardly spend quality time with Udit. Still, whenever I used to call him, he would look back at me smiling. Slowly, the intervals stretched to three and then four days. One day, he didn’t respond to my call. It broke my heart, and I was in tears. My mom said, ‘Tu Udit ke sath rehte hi kitna hai jo ye tujhe pechanega.’ And the next day, I resigned to spend time with Udit.
One day, I noticed Udit was playing with paper. He was tearing it up into bits. I stopped him from wasting paper, explaining the importance of tree conservation. And in his childlike innocence, he replied, ‘Fir aap hi kyon nahi bana lete ho paper?’ I replied, ‘Mai nahi bana sakte paper.’ To which my father asked, ‘Tumhe nahi pata ki bina ped kaante bhi paper banta hai?’ And he explained the process of manufacturing paper using cotton.
Being the curious and eager girl I always have been, I tried it using a waste cotton cloth at home. Such a surreal experience it was! We repeated the activity 3-4 times. And for me, it was the moment that laid the foundation for leading a sustainable revolution by producing paper out of waste cotton.
Initially, we began with making paper bags. Vodafone, my ex-employer, was my first client. They ordered ten paper bags for which I quoted them 100 rupees only. The price quotation didn’t go well with my husband, Prashant. He said, ‘ Tu please 100 rupay mere se le le but ye mat kar’. At that time, I was just a naive entrepreneur. And honestly, I was happy with the 100 rupees, and I still am proud of that. I didn’t tell him that day, but deep down, I had decided to make 1 lakh paper bags. And I crossed the number in three years and three months.
My entrepreneurial journey started in collaboration with my mom, Sharda Daga. After five years, I ventured independently, drawing on skills and resilience learned from her. Mom, a guiding force, instilled the ability to navigate challenges. As I took flight, she focused on impactful projects, leaving a legacy of empowerment. Her journey inspires me and others, emphasizing leadership as uplifting those around you.
Today, I’m running my venture - ‘Surprise Someone’, along with my mother, Sharda and a tribe of other successful women, majorly from rural backgrounds. And now we manufacture around 1500 sustainable products. Our every product tells a story of environmental restoration, women's empowerment and a shared commitment towards a sustainable future!
Why Surprise Someone? Because I love surprising people! ‘Logon ko daru ka nasha hota hai, cigarettes ka nasha hota ya chai ka nasha hota, mujhe Surprise karne ka nasha hai!’ So let's join hands to wow our loved ones and environment together!
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