Passion To Profession — Five Women Entrepreneurs Who Defied Age To Build Their Business Empire! - Infano Women's Health | Lifestyle

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My grandmother never stopped working — not until her last month. And this is what encouraged me to keep working, no matter what the situation in your life is!

That feeling of being self-dependent and making your life the way you wish is incomparable.

People often limit their ambitions — either after a certain milestone, or a certain situation or a certain age. But they do not actually unleash their full potential and do not explore life as much as they should be.

Who says that age is a limit to anything? I’m writing about six such passionate women entrepreneurs who proved that age is just a number, and it’s you who define yourself and your ambitions.

Radha Daga

When Radha Daga started her food business at the age of 69, she wasn’t new to the entrepreneurial space — her garment export business was already a hit. But her multi-crore company, Triguni Food Pvt Ltd, a ready-to-eat food manufacturer in Chennai, became a major success after Indigo Airlines became one of their premium clients and responsible for the 80% of their business profit.

“I work eight hours every day, and though I do take three to four short vacations in a year, I am always available to my team,” says the 78 YO founder and managing director of Triguni Food.

Harbhajan Kaur

When Harbhajan Kaur started her home-made barfi business at the age of 90, little did she know that her business would be praised and recommended by Mahindra group chairman Anand Mahindra.

Her barfi recipe has always been one of the most demanding and tempting recipes among her family and friends, but she never thought to turn it into a business because her husband was against her working. But on her daughters’ suggestion, she started selling her barfi at Apni Mandi, a weekly organic market in Chandigarh.

“Every week, I make about 5kg of barfi or more depending on the orders I get,” says the 94 YO entrepreneur. “Who would have thought she would get so much success and fame?” says her eldest daughter, Amrit Tulsi.

Yamini Mazumdar

When Yamini Mazumdar started her laundry business at the age of 68, she never thought that she would be able to achieve so much with it. “I didn’t want to sit idle so decided to start something of my own. I go to the office every day and work for four hours. I am still quite young,” says the 88 YO businesswoman.

“My mom’s entrepreneurial genes have made me who I am,” says her daughter and Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

Kokila Parekh

When Kokila Parekh started her chai masala business at the age of 79, it was only a way to keep herself occupied during the coronavirus lockdown. Her brand, KT Chai Masala, has received more than 500 orders from Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, and Ahmedabad in less than a few months.

Her chai masala powder business is handled by her and three domestic helpers. The ingredients include various spices such as dried ginger powder, cinnamon powder, pepper and cardamom, and the whole packet comes with a shelf-life of 6-8 months.

Ansuya Shah

When Ansuya Shah started her spice business at the age of 67, it wasn’t her first attempt in the entrepreneurial space. “From a very young age, entrepreneurship interested me. I have always had good management skills and an inclination to keep busy all the time. One thing was clearly etched in my thoughts – to always be the ‘alpha’ in whatever I do. I think all of this has helped me in my life to be a success,” Ansuya says.

Her home in Ahmedabad would give you a mixed essence of packaged condiments, powdered masalas, and raw spices. She single-handedly set up and built her spice business and made it a success with her husband’s constant support.

I don’t know what I’ll be doing at the age of sixty, but if I stay alive and healthy and feel clueless, I will surely come back to this story to take some inspiration and strength! #PassionToProfession #InfanoWomen

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The tragic killing of two young women in Andhra Pradesh by their highly educated parents shook the country last week. As days pass and the police probe continues, fresh revelations are coming to the fore about the murders of two sisters by their parents in Madanapalli in Chittor district of Andhra Pradesh.

The accused parents have been identified as Purushotham, a vice-principal of a government college, and Padamja a gold medallist in mathematics.

Unfolding of events in the Andhra Murders case

Deeply spiritual people, the couple bludgeoned the daughters with dumbbells and Trishul as they wanted to “appease supernatural forces”. The couple was followers of Mehar Baba, Sai Baba, and Rajaneesh or Osho. They regularly used to visit Shirdi.

The older daughter Alekhya was 27-years-old. She worked as a forest officer. She returned home during the coronavirus pandemic and was preparing for the civil services examination. The younger daughter Sai Divya was 23-years-old and had completed her post-graduation in business administration (MBA) and was pursuing a course in music.

chittoor sisters double murders — Sisters Alekhya and Sai Divya

According to neighbours and colleagues, Purushotham’s family was deeply superstitious. The family had remained isolated since the pandemic set in. Even domestic workers were not allowed inside the house.

The couple murdered the older daughter after a puja and then killed the younger daughter. The mother felt that there was evil inside her younger daughter’s head and so she broke it open. Later the vice-principal called one of his co-workers and informed him about the murders who alerted the police. On arrival the police found the couple in a state of trance and told the police that their daughters would come alive after some time and to not interfere in the ritual.

While one would wonder how such educated people could fall prey to such superstitions and malpractices to the extent of murdering their own offsprings, mental health professionals believe that this is ‘a brain disease and can happen to anybody.’

“The delusional parents is what severe untreated mental illness, unfortunately, looks like sometimes”, says Psychiatrist Anirudh Kala.

“These are cases of what the French call Folie-deux or shared psychosis. In this case, probably the mother is the primary patient who has either Schizophrenia or Bipolar disorder with psychosis. Typically the person who ‘ catches’ the delusion secondarily is emotionally dependent on the ‘primary’ patient and starts sharing his/her world view.”

Shared psychotic disorder (Folie a deux) is an unusual mental disorder characterized by sharing a delusion among two or more people who are in a close relationship. The (inducer, primary) who has a psychotic disorder with delusions influences another individual or more (induced, secondary) with a specific belief. It commonly presents among two individuals, but in rare cases can include larger groups, i.e., family and called folie a famille.
Source

Insanity or unflinching devotion?

The social media posts of Alekhya suggested that she was attracted to Osho and his teachings. She also claimed that she brought her pet dog to life after killing it.

Social media posts of the deceased elder daughter Alekhya suggests that she was a big fan of late spiritual guru Osho and strongly believed in rebirth and salvation.

In some of her posts, Alekhya had described herself as an ‘Osho lover’ and a ‘dhyani’, according to a media report.

The girl’s other social media posts also give credibility to the theory that she went into a spiritual trance and believed in salvation which resulted in her and her sister’s murder by their parents.

‘I Am Shiva’, Claims Andhra Parent Accused of Killing Daughters, appears delusional.

Where does one draw the line between superstition and religious/spiritual beliefs?

“The tragedy which destroyed a whole family was wholly avoidable if treatment had been instituted at any point in time”, says Dr. Anirudh. “Part of treatment is to separate the two delusional sharers. The ‘secondary’ patient recovers fast sometimes even without treatment. This seems to be already happening with the husband. Unfortunately the worst for the couple is yet to come when they recover and are hit by the enormous guilt over what they have done.”

Alas we still struggle with acceptance of mental illness and access to mental health treatments. Some religious beliefs are so deeply rooted in superstitions and blind faith over religious godmen that we cannot separate it from logic and fail to use our reasoning. But the religious aspect was only a part of it. The larger problem here was the delusion the parents suffered from.

“In an ideal world they would be acquitted on grounds of mental illness but that is unlikely given the lack of sensitivity of the system and our archaic law about the culpability of the mentally ill. But in an ideal world, they would have been diagnosed and treated and none of it would have happened.”