When I was just a little girl my mother used to sing this song to me along with a few others like ‘You are my sunshine’.
Now I have children of my own and I started to sing ‘Que Sera Sera’ to them the other morning. ‘A’ loves languages and new songs so he was quite intrigued. When I got to ‘…will I be pretty…’ he said…’Mama, pretty like Katie!’.
I was taken back for a minute as I hadn’t met Katie and was surprised he made the association. ‘Pretty’ with ‘Katie’. :). (Katie is their friend in Mandarin class which hubby takes them too.)
My 3 year old boy knows ‘pretty’ and can already appropriately use the adjective! He’s already a little charmer… Sorry mums….look out for some innocent flirting from my little boy! Que Sera Sera…
And now from my head to yours….here’s Que Sera Sera…
For Christmas, I received a gift voucher from hubby for a massage and a facial at the Cowshed. Since then I have been waiting for a few spare hours to redeem them and surrender to some pampering.
I have had treatments at the Cowshed at Babington House, just outside Bath, and they are just amazing. I love the Cowshed products and have never been let down by their treatments. The Cowshed has since opened many spas around London and the closest one to me is in Primrose Hill. So here I am on a sunny afternoon at Primrose Hill with a close friend whom I convinced to come along for a massage.
I found the spa very welcoming and refreshing, as a spa should be but is not always. They have a lovely lounge just at the reception with Al Fresco seating which we just had to take advantage of. We were then met by our respective therapists who walked us in to the our treatment rooms.
I was first given the signature Cowshed massage followed by their facial. I had the choice of selecting a ‘relaxing oil’, ‘uplifting oil’ or a ‘balancing oil’ by smelling each one on cotton wool. I chose the balancing oil as it resonated with my current mood.
As we got started, I mentioned to ‘Eva’ my therapist that I had twin boys aged 3 and hence my shoulder blades were quite tight carrying them a lot. She immediately said that she was a mother of twin boys aged 5. Boom! Needless to say we had a connection, and we chatted some more as I needed to know how she found time to work full-time and give such an amazing massage and a facial when I get so exhausted all the time.
Eva then continued to tell me how she was a skin specialist and a beauty therapist prior to having the boys, and when they started nursery at age 3, she used those 3 hours studying to re-qualify and get back to work. I learned she was a single mother. I learned she could focus on her goal while bringing up 2 little babies. I learned she is now an entrepreneur running her own beauty business other than temping at the Cowshed. I learned that when you are focused and dedicated, you can do wonders for yourself and your family. I learned that even though life is challenging, one can still remain balanced and soft.
I had a relaxing, balancing, uplifting and inspiring massage and facial.
In support for a hard-working twins’ mum, I recommend Eva for your next facial in London. theEmpressofBeauty@gmail.com.
And if you are looking for that ‘special spa’ in London for all your pampering treatments in a lovely, cozy venue, then you have to book in at the Primrose Hill Cowshed.
Enjoy a bit of self-indulgence… with both of them… Eva at the Cowshed!
There are some really fun and diverse activities in London to experience with children. Not all are exclusive to Easter, but there are some Spring launches and then there are the ever greens. See what catches yours or your child’s fancy.
A week long celebrations for our 3 year olds! I felt like I had planned an Indian wedding yesterday and literally just curled up for an afternoon nap while the boys were wondering what happened to me.
We have had 3 separate celebrations for them, and each one has been fun and special in their own way. The first one was with all their baby group friends and many of my friends’ children whom they know. We did this at GoKids, N20. I highly recommend this venue – on private hire – for a toddler’s birthday party. The team there know how to look after the hosts and the guests and we literally just had to show up.
Then on their actual birthday we had family over, which was very, very, intimate and special, and Y & A enjoyed all the attention, yes and the gifts, they each received. And wow! a 2nd birthday cake!
Yesterday we had their school friends over, who really are their ‘besties’ as they spend the entire week with them. This was a surprise party and boy they were so thrilled. I had SillyMillie, the entertainer, for them and all the kids really enjoyed her silliness!
All the celebrations aside, I wanted to share the sweet things they have said and done in the last week that actually signifies to me the transition from terrific two’s to even more terrific three’s!
1. While tucking A in to bed once night last week, I said, ‘Good night, God bless you, I love you,’ and right away he said, ‘I love you too!’. Unprompted. Just spontaneous.
2. Another night I tucked Y in and before I could wish him good night he said, ‘I love you’.
3. When the boys were younger, I used to sit on a folding stool and wash them in their tub and then gradually started to showered them. Now the stool is used to brush their teeth or do a wee. So last week while I was showering A, Y was on the stool brushing his teeth. As soon as he was done brushing his teeth he brought the stool over to me and said, ‘mama, here, I bring you the stool, sit on it’.
My two little charmers and surely turning in to little heart breakers. With all the craziness we go through…. NOTHING can make a mother’s heart feel so full and happy than these beautiful words and gestures. It makes everything so worth it!
The last few weeks have been an amazing and magical experience with the boys. They’ve properly embarked on the beautiful twin journey. Their bond is now so visible and their gestures and conversations with each other are sweet and hilarious at times.
When I have one or both of them in bed with me, when either one wakes up, he looks for the other and wants to wake this brother up. Whichever one it is, Y or A, he will say something that only they understand, in their twin code, and the other one just opens his eyes and smiles so wide and repeats the word…. and the day begins… with smiles, then giggles, and then later fights… 🙂
A couple of nights ago, Y went to sleep in the ‘island’ between the two beds, on the duvet that is considered ‘mama’s bed’. A wanted to sleep next to him and kept sliding in next to him and putting his arm around Y’s neck. Unfortunately for awhile it was too stimulating and so I had to separate them, but despite that, they still fell asleep next to each other with their arms around each other. So precious. Wish I had taken a photo.
Tonight, I had Y fall calm down while sleeping over me and then moved him to the ‘island’ while I went to A’s bed to settle him. When all 3 of us were silent, breathing softly in the dark, there was a soft voice:
Y: ‘A… where’s mama?’,
another soft voice responds….’Y… she’s here’
A: ‘With you A?’
Y: ‘Yes, mama’s here’
A: ‘With you? On top of you?’ (what he meant … are you sleeping on top of her?)
Y: ‘Yes, mama is here, up’ (mama is here on my bed)
A mellow excitement follows with Y, and then I threaten to leave the room.
A: ‘No wait mama…. I tell a story. There was a small boy at a bus stop… and he………………’
I was in a sweet shock and just stayed there listening to my almost 3-year-old make up a bed time story.
Just as he got done, I started to slip out of the room, and Y started…’and now I tell a story mama…. there was a boy…..’)
A sweet, sweet, blessed moment. May they keep continuing…. for me! and of course for each other….
Yes… this blog is intended to Celebrate Women… but Women just don’t happen. As much as an impact a mother has on a daughter, a father has equally the same in my opinion and experience. Here is how my Papa help shape me in to the girl/woman I am today…
Papa is a ‘No-bullshit’, ‘It’s all about tough-love’, ‘I know you’re my only daughter but don’t expect any special treatment’ kind of father. In my life as a wife, mother and an entrepreneur today, I call upon various teachings and incidences I have had with my father growing up, and realise how influenced I am by those experiences and how they impact me now.
1. Till the age of 7 I used to come home from school and change out of my uniform dumping it in my parents’ room for my mother to figure out the next step – iron or wash, when she got home from work. One day, after doing so, my father walked up to me and asked me what my uniform was doing on the floor. I said, ‘that’s where I always leave it, and mama does what she does with it’. Papa said, ‘well, when are you going to figure it out? Mama is not supposed to do everything for you. Fold your clothes and put them away neatly.’ I burst out crying as I didn’t know how to button and fold a shirt. All Papa had to say was, ‘work at it, you’ll get it.’
2. At 8, papa taught me how to make his and mum’s afternoon tea, to be ready for them after their siesta.
3. At 10, I was told off for being arrogant with his staff at his shop when I answered, ‘It’s my father’s shop, I’ll do as I please’. I was made to apologise to everyone.
4. At 16, while my mother was on a business trip, my father asked me one day what was for dinner. I just looked blank at him… if mum didn’t cook and freeze, then dad cooked, or my older brothers dabbled in the kitchen and conjured up some yummy food. If all that failed, then we got a take out. But me cook? Sure, an omelette or a scramble egg and toast, or a toastie? I had a strange feeling that none of that was going to work that day. So I asked papa what he would like and he said call Aunty …. and ask her how to make kababs, and I will show you how to make hummus and tabouleh. Well if any of you know what tabouleh entails…. we spent a couple of hours in the kitchen with papa showing me how to ‘finely‘ chop ALL the ingredients of the salad just like we had it in Kuwait! Needless to say, the kababs turned out not too bad and all the boys were pleased with the dinner. Those experiences carried on and soon I was calling all our relatives and friends for recipes of dishes papa wanted to have!
5. At 18 Papa accompanied me to the orientation day at FIDM and when we decided on my course, he encouraged me to take a student loan to complement the fee he would pay, so that I would learn the value of work, money and education when it was time to get a job and pay my loan back.
6. At 19 Papa took me on my first buying trip for his business. I was already at the Fashion Institute of Merchandise and Marketing and studying Merchandise Marketing. Papa took me to India for my first hand experience in ‘purchasing with the customer in mind’, and taught me (tried to at least) negotiate, and also calculate the landed price, and then working out the selling prices and the ROI of the trip.
7. I left the business at 21 to work in the garment industry for many years, then at 26 while on a holiday in India, I received a ‘fax’ with one of his customer’s requirements and that the trend in LA was changing, so while I was in India, I needed to travel and find new merchandise for the shop… and upon my return, I was handed the business and asked to change it… from name, to look, to merchandise, to customer.
8. All through my late teenage years and my twenties while still at home, Papa showed me how to care for the garden, the grass in the hot & blazing summers and how to prune the fruit trees.
9. In the same years during courting and dating, Papa met all the young men and would charm them instead of the other way around. We would then discuss the men, whether arranged or not, and we usually shared the same opinions or thoughts about them. We liked the same ones and not so like the same ones! Papa held on and would not give me away until he was totally convinced by one of them to be the right one for me. Turned out he was more smitten by my hubby’s intro and request for my hand than I was!
10. For some years after getting married and moving to London and seeing my parents age long distance, I offered to do some of the buying trips for them being that London is far more closer to India than LA is and that jet lag on me was far easier than jet lag on Papa in his late 60’s, early 70’s. The response I got from him was typical of what a traditional father would say to his married daughter. My responsibility now is towards my new home and my new family and I need to look forward.
11. At 41, after trying a new venture in London, when I took some samples to Papa to see, he sat me down and we had a good educational chat once again on how to purchase, who my client was, how to price the items and how to market them.
12. We still discuss business, I am still Papa’s sous-chef when I visit, we still exchange recipes, and we still enjoy his beautiful garden, and Papa still talks about what our ‘dharma’ (duties) in life are while relating his entire life experiences to us.
Wishing you a VERY HAPPY 76TH BIRTHDAY PAPA! May you always be blessed with your strength and sound health. Thank you for being such an amazing guide and role model.
The Festival of Colours – Holi – is the day following ‘Holika’ – the bonfire night celebrating the victory of Good over Evil.
Holi also marks the advent of Spring. It is a fun festival where colour ‘gulaal’ is smeared on everyone you see whether you know them or not. It’s the day all barriers are let down and all you see are the beautiful colours being sprayed or smeared all around.
I have only experienced Holi once in India and it was definitely a crazy day that I have great memories of.
One wears white on Holi as a blank canvas for all the colours to come during the day. Water guns, buckets, water balloons, and even dry powder are sprayed and dropped on people. If you’re walking on the streets, you’re sure to have a bucket of coloured water chucked on you or water balloons thrown at you. There are parties and parties galore starting very early in the day going through the day in to the evening, many are even pool parties…
Holi is the one day where everyone is merry celebrating, and the one day that everyone let’s go of their inhibitions, discriminations & barriers, and ‘play’ Holi with anyone that they encounter.
Holi signifies many things starting from the scriptures with religious meaning through to social significances and customs we follow today. These help people follow good conduct and virtues in their lives primarily the virtues of being truthful and honest which leads to the victory of good over evil. Holi brings society together and strengthen the secular fabric of our country. For, the festival is celebrated by non-Hindus also as everybody like to be a part of such a colourful and joyous festival. (www.holifestival.org)
There is also a very subtle romantic aura that surrounds this festival, which leads back to the story of Radha & Krishna. It is believed that Lord Krishna was sad over his dark complexion and thought he would never have the love of the fair Radha. One day, his mother Yashoda playfully suggested that he can smear colour on Radha’s face and change her complexion to any colour he wanted. Intrigued by this, Krishna proceeded to do so and thus, introduced the festival of colours.
In Los Angeles, we celebrate Holi at the beaches or the parks, where the whole community gets together and enjoys the colourful mahem. In London, I have only experienced it in a milder form at the temples. I have some work cut out for me so that the boys get to experience the madness AND the beauty of Holi next year!
Happy Holi my lovely people. Stay happy, stay colourful!
Like the books, the media is all over the movie and so are the viewers, and the conservative non-viewers.
I made it through the first 2 chapters of the 1st book – 50 Shades of Grey – over a period of 3 weeks! A mere 10 or so pages? I can’t recall, but the only pain I remember experiencing was the terrible writing, which actually turned me off from going any further. Nope, no curiosity left.
When the movie was released, I was still not curious. I do enjoy the soundtrack however, and find Ellie Goulding’s ‘Love me like you do’ very romantic and beautiful.
Early last week, I went to a dinner and some of the girls mentioned they had watched the movie. I expected them to get in to an uncomplimentary dialogue about it and how I should not bother wasting my time. To my surprise they just smiled and said that it was quite nice, the lead actors did a great job and it was definitely worth watching. Few days later, another group of girls asked me to join them for the movie. I hesitated as you can gather from my earlier post, I would rather catch up on sleep! Then I thought, why not?
So I braced myself for scenes I thought would be OTT, that I wouldn’t be able to watch them, and to be completely turned off as I was with the book.
Once again, to my surprise, I thought the movie was actually tastefully adapted and that Sam Taylor-Johnson – the director, brought a lot of dignity in to the characters – Christian Grey (HOT Jamie Dornan) and Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) – and directed the script very well. Christian Grey very clearly explains why ‘he was that way’ owing it to being orphaned at the age of 4 and then continuously being sexually abused by his mother’s friend at the age of 15. But you don’t get the feeling of an obnoxious, power-hungry man who enjoys being the ‘dominant’ in an S & M relationship, instead, you see that he starts to feel uncomfortable in his own skin and he softens up when he is with Anastasia Steele. Anastasia, a young and innocent virgin, curious and enamoured by this beautiful man, tries to take it as far as she can, in the process of discovering herself and experiencing all kinds of pleasures and found her limits after consenting to being the ‘submissive’ and challenging Grey to ‘punish’ her. She was aware of the shame she felt as a result and was able to draw the line.
As I said, I did not read the rest of the books, and hence, am naive myself as to where this is going, butI have to say, I was impressed with Anastasia’s journey in this first part and her strength to walk away. I am also impressed at how Sam Taylor-Johnson created something nice from all the badly written smut and soft-porn described in the book. Well done to all 3 – Taylor-Johnson, Dornan and Johnson for carrying this through so well.
Prior to watching the movie, I read some of the circulated letters written to daughters by the mothers who watched the film. I totally agree that a woman should never feel ‘submissive’ in any way to anyone, especially in a sexual relationship. I wouldn’t encourage every girl to test the limits as far as Anastasia does in the book/movie. I would like to think that it’s all good in fiction and fantasy, and that reality is a whole different game.
It is important that she (a woman) understands what it entails to be in such a relationship and that she first needs to love & respect herself before engaging in one.
Yup! It’s NOT always fun ‘n games as I sometimes like to think it is. (Well, who said fantasising is bad??)
At some point I had this sleep thing down. Almost 2 years ago, when the boys had turned 1, I employed the assistance of a sleep training clinic to help me sleep… ummmm…. indirectly. I hired them to ‘teach’ me how to train my babies to sleep through the night. 3 days… and I had it figured out and I had 2 sleeping beauties – well 4, as we finally could sleep a good 6-8 hours at a stretch! What a novelty that was.
As they say with children, or life in general, ‘it’s just a phase‘, ‘this too shall pass‘. Well… this ‘phase‘ we are currently in has been way tooooo long and it is NOT passing! A hasn’t slept through the night in about 10 months – yes – okay- once a week we get a reprieve. But my star sleeper Y was just amazing… head down, good night, and all smiles at 6:30a.m. Not any more unfortunately, since he had a throat infection over a month ago, he has taken to sleeping ‘on’ me. That’s all lovely and sweet and I would do that any time, but now, 5 weeks later, he’s still restless at night, and wants ‘only mama’. This too I can handle, but not when there’s 2 waking up a 30 mins pattern after each other for a stretch of 2 hours and somehow there’s 4 of us in our bed, and they both still want ‘only mama’.
There are nights I get them to sleep back in their beds, but that’s as long as I sleep on the duvet on the floor in between their beds! Y sometimes is so compassionate at night, he comes and sleeps with me on the floor and says, ‘mama, I share my blanket with you’. Awwww…. love you baby, but my legs are way longer than yours and somehow your blanket isn’t that long. Then in the 1 meter space between the beds, A decides he too needs to sleep with mama, and we’re all sandwiched together … Yes I know it’s sweet, and I know these days will never come back….:) 🙁 but for now, I’m a Zombie Mum.
When will this too pass? Is it a ‘phase’? Will I be moaning in a few years that my boys won’t sleep with me anymore?
To the World of Beauty and Henna, Sumita Batra needs no introduction. She literally wrote the books on them! Sumita is also no stranger to the public eye and media as she is Co-owner of the popular beauty chain (currently at 14 salons) in California known as Ziba Beauty. She has also started her own eye & brow make-up line named ‘Sumita Cosmetics’ which has recently been launched as a global brand. A successful entrepreneur and visionary who started a beauty salon with her mum and sister when she was merely 17!
That’s when I first met Sumita – in 1988 about a year prior to the 3 dynamic women starting this successful chain of salons. In these 27 years our acquaintance turned in to a wonderful friendship, then business partners, mentor and someone I am privileged to call my sister. (That’s purely because she does not hesitate for a minute to give me a swift kick – metaphorically speaking – when I need straightening out!)
Sumita – thank you for being a Colourful Woman and for allowing me to share the Sumita that I know with the world.
Beautiful Family
Other than being known as the ‘Ziba Beauty Girl’, you are a mother of 3 gorgeous and talented children; wife to an amazing man – Jay Batra; daughter, sister, friend, mentor, social worker, a short film director/producer, author, and the titles keep adding on…
How do you do it? How do you wear so many caps & juggle so many balls so perfectly?
I don’t really know the true answer to this question, as I am most times not really planning and thinking things through. I just do what needs to be done, and can be done, without giving it too much thought. I feel that maybe that helps me maximize my time…And it may look like I get everything done… but some balls get dropped 🙁
Do you have a favourite role you play or are they all equal to you?
I’m not sure I approach life as playing a “role”… I come from a perspective of solids. Not too many shades of grey. I’ve always had a very clear sense of right and wrong, and though these thoughts and ideas have evolved over time…I am still quite clear on my responsibilities and my duties. I guess this may be the Indian in me? Duty bound!
I have seen you grow through all these relationships while you are growing on a spiritual path. What would you like to express about this?
With her parents – Mr. & Mrs. Sabarwal
I’ve seen my mom all my life give priority to her spirituality. I’m naturally drawn to people that are spiritual. They are like magnets to me. I am also naturally – not super close to people who are not “believers”.
I have seen you multi-task effortlessly and you seem to have this gift of giving ‘yourself’ and ‘your time’ with no barriers or limits. What makes you do this?
I enjoy giving. I am a giver. I know no other way. It’s an instinctive and automatic reaction.
Can being selfless also have its drawbacks or does it always give you a ‘high’?
I’m not sure I am selfless. It is not always easy to give…especially to people that are ungrateful. I do my part and move on in most instances…but at times it hurts because, it’s a human tendency to wantappreciation. I don’t really give to anyone, wanting something in return. I have, at times, experienced people that take and then behave like they never received anything. It hurts…I shake it off and leave them to their Karma and I do mine.
Do you take time to recharge yourself? If so, how do you do it?
Massage and Music… I just threw myself a music party on my birthday and invited a couple of hundred people …I know – crazy…but boy was it fun. I also love to cook…it relaxes me.
What is your sense of self? How do you see yourself?
I am crazy. I am grateful. I am blessed. I am here to make a difference. I am responsible. I am sensitive. I am loyal. I am what I am and its ok! I am happy! Did I mention, I am blessed?
You naturally become a mentor or a role model to everyone who literally comes into contact with you. How does that make you feel?
Responsible. I don’t really seek the pressure or the attention that comes with this word “Mentor”. I do however take it quite seriously. If anyone has considered me their mentor, I have always made sure I give them all I can.
Life is a journey, and yours definitely has been quite a fascinating one. Please share a bit of your background and how you came to be known as the ‘Ziba Girl’.
I am who I am because of my mom. She lost her job and decided to start Ziba Beauty with her last pay check and one credit card. She was just turning 40. She was in a new country, with three children and a lot of responsibility. She believed in herself and was a hard worker. I watched and learned from her. It’s been 26 years in this business and I still learn and grow every day. It’s a lot of responsibility. 200 families count on me every day. I take my job as the CEO of Ziba Beauty very seriously. It’s a daily grind, a daily challenge. My mantra – ‘must get it done one step at a time.’ Onward!
What drives the entrepreneur Sumita?
What drives me is legacy and a sense of accomplishment. Saying I am going to do it and then getting it done! My word means a lot to me. My commitments are part of my honour. I drive me.
Your energy and your creativity know no bounds…you are constantly creating… a product, a strategy, a party, a book, beautiful children…..What is your secret? Man these are tough questions. I have never really thought about them and I find it second nature to do all this. I can relate to the Apple Ad – The Crazy ones…written by Steve Jobs.
What makes you ‘tick’ like that?I like to surround myself with positive quotes, sayings…I find solace and peace in inspirational words. They help me in many ways.
Top 5 Tips on being a (Female) Entrepreneur.
Work long and hard
Hire slow- fire fast
If it’s to be – It’s up to me!
If you want to get something done, ask the busy one – the other kind has no time
Common sense is really not that common
The highlights of being a woman for you…
My babies – of course. They hit a chord in me that is impossible to explain…yet every mother gets it.
The top 5 things you enjoy about being a mother…
Watching them grow
Watching them fall and get back up
That moment, where they learn a lesson, and understand the consequence of their actions
Their laughter
Realizing that they got “this – whatever it is” from me…
Sumita, you have also been beside me through all the most poignant phases of MY life…. milestone birthdays, heartbreaks, being my make-up and hair-stylist for my engagement in London, being by my side in India for my wedding, and to top it all…….. it was you who happen to be with me for the first few hours of my labour… which coincided with a business trip in London. What drives you to be such a loyal, committed & dedicated friend… to any/all of your friends?
I know no other way Anupa. I am blessed and happy that I can be and do whatever possible for the ones I love. I don’t believe it’s me…I am a vehicle God uses to get stuff done. I believe we all are. Internally my conversation is…if I can do it…I do it. It’s that simple for me.
Your Top 5 beauty tips
Know what you like and stay with it
Be your age – I’m not one for too much cosmetic enhancements
Be happy – it shows on your face
Once wrinkles show up – avoid powder
Add highlighters to the cheekbones to reflect away from dark circles.
Your Top 5 make-up/skin care products – hmmm…. without the bias of your own product line of course – (btw, I used your Sumita Face Mask last week and have been told that I am ‘glowing’ by a few friends).
Chanel – Concealer & Foundation
Dior Lip Liner
Guerlain – anything!
MD Solar Skincare – prevent skin cancer
Trish McEvoy Brushes
Your Top 5 Tips on Marriage/Relationships
Let it go
Say sorry and mean it
Compromise – It means to truly give the person the gift of something you don’t want to do without resentment
Forgive – for your own sake
Give your happiness a priority. If you are not happy – you have no happiness to offer to anyone. This happiness is not gotten nor dependent on anyone but yourself.
You have recently been working on 2 fascinating projects:Namas Kaar & Em Didi. Please could you share with us your motivation behind each one respectively?
Namas Kaar – A Sikh documentary discovering the answers to why we do some of the basic things we do in the Sikh faith. The goal in this film was to create a dialogue and showcase the meaning behind the things we do in our temples and our religion to respect their importance. I don’t think you can respect something if you don’t understand it.
Em-Didi
Em Didi– Sisters : A vocational training program teaching the Art of Threading & The Art of Mehndi in Siem Reap Cambodia to victims, survivors and “at risk” young ladies of human trafficking. This documentary shares our journey, as we travel and discover as a group that it was not really “us” that gave these young ladies anything…but rather, we received so much more from them. ‘Em’ means little sister in Vietnamese, and ‘Didi’ mean big sister in Hindi. We created a symbiotic mentor and big sister/little sister relationship between these young ladies, in the hopes that they can teach these art forms forward, and earn a living from them. We partnered with an organization called Senhoa to do this venture.www.senhoa.org/
Senhoa Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is dedicated to combating modern slavery through long-lasting partnerships with excellent local partners. Our programs in support of vulnerable persons and survivors are delivered in conjunction with on-the-ground partners.
Do you have a mentor? What is the most powerful thing they said or did that has impacted you?
Yes, my mom. I have also had several business mentors throughout my career. Each one has taught me something. But my mentor is my mom. I have learned everything about who I am from her. My spirituality, my strength, my parental skills, my survival skill, my business acumen…I can go on and on. I dedicated the Celine Dion song – “I’m everything I am – because you love me” to her on her 45th birthday. It applies today too. Every word.
If you look back at your life (w)holistically, is there anything you would change or do differently?
I have wasted my time on a few people – that taught me some tough lessons. I would not undo all of it…but I made the lesson longer than needed. I should have moved on a lot faster than I did. I’ve learned and now move on faster when things don’t feel right.
Do you feel like you have ‘arrived’ in most aspects of your life or is there still a journey of improvement in any specific area?
I have arrived – and it is a mental state I have had for years. One would think it has to do with finances…but for me … it has to do with milestones. Every milestone I’ve met has delivered for the feeling of – I have arrived.
What is your weak point… if you have any?
I have many weak pointsJ. I have a temper, and if and once I lose it…its not a pretty sight. I also shut down on people. It’s not healthy but it’s my coping mechanism. I keep trying to work on my weaknesses, my fears. One step at a time, one day at time.
When you and I were launching ‘A Beautiful Event’ in 2000, our mothers separately sat us down and gave us a talk on friendship and business and how the latter can damage the former. They reminded us that we had a very special friendship and that we should not risk losing it by going in to business together. We had a chat about it and decided they were right but we were still going forward with the business anyway and were conscious of not hurting the friendship. Sound advice that we carried with us. Would you leave us with a thought or a quote to live by?
We come to this world to make a difference. We each have a part to play. The moment of consciousness when we realize that part is an amazing moment. Seek it, look for it and you will find it. You will know that this was what I was born to do, and do not give up until you find it. It is totally worth it.
Thank you again Sumita. I am sure all our readers will be inspired and motivated by your experiences and advice.
rriers, and ‘play’ Holi with anyone that they encounter.
