Hello everyone! I’m popping
back in just to share another interesting interview in the #TheBrigadethatBuildsBrands series. We’ve recently moved to a small town base and between living
out of a suitcase, getting ready to move into a house & getting used to new
responsibilities, I’m grabbing a moment to hop onto my blog. Today, I’m sharing
Doreen Chowfin Choudhry’s story. A veteran Air Force wife & jewellery
designer, Mrs. Choudhry tells us about how she started a business at a time when entrepreneurship amongst ladies was almost unheard of in the defence services. I do hope
her story spurs many of you to build your own brand & create meaningful
work opportunities for yourself that you can cart along with your trunks as you
move from one base to another.
C. Please tell us something about yourself –
what do you do, where are you based and how long have you been a fauji wife.
D. As a child of five my father was posted at the JSW
(later known as NDA), as the Record Officer, at Clement Town Dehradun. I guess
I grew up influenced by the fauj!
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| Mrs. Choudhry at her wedding |
My brothers too joined the Indian Navy and the
IAF as pilots, and I got married to an Indian Air Force Pilot at the age
of 24. In January we completed 50 years of marriage and that’s how long
I’ve been a fauji wife. For the last 35 years or so I have lived in
Delhi.
C. What has been your business or creative
journey been like: how & when did you start your venture?
D. It was 1982 an I was attending the annual AFFWA
garden party hosted by the Air Chief’s wife, when to my surprise and mild
embarrassment, I was handed a tray of pearl strings to show and sell that
morning by none other than the hostess herself and of course there was no
question of refusing! Many of the ladies
bought strings but wanted matching ear tops etc. This was the beginning of my
journey of jewellery designing.
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| Mrs. Choudhry, 4th from the right, seated & in a check sari |
When I was a child I used to have glass beads of
different colours and textures and I used to make small necklaces with those.
Later on when I got the opportunity at the Ladies Club, my hidden talent got a
wake up call.
