Innocent, beautiful, Bambi-like eyes, Snow White soft complexion, savvy Barbie fashion sense and breeding oozing from every pore, Aasiya Tejani , Director Finance of Gits Foods Pvt Ltd is quite the quintessential princess of fairy tales. Yet, she is not one to bother about fitting into the glass slippers. Instead, breaking down glass ceilings seems to be her favourite leisure activity. Feisty, sassy and assertive, Aasiya is every insecure person’s nightmare. And, she tells it as is! Aasiya speaks her mind and how….
At five feet nothing, she stands tall on the battles she has won, the unchartered waters she has swum across and the bouts she has fought against inequality. For Aasiya Tejani, second of the three sisters of the Tejani family-the family that brought sweetness to every home in the country with its instant Gulab Jamun mixes, success has not been that instant. As the first generation woman entrepreneur in a traditional family business, Aasiya moved up the value chain with tenacity that belies her youth and frail, good looks. “I started handling the marketing and sales from our Mumbai office,” says Aasiya. “I had just returned from the US and although I had lived alone there, living alone in Mumbai and working there was a whole new experience. I got to understand the retail market upclose. It was a culture shock for the vendors to accept me, a woman, in the cut-throat, rate-competitive market and many made the mistake of soft-pedaling me. While I got many who were willing to help me learn, I became aware of the gross gender bias that prevailed in the market.
However, I was a learner and absorbed everything I could. Advertising, exhibitions, branding, pricing… the works! Mumbai itself was a huge learning. Sitting in the local train and looking around at the sea of faces made me realise that I am but a speck in the millions of lives around.”
After her return to Pune, she took up the mantle of finance and administration of the company while younger sister Samana took charge of production. “90 per cent of our workforce on the production floor comprises women. But the situation is reverse in the administrative staff and of course, the acceptance of a woman as the boss was not very forthcoming,” says Aasiya. “I tried to be nice and friendly but soon realised that nothing was getting done. My father was very appreciative of my work but he refused to step in to solve any problem, which I believe was the best stance on his part. One day I just walked into the cabin of errant employee and said the four magical words: ‘My cabin, five minutes’. In less than five minutes I had the report I had been seeking for two months. On the other hand, I have had some wonderful mentors who have painstakingly taught me to handle the ropes. So, I believe that as a boss, one must have the maturity to decide when to be submissive and when to show your fangs,” laughs Aasiya.
An outspoken feminist, Aasiya has put women incharge of the most impossible tasks such as despatch and machine maintenance She believes jobs should be allotted on the basis of merit alone and not on the basis of gender.
What sets this firebrand apart from women her age is her empathy for the not-so-privileged. She has a separate bank account to which every month she writes a cheque of 20 per cent of her earnings. This is the amount she keeps aside to help others. “This is what my mother has instilled in us since the time I started my first job in US. I earned a pittance, yet my mother had asked me to put aside just 2 dollars a day. It was not a big deal then. Soon I moved it to 10, then 15 and then 18 per cent of earnings. Today I keep aside 20 per cent and I look forward to the time when I can make that 25. I honestly do hope that someday I grow to be able to put away everything for others. The spirit of giving is very encompassing where the giver and the receiver become equals and hence both, the sense of greatness for giving and the sense of indebtedness of the receiver are wrong. One must give so that the receiver grows in his or her ability to further pass on to some other who needs the same,” smiles Aasiya.
One cannot but look at the lady and believe that Snow White did have a heart of gold. The next obvious question to the lady: “Is marriage on the cards?” Pat comes the reply: “Ha, Ha. NO!”
- A little sugar, a lot of spice - May 25, 2016
