Ashna Foods

FROM CURRENT TO CURRANT Ajeeth and Mandakini of Ashna Foods

Ajeeth

I was sure of myself and knew where I was going, so did not see the need to equivocate. I told her point-blank that I had burnt my bridges and would never go back to the unimaginative, monotonous 9-to-5 routine. She would have liked me to say that if I found myself out of my depth in my new business, I would go back to doing what I had been doing successfully for over a decade — working for others. But even when I was on the payrolls of big companies and drawing six-digit salaries, I was carefully honing my entrepreneurial skills and was `biding' my time. I knew it was time I took the plunge. I turned my back on my engineering background and with some help from the Government's small-scale industries programme, began making jams, pickles and snacks.

Mandakani

Any move has to be taken only after giving considerable thought to it. Our second daughter Ayushi had just arrived when he left the security of a well-paid corporate job and chose to chase his dreams. I am an electronics engineer and at that time I had thrown away a lucrative software job so that I could be a fulltime mom. His timing just was not right! With a meagre sum at his disposal and little support from anywhere else, his venture was bootlegging and as a result we had to do away with many necessities. All of a sudden, we were thrown to the mercies of the public transport system. Our elder daughter Ashna alo had to make sacrifices — no weekend outings any more. In times of need, my in-laws were always there to offer a helping hand. But all the while, they were wondering what had got into their otherwise sensible son's head. When I stopped being critical of his move and began working with him as his marketing manager, I realised he was headed in the right direction.

(AS TOLD TO PRINCE FREDERICK)