Flood of Fire

These inspiring women are making history in India and you probably haven’t heard of most of them. From pushing the boundaries of gender identity in theatre, introducing India’s first lifestyle magazine in Braille, working towards making the planet a better place to India’s first successful crowdfunding platform, they are the torchbearers of the ‘new’ India.

Tell us about the idea and philosophy behind The Patchworks Ensemble.

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Puja and I did a puppetry workshop together in 2009, where we connected instantly. Later, she went off to a theatre school in Florence and I went to a similar school in London. When we both returned to Bombay, we found that we had similar ideas of performance and also a sense of the kind of work we wanted to create. So we met a few times and decided that we wanted to do a show together. After that we invited some actors to join us and that’s how Patchworks started. The driving force for our coming together and working together has been our similar love for “madness” and spontaneity and the notion that inspiration can come from anywhere and everywhere.

What is your vision for the future?

The Patchworks Ensemble is a young theatre company that strives to create relevant and surprising theatre. Our work is process-based, starting with explorations and workshops, from which emerges art, that is organic and owned by all the artists and collaborators involved. The Patchworks Ensemble offers a unique theatre experience which lays importance on the actor’s body and comes alive in the audience’s imagination. We aim to create an environment where the artist feels safe to take risks with their work. In our on going search for both artistic and intellectual collaboration, we are lo­oking for people who share our love for playfulness, spontaneity and our celebration of life, in all its simplicities and complexities.

Were there any struggles that you faced?

As cliché and boring as it sounds—money. It’s always hard to find places to rehearse and perform and then there is the constant struggle with and against finances. For both, Puja and I running a theatre company was and is a completely new experience, so there are a lot of things that we just did not factor in. Another thing that I need to mention is the amount of support we have gotten from the theatre community. So many directors who have been running their own companies have helped us in so many ways. From advising us on how to get a censor certificate to offering us volunteers on the day of our shows, we at Patchworks have received a lot of love from the community, for which we are eternally grateful.

A piece of advice that you can give to other young women in India?

We have just started out (our company is a year old), so honestly, I have no idea what advice we would give. But if I have learnt anything in this past year, it is this; do not wait for the right time to create, or do your own work. There is no right time. Just jump in and do it and you might fail a couple of times, but just power on. Do do do! (Oh! and it also helps to have someone, who is mad enough to do it with you).

Tell us about your childhood.

I fortunately belong to a family of strong women. I have grown up in a pretty supportive environment. Pursuing what I do and what I have to do, is totally work-based; nothing in particular is related to gender.

What sparked the Green Hub project?

My work has been with the environment and in particular, how to use the visual medium as a catalyst of change. Through the Green Hub, the project we have started in the Northeast, our vision is to really engage the youth in conservation, and also to revive and renew their love for nature. We also want to rebuild the region through positive action.

Who exactly is the modern Indian woman?

For me, a contemporary Indian woman is someone who is independent, and feels free in the choices she makes. She should also be able to stand up for her rights.

What was your dream as a child?

I think it is important to keep the dream alive and work towards the goal with persistence, patience and a certain amount of light-footedness. Being prepared for a change, restructuring as well as rejection, and being like a sponge for learning, is what I would recommend.

How did you come up with the idea of starting White Print?

White Print is India’s first English lifestyle magazine in Braille. No matter how dependent we get on technology, the pleasure of physically holding and reading a copy cannot be replaced. White Print was born thanks to a similar thought. It was in 2012, when I began thinking about the reading options available for a visually impaired person. To my surprise, I could think of none, though I must confess that prior to this, I had absolutely no connection with anyone, who was from the visually impaired community. I immediately began the research process with the help of the National Association of the Blind. Three months into the research, I decided to quit my job and commit myself to the venture. After eight months of legal procedures, we rolled out the magazine in May 2013.

As a young entrepreneur, were there any struggles you faced?

No start-up is formed and no idea can be executed without hurdles. The biggest challenge, which we still face, is funding. White Print is not a charity venture; we do not run on donations. With White Print, I saw the opening of new avenues for the advertising world too. We still face the challenge of convincing companies to communicate directly with the visually impaired community.

Where do you see yourself 10 years down the line?

India is home to the world’s largest visually impaired population. We hope to reach every corner of the country and increase our subscriber base.

What motivates you?

Sounds cliché, but nothing is impossible. If you are convinced about your idea, and the passion in you drives you towards it, no challenge remains a challenge.

How did you come up with the idea of starting BitGiving?

My first start-up never went beyond the drawing board as I didn’t know where to start without money in the bank. The experience of putting aside a concept I was passionate about, due to lack of funds, stayed with me. After working in the tech space and getting my hands dirty with respect to products for two years, I co-founded BitGiving, along with my friend and mentor, Fahad Moti Khan. The philosophy behind it was simple—we wanted people to tap into communities and raise funds to make amazing things happen.

Was getting a team together a challenge?

I always joke about the fact that my biggest challenge was to make techies understand that a non-techie girl understood tech. That took a while, but having said that, the biggest challenge for any start-up, more than the funding or product, is getting the team together. Moreover, the first few months or even years, are all about trials and errors—the things you plan for months don’t work out while the last-moment gut instinct works wonders. The challenge is to bring those learnings together.

What do you plan for your company?

While we’re always going to have campaigns for social change, there is a huge focus on entrepreneurial and creative campaigns on BitGiving. As for the bigger vision, it is to make BitGiving, a global brand, which redefines crowdfunding through the right kind of technology, and through groundbreaking campaigns.

Do you follow your instincts, or do you trust others’ opinion?

If you are really passionate about something, listen to your gut, take the leap of faith and give yourself a chance. As women, we tend to create road blocks in our head. Moving past it, is the first thing you should do!

Photography, text and concept by Kaamna Patel. Styling by Trishla Chadha.

From the March 2016 issue of L’Officiel India.