Meena was the youngest daughter of Gopal Nath, the well-known ladies’ tailor in a crowded lane of the famous market in the town. Gopal had three daughters, two of whom were married off in recent years. Meena had just finished her 12th board.
But unlike her elder sisters, Meena wasn’t inclined to formal education in a college. Since her childhood, she was more interested in drawing, painting, and stitching dresses for her dolls at home.
Often Meena would accompany her father to his tailoring shop, and watch with wonder at the colorful and stitched kurtas and blouses of the clients there. She also looked in awe at her father’s supporting staff engaged in using sewing machines, putting on buttons, laces, or embroidery.
All of these activities fascinated Meena a lot. She used to pick up discarded, cut, or leftover cloth pieces and bring them home to hand-stitch lovely dresses for the dolls of her friends as well as her own doll. Her mother used to be fed up with the clutter Meena created because of this.
Hence, after her 12th exam, Meena expressed her wish to her father to enroll in a dress designing course. Gopal was a bit apprehensive about letting his daughter learn the nuances of dress design. He thought that this might be an obstacle to her marriage prospects.
But Meena was determined to learn further and polish her skills. She already cleared one year of the course with flying colors. A chance meeting with fashion designer Pooja Roy at her father’s shop gave wings to Meena’s imagination. Pooja had come in to enquire about some help for her boutique. Gopal willingly sent her with his trusted assistant Shyam and his daughter Meena to join the boutique.
The next day, along with Shyam, Meena happily started learning the work assigned to them in a new job environment. This paved the way for her dreams of becoming an independent designer catering to the needs of the people in her neighborhood.
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