Wizard of the House

Prologue - This is a fiction based on some real-life incidents which motivated the author to write on the amazing multi-tasking skills and patience of the womenfolk. The names used are imaginary and bear no resemblance to the real-life characters on whom it is based. This is dedicated to all the beautiful people created by God called Woman and this month is celebrated as The International month for the Woman.

Sunita was the second amongst her siblings of two sisters and one brother. She belonged to an average middle-class family. Though money was short in the family there was no loss of love and selfishness was unknown. Demands were not too pressing so the family had a very happy way of life. In the time to come as generally happens in middle-class families the talk of marriage is the most important conversation amongst the relatives who are the regular visitors. This way Sunita's elder sister was married to her barely completing her school education. But Sunita was determined that she would complete her graduation at least before succumbing to marriage. Sunita 's resolve for not only completing graduation but also going in for higher studies was getting stronger and stronger. Due to the many post-marriage tales Sunita heard from Vinita her elder sister her resolve became bolder. Vinita used to tell stories of how a woman has to grope her way through this patriarchal society, of how a woman has to sacrifice all her wishes at the in-laws alter. In due course, Sunita completed her graduation but could not pursue further studies. She had to suppress the thought due to scarcity of funds but in the back of her mind, she had a steely resolve to continue further studies when the situation was in her favor.

Sunita was now married to a young pharmacist named Anil. In a couple of year's time, she became a mother twice first to a beautiful daughter and then to a bright son... The heady years of passion and love in the early years of marriage were the cause of this parentage. Both Anil and Sunita were very happy parents.

But now Sunita thought hard and more she thought the more determined she became. She decided that giving birth is one thing and taking full responsibility on one's shoulders to educate their offspring and help them become independent in this world was another thing. Sunita impressed upon this thought with Anil her husband. She reminded Anil that as parents it was their sacred duty to completely groom their kids so that they could become fully independent in life and lead their lives freely. Anil was supportive of Sunita for this thought.

So now they had more mouths to feed and Anil was under pressure as his finances were stretched. Sunita decided that she should do something now and contribute something to the family expenses.

She confided this with Anil. As always Anil was supportive but there were many hurdles. First, there was a taboo for working wives in their family. Persuasion of Anil's parents to get permission was the first hurdle. Although they gave permission the parents were cynical and the question about looking after the kids came in the picture. Anil had a married sister Sarita who though was not a factor but drove a spanner into Sunita's plans. Jealousy was one age-old human vice and it was clearly known that Sarita was jealous of all the activities of Sunita. Because Sarita detested the cool and calm confidence with which Sunita carried with her. However, it was not much time before Sunita was ready to move ahead.

Anil's pharmacy company employed about 50 lab technicians and for their protective gear of aprons, lab coats, face masks supply was being carried out by a vendor whose services were under a cloud. Anil was looking for this opportunity and told Sunita to gear herself up to pitch in as a supplement supplier. But for this Sunita had to train herself. She enrolled in design, cutting and tailoring training company for a crash course. After being trained with the skills she participated in the tender called 'Fitness Pharma', Anil's pharmacy company. Without a doubt, Sunita got the contract although her candidature was challenged by the previous vendor. But the quiet resolute character of Sunita got her the contract. Also, there were tax incentives involved for the Pharma company for supporting the cause of a woman entrepreneur.

Sunita now threw herself in front of the challenge. After all, she was a mother of two school-going growing kids apart from other familial responsibilities. Anil was there as a solid pillar of support. The grand children's responsibility was taken up the grandparents to a certain extent lightening the burden from Sunita's shoulders.

Sunita took a bank loan and started a tailoring and hand stitching shop of her own. She employed trained staff and helped in generating employment to about twenty young women and men as tailors and delivery boys. The first few years were tough. Profits were wafer-thin and there were overhead expenses to take care of. But from the third year on her profits zoomed. Her contract was renewed on a year to year basis and it was not too difficult for her to get the renewal because she was very quality conscious and ensured timely deliveries. As her business prospered she delegated more and more of her work to other vendors and got them outsourced. This helped in generating more and more employment. Now through her initiative, more than fifty families were benefitting both directly and indirectly.

As the years passed and business got thicker Sunita needed more support. So Anil now decided to go full-time and support Sunita and therefore took early retirement from the company.

Such a wonderful multi-tasker Sunita was that even after having so much on her plate, she had time for her growing children and also time to help out her employees or business partners or for that matter anybody who came to her for help.

Before leaving the company Anil had found that the food court which provided meals and snacks had their quality deteriorated and the staff was rueing the poor stuff they were being catered with. Anil consulted with Sunita if she could take on another business venture of providing good quality food on the consumer's table. Sunita could not directly take over the food counter so she started her food take away outlet next to the food lounge. She set up kitchen facilities with a new set of cooks and had them delivered to the counter from where the billing was done and distributed amongst the buyers. It was an instant hit. The quality and the service mattered which won over the people and drew them away from the food court. Many years of functioning without any competition had brought in a sense of complacency amongst the owners of the food court. In the beginning, when they found that the customers were moving away the owners tried to bungle the business set up of Sunita. But Sunita was now a hardened businesswoman and knew how to deal with such situations. It did not take long to take control over the situation and ultimately the existing food court had to wind up their business after catering for so many years.

Despite her operating such a successful business chain, Sunita never forgot that she was a mother and housewife first. She ensured that her children got to eat timely and did their studies diligently. During their exams, she gave her personal attention towards them and devoted her time to helping them in whatever way they wanted to. Sunita also gave her attention to her aging parents in law and her parents. Although she had money at her command and with that she had deployed caregivers who looked after the elderly but it was her personal touch that ensured that everything was managed with utmost care.

On top of all this, Sunita had her beloved husband Anil beside her as her friend, philosopher, and guide. Anil was also very proud and felt lucky to have such an amazing woman Sunita as his wife.

Last of all the company that Sunita was doing her business with was in need of good management. The employees wanted that Sunita should take over the management of the company. Because they had faith in her business acumen. After all these years she had been managing multiple businesses very ably and successfully. But the employees union was not willing to allow her to take over. Because they had their own agenda. They the union members wanted a big pile of cash as a settlement or a kickback which they knew they would not be able to extract from Sunita. Because they knew that Sunita was a hard bargainer and it was difficult to negotiate with her on their terms. So the union members conspired among themselves and incited other workers to go on a strike. Sunita now inducted both her daughter and son into the business both of whom had completed their Business Management courses. Together they decided a strategy which they announced in front of the workers. They told the workers that if they forego their strike and joined work they would be pardoned and their salary would not be cut. The union found this as a ploy to outwit them. They tried to motivate the workers to not fall into the trap of the owners. The owners now consisted of Sunita and Anil also who had taken a stake in the pharma company by investing in it. The workers supported the idea of Sunita and her family and joined work. The union lost face and was dissolved. Because Sunita was so employee-friendly that no union body was required.

Soon Sunita became the major shareholder of the company and was elected into the board.

It was an amazing journey for Sunita so far despite her ups and downs. She was being hailed as a messiah on one hand and a wizard on the other. Her determination and persistence had brought her so far. From a simple housewife, she had become an entrepreneur and now a businesswoman and an industrialist. From a housewife to Wizard of the House this was the moniker that her well-wishers gave her taking a cue from the famous The Wizard of Oz.

Moral of the story. - Never underestimate the power of a woman. They can simply do wonders.