StartupnRise Startup Rising: The Entrepreneurial Revolution
Making of a Creative Soul
Can you even imagine of starting a venture and start showcasing your talent when most think about retirement? Most of the talented Indian homemakers give it up for their family. Here is a multitalented lady who decided to take her second innings at excellence. After her children have settled she decided to kick start her life. Her family too supported whole heartedly to showcase the talent and creativity.
Meet Divya Mehrotra (Chhavi to close ones), who is a professional skilled artist, craftsperson, spiritual blog writer and a poet to list a few of her unbeatable talents. She is also an excellent chef and a virtuous story teller. All these with a charming personality makes her one of the favourites amongst her social circle.
She was born and studied at Agra, did her graduation from the prestigious Dayalbagh University with Home Science and Fine Arts (Hons) which strengthened the foundation of her interest towards art and craft, stitching and cooking. This is besides what she learnt about these from the rich experiences of her mother and maternal grandmother at home. Later, she joined the very old and famous Agra College to pursue Post Graduation in Fine Arts which honed her skills and developed her talent in the field of various forms of paintings. She did her first painting exhibition at Agra which earned a lot of praise in newspapers and amongst the fraternity.
An Innovative Homemaker
Her marriage to an Army officer took her to an exploring phase and destiny took the family to places all over India where she closely observed the culture, cuisine, traditions of various states and people. With such wide variety and experiences, she enriched her skills. Being a good learner and retainer, she continued to keep evolving. Even though she was unable to fruitfully utilize her talents commercially, she continued to paint, stitch, make craft pieces at home which beautifully decorated her home and were a source of pleasure for the social circle, family and kids.
She loves Indian cooking (in which she blends tastes of different states and regions). She has a rare talent and knack to create fusion to give mouth-watering tastes and flavours in her dishes.
The whirlwind of army postings, the remote and not so profession friendly locations, time galloped with young kids growing up, which are some reasons for not being able to shape up the talent in a manner which befitted them. She continued to paint and write poetry over the years. Yet, all this did not subdue her either. It was some years later in Pune when she got a chance to organize two solo exhibitions of paintings which were acclaimed in local media too. Divya paints in nature, landscape, oil on canvas and water colours. Her Lino graphic prints and miniature paintings are just spectacular.
It’s Never Too Late in the Life of an Artist
Moment the family decided to settle at Bhopal it was then that Divya got some time to sit back and reorganize. Over a couple of years, she started writing again – this time spiritual blogs on Speaking Tree by the name of Vichar Manthan. Her blog link is https://www.speakingtree/chhavi-mehrotra/
Besides being a good story teller, she has a very sharp and analytical mind matched with an easy manner of talking, a rich vocabulary and an ability and talent to explain complex spiritual things in an easy-to-understand manner. She has the wonderful capability to convince people of all ages including kids/teenagers on all matters related to personal, social, spiritual issues.
Despite health not favouring her, it has not been able to subdue her enthusiasm. Her will to learn and talent to express is reflected in her work. Her creations show the purity of her heart, passion and belief in her own self. Her nature of not accepting defeat and her unflinching faith in Radhasoami and Lord Krishna keeps her going.
“I want to tell today’s youth that be courageous and do not lose hope. Keep having a strong vision and follow your beloved skills. Hard work with dedication and devotion towards your true vision will surely give the results that you aspire for. Have confidence in yourself and faith in God. He, who has written the destiny for stones and birds must have written a good destiny for you also and to accomplish the same, you must work hard for it. Polish your inner skills, explore the world, see the harmony in your vision and the resources around you, learn every minute of it and you will also get a limitless sky to fly…. a day will come when you will have your own sky and you will be sculpted into a wonderful statue,” Says Divya.
Learnings for Creative Entrepreneurs
It’s not easy to make a great living off creative work. Artistic talent, entrepreneurial spirit and creative use of social media to market the art work are all essential. Artists, like entrepreneurs, have a product or idea to sell, and they need to get out into the marketplace. In order to do this, artists do need to learn basic business skills. If you’re serious about building a sustainable art career, there are few steps you need to take to build and maintain your business.
• Have your signature style which defines your work and brand
• Know your audience their budget, taste, occasions and keep re-evaluating them so you can keep up with demand, price and know where to spend time for selling.
• Evaluate and price your work properly. Don’t over inflate or undervalue it. Breakdown should include size, overhead, materials and supplies and your time too.
• Have a marketing strategy in place. In present times it is better to have a website with high resolution pictures, related blogs and useful articles. Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook etc are very powerful tools to reach audience.
• Improve your network and make your circle premium and wise to make the whole of your ecosystem better. Grab the nerve of the market and your heart and showcase your heart that meets the harmony between your heart and the market needs. Fill the gap, and you will fly miles.
Divya started a small venture by the name of “Anoothie” which is a one stop shop which caters for ladies’ needs of suits, sarees, decorative items, gifts, paintings, jewellery etc. Anoothie is a venture more for fun and socializing than for its commercial value. In her own words “It is an expression of your desires, and not a shop”. Even though she did not establish a full-fledged boutique, the ball started rolling.
The COVID lock down gave her a chance to start experimenting with cooking which was very well appreciated by the family and an idea started taking shape of showcasing the talent to the world. So far, she had no You Tube channel of her own. One day, her mother narrated an incident of her childhood when she (Divya’s mother) had an encounter with an alien and UFO. The incident happened way back in 1946-47 when her mother was a teenager. It was a surprise to the entire family as no one had ever heard about the same over a period of decades. This was the trigger! which prompted to start her own You Tube Channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmgStFYe0UiIZ97M8TfW7lg
She has used Instagram and facebook very effectively to reach the audience. Divya is a very good example for all the homemakers who are multitalented and have the desire to learn. Creativity will inspire you to reach new milestones. One should never give up and keep improving the skills. Divya understood and effectively used the power of social media platforms as a tool. She can be reached at :
https://instagram.com/anoothie_httpswww.youtube.comc?igshid=1qpzgennz6o01
You are doing a Yeoman’s job or rather a Yeowoman’s job which will be a source of pleasure, inspiration, gratefulness to many. I am sure your small and significant effort will be noticed and well taken. I sincerely Thank you for bringing up this website. It is a wonderful idea. Great job! God speed and Good Luck! May God bless you.
Jai Hind
Thank you sir for encouraging words. It’s nice to know that world is full of talented and dedicated people.
Great… Please accept my regards
Jai Hind dear Col Manoj.
That’s so wonderful of an act.
Best wishes and regards
We have been witnessing the creative spirit and talents of Mrs Chhavi for years. It gives us a great pleasure to see her work and talents getting recognised . We wish her Good Luck and God Speed. Regards.
Thanks Col Jamwal.
Thanks Agam
Great Job and good luck.
Regards
Major Sanjay Mehrotra (Retd.)
Thanks for reading and appreciation Maj Sanjay, creativity inspires!
Good article. Enjoyed reading.
Thanks Hritik!
Thanks Hrithik.
Dear Ma’am,
This is really commendable to start something at this belated stage but as is rightly said that “It’s never too late to start” and it holds true in your case.
Please accept our felicitations. Your work is, indeed, an epitome of creativity and expressions and through your work there will be many who would get inspired.
Kudos to you.
And thanks you StartupnRise.com to bring such inspiring stories to us.
Best wishes and Regards,
Thanks for encouraging words Wg Cdr R D .