Resilience of Padmashree
In this episode, we talk to our first female guest of the season, Ms Padmashree, and learn more about women in business. Ms Padmashree brings forward a compelling story representative of women entrepreneurs in India. This is the first in a series of many episodes where Dr Preeti talks to powerful women who have redefined the course of their lives with courage and resilience. At Doc Diaries, “women empowerment” is not just a buzzword; it’s a way of life.
To the question, “Who is Padmashree?” She tells us that she is a person full of energy and life who does not like to sit idly and loves exploring new things. Staying happy and keeping her surroundings happy is an integral part of her personality.
Padmashree is an entrepreneur who has a block printing studio called RangMudra in Bangalore. We will learn more about RangMudra later in the interview.
Let’s get to know more about Padmashree and her inspirational story. Padmashree’s story starts as an only child to her parents, growing up in a large joint family in Adoni, Andhra Pradesh. She has fond memories of a pampered childhood spent in a sprawling ancestral bungalow.
Later, the nuclear family, comprising Padmashree and her parents, moved to Chennai. This is when Padmashree faced a devastating loss – that of her father. To grapple with the grief of losing a parent at the tender age of 9 is unthinkable. Padmashree reflects how, even with the loving support of their family, she and her mom had to “travel some paths all by themselves”.
This was a period of big changes and struggles for Padmashree. Along with her mom, she moved to various places and picked up new languages at each of these places. Today, Padmashree can speak six languages and understands nine of them.
The challenges had only just begun for Padmashree in her long journey of overcoming adversity. She recalls running a hostel for kids at home with her mother in Bellary, Karnataka. She also recounts helping her mother pursue a court case related to her father’s accident. Matters were compounded further by health issues in the family, but Padmashree mentions how her mother has prepared her to be mentally tough for any curveballs life could throw at her.
Padmashree has always felt Shirdi Sai Baba’s fatherly care and protection in her life, and she tells us how he came into their lives years ago due to a chance encounter her mother had with a co-passenger during a bus journey. Before she had even completed her graduation, there were more challenges in store. Despite financial constraints, Padmashree helped her mother oversee the construction of their house, which provided them with some form of permanency and stability.
We learn that Padmashree got married at the young age of 19 to Yogesh and moved to the US for a couple of years. She eventually returned to India and settled in Pune to start a family. Since they got married, Yogesh has been an important supporting figure in Padmashree’s inspirational story.
If you thought that this is where Padmashree’s story gets predictable and formulaic, you could not be more wrong. Calling motherhood a concept that can only be experienced and cannot be described, Padmashree tells us about her two wonderful sons. However, in the same breath, Padmashree recounts how when her younger son was merely 20 days old, she enrolled for a Masters in English Literature. Here, she gives complete credit to her mother and her husband for being her pillars of strength.
Padmashree’s professional journey started right after completing her Master’s degree as a lecturer in a pre-university college. While life was just settling into a rhythm with Padmashree managing her job, family, and kids, her resilience was tested again when the family met with a car accident while on vacation. Thankfully, her entire family recovered well and took steps to move beyond the trauma.
A very interesting facet of Padmashree’s life is that she decided to quit her job and home-school her children when they were in middle school. Citing the absence of holistic learning and lack of time for children to explore artistic interests in regular schooling, Padmashree tells us how she chose to explore “the path less travelled” with home-schooling. Over the years, many mothers have approached Padmashree for guidance on homeschooling.
We take a quick break to refresh and recharge with a Bollywood and Rapid Fire round, where Padmashree answers questions through the lens of her artistic hobbies and life interests.
Moving on to her professional journey, we find out that Padmashree has also dabbled in providing soft skills training for cops. Over time, Padmashree decided to take up the traditional Indian art form of block printing and explored more about the craft by travelling to Jaipur. Eventually, she entered the women entrepreneurs club by establishing “RangMudra”.
RangMudra is a block printing studio, workshop, experience center, and customised production unit. Padmashree emphasises that they encourage customers to bring their own clothes for printing and upcycling. Padmashree had also brought along a few products made at their studio to show them to our viewers.
Like many Indian entrepreneurs, Padmashree decided to operate RangMudra on a socio-economic model, aiming to provide sustainable livelihoods while promoting traditional crafts. If the social impact of her business is to be considered, Padmashree has employed school dropouts at RangMudra and taught block printing to rural women to promote rural entrepreneurship. She has also trained a mute and deaf person and is conducting block printing sessions for neurodiverse kids. RangMudra is a great example of a handicraft business built on a social enterprise model.
With her trademark humility, Padmashree tells us that she would not consider herself a success story till she has been able to promote the art of block printing and help more people. As a friendly advice for today’s generation, she says: “Stay focused, try traveling the path less-traveled, speak your mind, and live through your heart”.