The Team - Part II

Well, Divya wants me to write about Urban Pari and its inception. My flow of thoughts on these topics are never easy, so I am trying to pen it as readable as possible and banking on Divya’s editing skills.

Prelude

I am a Scorpio (who by definition are very intense, focused and possess corporate qualities). Contrary to that, I seem to be known as a day-dreamer, always lost in some world and never in the present. So, my friends know me as a weird, dreamy person who does not do any work at all. They always reach out to Harsha, my husband, for everything.

So, one of the dreams I have, is a cute little Boutique shoppe adorned with beautiful,  elegant, earthy sarees, tiny handicrafts made  from NGO’s and a café serving aromatic  coffee and cookies and nostalgic books to make the experience heavenly. If this could also expand to being nestled in snow capped mountains (experienced after a trip to Leh, India), I guess that would be an achievement!

The  Making of Urban Pari

Did I say “Beautiful Sarees”? So, here is the link to Urban Pari. Sriya, is a common friend, the jewelery designer and the inspiration for us to pursue this. I happened to share this dream with her a long time ago and once Divya started following her designer instincts (she has done amazing sarees for  someone who did not wear them at all), Sriya reminded me if this can be a step to make the Dream a reality. This is how it got seeded with Divya’s vision. Divya soon took it higher with her undeterred focus and thanks to the Internet, there is no stopping us now.

Well, I would like to mention about Divya’s “GURU” and my Harsha's role, (who are childhood friends themselves) in the making of Urban Pari. Guru’s invaluable experiences, actually helped us understand the dynamics of business and how just a passion can become a successful venture. And without Harsha’s help, support, motivation and  confidence, this would be one of the dreams never seeing the light of day!

There are many people who have been very supportive and still continue to be.

- Our friend Shyam‘s photography skills got us the visibility on the Internet

- Our models are such sweet-hearts. You would change the word "artificiality" associated with models to "gorgeous, pleasant and humble" after being around them

- Our family and our friends who started the first sales for us  

Future

I'm hoping that someday soon, all you paris will come to experience one of our Urban Pari boutiques.

Looks like I did not have any hickup at all in writing this and to avoid you from dozing off (if not already) and this becoming an Award speech, I am going to stop!

Disclaimer: The pictures are borrowed from the Internet and does not exactly depict our vision.

The Team - Part I

In this blog, we want to share something about ourselves. You may want to know who we are and what we are like. Even we want to know what we have to say about each other and especially, about Urban Pari. So, this blog will be in two parts. One part will be written by Gayathri and the other part by Divya. We will not post photographs of ourselves just yet as we are camera-shy. When we do share a photograph, we'll pick one where we look splendid! :)

From Divya
I started to design sarees, around Diwali season in 2011 after being inspired by several entrepreneurs around me. It went really like this. I was sitting in the living room, turning over (in my mind) what I had already been thinking about. Then, suddenly, I messaged my friend (who's a jewelry designer) and said, "Hey, I'll design sarees and we can do some shows together!". It started there and within a month, Gayathri joined me after she shyly said, "I would like to join you". I was very happy to have a partner and agreed immediately. After she and Harsha (Gayathri's husband) joined the force, Urban Pari really took off. After all, a few heads are definitely better than one. I named our brand "Urban Princess" first. I did think of alternatives but I really couldn't get past it. But we discovered that "Urban Princess" was already trademarked in another part of the world. So, Gayathri knocked off "Princess" and turned it into "Pari". I think we couldn't have come up with a better name. I identify with it. Many of you are Urban Pari too.



I was born in the month of March. I am Pisces. The dreamers, right? I don't know if my assessment about myself is right. But, here's what (I think) I am like. I follow the principle, "Live and Let Live" and it's my slogan ever since I was a kid in school. I float through life without delving into details about history, politics, economics and the news. It may make me dull but I really don't have much interest in it. I am introspective, quiet and can break out into a banter every once in a while. I love spending time on western music and movies and snuggling with a thrilling English novel. I love watching Romantic Comedies but not if they turn into soppy love stories. I also blog about movies at http://im-a-movie-buff.blogspot.com. I am a Computer Science post-graduate and till some time back, I was a Network Software Engineer. I loved my job which was interesting and challenging. I do miss working in that space now.


Now, I am passionate about Urban Pari. I have discovered capabilities in me, that I did not know existed and it gives me plenty of opportunity to tap my creative side. I always wanted to write. I never dreamed that I would design sarees and was not even remotely interested in them but now swear by them. I truly believe (not because its business) in its beauty. Five-and-half meters of cloth can have endless possibilities. I love shopping. And now, I can shop for other ladies. I just found an outlet for my shopaholism! :)

That's enough about me!

Gayathri and Harsha are my good friends and partners in Urban Pari. I quote that without them Urban Pari would not be possible. People often say that business partnerships break friendship and I want to be very careful to not let that happen. Harsha is an extremely helpful person and gets the ball moving when we nudge it. :) Gayathri is a very sweet woman who sometimes scolds me (when I irritate her) and she has her own dreams for Urban Pari. My goal is to take Urban Pari global and reach out to people through the Internet. Gayathri will tell you more about what she wants to do in her blog.

My husband, Guruprasad, is a very interesting person. He, unlike me, loves all the things that I don't. He is a master in History and other subjects and can tell long tales when the subject comes up. ;) We consult with him whenever anything needs to be done, without moving a muscle. ;) He is our marketing Guru and gives us plenty of advise. I have to say that Urban Pari has brought me closer to Guru because I value his advise and his support. Sometimes, I don't listen to him. :)

Ok, I think that really is enough about me. I hope this was even remotely interesting.