Adversity breeds resilience and brings out the best in people. Here is a similar tale of 70-year-old Urmila Jamnadas Asher, who emerged from grief and tragedy stronger than before.
Life has always tested Urmila in various forms. She lost all three of her children in different tragedies, and all she had was her grandson Harsh.
However, tragedy struck again in 2019, when he met with an accident and that left him with a disfigured face.
Urmila watched her grandson, who owned a corporate gifts and merchandise business, slip into depression.
This personal crisis was followed by a worldwide one when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived. It forced her grandson Harsh’s business to shut down.
That’s when the gritty senior citizen decided to help her grandson find his footing.
“I told him that he had only lost his upper lip and business, but I’d lost three children, and was still standing strong. I assured him I’d offer all my support,” Urmila says.
In 2020, Urmila and Harsh started Gujju Ben Na Nasta, to slowly get back on their feet. The neighbourhood of Charni Road has found itself drenched in the aroma of fresh and mouth-watering Gujarati delicacies ever since.
Initially, Harsh started by asking his grandmother to make pickles and promoting them on social media.
They became an instant success and the duo added snacks such as thepla, dhokla, puran poli, halwa, sabudana khichdi, farali pattice and other such items to the food list.
Harsh notes, “[My grandmother’s] stamina and endurance are incredible. We cater to around 30-35 orders a day, each of them prepared and checked for quality by her.”
“As business grew, I partnered with two other friends to invest Rs 10 lakh and opened a brick-and-mortar shop near the house in October,” he adds.
The business today earns the duo a revenue of Rs 3 lakh a month and the duo are hoping for the orders to grow more with time