After ten years working with the fashion fraternity in New Zealand, Parul Srivastava and her husband Rohan shifted to Gurgaon with their four-year-old daughter, Mia, in 2010. Rohan soon got busy in his new job with PlayUp, as their Global Marketing Head, and Parul was left to manage the house and baby.
“I have never been one to sit idle for long. While doing my post graduation in New Zealand, there were times when I simultaneously worked four part-time jobs – including as a fitness instructor and a bartender. Soon I was pulling my hair, with all the mind-boggling logistics that go into settling in a new place.”
Settling in Gurgaon too wasn’t easy. “In the time that I have spent here, I seem to have developed a love-hate relationship with the City. After living in one of the most beautiful countries in this world, Gurgaon was a complete contrast. I constantly found myself wishing to see more greenery, and open and well-established child-friendly spaces. However, while the traffic, the pot holes, the litter on the roads and the endless construction drove me up the wall, there were aspects about living here that were unmatched anywhere else in India.
I love how Gurgaon is our own melting pot in this part of the world. One gets to meet people from all parts of the world – from different cultures, with different experiences and learnings. To me it feels like the perfect blend of living a cosmopolitan life, while being very much in touch with our unique culture and tradition,” says Parul candidly.
Parul knew that though she could not take up a regular job, she needed to listen to her heart. “You need to find
what you enjoy doing, and make it work somehow. And if that doesn’t get you where you want to be, try something else.
I am so thankful that I stumbled onto the pottery studio when I did – it is the best possible outlet I could have found for
my creativity.
That is how Parul Srivastava became a full-time potter!
“It’s odd when you suddenly choose a completely different subject, and it falls into place so naturally. The fascination with clay awakened a new me. It gave me a totally new take on how I viewed life, and what I thought I wanted to achieve for myself.
Why did I choose to become an artist? I didn’t. I don’t consider myself an artist either. Pottery is just something that I love to do! If you can learn to follow your dreams, then all those other sacrifices and missteps will prove worthwhile.
I hope to gain a closer connection to my own creative spirit, and open an opportunity to meet others. Today the world seems like a much smaller and better place, full of friends with good intentions. This seems more like a miracle than a coincidence to me!
The wonder is that each creation takes on a life of its own. I don’t equate success with the quantity I sell. Success to me is having a customer tell me that they are using the mug that they bought from me, and it has become their favourite mug.
The fact that I have customers who understand that a high quality handmade piece is well worth the cost, so that I can take the time to make each creation without rushing through, is satisfaction in itself,”
continues Parul.
And behind the wheel, her quest continues...
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