“The most important achievement for me in life is to get my mother’s acceptance. I told her that I wanted to get into the handloom business when I was a teenager and she just said just one thing – do what you feel is the best.

I hail from Meerut town in Uttar Pradesh. It is famous for khadi textiles. There are hundreds of weavers who have gone on to become big businessmen in our town. I even wanted to be a business owner so I moved into this field at the young age of 15 after my father’s demise due to cancer. I was trained in handloom weaving in our hometown by my family friend. I later entered into the sales and marketing part of it. Our company, Tehniat Khadi, in Meerut is famous for Khadi shirts and kurtas and I travel to different parts of India to sell khadi shirts and kurtas.

The best part about my job is meeting new people across India and getting to know their culture. For the last 10 years, I’ve made friends with people across all parts of the country and that satisfaction is something completely different.

I always like to live in the present and not worry about my past or future. Whether I earn less or more, as long as my family and I can meet our monthly expenses, that is enough.”