Grit & Determination, thy name is woman

By Sujata Rajpal

Did you know that the broad waist band that the pilgrims of Sabarimala Temple tie is manufactured at a small unit in Mysuru? Did you also know that a woman is the Managing Partner of this ‘small’ unit called Premier Polymers? Ironical isn’t it that an essential part of the devotees’ attire is manufactured under the supervision of a woman whose gender is denied entry to the temple!

Aruna Devi, a Chartered Engineer with Master’s in Computer Applications, made Mysuru her home in 1987 when she got married to D. Naresh Kumar (late), a Chartered Accountant. A few years later she ventured into business with her brother-in-law D. Mahesh Kumar as the Managing Partner of National Nylon Fabrics and Premier Polymers. National Nylon Fabrics located at Belagola and Premier Polymers located at Hebbal Industrial area are the only two units in South India to manufacture the soft woven fabric used in textiles, footwear and various other industries. The units manufacture gripper for men’s trousers, straps for footwear, seat belts and other similar products.

Not enough to stimulate her entrepreneurial bug, the feisty woman started Surabhi Software, a software development and computer training institute at Gokulam. Today, Aruna has more than 30 years of industrial experience as a successful entrepreneur and 10 years as an academician at the University of Mysore and Amrita University. Besides being an IT corporate facilitator for senior officials of industries and post-graduate students, she dedicates her time to the activities of innumerable industry bodies that she is a part of — IEI, CSI, ISTE, IEAE, IAENG (Hong Kong), MCCI, CII, MIA and WISE. Being the only certified Tally Facilitator in Mysuru, she has her hands full. Aruna is the recipient of many awards such as Best Women Entrepreneur – IEI (1999), Best Woman Achiever – FKCCI (2013) and Successful Woman Industrialist – DIC & GoK (2016).

In these times of high attrition, National Nylon Fabric and Premier Polymers, which have 12 skilled workers each take pride in having zero attrition. The unskilled workers were trained on the job and most of them have continued to stay on. Though these are separate units, they are interlinked in terms of use of raw material, products made and skill-sets required. When needed, the employees are shuffled. When I ask her if it is difficult to switch her mind from manufacturing to software units quickly as she goes about her work in her three ventures, she shakes her head delicately before replying. “Though different type of skills are needed for manufacturing and software industry, all one needs is an analytical mind to handle anything.”

I listen agog as Aruna eagerly talks about her eighteen-hour work routine. She had always enjoyed her work but after the demise of her husband, she fully dedicated herself into it. Her day starts early with working on the software projects, students walking in any time, punctuated by a trip or two to the manufacturing units. ‘I don’t have to visit the manufacturing units everyday as I am only the Managing Partner there but Surabhi Software is totally my baby requiring my complete attention,’ she tells beaming a modest smile. ‘Moreover, I run my software institute from home so I can afford to devote more time to my work,’ she adds. It is common for students to drop by in the evenings and stay on till late into the night.

Eighteen hours of work day on all seven days. But what does she do to relax, to unwind, I want to know. In response, she narrows her eyes as if trying to comprehend the question. “My work is my passion so I don’t feel the need to unwind in any other way. Working is relaxing for me,” Aruna tells with an unmistakable glint in her eyes.

Life is all about making the most of every opportunity and I intend to live it up with enthusiasm and passion. – The feisty woman entrepreneur Aruna Devi

Hailing from Haryana and brought up in Coimbatore, it is only almost at the end of the interview she reveals that she is the only engineer on her side of the family. “Ours is a very conservative family. Education is not given importance. Forget girls, even boys don’t study beyond school. They take over the business but I was adamant on going to college. I refused to eat food until I was given permission to pursue higher studies,’ she reveals. ‘Ultimately the family had to give in.’

She admits after she was given permission to study, a few others in the family followed suit though not engineering. That was three decades ago but even today except her own children there are no engineers or doctors on her side of the family.

Fifty-four-year-old Aruna has two children — son Rohit Gupta, a senior consultant at Deloitte, US, is married to Vishu Karnwal and daughter Surabhi Gupta is a doctor and preparing for her entrance exam for Master’s.