Pragna Vedant is today a effectively recognized beauty consultant who has educated thousands of ladies at her eponymous beauty academy – but the story of how she got right here is complete of grit and determination. Raised by a single mother and married off at 16, Ms Vedant arrived at Mumbai with her husband being aware of that she wanted to pursue her childhood dream of getting in the beauty organization. In their single space and kitchen apartment, she converted her space into a salon and started threading and trimming. Alongside, she also started conducting mehendi classes.
“Through word of mouth, my customer base grew. But I still wanted to learn more. So, I’d use my savings to enroll for professional courses,” she reveals to Humans of Bombay.
She saved sufficient to open her personal salon and ran it for 10 years. “People would actually come to record me cutting hair while being blindfolded-that’s how good I was!” she says.
However, the Maharashtra floods of 2005 destroyed her salon and her property. The pressure of losing so substantially resulted in a stroke which left her paralysed. Although 3 months of physiotherapy helped Pragna Vedant to the point exactly where she could move herself about applying a wheelchair, she had lost vision in 1 eye and movement in her left hand.
“I could never be a beautician again…I thought that was it for me until people from my industry said, ‘Your knowledge is your USP, share it.’ And they were right,” she says.
Ms Vedant became a beauty consultant and started teaching ladies. She even discovered to stroll once again, but not – she says – ahead of “falling multiple times and learning to pick myself up.”
Ms Vedant says that she has held courses for ladies free of charge of charge or at minimal price if they had restricted suggests. She estimates that till date, she has educated about 35,000 ladies.
“Some have joined big brands while others have their own salons,” she says. “They call me for their inaugurals. At one of the inaugurals, I noticed that my picture had been kept in the mandir, on asking, the girl said, ‘Sab aap hi ki wajah se hai. (It’s all because of you)’ I was so touched.
“I could have helped them with cash, but I’m glad I helped them come to be independent due to the fact their talent will under no circumstances leave them. Mujhe hi dekhlo (appear at me)!” she says in conclusion. Read her full interview here:
Since being shared on Facebook, the post has received thousands of reactions.
“Such a wonderful story and how sturdy you are. You helped so several run their property and be independent,” wrote one Facebook user.
“Excellent, kudos to you for the under no circumstances give up attitude and imparting your expertise,” mentioned an additional.