Tathastu Buddy
Brought up in Jammu in a family of military background, Parvinder Kaur was a disciplined child and a bright student. She was raised as a lady with iron-like will power and inner strength. Discipline however couldn’t tame her imagination and desire to create an identity of her own. She had won various state-level art competitions during school days. Despite the the strong refusal from family, Parvinder nurtured her dream of becoming a beautician and a fashion designer with dedication and perseverance. Her persistence eventually yielded results in year 1984 when she got married to a gentleman in Raipur, who was all supportive of her dreams. He gave Parvinder the sky to fly and inspired her to live up to her full potential. That’s when she decided to come up with her own fashion boutique and beauty parlour in Raipur. In the times when fashion was a term misinterpreted as ‘short dresses’ and western outfits , she presented ‘fashion’ to the crowd of Raipur as a medium to present oneself in the best possible manner. She expanded the horizon of her dreams and creativity and went on to become the CEO of Chhattisgarh’s first entertainment channel, Grand Yaaraa. While all her ventures were doing great, she received an offer to lead the fashion designing department in MATS University. Parvinder realized that like she needed at the early stage of her career, many youngsters of the city also need guidance and support to pursue a career in this field. So she decided to give her due to the society by accepting the offer to mentor the students of fashion designing. What started with the first batch of three students and a few short-term diploma courses, has now expanded to over 300 students and full-fledged degree courses in fashion, under the competent leadership of Mrs. Parvinder Kaur. She has done career counselling of thousands of students free of cost to bring out the best in them. All her students are well-placed and are doing their bit to redefine fashion in their own unique way.
Back there in Jammu, when she was in her late teens, Parvinder used to design her own dresses. Her friends, family, cousins used to be all appreciative of her creativity and talent. But when she told her farther about her desire to explore the field of fashion, she had to face some serious resistance. Coming from an army background, ‘fashion’ was something which was not perceived as a prestigious career choice at that time. Girls had limited career choices of teacher, doctor and a few more that were considered to be appropriate for them. Even her interest in pursuing beautician course was looked down upon. Parvinder had tough time convincing her family regarding her career choice. But eventually she succeeded and pursued several courses in fashion designing. In the very first year of college, Parvinder Kaur was appointed as president because of her capabilities and leadership skills. When she thought she has won the battle by managing to get the permission for pursuing education in field of her choice, there came another obstacle- the prejudice of girls not being allowed to go out of home and work professionally. Parvinder didn’t rebel, rather she chose to keep the spark of her passion alive. And as they say “Where there’s a will there’s a way”! She was married to Mr. S Pritpal Singh of Raipur, who turned out to be the super-supportive and understanding husband. He motivated Parvinder to pursue all her dreams and shine bright in her glory.
After a few years of marriage, Parvinder started her own boutique and a beauty parlour at home in Raipur. At that time, Raipur was not-so-fashionable. Fashion was a term mostly associated to bollywood inspired dressing style, short dresses and not-so-sanskari way of dressing up. Hence, initially her efforts were directed towards creating awareness among masses that fashion is something that helps a person present oneself in the best possible manner. Fashion doesn’t necessarily mean short dresses; when comfort meets style fashion is created, and it is applicable in both modern and ethnic outfits. Soon her efforts proved fruitful. Because of her expertise in the designing skills, soon her popularity grew across the town and so increased her client following. As a result of which she had to expand her boutique into a full-fledged designer store, which she launched with the name of ‘Aha Creations’ in year 1998. Her passion towards fashion designing earned her recognition, respect and an identity of her own. She has been honoured with various prestigious awards of state including The Best Fashion Designer Award by Chhattisgarh Film Industry Association. Her department secured first position (4 times in a row) in a National Level Fashion Show organized by IIM – Indian Institute of Management. In every fashion event held in Chhattisgarh, Parvinder is invited as the prominent member of the jury. Also her articles get published in Dainik Bhaskar as a Trend Expert.
While her career as fashion designer was at peak, Parvinder could notice the struggle of young aspiring fashion designers, amid lack of education facility and proper guidance. She always wondered if she could do more for them than just counselling. So in year 2008 when MATS University started Fashion Designing Department and offered Parvinder to become the head of the department, she could not refuse. She identified the opportunity as her payback to the society. She winded up her boutique, and decided to dedicate her full time mentoring the students. Her perseverance over the years has turned the fashion designing department of MATS University into one of the best in town. The youngsters she mentored in fashion designing are now doing well in their careers, many of them have their own firms and all are glorifying the name of their institution and the mentor.
Meanwhile, Parvinder also took up the role of CEO of Grand Yaara Entertainment Channel, and made it a medium of expression for her creativity. Besides all the glamorous fields she’s associated with, Parvinder is an active social worker and Director of Seva Sahayta Samuh. She is an active socialite of the town and is known for the wide spectrum of skills and talents she has. After having achieved so much, Parvinder believes that her experience should benefit others in some way or the other. So she often spares time to counsel the youngsters especially young girls to become independent and make the most of their skills, talents and resources. Example of women empowerment herself, Pavinder has raised her daughter Allisha Kaur too as a young dynamic independent girl, who runs her own IT company named – Alisha’s IT World.
Every girl deserves the space and freedom to dream big and live up to her potential. Meaningless stigmas and pointless prejudice should not become an obstacle in their journey. They are born to fly! This golden cage of prejudice and stigma is not where they belong!-Parvinder Kaur.
