BHARATI PAWASKAR
She is a ‘Swayamsiddha’ - self-made woman entrepreneur and her struggles and efforts of 24 years have translated into a flourishing flowering business now. Witnessing a humble beginning from a tiny ‘gaddo’ in the heart of Margao, florist Kalpana Sameer Naik Divekar has expanded her flower services across Goa and taking note of this achievement, she was awarded with the prestigious ‘Pirubai Dalal Smruti Swayamsiddha Puraskar’ by Gomant Vidya Niketan, Margao.
The award given by this premier socio-cultural organisation in the memory of Pirubai Dalal is a token of appreciation for hard work, dedication and commitment. Kalpana who recently received this award for the year 2018 at a glittering function at Gomant Vidya Niketan, admits that she had not even dreamt of achieving this extraordinary feat or this award at any point of her life.
“All these years while I struggled initially to establish myself in the flower trade, and then to continue with zest and zeal, I did not even notice that I was doing something extraordinary. It was only after the announcement of my name and the intimation that followed, that I realised that, yes, it has been 24 long years that I am on my feet every single day, not taking any holidays or offs. In fact, my work doubles on Sundays, during festivals and public holidays as it is on these days that demand for flowers hikes,” shares Kalpana.
It was on February 11 in 1995 that she opened her flower shop with just one salesgirl and from day one, she registered good sales and she agrees, “I never looked back. Within days I knew for sure that this field has a potential for growth. I grabbed the opportunity and never missed visiting my shop for even a single day. This paid rich dividends and here I am supplying flowers on a daily basis to hotels and resorts, corporate offices, institutions and catering to online orders from individual clients as well. We deliver flowers to the destined venue anywhere in Goa and do it personally.”
Kalpana has a team of 20 odd employees today who are swift enough to deliver the orders speedily. Her timings have never changed - she opens her shop at 7.30 in the morning and closes by 9 pm on a daily basis. Urgent orders are accepted too. The supply orders are obliged with speed. All this makes a happy customer base for Kalpana. However, she points out that for the past five-six years, there has been a cut-throat competition in the flower business.
The reason for this, according to her is, “People now do not limit flower decoration only for weddings or occasions. Even homes need flowers to adorn their drawing rooms and dining tables on a daily basis. Flowers are mood changers and so people do not mind paying to buy flowers and change the ambience of their homes.” Her struggling days are now over, but she has not stopped visiting her shop daily. Her stocks come from Karnataka and she buys only orchids from her home state Goa. All other flowers that she needs come from outside the state. “There is no serious floriculture on a large scale in Goa and that’s why our demands are fulfilled from the neighbouring states,” she asserts.
Good and timely service, supply of quality flowers on a consistent basis and reasonable rates are the three things that help any business grow. But Kalpana walked a long way before reaching her destination where she is today. Born on February 1 at Vasco in a well-to-do family, Kalpana lost her father who used to run a hotel, a dairy and a bakery passed away suddenly at 50. The six siblings (four sisters and two brothers) were left at the mercy of their mother who tried hard to make two ends meet, as all the family businesses came to a halt. The family survived helping each other and reviving the lost businesses. Kalpana decided not to continue her education after SSC and instead, earn. She learnt tailoring and began working from home. Soon she became expert in stitching and wanted to open up a shop of her own. Her two elder sisters, who were settled in Margao after marriage, helped Kalpana find a small shop in the heart of Margao, near police station.
“I somehow managed to buy this gaddo with the help of my sisters. But the space was too small to accommodate two sewing machines. My sister suggested that we could open a flower shop as there was dearth of florists in Margao at that time. I had no idea how to go about this business, but I learnt the nuance. And we opened our flower shop on 11 February 1995. It has been 24 years now and I never looked back since then,” smiles Kalpana who guided others like her to open flower shops in other parts of the state and gave them raw material too. Many got employments. The market was growing. There was rising demand for flower décor from five-star hotels. She also accepted wedding and stage decoration contracts.
She not only grew her own empire but also extended helping hand to those who made candles, bamboo baskets and nets which are required for decoration purpose. Kalpana expanded and shifted her store to another nearby venue which is bigger. But she still runs her shop from the original small space which proved to be lucky for her. And people in Margao recognise her shop more as ‘Kalpana’s Florisrty’ than the baptised name ‘Lily and Lilac’.
