GreNo West: Neelima Nirmal and a tale of resilience

Unlike all professions, to be a mother and homemaker is usually unaccounted in the balance sheets. However, a full-time homemaker and mother take several decisions every minute for the well being of her family.

“Being a mother and having a mother is the biggest force in life,” says Neelima Nirmal, resident of Supertech Ecovillage 1, a mompreneur whose struggles have made her strong and her skills have helped her overcome many difficult challenges in life.

Neelima has recently started her homerun pickle business in GreNo West under the name Flavor N Feels pickles to boost her family income. She sells homemade FMCG products. Her products are also available on Amazon and Flipkart.
 

 

 

 

 

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Talking about the origin of her business, she says, “My brother’s wife was always a big fan of my pickles. During the vacations, we thought of starting a home-run business. My mother in law has helped me in this business. These are actually her recipes for pickles, rose petals sharbat, chayavanprash in pure ghee and many other items."

Neelima Nirmal(44) is the mother of two daughters. Vrinda (19) and Poorva (14). As gathered, she has always been an able administrator and a hustler which has helped her fight back.

In 2018, Neelima’s husband Ishaan Nirmal set up a new business in construction in Jaipur and he faced a terrible loss pushing the family into a major financial crisis. Apart from this, a fire broke in Ishan’s shop adding more pain to their wounds. This was the time Neelima had two choices- to succumb to destiny and see her family in adversity or to brace herself and do everything in her stride to change the reality. For the love of her daughters, she chose the latter.

A postgrad in Commerce, Neelima always knew her way of turning situations around. At this time, Covid had entered the world, and jobs were shaken. She had to now support her family amidst salary cuts and widespread depression from the pandemic. She took out her life’s savings and spent them carefully to protect her family. “Every single penny I spent for the well being of my family. It was a hard time but we must be prepared for the same."

Neelima's journey and upbringing have helped her learn skills that have helped her always. She says, "After my graduation, my father was posted away. My siblings were young so it fell upon me to run the house. From driving to changing bulbs, to buying groceries, I took care of everything. Apart from this, my father also taught me to swim, stitch fabric and do my work on my own. These life skills have helped me greatly in life."

Being independent all her life, she decided to work after her wedding and pregnancy. Back in 2005, when her father had a heart attack, her family shifted from Jodhpur to her home town Jaipur. She took care of her family. She has also been a teacher for many years as she likes spending time with children.

During the second wave, everyone in her family was hit. While taking care of her in-laws, she also got infected and had to be admitted to the hospital after severe shortness of breath.

Nevertheless, her daughters' prayers worked, and on the 5th day, she was discharged from the hospital. However, Covid had rendered her weak. "My daughters and mother have helped me recover and get back to my feet."

Finally, after a year's wait, her husband found a good job in Noida. It has been four months since her business, and the word of mouth publicity of her business is looking up.

Neelima says everything she has done is from the support of her family and the love of her two daughters. “I still remember the day when I first held my daughters. I couldn't help but wonder how beautiful these girls are.”