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Painting the car red
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Two women are on new track as they run a car-painting enterprise, after shutting down a beauty parlour
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WOMAN SMARTER Miral Begum specialises in automobile painting PHOTO H. VIBHU
What business does a woman usually do? The first thing that crosses your mind is a beauty parlour. But what about a car painting workshop? Uh, you wonder. But Minal Begum shut down her beauty parlour to begin this car painting workshop. Pay a visit and this is what you see:
Two women in `burkha', supervising car painting. The board display on the Maradu highway says it all- `Mercury, The complete car painting system'.
Minal Begum, a pleasant woman in her forties along with her sister Rahmath, whom Minal Begum introduces as her `foreman' run the workshop. The two lead you in to a fairly spacious area with details of meticulous planning evident everywhere.
It's only natural for one to wonder what these two women are doing in a field perceived primarily as a male domain. But Minal Begum instantly convinces you of her professionalism, that there is nothing called a `man's job'. "I believe women can do anything she wants. All it takes is plenty of determination and focus," she says. And that is what happened six years ago when she decided to follow her dream to start this business.
"I have always loved cars. In fact, I have a huge collection of pictures from my childhood of various cars. It's not just me who has this craze for vehicles, but the rest of my family too," she adds saying that her husband works as the Deputy Commissioner at the Vehicles Department. So, when Minal decided to pursue this business she enrolled herself at Sri Ramakrishna College, Coimbatore, for a short course in car paint works.
Shutting a beauty parlour she owned and with a capital of Rs. 4 lakh, Minal Begum says, "I felt it was the best thing to do as there is no need for large-scale investment since stocks are purchased according to the demand and the business eventually runs on rolling capital. It is challenging and pays well."
Today, she is happy she took the plunge. "The most exciting part is when we have alteration jobs to do. We have clients who would want a car to look completely different, to possess a look that does not otherwise exist. Even instances where a Contessa was made to look like a Mercedes and a Tata Sierra with a collapsible back door," she tells you.
Minal explains it is a job she enjoys. "I get a drawing of the modified car with the help of a special software, make a clay model of the final product and present it to the client for approval. Once the approval is through, we begin work. It's not just the modification work that is challenging but also to obtain the right paint colour. In fact we get details of the latest colours from the Internet and pass it onto our suppliers, so much so that we have shades that are trendy," she says.
Her clients are always welcome to inspect their cars that are being worked on and timely delivery is a reason for her success, she believes. "There have also been times when we have worked 48 hours at a stretch and my workers don't complain as I look after them well. Besides the sort of training they obtain under us has got them jobs at Toyota and GM showrooms."
And last but not the least Minal Begum pauses to add one last detail. "There is nothing one cannot do, whatever the gender. It is all about believing in oneself."
TANYA ABRAHAM
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Pondicherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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