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Elvira: How wonderful! You’re definitely taking me down memory lane. I remember the delicious aromas from the Home Science lab on your practical days. (smiles) Pinky, today you’re the owner of your own bakery, ‘Nandini Bakes’. What inspired you in this direction? 

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Manisha: (smiles and nods) Actually I would prefer to say that I’m just working at Nandini Bakes. The owners are my parents. This venture has been possible because of the support I got from my father to work and make a career at the age of being married. The main reason and inspiration behind NB is my Mamma. It was her dream that her daughter should do something which gives her recognition, an identity of her own. I hope I’m making sense. (gestures with her hand) See, after completing my graduation I decided to devote myself to my Mamma’s care as she was a kidney patient and needed someone to take care of her. After she left I was completely shattered and unable to give any direction to my life. One day I thought to myself why not start baking cakes as cooking was the only thing I specialised in that too because my mom was a great cook. Believe me, it was not an easy task from being an amateur baker to becoming a professional one. And I would say I’m still not! I’m still learning daily from my experiences... how to handle clients, how to create new designs, flavours, pricing the cakes, it’s a long list! But I love my work. It has become my routine, being busy with flour and sugar... (laughs) And yes, I named my bakery on my mom's name NANDINI, a small tribute to her. (smiles)

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Elvira: Amazing! This is so sweet! Now there’s something I’ve been dying to ask you! I’ve heard and read a lot about your speciality, ‘Rasmalai Cake’. You were interviewed recently by a newspaper too where you mentioned it. Tell us something about this special flavoured cake.

Manisha: (laughs indulgently) Ahh... Rasmalai Cake is our BEST-SELLER!  People call me to place orders and the first thing they say is that we have heard a lot about your rasmalai cake and we would love to try it. When I heard about this cake the first time I was sceptical... like how can a cake be combined with any Indian ‘mithai’. You know what mean! But then I thought let’s give it a try and see. It actually tasted great and was something unusual. I have been working for two and half years now and till date I have always got great reviews about this cake. And what’s more...customers have actually tagged me – THE RASMALAI QUEEN! (laughs)  

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Elvira: Wow! That’s a huge compliment! And as we come to the end of our interesting conversation I have a serious question for you. What are some of the most important tips you would like to share with girls and women who plan to initiate their own start-ups? 

Manisha: (thoughtfully) Hmm... I would say, ‘believe in yourself and nothing is impossible’. Even if you are not a degree holder or an MBA you can still survive. It’s just a simple thing. Recognise what's best in you; try to find out your potentials and it will definitely create a way for you. It is very important to make your own identity in this world not because you have to prove your worth to anyone but do it for yourself because it will make you happy. 

It was not easy for me to open a bakery of my own. There were a lot of challenges. The most pressing of all still is that I don’t have any professional team working with or for me. From adding new flavours to the menu, selecting designs, convincing customers, baking cakes, taking calls and in the midst of all this chaos taking care of my home and my father too...working from morning 7 to late evening 7 or even sometimes 12 midnight it is a tedious job. It is rightly said in our field, ‘bakers don’t have a personal life’. But still, I’m happy with what I have achieved and will keep working on bettering it.

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