BY SAURABH AILAWADI
Co-founder and Director, Gulmoharlane.com
She is outspoken, has strong opinions, loves to strike conversations with random people and is a perfectionist. I’m quiet, practical and a man of few words. We met in the corridors of NIFT. Our different mental and emotional personalities collided like the artistic ebony and ivory. Marriage soon followed, along with mundane day jobs. It wasn’t long before we dreamt of our very own company. Two years ago, we took another plunge and left Mumbai for Jaipur for a fresh start in life - we were to be business partners, and looked forward to a whole new relationship.
While we were excited, curious friends often gave us quizzical looks. They would look at their spouses and with assured surety state, “Business partners and us? Nah!” There would be a pregnant pause, followed by a hesitating, “You two have ego clashes often, right? At least, sometimes?” hoping to get some masala out of us. We would just give a vague, awkward answer, silently touch wood and thank our stars that our aesthetic sensibilities matched.
We were thrilled about our studio, and soon started being appreciated for our different collections. We were also getting promising enquiries from people who were keen to collaborate with us. We were happy and thought we were the perfect couple-cum-business partners.
Two hours before I sat down to write this article, we argued. Yes, we argued. About what? Well, we fought over whether the floral pattern from our next line of prêt collection should have pink petals. “Isn’t pink a little too feminine?” Just as the thought crossed my mind, I quickly suggested a rusty orange. I felt it was a good compromise and matched beautifully with the brown background colour.
But my wife, being my wife, started showing me various hues of pink. From baby pink, to peach, hot pink, rose pink - she just refused to consider any other colour. And me, being me, I showed her colours varying from tangerine to amber. This, mind you, went on for hours. We both were at our best, cajoling and convincing the other, but both sticking to our guns. It had reached a point where the trigger was only a breath away. That’s when I walked off.
And then we sat at our two separate tables with a partition. I looked at a tired man in a tall mirror straight ahead and smiled, and soon gave in to hearty laughter. It dawned on me what colour I would go for, after all – I was wearing a pink shirt, baby pink, to be precise. And I looked good! Gulmohar Lane will always be our first baby. And just the way parents fuss over their own children, we will fuss over our collections. And from experience, very recent at that, our solution to everything for all couples who want to run a successful business with their spouse as a partner: Two tables and a partition!
Feedback: mahesh.lingareddy@softmachines.com
