Marvelous Monday with Silver Surfer Abha

“Nothing is Impossible” – She says. Presenting to you all, Silver Surfer Abha – Our Super Senior this week!

Married at the tender age of 20, Abha embarked on her career in the booming IT sector at the of 35, where she found her niche.  She then went on to work her way around her new-found passion to prove to the world that Age or Sex was no bar, of course with a little luck on her side and blessings from above. With a background in Arts, she today has built a successful career in the Tech Industry.

 

Down Memory Lane – Originally from UP, Abha got married and moved to Germany where she lived for a total of 13 years. She was an active housewife during her first stint in Germany. Being a woman who has been active for as long as she can remember, she is quick to mention, “I was a housewife for two main reasons – I did not have a work permit and my children were young.” The zealous bug bit her and she found herself actively doing volunteer work at her children’s school. She was an active member in forming a close knit Indian community in Germany. During the year 1989, she and her husband formed a high fashion men’s garment company, where they worked with some of the big labels. At this point, she realized that the sales and marketing gene was inborn in her. 

In the year 1992, life had other plans for her. She came back to India minus the marriage tag with her two children in tow. She decided to start working, first with a multimedia training institute in the year 1993. After which, in 1994, she decided to join the software industry at the age of 35 as  ” .com” was a booming industry back then. She grew in the IT industry even though all her colleagues were young. There were points in which she was reporting to colleagues who were much younger to her, but that did not deter her. She prodded on and within 8 years in her first company, the title of Head of German Ops was captured below her business card. She stuck on to IT for another 3 – 4 years as the Key Account Manager for US Operations.

In the year 2008, the year that the big bad bubble burst – Recession; Abha decided to help startups during this rough period under the sales and marketing tag and also consulted NGO’s on strategic management. Meandering into the field of CSR happened around this time and Abha found herself working for Nasscom at the VP level in the same field. Abha heads an advisory company on CSR, which is mandatory now in India. She helps and prepares NGO’s to be part of that. She works more towards Accessibility and Inclusion of persons with disability and less towards CSR now.  

The way Abha kicks her shoes and relaxes – Abha has been an active Rotary member since the year 1997. Embroidery, Knitting, making things, cooking all forms of cuisines and learning new skills forms her strong suit till date. Her loving granddaughter has diverted her attention as well. She doesn’t think she would ever stop working till her brain stops, there is no earlier stop to dim her activities – Commercial project or otherwise. Abha is now actively involved in The Silver Surfers – Silver Cause Foundation. 

Those Golden Nuggets for them Millennials – “I came back to India in such a time where business and academic scenery had changed drastically. My mother country seemed alien to me. What I can tell everyone around me is that nothing in life is unattainable, if you don’t know a skill, work around learning the skill. If you don’t know something and would love to know more about it, learn it – the World Wide Web is at your finger tips. Or ask the people around you to help. God will keep showering you with opportunities, it’s up to you to grab it with an open mind and an open heart and work on it.”