Elina Meswani considers Monday morning blues a bit of a misnomer. What’s work got to do with going to office, asks the organiser of this year’s Women Entrepreneurs’ Exhibition. The 50-plus women who will be showcasing their craft at the event in Mumbai bear testimony to the potential hotbed of creativity the home can be, she emphasises. “We always have this notion that we shouldn’t sit at home and go out to work. This exhibition truly redefines that concept. It’s interesting how within the confines of their homes, women can do so much. As long as you have the mental stimulation, whether you work out of a different bedroom in your house or a study or garage, your growing leaps and bounds with your business is all in the mind.”

Patronised by the country’s major corporate houses including the Ambanis, Tatas, Bajajs, Birlas and Kilachands, the high-profile exhibition (September 23 - 24) is a platform to showcase women entrepreneurs who don’t have the retail space to exhibit their craft. “Over the years, the IMC has recognised and supported several women entrepreneurs who didn’t have the confidence or wherewithal to go all out and do their thing. The ladies we have introduced in earlier years include the likes of Malini Agarwala and Kokommo, who have already become big brand names. The exhibition involves NGOs in a very big way. All the money goes back to the upliftment of ladies, their education and vocational training.”

The timing is perfect. “It’s a tradition to spring clean homes before Diwali and buy new things. The exhibition is a great place to shop for jewellery and gifts because it showcases new talent, the money goes towards a good cause and you get everything under one roof.” On display is all kinds of jewellery — traditional jadau, designs from Bangkok, semi-precious bric-a-brac and of course, costume jewellery. There are also unusual and exclusive handbags — embellishments on cane or diamonds on wood, which make a distinct style statement — lifestyle products like silver-plated cutlery, tableware, candles, shoes and children’s clothes. “You can be assured of the newest trend because it bears the IMC’s seal of excellence.”

The-37-year-old attributes her initial involvement with IMC to her parents who were IMC members and are keen social workers. She laughs as she recalls her surprise and embarrassment when her father built a room at the IMC office and named it after her. “My family was present on the occasion and we thought he would name the room after my grandfather. But he named it after me. He said it was a reminder to the new generation in the business community to continue doing social work. Since then I resolved to do something every year.”

It has been an eventful journey. From accompanying her husband Nikhil Meswani, Executive Director, Reliance, as a speaker at IMC’s events including India Calling, to organising last year’s IMPACT exhibition, she has been there, done that. She chuckles as she recalls her work with the health and fitness committee in 2000. “There was a seminar on alternative healing at the then Reliance Infocom facilities with various fields like kinesiology. The ladies went back perplexed. They couldn’t imagine there could be so many different fields of holistic healing apart from allopathy. They were dazzled!”

This year’s exhibition is even more special because it marks IMC’s 40th anniversary. The accent has been on discovering talent from all over India, says she. “There is so much talent outside of Mumbai. Everyone outsources from these places but often the consumer doesn’t know the real makers. The exhibition helps reduce the middlemen. Also, instead of recommending people we know, we got a neutral body of entrepreneurs — Sangita Sinh Kathiwada from fashion, Malini Agarwala for handbags and so on — to screen the products. So we have been able to highlight what’s different and unique in the market.”

The exhibition, which travels to London every year, has also tapped markets like South Africa, Singapore and Dubai. “I’m amazed at what our Indian women can do if they reach the right places abroad. We all shop overseas. Be it a Valentino handbag or Christian Dior evening couture, even if there is a little bit of embroidery, the prices shoot up. And all this stuff is going in from India.”

Meswani, who describes herself as “diverse and easy,” likes to collect art and is into holistic reading and spirituality. The University of Southern California finance graduate has a latent entrepreneurial streak and dreams of starting an agriculture-based project of her own some day. “I’d like to begin with exports and then maybe one day, have a manufacturing unit.”

Right now she has her hands full—from jetsetting to Davos and China with her husband for World Economic Forum events including Young Global Leaders to the myriad other projects she is involved with. She is also passionately committed to Habitat for Humanity, the renowned international organisation that builds homes for the homeless based on a microfinance model. “Typically it’s a 250 sq ft home with one bedroom, a kitchen and a toilet. The vision was to build 25,000 homes; we have already touched 30,000. Now the target is 50,000. It’s truly gratifying work.”

The warm brown eyes light up as the philanthropist recalls her meeting with former American president, Jimmy Carter and his wife Jeannie when the couple came down to Lonavala for an HFH project three years ago. “The Carters were fantastic and moved us to tears with their words. The exciting part was that Brangelina, who were in town to shoot for A Mighty Heart, were on the next roof!”

Her children Gayatri, eight, and Ishan, 13, top her list of priorities. “I like to wind up all engagements by the time the kids get home from school. What I cherish most is the hug I get when they return. It’s a typical scenario every afternoon: “My daughter’s waiting to hug our dog and I’m waiting to hug her!”

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