CHANGING THE MINDSET: NARGIS MOHIUDIN
A young and enthusiastic girl from a remote village of Budgam in Kashmir dreamt of having her own business. Located right in the middle of the market place in Panzan, Chadoora, 17 kilometers from Srinagar, 28-year-old Nargis Mohiudin rented a room where she runs her office of JK Unique Tour and Travels for about a year now. “I got to know about the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) and went there without informing my family. There I took two weeks training and during the training I realized that I had been aiming to become a businesswoman” said Nargis, who runs her business single handedly. Growing up in a village where girls are educated but owning the business was out of question, Nargis took a stand. With her village being flocked with tourists every year, she decided to help them find their way, book hotels and visit tourist spots. She currently runs the business through a website and has tie-ups with various hotels in the area.
The 28-year-old Kashmiri girl went against all the norms to become an entrepreneur in spite of facing different hurdles. When she broke this news in front of her family, relatives and neighbors, they didn’t seem to like it. “My father seemed okay with the plan but the rest wanted me to give up this childish fantasy and concentrate on looking for some government job,” Nargis recollected. Living in a village that witnesses overwhelming number of tourists in the summer, gave her an idea. “I literally begged my parents to support me and they eventually did,” she said. Visitors meant business and she decided to tap the tourist influx in and around Panzan. A travel agency seemed to fit the bill. “I was told by one and all that running a travel agency is not a women’s job, it is only men’s domain but I wanted to do it,” said Nargis.
Dealing with tourists, booking accommodation and guiding them to various tourist spots is what Nargis does now. She plans to expand it soon. “I have applied for registration at the Tourism Department and a website too is launched and I also have tie-ups with various hotels around,” said Nargis. She recently paid a visit to Udaipur and interacted with various tour and travel agents to understand how such businesses are run. Such innovations and initiatives by the girls are clearly revealing a change in mindset of local populace. The coming generation is full of ambitions and motives to live their life in own ways and these achievements will widen the horizon for the Kashmiri youth and will guide them to live their dreams.
