Architect & Entrepreneur Saguna Wadhwa Talks About Multi-Tasking & “Having-it-all”
- JWB Post
- March 23, 2016
You can always hear Jaipur’s Saguna Wadhwa echoing the brutal words once said by American personality Dick Masterson – “Fucking two things up at the same time isn`t multitasking”.
She is an Architect, a Teacher, and an Entrepreneur handling two businesses. Spicing things up in her life is her naughty 2-year-old kid who ‘can’t keep calm’. Literally.
Saguna is the Project Manager of one of the most beautiful houses in Jaipur with Roman look. Also, she keeps hosting exhibitions satisfying and showcasing her ethnic-designing side. Currently, she has devoted herself to the preparations for that will showcase artisan skills in architecture & interior design.
Below are the mindblowing quotes of Saguna she spoke during our two-hour long chit-chat at C’est Bon café, run by her family, over hot cappuccinos, and banana and marble cakes.
“Mai apni favorite hu”
I love myself. Worship, if this word does the justice. I love dressing up and doing my hair. I believe that woman is like a charm. She is the sign of beauty, so why not show off? Hey, I am not a ‘pencil pants and stilettos’ person. I adore my PJs, but even in them, I make sure to look like a dreamboat.
“I am not a worrywart. I deliberately wear the crown with a ‘do it all’ and ‘have it all’ written on it.”
I am well aware of how toxic worrying can be. Give me ten tasks for 24-hours, and surprise yourself. I maintain this small journal mentioning which task has to be completed when. I am not the ‘damsel in distress’ who will crib. Instead, I will go around fixing each one of them, at that, not missing a single family moment. Currently, I am handling few architectural projects in Jaipur and Delhi, going to teach twice a week at Ayojan College of Architecture, running my couture label ‘’, and creating 50 ethnic pieces a month for an ongoing collaboration project ‘All That Dori’ with my friend.
I don’t prefer someone else cooking, feeding and bathing my child. I do all this by myself. When he was small, I would breastfeed him, make him sleep and then run to finish my work. This happens even today. I climb my career ladder when he sleeps or play with his grandparents. At times I overwork, and people ask me to leave one of these careers. I overhear such suggestions.
I trust myself and believe that I have the caliber to handle everything coming my way. This is one of the ways I restore my faith in myself.
“Don’t be crazy. Of course, I have a team.”
My family forms my trusted team. My husband is my Business Counselor. My mother-in-law is my Therapy Doctor. And my mother plays both these roles if my husband and MIL aren’t available. I still remember how I woke my husband up at 3 in the morning when the idea to set up a Pyjamas brand (Jammies) struck my head. He calmly sat, listened to my inquisitive mind and appreciated my creativity. He is that one person who understands how to rest my untimely anxieties.
I never take any one of them for granted thinking they are always there for me. They are the added luxury in my life. I am grateful.
“I don’t apologize for being cranky at times.”
Once, I was sitting with my tailor, and we were researching on how this particular drape should roll over the Anarkali gown. It was eleven in the night. And seconds before, I fed my son. Minutes later, my husband entered the room and questioned about my electric-shock-hair. This happened few years back, and that was the last time! (giggles)
Girls, it is OKAY to be angry and not wear the sweet blanket of expressions all the time. I don’t feel sorry for the times I go mad. Instead, I accept the fact that sometimes “cranky” gets stuff answered.
“Being who you are will be a struggle.”
And especially when you become a mother because the responsibilities become quadruple the size. I have seen successful women going down the drain. If you expect something from yourself, make efforts to achieve it. You have a body to take actions, a sound mind to think and people around you to motivate. In my case, our great grandmother (in-law) was not very supportive of women going out to earn a living. I didn’t sit back and accept my fat; instead, I went straight up to her to hold a compassionate dialogue. I told her about the kind of education I have received, the struggle I had put in to break the stereotypes in the architecture field, and also about my dreams. You know what, she understood. I had faith in whatever insight she had.
Women are strong. We carry a baby for nine months inside us along with the grocery bag and a 2.5 kg laptop. Who says we aren’t physically strong? We are both physically and emotionally tough. I don’t actually support hiring a maid to take care of your baby when you are away at work. Arey, why don’t you want to raise your child under your own aptitude and wisdom? Take a short break from work, it is okay!!!
“Notice me for who I am.”
OMG, when someone asks me to carry a designer handbag at a party, I get so bogged down. Diamonds and bags aren’t going to define you in a long run, girls. All this is a part of your ‘pseudo status’. Your drive to do something is your ‘real status’. Take up a small task and complete it. Doll up when you party, but be okay seeing yourself going haywire while working. That’s fun, isn’t it?
This doe-eyed woman has many valid points to make. Did you note them all? Better, bookmark this blog page!
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