“Do you hate it when you hear negative things about you?”

Bela Badhalia giggled in response to my question.

“Honestly, I don’t feel bad. I am neither docile nor arrogant. People who are close to me know I am a chirping bird. And let me tell you a secret. I have an identical twin sister. People who know me, when running into her, assume that ‘Bela’ is snobbish. My sister doesn’t generally smile at a stranger, you see,” explains Bela.

Hah.

As I start my chit-chat with Bela, she begins talking about her childhood. Mostly about how big a naughty girl she was back then. This is followed by me incessantly laughing listening to the hilarious episodes.

Bela, a Fine Arts graduate, when got married to a jeweler, decided to take forward her love for patterns, shapes and motifs. Hence, the lovely couple got into exhibiting their beautiful jewelry art-pieces around the world. It’s been years now, and religiously winning accolades almost every year for the brilliant work that they do is a routine. Recently, Bela has won the NJA Best Men’s Jewelry of the year 2016, and Best Theme-based Jewelry of the year 2015, in which she displayed Wildlife using precious stones and gold.

Where on one hand, most of us know Bela as the efficient past Chairperson at FICCI FLO Jaipur Chapter, a very few have heard about her new endeavor that has home décor products, exclusively hand-picked by her.

Bela shares, “I am on frequent tours across the globe for the jewelry shows. Traveling lets me pick extra-ordinary local items which the internet doesn’t tell us about. I have a whole storehouse full of such arty things. When we’re doing our new home five years back, I realized how much I enjoy decorating a living place! From the furniture to the show-pieces, every style is hand-picked by my husband and me. Also, my friends appreciate my taste and ask me to bring them similar things. All the appreciation lifted me to launch Adbhut Interiors.”

And trust me, her house is stunning. Just like a resort by the riverside, as Photographer Sanchit puts it. I swear I will be back with a home-interior story real soon!

While Bela takes me for a tour of her home; I discover the other side of her. I’ve realized that she is a true personification of her name – बेला. Winsome and serene. Buoyant, at that, canny. She leaves her trail on every path she treads on.

“I have a lot of friends. A lot. Fortunately, I am never alone for dinners and brunches even if I am traveling to another city. I love meeting people, and they say I am a people’s people. This is the real me,” rejoices Bela.

She acknowledges how her loving husband attends all the Parent-Teacher meetings and tournaments of their only daughter while she is away. Bela says, “He is my Rock of Gibraltar. I think he has learned this from his parents. My mother-in-law gives me enough space to pursue my dreams. She’s never raised an eyebrow questioning who will do the household work. It’s a rule; we all have to be there for one another. And this is exactly what our daughter is learning.”

Between handling two businesses, planning a couple of new ventures, maintaining the home significantly contributing towards FLO Jaipur, and also the fact that now she’s in the governing body of National FLO, I wonder if Bela misses on her self-time.

“Not at all,” comes a reply. She continues, “I may be busy all the time. And that’s because I never say No to anything. If people ask me a favor which I might not be able to handle, I still say yes. In a quest to be of assistance, I end up learning new things. Isn’t that great? This is the best thing I do to myself.”

She adds, “I don’t go crazy thinking about my businesses. I follow one rule – train and trust your employees. I delegate the work and give them the hold of things. This helps me relax, first. Second, it makes my team stronger and responsible. Even at home, I believe I don’t have to scrub the floors when I can afford help. It, in no way, authenticates how good a daughter-in-law I am.

I have got a quality support at home so that I can take some of the important decisions at work, where I might be needed more. For me, showing love to the family doesn’t have to come from cooking. It can be eating together! Or, helping my daughter do a science project. Or for that matter, accompanying my husband and parents for a get-together. I know how to create time for my priorities.”

Probably, this answers everybody who’s questioning how to strike a balance and ‘have it all.’ All you’ve to do is work Bela’s way!