A 67-year-old self-taught fashion designer

An inspiring story of Dolly Khurana (Khyaal Community Member)

“I was born and brought up in Ludhiana. Since childhood, I had a great enthusiasm for fashion. During free classes in school, I used to create dresses with paper cuttings and many people adored the fineness of my creations. I always wanted to pursue fashion design, but back then, we were unable to manage the cost of fees. From my 10th, I started taking tuition at home and gathered money for my future education. Soon after completing my MA in Economics, I got married and moved to Rajasthan.

I had an offer to work at a bank but wasn’t able to take it up due to certain constraints at home. I didn’t want to stay idle so I decided to live my childhood dream and planned to step into the world of fashion. My husband was very cooperative and supportive throughout. I started with stitching my daughter's, other family members' and my own dresses. Many people complimented and motivated me for my fashion sense. Women from the neighbourhood also encouraged me to open my shop. In the beginning, I wasn't confident about it, but I believed I could do it. I proposed this idea to my family and initially, they weren't happy with it as they thought it was not a respectful job for a woman.

After convincing my family and with the support of my husband, I accomplished setting up my boutique in 1987 at Sri Ganga Nagar in Rajasthan. It was the first boutique there, and people around had heard the word boutique for the first time. I learnt designing, cutting and stitching all by myself. I began with kids' wear and gradually progressed to women dresses. Many young girls and women from the locality joined the boutique, and I provided them with the opportunity to learn and earn.

Soon my work gained popularity. I had challenges in my endeavour but I always stayed positive and took difficulties like new learnings. Today I can proudly say, "At 67, I am a self-taught fashion designer successfully running my own established boutique." - Dolly Khurana