Dilshad’s designs

With the two older boys Khurzan and Dorab, aged seven and six, left in the care of her husband Jehangir, Dilshad Doonga­-ji would board the train from Ujjain to Bombay via Baroda. She carried with her a large bale of quilts, coverlets and cushions. She would also have pressed close to her, a smaller bundle, her youngest son Rohaan, less than a year old. In the near darkness of 5 a.m. her mother Gool Patel would meet the train in Baroda and take the still sleeping child home, while Dil-shad traveled to Bombay to sell her creations. It was not easy for the shy and reticent young woman from small town Ujjain. There were endless waits, promises and disappointments and a few orders. The return journey was equally long and weary as she picked up little Rohaan from Baroda and returned to Ujjain, with thoughts of children, husband and home tugging at her heartstrings.

That was in 1991. By 2001 Doongaji was a confident jet setter flying from Nagpur, her new base, to different parts of the country with ease and élan, building up frequent flyer miles! She was an established and sought after name in the business of creating soft furnishings for plush interiors. Her clients were film stars, corporate heads, elite homes and five star hotels. A measure of her rise up the stairway of success was the change in the product mix. The satin baby ribbon trimmed quilts and coverlets of the early days, had given way to gold curtains in crushed silk and crystal-encrusted cushions!

Orchidesigns, the name under which Doongaji markets her creations, does the draperies and soft furnishings for complete homes. If that is unaffordable, the client may want just one room or even one piece of embroidered elegance. Door and window treat­ments include the main curtains, sheers, valances and ties. Cushions, tapestries and throws can be coordinated. Embroidered and quilted bedspreads, with matching sheets and pillow-covers, are made to go with bedroom curtains. "Clients often ask me to pick up color schemes and designs from a carpet, framed picture or piece of furniture,” says Doongaji who designs and executes the order to perfection. "I know I am expensive,” she says candidly, "but I deliver!”

She is reluctant to name the rich and famous among her clients but we did manage to squeeze out the names of Jaya Bach­han, Ritu Nanda, the Soaltee in Kathmandu, Le Meridien in Poona, Sun-n-Sand in Juhu, Hotel Centre Point and Tuli International in Nagpur and many up-market corporate offices and homes. The (political) plum on the pudding was being asked to furnish the chief minister’s and deputy chief minister’s bungalows in Nagpur!

The Inside Outside Trade Fair at the Nehru Centre in Bombay in 1992 was her launching pad. "I was very raw and nervous,” recalls Doongaji. "Though I knew my work was good, I lacked self-confidence. The first serious enquiry I got from a big buyer was hotel Cidade de Goa. I was so scared I would not be able to fulfill their requirements that I did not get back to them!” she confesses.

In no time, her confidence and clientele both grew. "After more than two years of continuously knocking at his door, I got my first order from Hafeez Contractor. Since then, we have worked on many projects together,” says Doongaji. "Sunita Pitamber, the well-known interior decorator is my guru. She is a hard taskmas­ter but that has helped me learn well. In a very large measure I owe my present success to Sunita.”

The main inputs that go into Doongaji’s business are crea­tivity, skilled workers and fabric. Creativity is Doongaji’s second name. The nimble fingered embroidery workers, originally from Bangladesh, bent in concentration over their embroidery frames, are reluctant to talk. It is fascinating to watch them at work. "The zardozi and other hand embroidery is so intricate and time consuming that workers are paid by the square inch,” says Doongaji. "The men doing machine embroidery and tailoring are paid time wages.” She looks after her workers like family and has never had any labor trouble. Bombay is the "prime market for new and high quality fabrics,” opines Doongaji. "Accessories like rosettes, fringes, tassels and braid are best sourced from Cal­cutta.”

A postgraduate in Home Science from the Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaikwad University, Baroda, Doongaji specialized in the tradi­tional embroidery of the different states of India. For her dissertation she chose to study the ‘Silk and Rural Embroidery of China.’ "I completed my MSc in 1980 and got married in the Janu­ary of 1981 to my long-time sweetheart, Jehangir, after a seven-year courtship,” she added, smiling at the happy memory.

Doongaji moved to Ujjain, where her husband had a successful Godrej dealership. Wanting to put her education and creativity to good use, the recently married young woman lost no time in find­ing, what seemed a perfect placement — designer of children’s garments with Rekha Fashions, an export house owned by mill owner — millionaire Manmohan Sethi. "I started on the princely salary of Rs 500,” says Dilshad, "and left after 10 years at Rs 1,500.”

The Sethis were an old, established and orthodox family. Doongaji built a warm relationship with them. Most of her exper­tise and time began to be spent on creating and embroidering for the ladies of the Sethi khaandaan (family). At the same time she trained over a hundred workers in the art of fine embroidery. "It was traumatic leaving the Sethis,” says Doongaji "but after 10 years I felt I had not achieved anything worth my while. I knew I needed to strike out on my own.”

While she was still undecided about what to do next, Doonga­ji got pregnant with Rohaan. "Destiny works in strange ways,” she says. "Soon after he was born, a friend from Dubai sent a pretty baby quilt as a gift. I called Ganesh, a tailor I had trained at Rekha Fashions and asked him if we could replicate the fiber-filled quilt.” They were successful! One quilt led to another and then to a whole variety of attractive comforters and bed linen. Thus was born Orchidesigns. A line of em­broidered clothing for which there appears to be an insatiable market did not interest Doonga­ji. "I wanted to be focused on one thing and retain my exclusivi­ty as a creator of soft furnishings,” she maintains.

Did family life take a back seat to a demanding and success­ful career? Did her husband and children resent her preoccupation with work? "Not at all,” is her emphatic reply. "Jehangir has been most supportive of my work and has encouraged me and built up my confidence whenever it ebbed. He is a solid rock whom I can depend upon. The children have never resented my work or frequent absences because they have grown up seeing me do this.”

Not surprisingly, the Doongaji home is beautiful. Muted beige and gold are the dominant colors. Old Parsi furniture from the family homes in Bharuch and Baroda have been scraped off their layers of dark polish and painted a dull gold, taking on a totally new and regal look. A large and imposing picture of Zarathushtra in an oval frame dominates the entrance. Near it is an old, round, marble-topped table, typical of many Parsi homes. The carved, wooden portion of the table is interestingly treated with a "cracked-wood effect” thereby enhancing its age. Another special Parsi touch is found in an attractive grouping of uten­sils of daily use in olden Zoroastrian homes. It includes khum­chas, langris, lotas and silver bowls used for the ceremonial pag dhovanu (washing of the groom’s feet) during weddings.

With her deeply rooted religious beliefs Doongaji’s home is never without chalk-chandan or divo-loban (adornments of a Parsi home). Old customs like dudh-fulthi nahavanu (ceremonial bath with milk and flowers), umbar-vadhavanu are still followed on birthdays. She remains deeply indebted to her mother for her education and the strong values she grew up with. "My father Rusi died when I was less than a year old. My mother was the greatest influence on my young life. Without her, I would be nothing,” she says.

The enthusiastic entrepreneur’s home and work is an exqui­site harmony of color, fabric and design. She could be contacted by e-mail (doongaji@vsnl.com) or tel: 554562/548131.