Meet Shobha

This video captures a few of the highlights from our conversation with Shobha. Read on for the full interview details!

Tell us about your childhood and your family. 

My childhood was really wonderful. It was such a happy time for me. I used to study and while in school, I hoped I’d make something of my education. But, soon after, I got married. After marriage, my life imploded. My mom died just one month after my wedding. My mother was gone so suddenly, and that time was incredibly difficult. But after a while, things got better.

How’d you find out about Ziyada?

I didn’t know about Ziyada. Everyone was going to see it and give interviews, but I didn’t know anything about Ziyada at all. One day my husband said, “A new business has opened. Some foreigners have started it. Go see what’s happening there.” 

I said, “No, no, no. I can’t do it.” At that time,  I didn’t have any hope of being selected or getting a good job. But, because of him, I thought, “Okay, let’s go and see. What could happen?”

When I came here, I really liked it. I enjoyed meeting the owners, and I thought, I want to do this. I felt like this could change my life, because we were struggling at the time. 

So, I gave the interview, and my dream came true. I had the tiniest hope of being selected, but didn’t really think it would happen. But when I was, I was so happy.

How did you feel during training?

When I came here for training, I really enjoyed it. I mean, it didn’t feel like I was going somewhere for training, like I needed to be afraid. We came, we said namaste, we played, and we completely enjoyed the passing time. I loved it. I had never worked outside of the home, and it felt great.

What kind of work do you do at Ziyada?

I mostly do cutting work, and there is always something to cut. The cutting work is really interesting to me. Every minute, I’m cutting something or other. I like cutting work the best! 

How does your work impact your family?

In my family, everyone really loves that I work here. Everyone knows my schedule and remembers what time I need to go and come home from the office. They feel good about the work I do. So many things have changed in my life since I started working here. I never imagined that, in my lifetime, I’d have such a nice house. Everything has changed, and it is really wonderful. When we started, we got paid in cash. Now we have the online banking system. But, at that time, I used to take my salary home and show it to all of my family members and share how much I was earning!

What do you like to do in your free time?

I LOVE to dance. I may not know how to dance that well, but I love it!

Shobha leads our fabric cutting department, is the proud mother of two children, Shubham and Kajal, and loves knows how to get her grove on when a good song comes on the radio! We love her so much and hope you enjoyed learning a bit more of her story!