Turning Life Around

Beautician
Tania Sikdar
Talks to
Naziba Basher

	Courtesy: Tania Sikdar

I studied at Khulna APC School. School was very ordinary for me and I always got my studies done on time. In school, I had friends and they were all very close to me. I was in the same school till my SSC examinations (10th grade). But soon after that, I got married at my own will. Since I got married at such a young age, I did not attend college or university. Instead, I started facing real life problems much earlier than I was meant to. I had a lot of family problems because of my decision to get married, however, there is not one thing about that decision that I regret.

When I had gotten married, my husband, like me, was a student too. When I was in 10th grade, I used to work at my cousin's parlour but I had no permanent job. My husband used to take care of me and all our expenses and I soon realised that, it was about time that I contribute to the income as well. I had used my knowledge from the parlour I used to work in and decided to expand it. Through my husband's connection, I got to work in a salon called Castle Salon here in Khulna. I learned everything from scratch there. It was because of my husband's encouragement that I had gotten the opportunity and motivation to learn.

Soon after that, I conceived and had to leave my job. After the birth of my daughter, I started my own parlour, but then my husband got a call from Castle Salon and they told him that they were selling it and looking for a new owner. My husband did not let me miss that opportunity and he sent me to Dhaka for training. I took courses on skin care and some other methods of beautification from Harmony Spa and Women's World in Dhaka. After my return to Khulna with my expertise and acquired knowledge, I became the owner of Castle Salon.

My customers would regularly ask me for beauty packs that would cleanse their skin and bring about a glow. Their constant requests inspired me to make an herbal skin care pack of my own. It's called Beauty Pack. My sister took an herbal course before, and with her help, I came up with my own product. Now, not only do my customers use this pack but people from outside, whether in the same district or others, come to me to purchase my pack and I am very proud of myself for being able to make others happy. This pack does everything from deep skin cleansing, to removal of pimples, rashes, white heads and black heads.

Today, my husband and I are running a very happy family and everything has finally fallen into place in my life. My in-laws are very supportive of me as is my own family. They know I have a full time job, of running the parlour and they never hesitate to help with taking care of my daughter when they know that I cannot give time. My parents are really supportive of me, my family and my career and I don't think I can ask for more. But at the end of the day, it is because of my husband that I can call myself successful. I owe him a lot as he has always been the biggest inspiration in my life. Right now, my husband and I are both planning to run this salon successfully and see where things go from here. I want to give my daughter a secure future and she is one of the main reasons I am working this hard. Through all of this, I have realised how important family can be. They are always there for you in the toughest of times and one should never give up on them!