A FINE BALANCE
Sureka wanted to study medicine as a young girl. “But my parents balked at the idea of me studying for seven years and not marrying till then. As most girls did, at that time I listened to them,” she says.
Even marrying into the then conservative Sureka family didn’t deter her. She made it a point to keep reading and learning. But Ayn Rand’s The
Fountainhead is what gave her a new perspective. “I felt like I was Howard Roarke,” she said. She approached her husband to work in the family business and was dissuaded because of her science and sociology background. She decided to persevere and spent time learning accounts. Two years later, she presented a 30-company complex balance sheet to her husband, ensuring a role in the running of the family business. Unfortunately that was also the time when her sons were growing up. “Every day I worked from 10am to 1pm and left to be with my sons when they came back from school,” she says.
She’s now the director of two companies that have a combined annual turnover of Rs 200 crore. Working with The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Ladies Organisation and encouraging other women in business is her other passion. “Through it, we help not just women like us but women from across economic strata. Especially making them understand the need to be independent and have an entrepreneurial zeal, and not just be a substitute for the male breadwinner in the house,” she says.
In this year of chairmanship, she has founded Swayam in Kolkata, a cell to help, mentor and provide business solutions to women entrepreneur or aspiring businesswomen.
Does she regret those years that she lost out not working a full day? “No, I always look ahead,” she says.