A mom’s mantra: Don’t take your home to work, and don’t bring your work home

ldquoI always say donrsquot take your home to work and donrsquot bring your work homerdquo Mumbaibased fashion designer and special educator Anjali states assertivelyPerhaps its this belief that empowered the 62yearold to navigate personal challenges without letting her responsibilities as a mother and a professional get affectedAt the young age of 18 Anjali had unknowingly found her purpose when she encountered people with special needs while volunteering at a school ldquoWhile working with them I fell in love with themrdquo she sharesWith a background in fashion and textile design the Santacruz resident also pursued a special education course after her hesitation was overpowered by persuasion from others and the realisation that she could help numerous intellectually challenged peopleldquoThe education field wasnrsquot my cup of tea But I jumped into it and it became my cup of teardquo she reminiscesBalancing work and motherhoodWhile moving forward on this professional path Anjali married in 1987 and gave birth to her daughter Vallari in 1989 For the former embracing motherhood and career went sidebysideldquoMy daughter wasnrsquot even one year old when I started taking her to the special school I used to work at People suggested me to be careful saying these adults with special needs might harm her But I told them that they will take better care of her than me She grew up with themrdquo the mother of one sharesIn 2000 when her daughter was 11 years old Anjali started her own creative centre for adults with special needs ndash Advitya ndash focused on providing vocational training to adults with Autism Down Syndrome and other intellectual challengesOvercoming personal challengesWhile she was thriving and helping others professionally her personal life was in turmoil due to a troubled marriage ldquoI was an unwanted bride in the familyrdquo she expresses Anjali spent 18 years in court fighting legal financial and emotional battles before getting the divorce decree But all this while her responsibilities didnrsquot take a backseatldquoI had to run my house and run Advitya I had to take charge of my daughter and not let the situation impact her life I didnrsquot want her to have any baggage or bitterness I didnrsquot want her to think marriages are bad or parents are badrdquo Anjali sharesNavigating her own emotional turmoil while protecting her daughter and running an NGO wasnrsquot easy Recalling those moments she adds ldquoI never let anyone know whatrsquos going on in my personal life Balancing everything was challenging But looking at my daughter I kept going You form a purpose for something good in life For me it was giving good values to my daughterrdquoAnjali also derived strength from her parents who helped her in overcoming these challenges ldquoMy parents were my strength especially my mother Eventoday at the age of 84 she supports my NGO strongly and looks after the work in my absencerdquo she shares proudlyFrom timid to strongWhile it was a challenging time Anjali believes that it only made her stronger ldquoIf I wouldnrsquot have gone through that I wouldnrsquot have been as strong as I amtoday I would have been timidrdquo she states adding ldquoIf there are no challenges in life there is no funrdquoVallari now 35 years old is happily married and settled in Switzerland ndash a fact that her mother shares proudlyHere in Mumbai Anjalirsquos passion for social development keeps her going ldquoAdvitya will celebrate its 25thanniversary this year Now we have started building a home for adults with special needs in Karjat Maharashtra where they can stay till their last breathrdquo she concludesatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params