00:00Appreciate your moms, appreciate your daughters for that.
00:03And I told my, you know, the person who I spoke to, saying that unless I can do business, you
00:10know, I'm allowed to do business, I'm not, you know, I can't go ahead with any proposal where I'm not
00:15willing to.
00:16Because I grew up in a very broad-minded environment, you know, independent environment.
00:22So he said, well, it suits us very good because they were already in business and the more the hands,
00:28the better, isn't it?
00:29So then I came and then one thing I was, you know, everybody has certain fears and I always had
00:37this fear about math, you know.
00:41And then the business that they wanted to hand over to me was the financial company, the Mark Darcichet Funds.
00:49We were about 11 branches then.
00:51So, you know, my husband was running the media company, the younger brother was getting into another media company.
01:00We had hotels in Wysak, so that's far off.
01:02The only business that was available here was the financial sector.
01:06So I thought, if I don't agree with that, I'll be stuck to the kitchen.
01:10So I said, it's okay, I'll do the struggle, but I will go.
01:16So that's how I took up a business that I was not wanting to do, but I turned it around
01:22from, you know, it was about 100 crores turnover and this year we'll be touching about 15,000 crores turnover.
01:29It's all about passion and commitment, you know, how ardent you are, you know, about what you want to do
01:36in life.
01:37You know, you will make time for it when you are ardent about doing something big, yeah.
01:44You need to dream big also.
01:46So I joined in 90, in 95, you know, the then managing director was leaving, you know, he was taking
01:56his own path.
01:57And then in the meeting, Chairman Garu, he was sitting next to me and he just whispered, I'm going to
02:03announce your name as the managing director.
02:05Okay, I was about 27 then, you know, and you won't believe it, my heart started beating so fast because,
02:14you know, this is a financial institution, you know, it's public money.
02:19And one has to be very much accountable for every single rupee.
02:23We are only custodians, we manage the funds.
02:26So that's why, of course, my heart went beating so fast.
02:30That is the day I decided that in my life, Mark Darcy will be the first priority, everybody else is
02:38the second.
02:39You know, my husband, my children, everybody was secondary to Mark Darcy.
02:44Why? Because I was managing public money and I'm accountable for it.
02:49And I have to be very, very cautious about this fact all through my life.
02:55By the way, the family also just wanted me to manage the business.
02:59It's not as if they wanted me to really grow it big as, but it was my dream.
03:04My father-in-law told me this the first day he took me to office.
03:07He said, Shalija, this company is older than you, okay, and there are people who are your father's age working
03:18in this organization.
03:20So it will not be possible for them to change their attitude and behavior, okay.
03:27So bear that in mind and mind you, that helped me so much because I'm young and I'm enthusiastic, you
03:36know.
03:36I have to work with people who are 50 years old, okay.
03:42So I was, that really helped me to always give them the due respect for their age, you know, and
03:49work with them.
03:50It's not easy for a young person to work with all 50 year olds, okay.
03:55So that, but that really helped me how, how I have to be with them, you know.
04:00I can't be like, okay, I'm the daughter-in-law of so-and-so and we own the company.
04:05That's not the attitude we should have, definitely not for any big organization, but at that age, you know, it
04:12really helped me to have the right thinking.
04:15So carrying the team along with you is very, very important and also due respect to everyone is very, very
04:23important.
04:24My father-in-law gave me a lot of freedom, like he gave me the company and he gave me
04:29the freedom to work because he knew the way I was focused.
04:33He was seeing, he would be walking at 4 a.m. in the morning on the terrace because he had
04:38threats, so he had to walk only on the terrace at home.
04:42And he would see me getting into the car at 4.30 and leaving the house early in the mornings.
04:49So, because I used to go by road all the way to Adilabad, all the way to Karim Nagar because
04:54I want to be there by 9 a.m. by the time office opens.
04:57And then I worked the whole day and then start back at sometimes 8, 9 a.m., 9 p.m.
05:02in the night to come back to the city.
05:04So he understood within 4-5 years that, you know, you can take the horse to the water but you
05:12can't make it drink, right?
05:14But I was a horse which was running to the water, so he need not worry.
05:19So he gave me full freedom and it was my dream to make it big and that's how I worked
05:26on Mark Darcy, yes.
05:28And also, you know, most people think, sorry to say, but most men think that women can't do much, okay,
05:35generally.
05:35Yeah, they give us full credit at home, only women can manage the home, only women can manage the house.
05:42But business, they think only most men can do it but that's how it has been traditionally, right?
05:47But it's changing now, all women are taking active role.
05:50So for them to believe, when I went for my first daughter's delivery and I didn't, I was, I took
05:57off for a year so everybody thought she's gone, she's now going to come back, okay?
06:02But then when I came back, they were surprised.
06:05Very few women have been given the opportunity in the past because I know women who are IITs, IIMs just
06:14remained as homemakers because in the family business, there are already two boys and that business is enough for two
06:22boys to run it.
06:23So this girl will not get a chance.
06:25That's how it has been traditionally.
06:27But yes, she will give her knowledge, she will give her wisdom, she will give her values to the children
06:34of the family and groom them as very good children.
06:37But so the general feeling generally will be that, oh, you know, it's the man's world.
06:44That's what I'm trying to say.
06:46So in the man's world, for the men to believe in you and say, yes, she can run the company,
06:54it takes a lot of effort by the woman to get herself to be accepted.
06:59And so she's gone, she's gone, she's gone, she's gone.
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