M Purushoutham
She came, saw, and took action one after the other! And she still does!
Age was never a barrier for the resolute. When an idea strikes them, it’s only a question of time before it gets implemented!
One such person is Mrs Meenal Mohadikar, the erst-while President of Maharashtra’s formidable trade-facilitation body, the MCCIA, and the first woman to do so. She was also the Founder-President of an equally important organization, the Aamhi Udyogini Pratishthan, and in the recent past launched the “Consumers Shoppee”, an e-market portal. She was also the Editor of Aamhi Udyogini Quarterly magazine for over two decades. If you thought these were impressive, know that the lady has worn many hats besides those mentioned and done justice to all of them!
What’s interesting about Meenal Tai is that seats and positions matter little to her compared to the high she gets by serving humanity, women, the underprivileged, and those the world hardly cares for. What she surely wants, and always did, was a positive change. And what she got in all these years is positive, measurable change! One of the first among women of her generation, she was the idea behind the trade exhibitions and a novelty then, the Consumer Shoppe/Festival Shoppe with branches all over the state of Maharashtra. What was remarkable then (three decades back) was that the Shoppe stocked everything made within the state, giving everyone, small or big, a chance to find a market. Women and the marginalized, including small traders and manufacturers, were of particular interest. With great exposure and publicity, every participant is guaranteed equal exposure in people’s eyes to this day!
What’s truly inspiring about all of Tai’s initiatives is that publicity for these Shoppes was provided thru advertisements in newspapers, radio and local media– meaning nothing was left out to chance. If there was a way, Tai would find ways to exploit it! Keeping up with the times, the Shoppee has also gone digital and It’s web portal is handled efficiently with the help of Anjoo Navalkar and Tejawant Navalkar. (www.consumers.shoppee.symtotal.com)
While the idea of exhibitions spawned as far back as 1999 in the form of Agro Vision, it led to others in subsequent years, including the Career Vision Exhibition in 2000, followed by the Exhibition at India Exhibition Centre in Sharjah in 2011, and the Exhibition at the World Trade Centre in Dubai in 2012.
Late Pushpa Trilokekar is the main lady who was the editor of “Aamhi Udyogini” quarterly magazine. It was her idea. They started Swaroop Prakashan in 1991 (every year they published different Theme books which was in the size of the magazine) first book 1991/1992/1993 (Recipe book) in the publication they came because of Mr. Pradeep Verma (Editor Lokprabha) And his wife Pushpatai. So in 1997 We started “Aamhi Udyogini Pratishan” (8th March).
Closely studying the problems faced by small and budding entrepreneurs, especially women, they thought it fit to start a body that would help, guide, assist and encourage women of Maharashtra to become entrepreneurs. So successful has been the idea that today they have over a dozen branches in Maharashtra and Goa, besides their own office in UAE. A quarterly publication of repute known to take up women-centric issues, including those related to business, the magazine immensely promotes women’s welfare. Now For last 10 years Mrs Shaila Gokhale is the Sub editor of Aamhi Udyogini. So good has it been that the CM of Maharashtra, Late Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh donated a sum of Rs 2 las from the CM Fund! It doesn’t stop there! The TV channel Zee Marathi awarded them the “Unch Majha Jhoka” award in August 2018!
A woman of substance in its most genuine sense, Tai is associated with many, many cultural, social and educational institutions! Of these, the notable ones include:
- Member of the Governing Council of Indian Education Society (under whose aegis over 80 thousand students study in over 65 schools besides their own Architecture and Management colleges in Mumbai)
- Esteemed participant at the PASE for Asian Entrepreneurs in the year 2000 in Osaka in Japan
- Represented the Indian Merchant Chamber
- Represented India at ILO in Bangkok in 2002
- Writes regularly and extensively across publications, including Maharashtra Times, Lokmat, Saamna, Punya Nagari and more
- Vice-President of the Maharashtra Economic Development Council
- Organized MSME conferences
The “Amhi Udyogini” movement she spear-headed today has offices throughout Maharashtra. In the city of Mumbai and its suburbs, it has offices in Dadar (W), Navi Mumbai, Kalyan, Goregaon, Vileparle, Dombivali and Thane. The other notable places include Pune, Nashik, Ratnagiri, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Bangalore, Panjim, Margaon and Dubai. Aamhi Udyogini Pratishthan is there in Maharashtra and Goa. Because of Strong support of the core team members and their family members also
Starting a business isn’t easy, especially when one has no experience and minimal resources. Tai and her associates put in place a body that would guide women through all the what, why and how of successfully setting up businesses and running them. Not satisfied with helping them start the same, the “Amhi Udyogini” initiative also holds regular updates to keep the momentum alive.
At this point of time Meenal Tai, she takes extraordinary efforts to keep it two steps behind while she strives to remain in action of the kind that benefits society. She truly is the epitome of action, and Business Icon salutes her for the same and hopes India and Maharashtra produce more of her kind.
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