The Women’s Wing of World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce (WZCC-‘WE’ Wing) organized an interesting webinar on April 23, 2022, titled, ‘How My Hobby Turned Into My Profession’, which was well attended by members and guests from around the world. In her welcome speck, Behroze Daruwalla, Global Chair of the WZCC Women’s Wing, mentioned that though hobbies brought joy and balance in our lives, it called for courage to step out of one’s comfort zone and turn a hobby into a business. The panel, comprising Niloufer Mavalvala, Meher Irani, Vahbiz Bharucha, Farah Nesargi and Zenobia Daver, were five such professionals.

Mahrukh Bharucha, a Speech and Drama coach, and founder of ‘Expressions Unlimited’, moderated the session. Born in a family of doctors, Niloufer Mavalvala chose to pursue her love for cooking and currently conducts online cooking classes and has authored the book, ‘The World of Parsi Cooking’. Based in Toronto, Niloufer realized sharing her knowledge could turn the hobby into a profession. She advocates, ‘Dream Big and Believe in Yourself’.

In her twenties, Meher Irani, loved art since childhood. Finding her routine office job boring, Meher embarked on her journey in Decoupage and is today the founder of ‘Meraki’. Her inspiration is the feedback she receives from happy customers. Captain of the Indian Women’s Rugby Team and a Certified Medical Professional – Vahbiz Bharucha has been practicing as a Physiotherapist for the last six years. Vahbiz believes it’s important to understand that your body gets slower and changes with age, hence, staying fit is vital.

Simulated Patient – Farah Nesargi’s passion for Drama and Theatre took her to the Mayo Clinic where she helps the medical staff to practice their skills on a ‘simulator’ – Farah! Farah enjoys acting as a patient to enable trainee doctors and nurses learn how to handle medical emergencies. She’s grateful to her family for their support in this unique profession. Zenobia Daver is well known for her authentic Gara embroidery work. Starting off with stitching clothes for her daughter, she was encouraged by her mother-in-law and husband, to pursue her passion, which is today an extremely successful business offering Garas as well as Clutches, Shawls, Children’s Dresses and more.

The panelists collectively advised ladies to “never undervalue or undersell” their passion and answered queries. Katayun Kapadia gave a vote of thanks. This webinar was hosted by the Women’s Wing of the WZCC as part of their focus on showcasing versatile and successful career women.