Women are rocking the real estate world

Real estate and transport were considered two areas where women had no place or role to play. Both these professions were thought of as the untouchable bastions of the male. Many gutsy women, however, have now started making their presence felt in the real estate world.They have made a quiet entry into this field, slowly, but with a lot of promise.

Kajol Makhijani is a very respected name in the rental market of South Delhi. She only deals in accommodations for executives of MNCs and diplomats. "I never thought I would work as a real estate agent till I got married and came to Delhi. Not many people will believe that before my marriage, I was a journalist in Ranchi, working for an English newspaper. As I came here after marriage,I saw my husband's flourishing real estate business. And, I started by helping him in collecting the data of flats and floors available for rentals purpose," says Kajol.

Even though Uma Aggarwal wants to join the real estate world, after a course as an architect from the School of Planning and Architect, Delhi, there was no real plan to start her own real estate firm. So, how did she get down to it? Sitting in her plush Rajdhani Enclave office in East Delhi, Uma says her husband Bharat Aggarwal was a civil engineer. He was doing some construction work here, and she was supporting him,when,all of a sudden,he passed away.Her two sons were not even five years old at the time.

"I did not know what would happen to my kids and me. Then, one day, my father-inlaw asked me to take over my husband's business. Since then we have built over 50 commercial and residential buildings in Delhi and NCR region. Many ambitious projects are in the pipeline," she narrates proudly.

Those who know the world of real estate closely can tell you that this is a very rugged world. Only those with a heart of steel can survive. Gender is not the issue. Kajol says that as an exjournalist , she misses the charm of bylines,sometimes,and then she realizes that now real estate is her calling.

Nutan Kapoor is another lady into real estate business in East Delhi.Says Nutan: " As my husband is a small-time businessman, I though of doing something worthwhile five years ago. After a discussion with my husband, I stated this job out of my home.My active role as a social worker in my area has really helped me in getting established," Nutan says,who now has two employees.

"I feel that my first job is to provide the best of products to our customers.That is my motto in life," says Uma She looks after the designs of all the projects,apart from attending auctions of land by government agencies.

(via Economic Times.)