For Snehal Mantri, Director, Marketing & HR at Mantri Developers Pvt. Ltd. it was a balancing act to transition from being this 21-year-old career aspirant who did not want to be cowed down by mere domesticity in her role as a traditional ‘bahu’ alone but, reinventing herself over the years while successfully juggling in her roles as a devoted mother, wife and corporate professional/entrepreneur
We are a 31-year-old married couple”, says Snehal, wife of Sushil Mantri, Chairman & Managing Director, Mantri Developers Pvt. Ltd. with a pride that disguises many an unsaid milestone achieved in their marital and professional journeys together as a couple.
“I was the only girl who graduated, growing up as part of a joint family comprising 11 cousin sisters. My (own) sister never studied and never had that intention, so she got married. As for me, I was not ready for marriage; I was keen to study and was just 21-year-old then.”
With due encouragement from her father to try and balance the trend of an early marriage and uphold her ambitions to pursue better education, the “seed” was planted in young Snehal’s mind to find “herself ” in life. “That is the reason I did not want to get married at an early age. When this proposal came, I cried a lot, fought with my father which is something we are not supposed to do, in an orthodox family. He said, “Okay, it is the last and final one and if the proposal goes well, fine; otherwise will go through only after you complete your education. I honour respect your commitment to study”.
“Sushil and I chatted for five minutes, the proposal was cleared and we got engaged. But, I had yet to finish my education and was in the final year of BSc. Honours (Home Science)”. As an active Board member of the company, Snehal reminisces those five minutes that changed the course of her life. She reveals that Sushil might not have expected her to have reached her current status within the company.
“However, education was a must. My mother-in-law was very clear that she wanted an educated girl which made them to even consider my alliance.”
Snehal witnessed the family business transition from textiles to the property domain. The family came into realty in 1989 and Pune stands testimony to their 41 odd projects in this joint set-up then. But Sushil Mantri desired to stake out as an industrialist and parted ways with the family business in 1996. “But, after three years, he said that real estate is what it is in his blood. We then decided to explore further in a new city and adopted Bengaluru.” There has been no looking back since 1999 as Snehal gives Sushil full credit for being solely responsible for building up their realty business, currently tagged with a turnover of close to Rs.1,000 crore (2015-2016). They moved from Pune to Bengaluru.
A boon in disguise was that both Snehal’s father and father-in-law were into stock market trading. “So, I had a beautiful opportunity to join my father-in-law in trading. Also, Sushil never interrupted my career or any interest that I had in any business; he often said, “Spend your quality time in whatever you do.”
On her interest in stock trading, Snehal said she was nurtured as “I saw how my father went about doing it. The risks he took in his business and was constantly learning from him and he supported me too."
She however gives full credit to her mother-in-law and her father for her successes in life. “On the domestic or personal front, I look up to my mother-in-law for her nurturing us and my father for his support on the professional front. I have followed my mother-in-law’s mantra to first focus on the home front, the children and finally, the pursuit of my dreams. An advantage was that my children never had to look up to me for mothering them as they were taken care of by the entire family.”
Multi-optional thinking comes because ladies are imaginative; one reason why I put a lot of women in the marketing and design departments. Ladies are the best coordinators in getting work done. Snehal Mantri
With the Bengaluru move, came challenges of adapting to a new city, the absence of a joint family system and to be gainfully occupied. It was sheer boredom and the domestic monotony that drove her to finally approach Sushil for professional access into their business. “From January 18, 1996 until May 1996, when we shifted, I was completely alone (the kids were yet to join in); Sushil was completely engrossed in setting up the business. So, I asked him, “Can I do something in real estate or in your company.” He agreed and she too committed to learning the trade from the very basics.
“Despite being the owner of the company, even in that small set-up, Sushil said, “You have to sit in the cubicle with the others. “We were a seven-member team in 1999. The very first challenge was that I went to work for two to three days for two to three hours and believe me, Sushil Mantri, a system oriented person observed that I was not coming regularly”. He had said, “If you do not want to come regularly, you can stop.” This was a warning from the boss which made Snehal’s heart sink. But, thereon she came to office more regularly. “I had to punch my attendance and do so till date. If we don’t punch, our salary is cut, even mine and Sushil’s. Also, I address Sushil as CMD. We have grown up in a culture to differentiate between the professional and personal.” Thus, began Snehal’s career into property management and development. The real task approached her when she had to sell an apartment on her own. “I give Sushil a percentage of my success too, because he used to challenge me and I always did take up the challenge.
There was no looking back for Snehal. “Once again he challenged me to sell 10 apartments and gradually the challenges ran into taking over one building followed by a phase and I eventually moved on to handle single to multi projects. Finally, he gave me the most coveted high-end project Mantri Altius in 2003. This had to be sold by invitation alone and I got an exposure to meeting high-end customers.”
On the acceptability and challenges that women face in the realty domain, Snehal believes that knowledge quotient and focus is paramount in every field. “Not just in real estate, I am talking of all professions. Because women are multitasking, we tend to forget something or the other. Women must kill this casual approach. Whatever you are doing, be dedicated in that particular area, have complete knowledge and a grasp of your core subject then there are no difficulties faced.” Everybody needs aspiration and Snehal’s advice to women is to look for options. “Multi-optional thinking comes because ladies are imaginative; one reason why I put a lot of women in the marketing and design departments. Ladies are the best coordinators in getting work done.”
With barely two percent women in the realty sector, Snehal’s gritty idea was to tap women’s propensity to chat. In her innovativeness to market properties, for ladies residing exclusively in Mantri properties, the idea is to bring in sale by women using ‘word of mouth’. “At level one, ladies inform their network on available properties and check on any incoming enquiry. They pass it on to us and we then take over to converting the unit sale.” “For experienced women, Mantri provides collaterals and selling kits. There is no compulsion to strike a sale but if it comes through them then they get brokerage. We started these about four years back and I am actually creating women entrepreneurs. The moment she becomes confident in selling a property then maybe she is more encouraged to pick up any property and sell.”
Snehal desires to pursue farming and floriculture in her two acre farmhouse. “I believe in calculated risk. Just because I have money, I can’t blow it all up and then say I have taken a risk.” She has liaised with an NGO, ‘Billion Bricks’ to offer homes for the homeless and is closely working to adopt a village some seven km from Wadi railway junction where she intends to develop toilets for women. Grants procured from an international bank will support and create 70 toilets in one village. She has joined hands with an NGO to counter water supply shortages too. However, constructing a school is a dream closest to her. From selling property on Snapdeal. com, Snehal is gung-ho on her future plans and sums herself up as a complete woman.
By Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar
