Founder's Story
I was the firstborn of a nuclear family in the quaint, historic and bustling city of Availar in central India. Being an elder sister to an adorable and quick-witted young brother, I was accustomed to the subtle art of doing core hushels and making myself content with shared assessments at a very young age. Since my father had a transferable government job, I was used to changing cities all the time and that made me an extrovert, so I did not shy away from chatting with the diverse group of people. I was married at a very young age to an amazing husband. And I was a jeweller by profession in India, unlike most joint families, he opted for partnership with his family up to his business venture. By the age of 21, I was a mother to two wonderful children. We saw our children slowly breaking free from their cocoons, from crawling about in the whole house to stumbling and running to things, and how we came to form a worse to savage night. We built a simple and beautiful family. Yes, there was nothing unusual about us, but our days were happy and fulfilling.
I was a curious soul married into a stereotypical family but that did not stop me from feeding my curiosity. My husband encouraged me to work with him and soon, I honed all the skills required to be a jewellery designer. My passion for art helped to vent my curiosity. My first foray into the realm of jewels, I built content and learnt business tactics solely through experience. I felt empowered. I learnt how to manufacture jewellery at a place where women staff were largely unwelcomed. It was terrifying to be a modern Indian woman — a mother, a wife, a daughter, a daughter-in-law, and a professional.
This bliss was short-lived. In 2012, my life came crashing down. My husband passed away due to a fatal road accident, leaving me alone in a family that stood unshaken by a tornado that had just hit us. My castle of dreams was but a sand castle that collapsed and left me questioning my own existence. When I needed maximum emotional support, my in-laws exploited my condition. I slipped into depression and did not know what to do with the fragments of sadness I had in the name of life. I was cut off from the family house and thrown away from home when I questioned their patriarchal practices, which left me with financial and emotional crunches. I was fighting two battles, one was with all the rage buried within me and another with the ruthless world. I was on the edge of giving up but how could I? My two children were dependent on me and in no way would their lone mother in me leave my innocent kids to fend for themselves.
Step by step, I rebuilt myself, grew emotionally stronger and worked relentlessly to get back on my feet. I decided to start developing my knowledge about jewellery further as I was doing so along with my husband, where I had experience in this field of jewellery as he was a jeweller by profession. I completed the Diamond Grading Course from the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) which is popularly known as G.I.A. I started my own jewellery business by the name of NIRMICAA JEWELLERS and that gave me a reason to carry on. I learnt more and more with every passing day, and it filled me with satisfaction!
Designing jewellery was like a creative outlet for me and every piece that I designed had a shadow of me embedded within.
Today, I am an independent female with a soft yet strong heart. And I want to share my story with you all and remind you that no obstacle in life cannot be overcome if you have strong willpower.
Moreover, I also aim to educate all jewellery buyers in the market by spreading the knowledge I have gained to them so that they make the right buying choices!
My name is NEHA KHANDELWAL and I welcome you to my world.