My Mia Woman - Ganga Mashi

The word Mia in Italian means "My" and in Danish means "beloved". In my words it would mean an extension of me, of my identity, of who I am.

What does Mia Woman mean to you?

To me she is that epitome of womanhood - beautiful, efficient, smart and loving ; someone who is in perfect control of her life, be it her household or her workplace. She is the woman who thinks of her work to be her religion and her motivating force, a medium of her self expression and also a place through which she can bring in change, in her life and in the world, however small it might be.

My Mia woman is somebody I have always admired and emulated since the time I gained consciousness- my aunt, my mom's twin sister, Ganga mashi ("mashi" is the Bengali for your mom's sister) . Apart from the fact that I love her because she is my aunt, it is the person she is which commands respect, admiration and love from everybody around her. There hasn't been a single time she has ceased to amaze me with her beauty, her work and her dedication to every single thing she does. Mashi is differently-abled, one of her hands don't function properly; but that hasn't stopped her from doing everything she had wanted to do, overcoming all the physical obstacles on the way. She has been the perfect daughter, taking care of my dida (i.e. my granny) when she was extremely ill, which my uncles as sons failed to do. She single-handedly took care of my ailing granma for fifteen years till she passed away, sacrificing a lot from her personal life. What makes it all the more admirable is the fact that she never spoke a word of complaint against all the hardships she had to endure in the process.

That's her :)

What I admire the most about her is not just how she handled her personal crises but how she managed her work and gained the love and respect from everyone she knows. My aunt is an LIC agent. She started working for the Insurance company some twenty years ago when the whole concept of saving your money against future accidents wasn't very well known. Mashi's job requirements demand her to interact with a lot of people (her clients) on a daily basis, to be almost at their beck and call to collect and submit the money to the company in time. What makes her extra special is how she has actually transformed a lot of lives in the process. She went around to not very well educated people around the area she lives and helped them grasp the importance of having an insurance covered for their life so that their loved ones are not left helpless after them. And all of this wasn't done for of the commission she would get for each case she submitted, because I know a lot of under privileged people who have their lives insured and haven't paid a penny, my aunt paid the entire amount, all the installments from her own earnings for them. What started as a job requirement has now transformed into a personal relationship for my aunt. The people who are her clients have now turned her into a member of their own family for she has embraced each of them as her very own. The job leaves her with no time of her own and no holiday. She efficiently managed (and still does) all the household chores along side taking care of my granny and going to work everyday and running to help people whenever she was called for even if it is in the middle of the night. Every time I walk the streets with her, I see some old man, a tiny five year old and some lady wave at her with a smile, asking , "Bhalo acho?" (meaning "How have you been?") and she waves back replying and handing over a candy to the kid.

Ganga Mashi is everything beautiful means - simple, independent, loving and demure. She has not only made her own life beautiful with her work but has also spread her beauty to other lives around her. She is as beautiful as her work.

Check out this beautiful TVC by Tanishq which represents everything their Mia collection is - light and beautiful yet unflashy.

I believe that your clothes and your jewelery is representative of you, an external manifestation of the beautiful woman you are, inside and outside. If you liked those pretty danglers on Megha in the clip, check out Tanishq's website for them and more here.

Till next,