Dr. Harsha is a Soft Skills coach and feels that we should try to find some leisure time for ourselves each day. She says that planning each day is important for achieving our goals.

Dr. Harsha Kumawat was born in Jaipur and moved to Udaipur after her marriage. She is a Director at Alok International Education and along with her husband, Yatindra Kumawat, has been running it successfully for the past eighteen years. She is also the founder of an ethnic women’s clothing brand, Saptarang, through which she is promoting the Indian textile art and craftsmanship of our rural India.

Dr. Harsha says that Alok International Education prepares students for a bright future in foreign universities. She is in-charge of training sessions for soft skills, GMAT, SAT, and preparing students for English examinations. She also looks into corporate training modules.

She says that there is no perfect time for gaining education. After a gap of almost ten years in her academics, Dr. Harsha is pursuing her masters in Human Resources Development and honing her skills further.

She shares that her childhood was very normal and connected-to-roots. There were no gadgets and technology that children have these days and she used to enjoy herself in the cradle of nature. She also remembers helping her grandmother and mother with their chores. She says that her creative side is a gift of her childhood and also that she was a very responsible child from the very beginning.

Talking about challenges, Harsha says that initially, people were very confused about their business model, and also were skeptical about the authenticity of their process. However, with time, they created a name for Alok International and trust-building started. They brought transparency to their process and started providing student-specific consultations as every student is different and needs different counseling.

Dr. Harsha says that the Covid pandemic affected their business and they were completely shut down as international travel was halted. She feels bad for the students who had dreamed of higher studies in foreign universities and all their dreams have been shattered. It was around this time the idea of starting her own clothing line came to her and she initiated ‘Saptarang’. However, her online launch got delayed due to successive Covid waves and related lockdowns. Most of her workers also migrated back to their villages and hence a slowdown came in this business as well.

Talking more about ‘Saptarang’, Harsha says that the idea behind it is to bring ethnic art to the forefront and support our artisans. She gets her textiles from traditional places like Bagru and Akola in Chittorgarh. Her focus is on sustainability and creating such products which last long. She thinks that ‘Buy Less-Buy Well’ should be the focus of  businesses. She plans to get into kid’s clothing as well in near future.

Dr. Harsha feels that any student planning to go abroad should do thorough research about it as it is a life-changing decision. It results in the overall transformation of a person and also has many hardships attached to it. They have also started providing pre-departure counseling to make the student going to a foreign land aware of the situations they might have to face. She has also seen people leave their courses in between and return back. Harsha says that there are many misleading agencies also which are just money-centric and dupe students.

Dr. Harsha believes that Experience is of utmost importance and is responsible for being relevant in any field. She comes from a Hindi medium study background but has developed herself as a trainer through her experience. She says that no one asks her about her percentage in school or graduation but notices the way she carries herself and her training skills. Education without Experience is of no use according to her.

Dr. Harsha believes that a leader is someone who knows the business from scratch. They should have a humane touch in their behavior and should understand people and their needs. They should work in a team and reflect the change in themselves first which they want their team to adopt. Setting examples for the team is very important for a leader. Dr. Harsha says that a leader should have the ability to propagate their vision to the team and also have the skills to steer the team in the direction to achieve that vision. Acknowledging the efforts of the members and being in the participative role instead of a commanding role is very important.

Dr. Harsha says that there are many inspirations in her life. She reveres her mother who she thinks worked tirelessly with a constant smile on her face. Her mother never gets tired of doing something new and Harsha gets power from seeing her mother so energetic. Dr. Harsha says that her other mentor is Prof. Rajeshwari Narendran and Harsha is inspired by the way she manages her life. Dr. Harsha says that Rajeshwari has knowledge of every field and is always in a learning mode.