GB Face of Bengal – Rajlakshmi Syam

“I have always been proud to say I am from Bengal. This is where I belong, this is a place that gives me a sense of security, a sense of gratitude. Despite living and working in different parts of the world and India, I have always come back to my motherland and today I feel fulfilled as I can generate employment in Bengal through my ventures.

I was born and brought up in Kolkata, studied in South Point and then in Ballygunge Science College. I went abroad to do my Masters and also my MBA. While studying abroad, I got job offers in Canada and Australia. But being a single mother, I always wanted my daughter to be raised in Bengal itself, to be taught in a school in my own city. We often talk of the problem of generating employment in Bengal, but it is we who should work together to help the marginalised society. It is we who should try and generate employment. As a fashion designer, I work with many NGOs in various districts of the state and have always tried to connect our embroidery workers and other artisans to designers, so that they can get constant source of work and income. I try to facilitate these artisans to reach out to a bigger audience.”