Meet 22-Yr Old Payal Jhamta - Coder by Day, Crochet queen by night!

This 22-year-old girl is nowadays making waves with her hand-done stunning crochet work, which she shares in the Art, Craft & Photography and Bazaar Communities.

Coming from the small town of Rohru in Himachal Pradesh, Payal Jhamta says she learned the art from her mother. She asserts that she wants to take the legacy beyond to employ more and more women. 

Before we know about her work, let’s get to know Payal more, in her own words. "We are 5 members in the family. My father runs our apple orchard’s family business, my mother is a social worker, my elder sister is pursuing B.ED and my younger brother has recently completed his graduation. With graduation and a Diploma In Computer Education at hand, I’m a Software Developer at Pioneer Education Chandigarh. My work includes creating algorithms, generating logic and then converting this logic and algorithms into a Program that can work efficiently as part of Software."

"Wohaaaa! But I see you creating stunning designs Payal, so what's that!?" I ask her, a but-obvious question.

She laughs," What you see is passion and my-part-time profession, which I wish to make a full-time one, God willing. Mahima, I know you will ask why does a daughter of an apple orchard owner needs an extra job. Yes, I do belong to a middle-class well-to-do family, but I never wanted to be dependent on them. I always wanted to create my own identity in society. I think it's important for all of us to explore all our options. If you have a passion, make sure to follow it. And that's how 'crochet handloom' happened. SHEROES gives us a very good platform to share our handcrafted products. And we have been reached out by some very good customers through SHEROES." 

And here she adds how she made it to Chandigarh on her own, "Instead of going to university, I started searching for jobs online and contacted a consultancy. I started giving walk-in interviews sometimes three or four interviews in a day. After getting so many rejections, finally, a company offered me a Web Developer Internship. I agreed on this offer and started my internship. I was surrounded by other people who enjoyed programming as well. I put a lot of effort into my personal projects to improve my coding skills and learned so many new technologies. I used to watch online coding courses for at least two hours every night. I love watching online courses because I always learn new things and get inspired. I always try to use languages or techniques I’ve never used before, so I get more experience with them. After seeing my passion for coding the same company reached out to me asking if I could work for them. I kept on improving my skills, gained more knowledge, and my interest in developing grew. And here I am, a software developer at the big city Chandigarh!"

Her family was initially skeptical about her solo life in the big city but later lent full support. She recalls, "This was a very scary step for me, everyone around me joined the best universities. Most of the people didn’t understand and thought I was making a big mistake, but my family understood and supported me and really motivated me. I moved to the big city Chandigarh all by myself. I traveled a lot on my own during my teens, and have always been busy doing things to improve my future. This came handy and thus, I’ve never felt pressured into doing stuff, I’ve always done my own things." She leaves me amazed, because having spent some 10 years in Himachal myself, I know that a girl child doesn't get the desired support in that region....even now.  

Changing the mood, I come back to her crochet art work. Yes, it's an art that she wants to take place. "I had learned a few basic things from mom, once upon a time as a child. But my professional guru is my friend (Dipti Sharma). And then YouTube became my tutor too. With the help of my friend, I made a scarf! I remember wearing it to work the next day and being told, “I like your scarf! Did you make that?” Getting to respond with, “Thanks! Yes, I did!” was the best feeling ever. I was “hooked”! I crochet for the same reasons that I knit. I relax. Surely, my goal is to become a good computer programmer. But crocheting has not only given me confidence but also opened new avenues of a second business opportunity for Dipti and me. We sell our products under the label Crochet Handloom. It opened new doors, it helped me discover who I am and helped me become the person I’ve always dreamt of being. I wouldn’t have it any other way. "

Payal Jhamta is so hooked to crochet that after her 10-hour job, she crochets into the night! She says this is her way to unwind. And I, knowing a few knots of crochet, can vouch for this fact that this art is pretty relaxing. As a fresher professional, I too used to unwind the same way. And Payal's story has motivated me to pick up the art again! We both laugh when I tell her the same, and we know our bond has a long way to go. Also because I have already placed my order for the following crochet jhumkas!

So what are your future dreams Payal? "There are a lot of dreams and ideas I have for the future, and coding, crochet, art & design is the path I want to follow. In a couple of months, we are planning to open a shop to sell handmade items. By combining our technical and crochet skills we will take our Crochet Handloom business to new heights and also want to provide employment especially to women who know how to crochet. Yes, our ambitions are quite high but all in all, we know we can try our best to reach them." 

Team SHEROES wishes you all the best Payal!

Payal ends with this motivational message for her fellow Sheroes: "Don't let anyone or any situation define who you are and who you want to be. Don't be afraid to decide for yourself; do want to make you happy and work hard for what you want to achieve. There are some parts in India where girls don't get their own basics rights. Keep supporting other girls and help make this world a better place for our coming generation. But never forget to love yourself and give time to yourself!"

That was Payal Jhamta, in an up, close and hearty chat with me in our ongoing #MeetTheSheroes Series. Payal Jhamta whose story doesn't end here because she loves dancing and writing blogs too! So do follow her on this link to know more....

Do share her story and book some stunning crochet work for yourself and family, because the festive season is here! Her profile has some great gifts, all made by hand, with immense love and dedication.