Purva Rana: Rising without flaws

Purva Rana shares, “My love for buildings is intangible. Structures and designs have fascinated me since childhood. But, growing up in an orthodox culture, my relatives often abashed me saying ‘ Designing is more of a luxury than a profession, it’s just a waste of money.

Despite all the flagrant, my parents made sure that my academics was never hindered. So, when I graduated and started working at my first job, it felt like a dream come true.

Having worked there for 6 months I moved ahead with dexterity and opened my own company ‘ Vapp Designs ‘. While I put a full stop to all the ‘ You will fail ‘ remarks from my relatives, I was shocked to receive backlash from my seniors.

One of my mentors even dared to tell me that ‘ women have to give a backseat to their careers to live a respectable life in India ‘. I was even backfired by my friends.

I even started my design institute during the pandemic last year. Having worked in the industry for so many years, I started my institute following my gut that I can provide the people which is foremost important in the design world – ‘ Exposure ‘

I was shattered at first but didn’t give up. I even reached out to one of my seniors for guidance. She charged me around 50k for it, and it was that moment when I realized – ‘ every achievement comes with a cost to pay ‘; the rest has been history!

Seeing me in the academic sector directing an institution – my mentors, colleagues, seniors, and a lot of people from the industry challenged me that I won’t be able to make it. One of my ex-bosses even said ‘ Dekhlena, you will be shutting it down in less than a year ‘.

Let it be pursuing my dream of living my reality or changing my goals midway – I’ve always had a fair share of people trying to pull me down. But, here I am – a proud designer and Director of 145+ students and way more to go!

I managed to stand out against all odds because ‘ Kuch toh log kahenge, logo ka kaam hi kehna ‘. But my aspirations are as concrete as the buildings I design!”.