Nirali Damani: Equal Among Equals

The interview panelists almost fell off their chairs when the lady candidate for a job replied with a twinkle in her eye, “I am ready to work in night shifts.” There was something refreshingly honest about her assertion that caught everyone’s attention. The fact that she was the first female member of the family who ever decided to go out to work in a brick and mortar manufacturing set up seemed to make her sound even more determined. The fact that she came from a rural background did not seem to deter her from her mission to contribute to the family earning. The fact that she was not so educated did not seem to dampen her spirit a bit in her endeavour to carve out a place for herself in a workplace that is traditionally viewed as a bastion of men domination. Evidently, there was an unsatiating hunger within her to go out and prove herself as equal to the male counterparts.

HCCB reposed complete faith in her passion to perform and offered her a job at its Sanand factory in Gujarat. Grabbing the opportunity with both hands, Nirali Damani began her journey with full sincerity. The machines seemed to cast a spell on her. Her passion to work on machines grabbed her seniors’ attention. On impartial assessment of her calibre and commitment, the HCCB management decided to make her the company’s first female operator to work on the Blowmax and Plasmax machines, which is one of the critical heavy machines used for making and preparing PET bottles. The process requires meticulous planning, diligent supervision, and unerring quality control with a sharp focus on various parameters, which are different for different kinds of beverages and bottle sizes. She continues to perform the job with awe-inspiring regularity.