Hers is a story of resilience that matches inspirational stories of women in business.
Bindulekha S’s never-say-die resolve marks her as an emerging businesswoman. For this resolve, several laurels have come her way, nearly 13 of them. She was selected as one of the 150 entrepreneurs qualified for industrial support from the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode.
The most recent is the second prize at the 2026 National Saras Mela held by the ministry of rural development in Vijayawada last month. Her products, a range of masalas made from produce available in her hometown, Aryanadu in Thiruvananthapuram, were quite the star of the fair.
Bindulekha is now in Delhi for the Shilp Sangam Mela 2026, organised by the Union ministry of social justice in collaboration with several government institutions working in the field of financial aid towards the development of persons with disabilities, backward and scheduled castes, and safai karmacharis.
Down with fever in Delhi’s chilly climate, she spoke to TNIE about her story against many odds, which began just after the pandemic when her small-time garment business flopped. What followed was a tally of unpaid loans.
“Times were so tough. Forget running a business, day-to-day life was a struggle for me and my husband, Bhadran V, who is a plumber,” she recalls.
It was then she ventured into the business of making pickles with a loan of `50,000 from Kudumbashree.
She was also part of the Shri Lakshmi Ayalkoottam, a women’s SHG formed under the Kudumbashree umbrella at Aryanadu. “The support was phenomenal. I started with a North Indian variety of mango pickle made with mustard oil. That was a big hit among the people I knew. My cousin took some bottles when she returned to Jaipur, and distributed them to her colleagues,” Bindulekha reminisces.
Soon, she expanded to making tea masala, which she claims is still her trademark.
“That product is still sought after when I take it to the Aajeevika Mela (by the ministry of rural development under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission) in Rajasthan. Even now, in Delhi, it is moving fast,” she smiles.
Bindulekha took three more women into her venture, ‘Shri Krishna Pickles and Food Products’, which began functioning from the veranda of her house.
“Initially, it was difficult to bring a sustainable income from pickles alone. Hence, we included masalas made from fresh local produce available around us. Also, we set up a small ‘thattukada’ in front of my house, which is still functional,” she says.
Soon, help came from Kudumbashree and institutions like ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Mithraniketan, IIM (Kozhikode), and Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi, etc.
“There were days when we had to throw out batches of pickles that got spoiled when preparing them at home, where the roofs were leaky. I also had to use vinegar as a preservative,” she recalls.
Later, while attending food processing training at several institutes, she learnt how to prepare them naturally, without using chemically made vinegar as a preservative. “These organisations also helped me understand marketing — how to sell my products and how to showcase them at trade fairs,” she notes.
Bindulekha also remembers the days when she began, taking her products manually for supply in the government offices of Thiruvananthapuram.
“It would cost us quite a sum. Yet, we never gave up. We didn’t want to dump our produce in some corner of supermarkets where no one would notice us amid bigger brand names. So, I took it to customers personally. Later, I also opened a small outlet with three women who trained with me at Mithraniketan. If the product is good, why not flaunt it by taking some extra effort,” she quips.
Gradually, she paid off some of her loans. Yet some are still pending, which she hopes to pay off soon.
Bindulekha knows the road ahead is not easy, but she is determined. “I want to hire three more women in my firm after I procure more machinery with some government aid I have received. The more women work with me, the more they will learn how never to give up. I know that with work, positive thoughts, and resolve to never call it quits, I can make things happen,” she smiles as she leaves to prepare her exhibits at the Shilp Sangam Mela.