She is a chatterbox, and he believes silence is stronger than words, but Reema and Jolly Arora of Eventique Concepts, who will be celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary this year, proved that opposites attract. Ours is a typical filmi love story, they say as they begin to reminisce their journey. “We were childhood buddies, living in the same locality in Kirti Nagar, attending the same tuition classes, and going cycling together. In short, she was the girl next door,” says Jolly.
From playing together to chatting endlessly, they made as much time as possible for each other. “Belonging to a conservative family, I wasn’t allowed to go out after 6:00pm. I would meet him during college and my coaching classes. After coming back from school, we would talk over the phone every day,” adds Reema.
Years went by, and the best friends-turned-lovers finally got married in 2000. “My mom knew her and was fond of her, but her parents weren’t aware. So my family approached her parents,” says Jolly, who was into the cosmetics business, but ventured into real estate and construction, after they tied the knot. Reema got busy raising the kids and managing the house, but always wanted to start her own venture. Jolly floated a few ideas and Reema liked the idea of boutique exhibition, and launched her company, Eventique Concepts.
“In 2012, I organised my first boutique exhibition with just 10 exhibitors at Flying Saucer. It wasn’t easy, but with Jolly’s help, I made Eventique a successful venture gradually. Now, 70 labels participate with us,” shares Reema. Eventique Concepts organises four grand shows and two pop-up shows every year. “Apart from this, we have been doing shows in Dubai and Los Angeles for the past two years,” adds Jolly.
While her area of expertise involves choosing the designers and managing bookings, Jolly does marketing, social media and finances. Everyone gets their share of tough times. “But we are in this together. Love, loyalty and trust are the foundation stones of a relationship and this is something that keeps us together,”
shares Jolly.
Over the years, the two have been through numerous ups and downs, but they have learnt one lesson: separate ego and work. “When ego comes in between, you cannot go hand-in-hand. We started our businesses from scratch, but we sustained because we got each other’s back. I mostly agree with him on most things,” she says.” To this, he replies with a chuckle, “Yes, most of the time she agrees, but if there’s even one percent disagreement, I give in.” Keeping their faith high, the couple is moving forward with a hope that the COVID-19 pandemic will end and they will be back in the market, and that 2021 will ring in better tidings.
Lockdown diaries
Everything, for the Aroras, came to a halt with the lockdown. So, they channelised their energy into thinking new ideas. “We had to cancel one of our shows scheduled in April. For the past two months, we have been working on Eventique digital and all sales are happening through Instagram and Facebook. Now, we are giving exhibitors a platform through our portal, and the response has been good,” says Jolly, and Reema adds, “It was a stressful period, but we made the most of it. We spent time with the family and kids. I tried over 200 dishes in these months. The best part was cycling together.”