She also got many orders. For the next two years, she worked 16-18 hours a day trying to complete orders. Though tiring, Manju Singh enjoyed it tremendously. Fortunately, her two small sons were well looked after, since her old nanny was with them, giving her the freedom to spend time designing furniture.
Singh had quite a clientele by now. However , she gave it all up when her husband who was in the Foreign Service, was posted to Vienna. From there they moved to Islamabad and it was only in 1989 that she got a chance to re-establish herself as a designer again. When Manju Singh came back to Delhi, she started all over again. But this time round, she had her old craftsman and some of her old clients with her too. Many new ones were added to the list as she designed furniture for several hotels-The fun Pub for Parkroyal, the Atrium for Imperial, Club Med for Mahindras in Goa, Rajvilas in Jaipur, Blue Lagoon in Orissa- to name only a few .She has almost as many private clients.
Now that both her sons are working Shashank is a management consultant in London while Kanishka is a banker in New York- Singh devotes all her free time to designing furniture.
So what is the secret of her success as a designer? I don't contract workout, she says. Singh generally has 20-25 people working for her , though her factory remains the backyard. All the furniture is made at her parents home in Old Delhi. From there it is brought to her house where it is polished.
Manju Singh is holding an exhibition- cum-sale of her furniture at the Blind Relief Association from 18-20 March.
Cane chest( left) designed by Manju Singh (inset)