One plus one=eleven

[1]

They love their togetherness, swear by their partnership, and believe one and one equals eleven. Many 21st century couples in this 24/7 world have taken a step further from being a life to a business partner. These couples find working together productive and comforting, have clear demarcations between work and personal relationships, and admit being together deepens their bond.

Designer-filmmaker Muzaffar Ali feels that working together doesn’t come easy, but once you have endured it, it has huge payoffs. “In the beginning, it is a romantic notion, but later it has to be perfected and professionalised. By working together you can avert many mistakes. You arrive at practical solutions. You also have the power to deal with more adversities,” says Muzaffar.
When Muzaffar met his wife Meera, he was making a film and she was working as an architect. They got married with a dream to make a positive difference to the people of his village Kotwara. “Muzaffar asked me to see if I could learn to feel for the place as he did and maybe do something there. We went and I instantly fell in love with Kotwara. Maybe that was the beginning,” reveals Meera.
When couples work separately, the only time they get to interact is after work, which tends to get loaded with home chores, eventually leaving them little free time. Working together offers added dimensions to understand the other at a deeper level and get to see each other’s professional side too.
Says Meera, “To me, working together came naturally. In a creative field, when one creates a beautiful piece, the greatest pleasure is in sharing the process of creating it. It is almost like going on an adventure together. It is so gratifying to have someone to share your ideas with. And while a good idea will surely move ahead, a bad one gets buried pretty fast.”
Working together has its pros and cons in almost equal measure — and demands a fine balance. The spouse who may be the biggest support at work — who you can trust blindly, who understands your sensibilities, who is your sounding board — is also the toughest and truest critic.
Actor Rohit Roy, who helms Rohit Roy Productions with his wife Manasi, says she is the king of their finances, while he is the creative head. “Manasi always gives a woman’s spin on everything we discuss and I end up seeing things more clearly and more layered. I love having her around as not only does she have a great creative vision, but she is also the only one who won’t cow down in a debate with me. It improves our relationship and strengthens our mutual respect,” explains Rohit.
There’s no guide-book to getting it right. It finally boils down to the two individuals moulding the 24/7 relationship into a unified productive energy and work rhythm. For choreographer Sandip Soparkkar, his better half Jesse Randhawa has proved to be his lucky charm. Sandip confesses that with Jesse’s help he made many improvisations to his dance school, and improved a lot in terms of make-up, costumes, moves and steps. “Like other couples, we also have our quota of fights and laughs which have only helped us come closer and understand each other better,” opines Sandip.
Isha Sinha Kumar, a documentary filmmaker with YoumeTown Motion Pictures, avows that she has developed more respect for her husband Sparsh by observing how he handles his team and deals with pressures during shoots. She says, “When we face a challenge at work, we get extra time for brainstorming because we live together and understand the problem better. Another major plus-point of working together is that it is easiest to co-ordinate holidays!”
Sparsh agrees, “Working together ensures good results because we have two heads working to accomplish the same object. Also, knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses personally and professionally, we are able to cover up even if one of us is lagging behind, hence the result is always good.”
But do they ever feel the pinch of “togetherness overload” or lack of breathing space? Rohit swears that he has not known any couple who have not wanted to kill each other after constantly being in each other’s company. Rohit explains, “The one thing that always gets compromised is space and there is no replacement for it. It is like oxygen getting depleted inside a small chamber. I believe when one of you is in a foul mood, it’s best to step out for a minute, get some fresh air and come back with a big stupid smile plastered on your face! It immediately diffuses tension.”
Compatibility plays a pivotal role in working collaboratively. Couples can work together only if they share the same comfort level and are extremely compatible. “Work is like nurturing one more child which brings with it a barrage of pressure and a huge bag of responsibilities,” says interior designer Raseel Gujral of Casa Paradox, who met her husband Naveen Ansal at a time when they both were at crossroads, personally as well as professionally.
“It was meeting Naveen and discovering that we both had similar creative ideas that gave a new direction to my life. I believe that two halves don’t make something whole but two wholes can create something new,” Raseel adds.
Anusuiya Sikka had been working solo for 18 years as a designer before she joined her husband Marut. “It was a big decision for me. But I realised it is so much easier to leave things on the other who you trust more than yourself. I know what he likes and he knows what I don’t. The basis of business collaboration is this mutual understanding,” she says, adding with a laugh that they still fight like cats and dogs. “But we have learnt that if we are going in the same direction, there are less chances of friction. I handle aesthetics and designing while food and management is Marut’s department. So there is no scope for any kind of clash.”
When both partners are creative and strong-headed, the biggest challenge is coming to a consensus. But entrepreneur Preeti Khattar firmly believes that conflict in ideas and approach is inevitable and conflict is not a bad thing. Mostly, her husband Anand ideates and she ensures the practical interpretation of his vision. “Conflict is productive. If used well, conflict can be channelled to stretch the boundaries of what is possible, boost creativity and ultimately achieve a better outcome,” she opines.
Creative differences and disagreements are bound to crop up, but the test is to ensure professional relationships don’t affect personal understanding. Says Sandip, “It has happened often that I could not take Jesse’s suggestions and vice versa, but we never let hard feelings ruin our relationship.”
The key to avoiding unpleasantness is ensuring one doesn’t step into the other’s comfort zone. You just have to give the other enough breathing space and yet enough opportunity to breathe together. “Over the years our relationship has grown very organically and we have defined our roles pretty well. I handle the creative part, designs, showrooms whereas Naveen takes care of the production and business. Of course, it is finally our own decisions at the end of the day though we do ask each other for suggestions,” says Raseel. Similarly, Muzaffar’s forte is sketching for their label Kotwara, Meera handles the production process, and both work on marketing strategies.
One big hazard of working together is having work-related unpleasantness following you home. “This is true. Those who can’t handle their spouse’s criticism shouldn’t work with them. When your partner fights it out with you, it either strengthens your mutual respect, or it can nullify that respect,” cautions Rohit.
A big perk of working together is having more time for kids. “Since we both can fill in for each other, our daughter is never left alone with servants,” says Anusuiya. Seconds Meera, “There was a time when our daughter felt we were so involved in each other that we were ignoring her. Now she too is involved with our work and that is great. She is young and has great ideas and both of us respect that.”
These couples have so proficiently outlined their areas of expertise that issues like “who will take the final call” and “role definition” hardly crop up. It may be a bit difficult for them to draw the line between work and recreation, professional and personal, but it all falls in place. And it works.