The inspiring story of ‘Gujju Ben,’ who started a business at 75 to support her grandson

Urmila Asher aka 'Gujju Ben' is the powerhouse behind Gujju Ben Na Nasta, a business selling Gujarati snacks that she started at the age of 75

Sanya Jain

June 01, 2022 / 14:50 IST

Urmila Asher gained popularity as the owner of 'Gujju Ben Na Nasta' (Image credit: gujjubennanasta/Instagram)

Urmila Asher aka Gujju Ben’s story is a lesson in fortitude and resilience. Married at the age of 18 and a mother to three by the age of 23, this matriarch of a Mumbai-Gujarati household probably never imagined she would become a successful business owner and a TEDx speaker one day. Her extraordinary journey from tragedy to rebuilding her life was documented in a video by Humans of Bombay.

Urmila Asher or 'Gujju Ben' is the powerhouse behind Gujju Ben Na Nasta, a business selling Gujarati snacks that she started at the age of 75 to support herself and her grandson. She had lost her three children by the age of 67, and her grandson Harsh remained her only family.

Asher started cooking at home to support Harsh after he lost his business during the coronavirus pandemic. This loss of livelihood came close at the heels of another tragedy – in 2019, Harsh met with an accident in which he lost his lower lip. After the accident, Harsh started staying indoors, conscious of his changed appearance.

“I had been an excellent cook since childhood and so we came up with a plan of starting our Gujarati snack business ‘Gujju Ben Na Nashta’ to rebuild ourselves,” Urmila Asher told She The People. Confident of her quality, she was overjoyed when business picked up and people loved her pickles.

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What started as a side hustle selling pickles to Gujarati communities in Mumbai soon grew into a successful small business with its own website. Gujju Ben and her grandson expanded into making theplas, dhokla, khakhra, farali and other classic Gujarati snacks.

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