Success story with Amica ma'am- Dwarikas Hotel

Perseverance, dedication and determination are basics to success in every business initiatives. Combined to all these there must be another factor which paves the way to success, ie. taking your passion as profession. I had read about these things in various biographies of entrepreneurs and have also experienced somewhat by myself in some aspect of life. However one fine evening, I got to know in person about the experience that a old yet enthusiastic, Ambica Shrestha had to share.

Group photo after the Interaction program

I first came to know Ambica ma’am as a hotel entrepreneur (The Dwarikas 5 star). Getting more in-depth into social life, I also came to know of her as an enthusiastic Rotarian. The wrinkles on her face was the expression of many dreams that came true by her hard work and determination, the infinite lines in her hands expressing of her old age were the representation of many more years of hard work and reflection of perseverance. As a strong old mountain she stood in front of us, with a gentle smile and in an enthusiastic tone to share what life had taught her and what she had to teach us, youths of the present.

The story began when husband of Ambica ma’am started being worried about the old wooden monuments and carvings. He had an immense love and care for the old tradition and art of the country. Slowly the passion of collecting such old wooden carvings began which would in future be one of the most successful hotel chain in the country.

It seems like an easy task at the end of the day when a person has achieved a great deal of success. However nobody understands the process and the condition that the person has to go through to achieve such a stardom of success. Getting back to past, Ambica mam says” Living in joint family was not easy then, especially when you wanted to do something different from the rest of the society”. Shrestha family then shifted from their ancestral home to Battisputali where they made a house with few rooms. One fine evening a foreign researcher came to Ambica ma’am and asked her to let the lady reside in her house for some days. After this the foreigner lady did word of mouth advertising to some of her acquaintances and helped Ambica ma’am to realize her dreams.

Getting confronted with the peaceful ambience of the Dwarikas, full of ancient monuments and sculptures, one feels like being in a heaven. Like that of in the palace of the kings of Malla dynasty. As such Dwarikas Hotel is not only a story of success and perseverance, it is also a school of many more generations to come to study about the pride and heritage of the Nepalese generations. At times when Youth like us are focusing on following hot-shot western cultures, Dwarikas remains there as a connecting bridge to the past; to feel the ancient glory of Nepalese and also to realize the tremendous potential hidden within us when we unfold our unique culture and tradition.

Life is the most beautiful lesson. It teaches you various things, confronts you with different aspects of life: ups and down, thick and thin. However, the only thing out of such circumstances is to stand rock-solid as against all adversaries. Perhaps this was also the lesson that Ambica ma’am had to share.  For a single lady it might have been difficult to stand out as a successful person in a society where people take women as a inferior gender. Her vast experience as a leader in much social organization also might have many lifelong lessons to share. However sharing of all these would not have been possible within a short period of time. And this blogger aspires to wait for another chance to meet this beautiful and inspiring lady.