Are there a lot of women bartenders in India?
There might be other women bartenders but I don’t know about them. There are two other flair bartenders though that I am aware of.
What can you say about women and bartending?
As a profession, not many parents would be open to the idea of their daughters’ bartending! I come from a family where work is worship. My father is a lawyer and my mother is a professor. It took me years to convince them that what I do is alright and perfect for me. If you make a name for yourself, you can earn a handsome salary at the end of the month through various gigs. The constant travel makes it a lucrative profession for me too!
How do you get gigs across the country, on invitation basis or through references?
Usually I am offered to showcase my talents at events through invitations and references, mostly its word of mouth publicity. I am pretty bad at marketing myself, but I have it easier because of less competition. Furthermore, your reputation counts. I have worked for the UB Group too, and have been part of some popular gigs, including at the IPL. All this adds to your portfolio, and event managers automatically contact you when they need a flair bartender for an event.
When you train others in the field, what are the things you focus on?
I mainly train others only in flair and juggling skills. Focus is the main quality required to improve your hand eye coordination skills. And the speed at which you learn depends upon your dedicated practice. But practice, without focus, will suck the fun out of flair. It is important to become obsessed with whatever you are doing, at least while you are doing it to master it.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
I used to have many plans regarding bartending. I even played around with the idea of opening a school. Nowadays, some hospitality schools do have sessions on bartending, including flair bartending and mixology (the art of mixing drinks to create new cocktails). I did train students at the prestigious Dadar Hospitality Institute, in Mumbai, a few years ago. But today, I prefer to go with the flow. This line is still at a nascent stage in India after all.
What is the future of bartending for women in India?
Women bartending in the future would be in great demand. Women in any career are in demand actually. It will take a lot of training and struggle to match international standards, but there are several enterprising women out there who are willing to step in and make a change.
Amy, the Indusladies team wishes you all the very best in all your future endeavours.
