Rashmi Raj, who lives in Harpur Beni village under the Gopi Dhanwat panchayat in the Saraiya block of Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, changed the entire direction of her life after watching a single reel on her mobile phone. The idea of making designer candles, which started out small, has now grown so big that the colourful candles she makes by hand are creating a buzz not just in Muzaffarpur but in several neighbouring districts as well. Her products are also being sold on major online platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho and IndiaMART, meaning a business that began in one village now reaches customers across the country.
A Postgraduate Who Spent 16 Years Working at Jeevika
Rashmi Raj holds a postgraduate degree in Rural Development from BRA Bihar University, Muzaffarpur. Notably, she started working right after passing her 10th standard exams, continuing her studies alongside her job. She went on to work at Jeevika for about 16 years, meaning for a long stretch of time she was known as someone with a stable job. But in 2022, for certain reasons, she lost that job, after which she stayed at home for some time.
Free Time Led Her to a Reel, and a Reel Led Her to an Idea
During this period at home after losing her job, Rashmi became far more active on social media than before. It was during this time that she came across a reel showing exactly how designer candles are made. Watching that video planted the idea of trying her hand at the craft herself, and that idea slowly hardened into firm resolve. She decided to treat the job loss not as a setback but as an opportunity to start something new, and chose candle making as the business she wanted to build.
Training in Mumbai, and a Kitchen Start With Just Rs 2000
To turn the idea into reality, Rashmi travelled to Mumbai to stay with her sister. There, she took a 10 day professional training course in candle making so that nothing would be lacking in her skills. Once the training was over and she returned to her village, she began making designer candles in her own home kitchen with a starting capital of just Rs 2000. What delighted her most was that her very first order brought her a profit four times the cost she had put in. That early, unexpectedly big profit boosted her confidence so much that she decided to turn the small experiment into a proper business on a larger scale.
From Roses to Rasmalai, Candles That Look Exactly Like Sweets
Today, Rashmi Raj makes candles in a range of eye catching and unusual designs, shaped like rose flowers, rasmalai, kaju katli, laddu and imarti. At first glance, these candles look exactly like real sweets, and people are often fooled into wondering whether they are looking at a candle or an actual sweet. Demand for these designer candles rises sharply during Diwali, Chhath, New Year and other festivals. People buy them enthusiastically for home decoration, for gifting to loved ones, and for use during religious rituals and prayers.
Self Reliant Herself, and Now Employing Four Women From Her Village
Rashmi's small startup is no longer just a source of income for her alone, it has become a dependable source of employment for other women in her village too. At present, she is providing employment to four women from her village. Rashmi believes that if women resolve to become self reliant, even work started on the smallest scale can eventually turn into a big success story. Her journey since losing her job now stands as a major example for rural women across Bihar.
