From a depressed women looking for a job to an entrepreneur who employs four people at her fitness centre, Dr Qurat has come a long way. She achieved this by breaking the tradition with the help of her dedication and self-belief, Ruwa Shah reports.

Being her own boss, bringing up a new system of treatment with sophisticated gadgets and a blend of homeopathy treatment, Dr.Qurat, 35, a resident of Buchpora, Srinagar has realised her dreams by starting a fitness centre and transformed from a doctor into an entrepreneur.

After three years of struggle to find a job, Qurat was disheartened. On completing her Bachelors in Unani Medicine (BUMS), she lost her goal. Being determined and enthusiastic in making her career on her own, she thought of turning her energy towards business. She came up with ideas which were scattered. There was no proper direction.

“I had a vast vacant plot but I didn’t know what to do with it,” says Dr Qurat. With a thought to making herself as a successful businesswomen and breaking all the trends, she decided to give it a try.

After a lot of research, she received her degree in entrepreneurship at Ahmadabad but she wasn’t satisfied enough. “They trained me in their own way. But in Kashmir, we lack those facilities. So I wasn’t satisfied enough,” she added.  Then she went to Bangalore to get a first hand account of the Entrepreneurship initiatives being taken over there.  Bangalore being a cosmopolitan city has its own infrastructural needs which Kashmir doesn’t have.

After a sigh of grief, she found J&K Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) where she underwent a training of 20 days to mend her ideas and shape them. “A very practical methodology of teaching and their dedication towards training course paved way for a fitness centre under the banner ‘Shafi Fitness Centre’,” she said

Shafi Fitness Centre provides a complete treatment package for highly obese, weak immunity cases and cholesterol patients. The treatment involves a blend of homeopathy and advanced gym gadgets including the Sona Steam bathrooms. Dr.Qurat’s is the only initiative of its kind in Kashmir valley.

“The machinery at my centre is from ‘Fitness World’, I bought it to gain the trust of people in Kashmir,” she says. The clinic which was started in October 2011, soon earned fame and became a source of employment for its four employees. “I pay my workers on the basis of their dedication and hard work,” Dr Qurat says.

Apart from her study based treatment, she believes in the old customs of ‘Hakeems’ and involves their remedies in the procedure for treating a patient. “My style is purposefully based upon home remedies” she adds.

Qurat believes that old customs of treatment can be revived using medical and Unani techniques which can prove better in the recovery process of patients. “People in Kashmir have developed many unhealthy habits leading to cholesterol and diabetes, I mend those habits medically and even treat their illness,” she says.

Unlike the other gyms and fitness centres of Kashmir valley, patients are not treated with any kind of supplements or diet plans by Qurat. “I believe supplements come with many side effects because of which I don’t prescribe them to my patients,” she adds.

The satisfaction in her patients has bolstered her courage. She has treated cases which were not treated by the medical treatment. “My obesity was a big problem for me, I went to many doctors but I was never satisfied with their supplements and diet plans, Later, Dr Qurat with the help of Unani medicines and latest fitness kits proved good for me,” 40-year-old Masooda said.

Dr.Qurat’s clinic satisfies her passion for business and her medical knowledge is utilised as well. Feeling much comfortable now, she says she will continue to serve the people. Her family has supported her since the beginning of her career, “They never stopped me from any kind of decision making. In fact, I myself chose business as my career,” she says.

She feels proud to be able to provide all sorts of facilities to her children. “Had I wasted more time in search of jobs, I would not have been at this level,” she believes. She suggests that the unemployed youth of Kashmir should go for entrepreneurship rather than wasting time in searching jobs.

Being an entrepreneur she never felt the need to ask for any sort of financial help from anyone. “I am living my life happily and proudly as I am able to contribute to the well-being of my family,” she adds.

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