Shaktipreneur in Spotlight: Reshma (Co-founder & COO, Manzil Mystics)

Music improves concentration, athletic performance, body movement coordination, and productivity. It fights fatigue, elevates mood, and decreases depression. Relaxing music induces sleep, reduces stress, and aids relaxation. Listening to music helps control negative aspects of our personalities like worry, bias, and anger.

Manzil Mystics is a Delhi-based registered nonprofit (Trust) that has been working in the field of education, music training, and development using music as an instrument of social change. It works for the disadvantaged sections of the society by holding workshops on Gender education, Spoken English, Reproductive health, Menstrual hygiene, and Life skills through music in the less privileged partner schools and communities. 

“We believe that music aids critical life skills and socio-emotional development. We have seen students become leaders, improving their grade rates and becoming more sensitized to life skills,” says Reshma, Shaktipreneur in Spotlight and Co-Founder and COO of Manzil Mystics. 

The inspiration behind the project

 Born and raised in a low-income household of four sisters and a brother, Reshma faced gender bias since her childhood. During her adolescence, she believed that the menstrual cycle was a curse for her. 

 “I promised to educate myself, gain some exposure to the problem and a possible solution,” she says.

To search for possible solutions, she did a course in midwifery and worked in a hospital for 6 years. Her training and work experience empowered her. Reshma also started learning music in an NGO named Manzil and fell in love with it. It struck her that children studying in Government schools lacked access to music training. As she learned more and more, she felt that this could be a powerful tool to educate people.

“Music develops and aids in language skills, vocabulary building, reading abilities, memory, thinking & problem-solving abilities and enhances creativity,” she adds.

In 2010, she started the band Manzil Mystics with two co-founders and later co-founded Manzil Mystics Foundation in 2017. Their purpose was to increase the accessibility and usability of music.

“Music is not just a source of entertainment. It gives us the ability and freedom to touch the soul of people and enables them to speak their heart out through meaningful lyrics,” she adds.

Journey as an entrepreneur

Reshma combined her professional music skills with her experience of working as a Maternity Nurse to make a difference, especially in the field of Women’s Empowerment.

She started taking sessions on Women’s Empowerment as a facilitator but felt there were more powerful and impactful ways of designing and delivering the program.

She initiated the project WeBhor (Women Empowerment Through Music), – a program aimed at reaching out to adolescent girls, women, and local youth belonging to the disadvantaged or underprivileged sections of society.WeBhor is a combination of We (Hum sab) and Bhor (Savera/Subha), meaning “ We rise together.”

“We have been able to curate an all-women band, educated 1000+ female musicians & have made songs based on gender equality and wish to join hands towards a new dawn,” she adds philosophically.   

Manzil Mystics Band is a Delhi-based choir that performs its self-composed music inspired by Saint Kabir in Indian classical and folk fusion forms. They have performed in music festivals, college festivals, corporate shows, community events, and theme-based events for organizations throughout India.

Pankh is an initiative by Manzil Mystics for school intervention. They partner with schools and provide training through short-term( three days) and long-term( 6 months) modules. 

“Music develops and aids in language skills, vocabulary building, reading abilities, memory, thinking & problem-solving abilities and enhances creativity,” she adds.

They also organize community events centered on socially conscientious music and produce music (writing, composing, and recording) for schools, colleges, NGOs, and corporations. Their Operative Model is a unique livelihood-driven initiative, as musicians from low-income communities are hired, intensively trained, and placed in schools to continue this virtuous cycle.

Meet the Team

Reshma and her team share the leadership space. The names and roles of her co-founders are as follows:

Anurag – Co-founder, CEO

Reshma – Co-founder, COO

Preeti – Co-founder, Program manager

Neeti – Co-founder, HR head

Shahbaaz – Co-founder, Creative Head

Manik – Co-founder, Outreach and Event head

Impact of Manzil Mystics Foundation 

The Foundation trains through a short-term module of 3 days and a long-term module of 6 months. 

“We have touched approximately 3,00,000 lives directly or indirectly,” she says, proudly.

Future plans

Reshma is an avid music lover and is currently pursuing a degree in classical music.

Manzil Mystics is planning a Fellowship Program for low-income musicians wherein they would be trained for 2 years and subsequently employed as teachers in the schools and communities.

Advice to new entrepreneurs

Reshma advises the new entrepreneurs to trust their ideas and be passionate about them. She emphasizes that entrepreneurs need to have a written plan. She also believes that the happiness and satisfaction of entrepreneurs are important for their success.

“My struggles inspired me to do something to bring change in the lives of people around me, and my work gives me immense satisfaction,” she adds.

Journey as a Shaktipreneur

Reshma joined STEP in 2018, and it was her first Incubation program. Manzil Mystics was a new organization at that time. She admits initially, she felt nervous but was motivated when she met the other participants.

“Before joining STEP, I used to limit myself to my role in the organization, but the program helped me learn all aspects of entrepreneurship from creating brands to revenue generation,” she says.

Mentoring by Renu Shah, the Founder of STEP was a high point for Reshma. 

“Renu was like a camera for me, as she noticed every detail and pointed out very apt solutions,” she adds.

Networking and Collaboration were some major benefits of the Incubation program.

“I learned all the necessary entrepreneurial skills at STEP- Building a team, deciding our mission, knowing our target audience, and building our organizational culture,” she says.

Reshma, the person

A nature lover, Reshma loves simple things in life. Her favorite book is “The Night Diary” by Veera Hiranandani. Her 95-year-old Yoga teacher is her greatest inspiration. A Quote by poet Kabir that is the Mantra of her Life is “Pothi pad pad jag mua, Pandit bhaya na, Dhai Aakhar prem ke, Pade so pandit hoye.”