I don’t believe work is worship says Rashi Anand Suri

MUMBAI: You can be a Jack of all trades till you master one, believes Rashi Anand Suri. The 40-year-old says that the initial career years are the ones when you can try your hand at a host of things before narrowing down on your calling. She experimented with various legal streams and finally settled on corporate law.

Suri, a philosophy grad from Lady Shri Ram College, had an early start as she joined an NGO working on the legal side while she was still in the first year of a law programme. Her mother was a teacher and her father worked for the railways. It was the Greek philosophy, which she learnt during graduation, which drew her to a law degree.

After a year, she moved to Titus & Co, her first brush with corporate law, where she had to deal with foreign clients wanting to invest in India. In 2005, she shifted to K R Chawla & Co. But this time she was on the other side of the table, representing Indian corporates. Three years down the line, she got an opportunity to work with the Planning Commission's office, where she was a consultant to the secretariat for infrastructure. This she regards as a milestone in her career as, based on this experience, two years later she was hired to head the infrastructure vertical at the 50-year-old S N Gupta & Co.

But the journey wasn't free of bumps. She narrates that timings was an issue while dealing with foreign clientele. "When we wind up, they are about to start their work, resulting in a long day for us," says the early riser, who doesn't favour working late into the night. "If you work till late, your start to the next day too is delayed."

While the number of women in the legal field has always been better than in other professions, Suri says that it has now touched 60%. "Seven of our 20 partners are women. Internet and telephone connectivity has eased the pressure on women as now they can work on the go."

Talking about managing personal life with a high-flying career, the mother of two boys says that balancing multiple roles is a delicate task. "I don't believe that work is worship. It doesn't work like that. There has to be a balance," opines the avid reader, whose interests lie in environment-related books.