Poonam Adnani had just finished her fourth event of the day when she talked with The ASEAN. It was ten days after Diwali, and many in Jakarta were still celebrating.
Adnani’s parents moved to Indonesia in the 1950s. She was born and raised in Bandung, and her family is part of a sizeable Indian diaspora community that settled in the country.
Sixty-five-year-old Adnani has been in the party business for more than two decades. It is not an overstatement to say that she has become one of the most wanted Indian-themed party organisers in Jakarta.
“I was born in Bandung, Indonesia, in 1957. My first visit to Mumbai, India, was when I was eight. My father had just passed away, and my mother decided to bring the whole family back to India. One month after arriving, my mother pronounced that all of us would return to Bandung. I lived there until high school while my brothers continued to work in my late father’s business in textile.
“I started my business slowly but surely in 1998. At that time, I had just returned from India, where I got the inspiration to start my gift shop. I bought many souvenirs from India and made some here in Jakarta. My first store is at my home in North Jakarta, which is still here 24 years later.
“As my gift shop grew, some customers started to look for wedding decorations. I made some to cater to my customers. Eventually, some of them asked me, ‘why don’t you do my wedding décor?’. That is how it started. It was small for the first two years until I got this big offer to hold a wedding in Bali. So, twenty years ago, I had already organised a destination wedding.
“As my gift shop grew, some customers started to look for wedding decorations. I made some to cater to my customers. Eventually, some of them asked me, ‘why don’t you do my wedding décor?’. That is how it started. It was small for the first two years until I got this big offer to hold a wedding in Bali. So, twenty years ago, I had already organised a destination wedding.
Interviewed by Ixora Tri Devi. The conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. The views and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the interviewee and do not reflect the official policy or position of ASEAN.
