Lady luck smiled on us. Combine that with our perseverance, there was no looking back. Today we are here because of our single minded effort in getting the business on to a good start.

When kids became priority.

By the time Goa Portuguesa started our kids were already in pre-schools. Initially much of our time was spent in looking after the restaurant. Since it was the initial stage we couldn't afford the luxury of spending much time away.

Thankfully Suhas's parents were very helpful in that matter. They took care of our kids when they were young. I had my elder sister staying nearby, so she also pitched in with looking after our kids.

Soon we had a maid take care of the kids. But as far as possible Suhas and I would make it point to spend some quality time with the kids. After all, those growing up years would never come back. Even if it meant taking them out to a restaurant for snacks or lunch.

In fact I still remember, when I had night duty, Suhas would see to it that the kids were fed and taken care of. He even changed their nappies. If our two sons became restless he would take them for a ride in the car.

Today things are more settled, we have become middle aged and the kids have grown up. The business is running on autopilot. So now we have enough time to spend with each other and alone as well.

It also translates into more holidays with the entire family.

We still bring work home but have learned to not get worked up.

It is inevitable. And it happens to this day. However, we have learnt to manage it and not get worked up. But there are times when we forget to switch off from the work mode and it does affect the overall atmosphere of the family.

Earlier it was more frequent, but as we grew, we realised that it is possible to switch off. Now that the kids are grown up and they see Suhas or me on phone, they firmly ask us to switch off the phone. It is a no work zone when we are with our kids.

Our kids also feature in our future plans.

We are still in the expansion mode and plan to open branches throughout India.

Both our sons are just as passionate about food as we are. That's one thing that got passed on to them for sure. In fact the eldest is doing Hotel Management and soon plans to join in.

I do not intend to restrict this passion for good food to our restaurants alone. I am also in the process of writing a cookery book with authentic recipes from various regions which you can now try yourself.