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Ritu Patel, a 32-year-old housewife from Vadodara, was in a fix when her husband, a diamond merchant, decided to shift his business to Mumbai. To create a loyal client base, her husband needed to host lavish parties. Ritu did not have the experience or expertise in organising big parties.
To ensure potential customers were satisfied with the arrangements, she decided to join a crash course on party hosting. Thanks to the course, she was able to host great parties. Her husband got several high-profile deals within a few months.
Finishing schools, as they are called, have been in existence in India for 10-15 years. Earlier, such institutes catered to high-profile clients, conducting courses in corporate training and softer skills development. Now, women from semi-urban areas are also thronging these institutes, to learn professional manners, social skills and etiquette.
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The courses on offer are: Fine dining, power dressing, bridal etiquette, soft skills training, ballroom dancing and conflict management and so on. Pria Warrick, clinical psychologist and etiquette expert, said housewives from small towns, apart from corporate executives, are enrolling for these courses in a big way.
According to Warrick, her Pria Warrick Finishing School has students from small towns such as Ajmer, Vadodara, Jaisalmer and areas in Chhattisgarh. The institute has prepared course modules for schools and colleges on public speaking, body language and dining etiquette etc.
Some institutes like Good Shepherd Finishing School (GSFS) at Ooty admit only women. Neetha Nataraj, the dean, said through "tailor-made programmes and specially devised curriculum", GSFS "transforms a girl into an elegant and poised lady".
Candidates in the age group of 16-30 with minimum educational qualification of Class 10, 12 or any other equivalent examinations are eligible for admission. The institute has six-week, three-month and nine-month programmes. The courses offered include housekeeping, interior design, gardening and communication skills, among others.
Experts said such courses have become popular because they come at a variety of price points. A Mumbai-based image consultant who had attended a course on fine dining said the fee for courses range between Rs 40,000 and Rs 8 lakh.
"Women, especially from smaller towns, for upward mobility want to learn etiquette at a cost-effective manner. These schools offer a good platform for such women to interact with their counterparts of a higher social status," she added.
Going forward, academicians said, the trend would continue. "With increasing exposure to Western markets and businesses, Indian women are also becoming conscious of the professional etiquette expected from them at both formal and informal occasions. Hence, our market is expected to grow between 40 and 55 per cent in the next three years," said a senior associate from a finishing school.
