Nirmala Nand’s foray into the pharmaceutical field was not something she planned.
The 64-year-old mother-of-three has not just thrived in her profession as a pharmacist, she has also passed on her love for her profession to her children.
Apart from living in Fiji, Ms Nand has also studied in Tonga and New Zealand. In fact, it was when she was a Form Six (Year 12) student in Nuku’alofa, that her life literally began to change after a career day presented her with future study and job options.
Her strength was in science but other subjects also competed for her attention.
“I had to cross out things that I just didn’t want to do,” Ms Nand reminisced.
“The arts were a no-go for me, too much reading. Because my subjects were science, I stuck to that. I didn’t want to do something where I had to begin all over again.
“So I ended up crossing everything else off the list and pharmacy was the only course that was left.”
Ms Nand said initially, she did not realise that a pharmacist’s role in the shop was required all the time.
“Being a pharmacist meant you had to be inside the pharmacy and couldn’t go out. If you go out, you need someone there.
“I went ahead and did it and it was OK. There were no major challenges and I quite enjoyed it.”
Ms Nand pursued studies in pharmacy in Wellington, New Zealand, after completing foundation studies in Fiji.
A fourth generation of an Indian family that settled in Tonga, Ms Nand said her parents were entrepreneurs.
Following her foundation studies, she got accepted into a pharmacy school in New Zealand where she studied for about four years.
“After that, I went to Tonga, but because Tonga is little, there were no pharmacies or prospects for me.
“My father wanted me to get married and I said no. “I think I should go and work and get some experience instead of thinking about that.
“He had friends in Fiji who were running pharmacies. Bacchu Bhai was running Central Pharmacy way back then. He rang my father up and asked whether I could come to Fiji and work for him.
“I said yes, so I came here and worked for him. He put me in his pharmacy in Nausori. At that time, that pharmacy belonged to Mr Kuar Battan Singh but Bacchu Bhai bought the pharmacy so he needed a pharmacist.”
She ended up working at the pharmacy for about a year before she met her husband, Abhay Nand.
A few months into their marriage, they decided to buy the pharmacy and by the end of 1984, Ms Nand was the owner of a pharmacy. Running her own pharmacy was no easy feat, and many times the shop was managed only by the husband and wife duo.
They handled everything — from administration, to stocking and management of the pharmacy in Nausori. Eventually, they made a decision to branch out and opened a shop in Nabua as well — the shop which still runs as Superdrug Pharmacy today.
By this time, she was also entering her role as a mother and Ms Nand said she was grateful to be surrounded by a sea of people who were always willing to lend a helping hand to look after her three boys.
“His (husband’s) mother was with us. Because of the coup, I applied for a visa to Australia and got it so I sent mum over there and I kept working here.
“So when my two eldest kids were two or three, we sent the kids with her and they went to school there. My youngest baby, he stayed with me for a longer time.
“They all grew up in the pharmacy. I used to feed and change them here but I had good girls working for me, people who took the kids out.
“I had a lot of helpers which really was a blessing because I don’t think I could have done it by myself,” she said.
Today, she is still very much attached to her role and her job, and is planning to stay on as long as she can.
However, she hopes the new crop of pharmacists coming out — especially women — will remain true to the ideals of the profession.
She said pharmacists must remain dedicated and committed to the profession, and approach their clients needs in a very humane way.
