Sandhya Suraj, area sales manager of Sula wines says 'times have changed'

KOCHI: Talking about wines in a room packed with women is as easy for Sandhya Suraj as selling the Sula brand to a five-star hotel’s wine taster. As area sales manager of Sula Wines, her job involves marketing, and almost always dealing with a question - why did you select this job?
And Sandhya has taken it in her stride, to answer the curious queries of Malayalis, and to succeed in a field where a female presence is often frowned at.But with the changing times, she feels the attitude of the society in the state is also changing slowly towards a more women-friendly scenario where a job is a personal choice and not one ruled by old norms.
“Women too used to look at me like I am doing a forbidden job, now there is a marked difference in the attitude. Women are more becoming aware of the various wine brands, and feel free to talk about them,” says Sandhya, who joined the industry after starting her career with the Taj Group of hotels. “I keep telling people that I am not selling liquor door-to-door, and wine is a totally different beverage.
There are more women in this field now.” Coming back to Kerala after spending years in Mumbai has been a cultural somersault for her as she was faced with a city that went to sleep before 9 pm and where night life meant going for a movie. “But now I see young girls too in lounge bars. And women are feeling the independence of changing times.”