I have known the hostess for long enough to know that she does not believe in exaggerating things especially if it glorifies another human being. I was interigued by Nina's introduction and also wanted to know about her life in UK so on getting an opportunity I invited her to our table. She came without any fuss, we taled a bit about everything and also shared our dessert because Nina refused to waste half of it. When I discovered that she is the granddaughter of Alama Mashraqi and financial consultant in UK and valued very highly for her expertise I made an appointement for an exclusive interview for Brides and You.

I knew about Alama Mashraqi but just to brush up my knowledge before the interview I looked him up on the net. Following are some of the historical facts. He was not just a politician and a philosopher but a Guinness Book Record Holder. He studied in England in the 1920s and gained a double masters degree in mathematics from Cambridge University at the age of 14. He became the founder of Khaksar Movement and wrote many books on interpretation of Quran to educate people. My next meeting with Nina was schedules a few days later at her flat in Lahore. Her career was most difficult for me to understand as being a typical Pakistani woman I don't have much brain for finance.

Nina on the other hand is quite uniqiue she, I discovered, works as an independent consultant and specializes in providing business solutions to limited companies and high-net individuals. She has built her own team of specialist researchers who are experts in investment, pension schemes, corporate and commercial lending and mortagages amongst others. She had workd with City Financial Planning, where she was the most successful salesperson in the North of England. She later Joined the Millfield Partnerrship and becoame their top producer in the whole of north West within one month, followed by three consecutive months as number one.

Wat was she doing in Lahore was my next question. I found out that Nina was born in Lahore and got a chance to travel extensively with her father who was a journalist before finally settling in UK at a very Young age, but she was back with an intention to discover if there is some positive role she can play in the future of this country and its people. She said that she is among the blessed ones but feels that being the grand daughter of Allama Mushraqi it is her responsibility to find out if she can serve her homeland.

She has many plans and with the support of her father will soon share them with all those who want to help bring the desired chage in the lives of the people. Her aim is to provide support to the down trodden, give them a chance to live a dignified life. Her ambition does not include glory for herself but she plans not to stop at anything when it comes to making a difference for the people of Pakistan.

Originally intending to be a doctor due to an aptitude for acience, Nina entered the finance industry at an early age as a result of circumstances. Flourishing in what was then (and remains a male dominated industry, Nina admits that she has always had a desire to do better than her male counterparts. I was always iin the top 15 or 20 performers out of the 1000 or so people in my comapny and i did sometimes get flak for it, she says. Being an Asian woman in the north of England wasn't easy either, but i'm a very focused person and l've always wanted to succeed in life. With me it's always been a case of yes I can achieve that; if someone puts a specific target in front of me, I know i will reach it.

Nina acknowledges that hers is not an easy career, demanding huge motivation and involving on going exams (at the last one she achieved 100%). But at the same time it's a wonderful career because it's up to you how successful you make it - the world's your oyster! It can be very rewarding and it's actually a shame there aren't more women in the industry.

Married youg Nina is now the proud mother of four children. Nina was quoted saying a British magazine in one of her interviews' " Some women say you can't have it all - the career and the children - but you can. it's just that you need to be very motivated and very strong that it really is a question of balance. There time for work time for my husband and time for my children. Nina writes poetry. Her philiosophy of life is that 'you get out of life, what you put in' and she has invested her heart and soul into her life as a mother, as wife and as a professional. She is proud of her achievements and gives credit to her dedication and hardd work for it. Despite being practical raised in Europe Nina possess a heart of a true Eastern woman. She believes in our cultural and traditional teaching especially when it comes to raising her children, her ambition is to teach them to become good decent human beings.