Birthing a new love

Mumbai-based Chloe Qureshi tells us about her painstaking preparation to bring baby Aayatt into this world—in the most natural way, possible

- Kriselle Fonseca

Chloe Qureshi is a known name in the telly world. With an illustrious career as creative director at Balaji Telefilms, Chloe has been at the helm of numerous award-winning productions. However, this time, Chloe details a new project, one that involved extensive prep work behind the scenes, physically and emotionally— becoming mommy to baby Aayatt. Read on as she revisits a life-changing birthing experience and her elaborate travels with a seven-month-old baby in tow...

SURPRISE! IT’S A BABY

“I’ve been with Balaji Telefilms for the last 18 years. I’ve always been a career woman, and work has kept me on the go. December 2019 was when I was in the busiest time of my career—I had to oversee 26-odd shows in various stages of development. And right in the middle of it all, I jetted off to Rajasthan with my husband Aslam Qureshi for our anniversary celebrations. My time there was supposed to be a break after being on a choc-a-block work schedule. On the day of the anniversary, we went out for dinner and I just couldn’t eat. I grew suspicious of what it might be, but I decided to do a test to rule it out. Turns out, my suspicions were right! At that moment when I found out, I was overwhelmed with joy, but, somewhere at the back of my mind, I couldn’t stop thinking about those 26 shows I had to come back to, and how I would manage my pregnancy through it all.