Villager
Idhar village. Gujarath
Don't dream . Dreams never come true, my father, the headmaster of
our village school often told me when i was a young boy. But i did dream.
As i grew, so did my dreams. Bigger than may outstretched arms, bigger
than my small house, bigger than my village.
I loved Idhar. It was quite , peaceful, lazy and green, But i knew
that my destiny was beyond this village....
I knew that my destiny had to be made by me.
Visionary
Bombay, 1958
When i came to Bombay i had two shirts, a wife, a brother-in-law and
Rs15,000 in a small suitcase to start a business. But all doors were
shut for a newcomer. Indian business and trade were run by a handful
of the rich and the privileged. Only they were given the licenses, they
had the quotas and they controlled all the government and trade. It
was an exclusive club where it was impossible for an ordinary middle
class newcomer to enter, leave alone succeed. You had to kick the doors
open or cajole them open. I did both. I did not take no for an answer.
And that's because i can never hear the word no.
Winner
We started Shakthi Trading in a 350 sq feet room, with one telephone
one table and three chairs.
Today Shakthi Corporation is the first trading company in India to
enter the Forbes top 500 lists.
People asked me how this happened.
I say by thinking.
Think big, Think ahead and Think fast.
