They mean business: The new faces of India Inc

Enterprise in India has as many reasons as faces. Some take to it as an unquestioning continuance of the family business, others to strike out on their own; some explore new ideas, while others revive old ones; some preserve tradition in the face of odds, others take on the challenges of novelty. But what binds them all is the passion for ownership

Curated By: Vikas Khot

Curated By: Jasodhara Banerjee

Published: Aug 17, 2015

When Shirish Dattatray Ghatpande became familiar with the insides of this shop, he was a six-year-ol

Image by : Vikas Khot

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When Shirish Dattatray Ghatpande became familiar with the insides of this shop, he was a six-year-old in shorts; his father had started the shop in 1954 with 1,000 books. Today, 60 years later, he is still there, behind the counter, as absorbed as he was then. Ujjwal Granth Bhandar, at Pune’s Appa Balwant Chowk, is a quintessential second-hand bookstore, with 90,000 titles covering education, religion, and fiction. Although the business boasts of a Rs 1.5 crore turnover, it is never quite about the money. It is a matter of joy and pride for Ghatpande that whoever comes to his shop never leaves without a book. But reading books, he says, is something that most people don’t get much time for any longer; other mediums too are taking readers away from books. Will his son continue with the business? Ghatpande is not so sure. There may not be many book readers left by then

In the land of kanjeevarams, T Seetharam’s family has been selling saris in Chennai for three

Image by : Sri Manikandan for Forbes India

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In the land of kanjeevarams, T Seetharam’s family has been selling saris in Chennai for three generations. Now 39 years old, Seetharam joined the family business right after finishing college. Taking up any other form of employment was, perhaps, not even an option in his mind. Understanding what the customer wants and being able to meet that need is what gives him job satisfaction

In 2001, Monsoon Wedding brought to the silver screen the shenanigans that accompany the typical big

Image by : Amit Verma

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In 2001, Monsoon Wedding brought to the silver screen the shenanigans that accompany the typical big fat Indian wedding in the country’s capital, with the paan-chewing Parvatlal Kanhaiyalal (alias PK) Dubey desperately trying to manage the show from his cellphone. It was also the year in which Shyam Lal Rajput stepped into Dubey’s shoes in real life, by “working for one of the biggest names in the [wedding planning] industry”. But running his own business had always been a dream. “Ask any wedding planner, being at the helm of a successful wedding is the most fulfilling responsibility. Being a proprietor allows me to truly enjoy that feeling,” says the 34-year-old, who started his venture Trikaya Events in 2005. Today, the company has a team of 10 wedding managers, who provide vendor services through a single channel. “Our company was incorporated at a time when a wedding used to consist of multiple vendors, like caterers, florists, transporters, etc. Wedding planners were considered a luxury affordable only to the extremely affluent,” he says. “Having my own business allows me the creative freedom to plan the fairytale which families want for their sons and daughters. Also, I get to work with an amazing team which is as passionate about the work as I am.”

Sudip Mullick has had a stint in the hospitality industry: He worked for a year at the Oberoi Grand

Image by : Aranya Sen for Forbes India

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Sudip Mullick has had a stint in the hospitality industry: He worked for a year at the Oberoi Grand in Kolkata. But he soon turned to his family business—Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick are makers of some of the finest sweets in the city for five generations. Originally based in the city’s older parts, the business has experienced a phase of modernisation and expansion since 1993. “We have six outlets in Kolkata, and a few will come up before Durga Puja. We are also putting up a huge workshop in Howrah,” says Mullick, 33. The biggest challenge of running a business where quality is crucial is the availability of skilled manpower. “That’s why we have bought different types of equipment to make sweets. We trained people to run the machines, and are very happy with the quality of the output. It has helped us eliminate the problem of skilled hands that are mandatory in our industry.” A supplier to the Raj Bhavan, government programmes, five-star hotels and corporate houses, the business counts celebrities among customers. “Once Sachin Tendulkar liked Gelato Sandesh. He himself called me up and placed an order for his kids.”

Rahul Gonsalves, 28, is the proprietor of Uncommon, a two-year-old digital design agency in Bengalur

Image by : Mallikarjun Katakol for Forbes India

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Rahul Gonsalves, 28, is the proprietor of Uncommon, a two-year-old digital design agency in Bengaluru. It designs web and mobile (Android, iOS, Windows Phone) applications, along with building Android applications. “I set up Uncommon to do the best possible digital design work, to work with only the people I want to, and also to be able to run it in an equitable manner,” says Gonsalves. There are other reasons too. “Running my own business allows me to use this as a petri-dish, to adjust variables, see how certain thought experiments play out. One of the biggest joys is also to work with the absolute best; my colleagues include the ex-head of design at Zomato, and Apple’s only Indian typeface designer. We are also able to take up work only with companies whom we choose to. This allows us to turn down companies whose business practices and ethics we cannot condone.” Uncommon is also a remote-first company, with colleagues and clients across India, Europe, the UK and the US

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