BUSINESS & CAREER

Let me trace a bit of our family history. Our ancestors belonged to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. They were Diwans under the king of Jaisalmer. It’s about 700 years back. They were expert in wrestling and hence the title MALL was rewarded to them. After some bitter altercation with the king, they shifted to a place JANGLU about 50 km away from Bikaner and later they shifted to Deshnok, about 30 km away from Bikaner. Deshnok is famous for Karniji’s temple where hundreds of kabas (rats) move around the temple still. Karni ma is our kuldevi. Recent history as told to us by elder persons in family relates to our life and struggle at and beyond Deshnok. My Great grand father Sri Thakurdasji and his elder brother Sri Jainaraindas ji lived there along with their parents. Some of their cousins started some business at Calcutta and Purulia. But they were living at Deshnok in rustic way with no job at hand. Once his cousin brother came from Calcutta and brought some fine dhoti. Thakurdas ji wanted to have one dhoti for him. He was told to go to up country and work hard to earn if he wanted to have fine dhoti etc. That pinched him and he decided to go to Calcutta and explore the possibilities there around. He was only 14/15 years at that time. His elder brother tried to make him calm and not to take such drastic step and be there around only, but could not make him retreat. There was no train connection at both ends .He had to go to Jodhpur or Ajmer on camel cart. From there he traveled up to Raniganj by train and then to Purulia again by camel cart. After being established there in Purulia within four years, he called upon his elder brother Jainaraindasji also to join him and that was the beginning of our establishment at Purulia. How strongly determined he was to accomplish his goal! Me as down the line successor of such self made and determined person, was never so strong to fix up my aims and to put sincere efforts to accomplish them. After matriculation, when choice to select out of various stream came, I preferred science, but with no clear vision. Perhaps I preferred science because smarter and students with high grades used to go for science. More over commerce classes used to be in morning or evening session only and I wanted to be fully occupied. I was asked by my elders as to why I had opted for science. We were in trade .And with no industries there around; science should not have been the right choice. I wanted to be an engineer and would like to opt for a suitable job thereafter. It was a negative choice, according to them. Well, without very clear vision, I took science. After graduating with Mathematics, Physics and chemistry, I tried for law with an eye for expertise in taxation. I discontinued the same following my marriage. I had to join my parental business all of a sudden under some unfortunate circumstances in 1965 immediately after my marriage with no one to provide guidance. Within a year, the tasted old pattern of business crumbled as I could not manage properly without experience whatsoever. All my customers deserted me. Others took advantage of the situation. Our customers used to be from rural villages coming on bullock carts and depended on us for their supplies. As I could not maintain full verities as per their requirements, they had to turn to other suppliers. I started dealing in limited items and with limited urban customers gradually. But it was not my choice of business. In July 1966, I visited my brother in law in Amritsar. He inspired me to install a rolling mill. He wanted me to shift to some bigger city, but that was not at all possible. So he suggested me to set up one steel rolling mill at Purulia with his help. But I could not get success in that venture in spite of all efforts for two years. By and by, I continued my food grains and oil business but without much likings. 1966 to’ 1969 was the period of famine in eastern and northern India. I could have flourish and earn handsomely out of my business, but morally I could not digest the situation. So diversification to other business was always in mind. In 1967, Bokaro steel Plant was coming up at Bokaro, only 35 km away from Purulia. We formed a company named M. M. & co with two other relatives and got a tender for material handling at Bokaro steel city station. We were in this business for more than two years but could not handle it properly and ultimately withdrew out of it with handsome losses. I could understand that I had to be in my traditional business and hence tried to change it suitably. All such business was having Gaddi type of seating arrangements till then. I introduced table chair and counter system to be more comfortable. To start with I had to face criticism, but ultimately others followed the system in due course. My urge towards industry continued in between. Paper work for rolling mills, nut and bolt plants and nail manufacturing unit were in hand from time to time. In 1970 during my Bikaner visit I met someone who used to manufacture polythene film plants. I placed order for supply of one unit to be installed at Purulia, but ultimately I cancelled the proposal. In 1973, when I planned to go to US I brought my prevailing business to minimum level as no one was to look after it during my absence. On return from US and by the end of 1973, I joined hands with some other partners in a refractory unit coming up in Purulia, but had to discontinue it when I found the partners very cunning and dishonest. There too I incurred losses. Meanwhile we had started financing business in big way, though I never had job satisfaction with it. We developed financing business at Purulia, Calcutta, Rajnandgaon, and Nagpur etc. Meanwhile we sold some of our non lucrative properties and developed some other properties so as to earn some rental income out of that. Earlier we had business in tobacco, yarn and cloth also during my grandfather’s regime. So I tried to renew that. I started stocking of tobacco leaves at Dinajpur in west Bengal through some contacts, though I never tried to visit the place or to open an office there as some other businessman of Purulia had done. I continued it for three years, but found the contact person there not that satisfactory and also found my moving there not possible. So that preposition was discontinued also, though without any losses. So life was on move with many experiments, but with less satisfaction. I had just one friend around there and a few contacts within family members only. That was not up to my liking. So I instantly agreed to join Rotary, when proposal came in 1974. Earlier I had avoided for it in 1968. Rotary changed my life. I would deal on it later. Here I am to write about business ventures only. With no aggressive business in hand, my movement was restricted to pleasure trips only. Even for two years or so, I did not go to Calcutta in between. And just to come out of that situation, I again tried to venture a business in small way. I explored with Bombay dyeing people for an exclusive showroom at Purulia with a mind to develop it into a big cloth business in due course. That opened an opportunity for me to visit Calcutta more frequently. My mamaji supported and joined me in my efforts there around. We opened the showroom in most fascinating way in 1976 with one of my cousin to be in charge. I used to be there only during evenings but all Calcutta assignments were under me. With Rotary, Bombay Dyeing assignments and Calcutta visits, life changed for good. I got constructively engaged and to my liking to some extent. Some new contacts developed through Rotary and Calcutta business. My time in the evening used to pass off nicely dealing with young customers as Bombay Dyeing was popular with youngsters. Rotary provided to invent new friends and ideology. And at Calcutta, new ideas and ventures used to come through mamaji, who was a great entrepreneur even at that age. He always encouraged me for any new business proposal and we became very close. I found a nice advisor and well wisher in him. I could enjoy love and affection of my nanihal and in particular of my naniji,. Thus I became a bridge of contact between my mother and her mother, which we all cherished for long. But my dream of developing cloth business could not be fulfilled as my cousin, who was with me in Bombay dyeing business had to quit due to some very unfortunate happenings in his family. Ultimately we had to close our showroom in 1980.So I had only financing business left over and though without my liking, it was convenient for us to continue with it. But my efforts to venture new business continued. Life was not that boring now with Rotary and friends through Rotary in hand. In fact, I had the best time in Purulia during that period and will focus on it in my Rotary write up later sometime. Meanwhile I started to explore trading in yarn. We were in this business long back before I joined and my in laws were in this business thoroughly. That made me to visit Bankura every week and Ranchi sometimes and Adoni in AP and some yarn mills in Orissa and M.P. That made me active too. But that was also a dieing business. During same period jijaji had frequent visits to Calcutta for various reasons and I had to be in Calcutta for Rotary assignments. I also visited his Hyderabad plant and as usual he was always with some ideas for me to explore and come out of my cage to join hands with him. He suggested me to install an induction furnace at Hyderabad and also to have a farmhouse there near Hyderabad for grapes farming. In fact he initiated paper work on induction furnace for me and bought a farming land also. But I could not take a decision considering my base in Purulia and with no other support. Sandeep was there at Nagpur doing engineering at that time and I was anxious for his career. Purulia was to be connected with TV facilities soon. So I explored electronic business prepositions keeping in view Sandeep’s electronic line and ultimately made a contract with Maegabyte computers to start an academy there at Purulia and bought a computer for Sandeep before his return. Perhaps I was in haste. Purulia was not a matured place for computer business at that time. Meanwhile by chance, it so developed that Jijaji had to initiate for Mall Machine shop, an ancillary for his tractor unit and there after through many steps we are here as LNM Auto Industries Pvt.Ltd. and LNM Exports Pvt Ltd. I am at a loss to define my business explorations. Is it a story of failure or success, I don’t know. What I could ascertain is that I got success whenever I put all efforts of my own with full honesty and devotion. Rotary and successful struggle in Mall Machine Shop speak about it. Other business prepositions, I ventured with partners and depended on them. I did not involve myself fully in them or some business which was not up to my liking. Then family circumstances did not allow me to take initiative so strongly. But I don’t have regret for that. Initially I did what was proper for me to do as per my parents and family priority and later I could take up right decision at right time for Sandeep. I always considered myself as a trustee to all establishments I inherited and not constituted by me. I have great satisfaction that I could manage it nicely for 35 years without any downfall keeping the high ethical tradition of the family in tact. God has been gracious that I could manage the transition adequately from Babuji to Sandeep, from old and tested ideology to modern and updated technology. I might be a weak bridge in between, but luck favored me at all times. And my achievement is the love, affection, respect and regards bestowed by one and all, within and outside family circle, from my ancestors to present generation, from kin to strangers with whomever I had to deal with. Yes, with all tensions within, of apprehensions of not managing the little kingdom that my ancestors established after great toil and I inherited by virtue of my birth with high skill, I always appeared to opt for light and soft means. But its gravity is known to me only and that is my reward and asset. I had many sweet and bitter memories, had many high and low moments, had affectionate and insulting situations, faced moments of proud as well as of shame in between. But at the end, I feel satisfied to hand over all in tact to the safe and solid hands of Sandeep. I am more satisfied and grateful to God as well, that all this could be done in presence of my parents. They are lovely parents and great persons and Sandeep, my ward is a competent chain of our family to look after them and their heritance. So I am happy at the end. I will try my best to remove all complications, if any in between so that he does not have any complaint whatsoever in future. I am indebted to Shobha, Goura and Sangeet for their not at all demanding nature which could make it possible so far. It was tough to move from Purulia to Faridabad, but I could make a beginning. One would think that I broke the tradition of children following their parent’s career. Dynamic succession is very normal, in particular in marwari community. My great grand father broke that norm for betterment, my grandfather flourished that to establish our set up at Purulia, Babuji nourished that and I laid foundation of diversification. It is considered a virtue to belong to a long and illustrious lineage. The logic is very simple. You are what your surroundings make you, as you grow you also pick up the flavor of the environment around you and indeed skills are better passed this way than through rigorous learning in institutions. But that does not necessarily make dynastic succession healthy or right. Such children will rarely move out of family shadow, they will never be recognized for their own worth as in my case. But I have no regret for that. I could make my parents happy and satisfied and then later could find a suitable platform for younger generation to build up. Young people, now a day instinctively rebel against authority. They want to be different from their parents. It is this that shapes their personalities and creates distinct individualities. And we are satisfied that Sandeep could build that for himself on the little platform I could provide to him.