A visionary, an inspiration, a
religious man and an avid reader, Govindbhai Dholakia, Chairman, Shree
Ramkrishna Export is a person par excellence. With no educational background or
forefathers in the diamond business, he single-handedly established the giant
brand—Shree Ramkrishna Export. Priyanak Desai catches up with the stalwart,
where a brief meeting with him reveals that even with so many achievements, he
is as transparent, clear, precise and brilliant as a diamond.
Govindbhai Dholakia, the chairman of
Shree Ramkrishna Export, is a natural-born mentor and a tenaciously determined
achiever. Little wonder, then, that he cuts such a fine leadership figure as
precisely cut as the diamonds produced at Shree Ramkrishna Export. There are
leaders who talk, leaders who explain, and then there are those that inspire.
One doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out which type stands
apart. In Govindbhai’s book, the most important attribute a leader can possess
is the ability to be a learner forever and never let fake pride cloud your
judgment. This can be vouched for by a small but significant quote that finds
place in this honcho’s office, ‘I am nothing but I can do anything.’
The chairman of Shree Ramkrishna
Exports is a natural-born mentor, in his leadership the emphasis is on deeds
more than words, on quiet resolve and stellar achievement rather than swaggers
and manufactured mythology. The virtues are old and tested and so are some of
Govindbhai’s philosophies as he puts in immaculate Gujarati “Chalse (will do),
Phavse (I can), Gamse (I like) ne (and) Bhavse (I adore) are the most important
four words in my life which make me what I am today. As the words suggest,
there is no space for negativity in my life.”
Govindbhai Dholakia was born on
November 7, 1947 when India had just regained its freedom. Born in the free
India but in a remote village of Dudhala in Gujarat, Govindbhai’s family was
employed in agriculture. The times were not so well for the Dholakia family and
young Govindbhai knew at the tender age that he had to do something else,
something bigger but little did he know that his childhood dream would make him
one of the biggest diamond industrialists of modern India. Govindbhai was just
in the seventh grade when he left his education in Dudhala and followed his
eldest brother Late Bhimjibhai to Surat. Following his footsteps, Govindbhai
started working as a diamond-polishing worker in the year of 1964. After almost
a year of training he earned his first big salary of Rs 103. “The amount of Rs
103 was an extremely big for me at that time. After I received such a huge
amount, my faith in the diamond market grew and since many years now I consider
Diamond as my ‘God’.”
The
entrepreneur in young Govindbhai was awakened as he spent hours with diamonds
and just four years later of working as a diamond polishing worker, he took the
risk and started with his own diamond factory in partnership with his friends
Bhagwanbhai Patel and Virjibhai Godhani on March 12, 1970. After learning the
tricks and ethics of running a diamond business, his first import export
operation christened as Shree Ramkrishna Export started in 1977. Today, Shree
Ramkrishna Export is a name to reckon with and has worldwide operations. What
started, as a dream in form of small factory is now a reality and an
inspiration to one and all in the gem and jewellery industry. “In every step of
my life I always found a support and guidance to help me become what I am
today. D Navinchandra’s Shantibhai and Navin Kaka were my biggest support and
Navin Kaka was the one who took me on my first trip to Antwerp that opened new
avenues for me.”
After 35
years of relentless hard work and doggedly acquired success one would expect
Govindbhai Dholakia to be tired and on his way to retirement but the reality is
exactly the opposite. He is still as jovial, hardworking and zealous to scale
new heights as he was in 1964 when he moved to Surat with big dreams and two
pairs of clothes. “Positivity and strong will power is the key for me. As I
mentioned earlier, I do not have space for negative feelings such as tiredness
or fatigue. If you have the knack of time management then you can achieve
everything you desire. From 7 am to 10 am I have my ‘me time’ when I exercise,
play a sport or go for swimming. Around 10 am to 12 pm I am at the social
service centre where I spend time with people who need my help. From 12 pm to 7
pm I am at the office where it’s strictly business and 7 pm to 11 pm is only
for my family.” With such a balanced schedule one’s mind is bound to be fresh
and eager for the next day.
After the
demise of his close friend and partner Virji Godhani, Govindbhai started a
school in his name. He has also started many more schools and colleges with
world-class facilities. He has a medical centre where top doctors come for a
weekly visit. Philanthropy and social work gives him internal happiness, he
says.
Talking about his hobbies he says,
“I enjoy reading biographies. I have read almost 40 biographies in my life but
my favorites are the biographies of MK Gandhi, Abdul Kalam and Abraham Lincoln.
I have also read some spiritual and religious books. I sometimes listen to old
Bollywood music as well. I enjoy watching Gujarati drama, too.”
Steering
the conservation towards spiritualism he tells us his biggest inspiration in
life comes from Shree Dongreji Maharaj who he has been following since he was
15 years old. He says, “Dongreji Maharaj has played a pivotal role in shaping
me. He has instilled in me such great values that have not only helped me in my
personal life but also in my business. The most important principle that he has
taught me is that there is no need for lies, cheating and unethical means to be
successful. If you are true and treat your business with staunch ethics then
success will come to you no matter what and will stay with you forever. Diamond
business is one of the only businesses in the world that runs on blind trust.
Transactions worth millions take place only based on faith and trust and if you
maintain that trust, you can never go wrong.”
When asked
about his family, his face lights up corroborate the fact that his family is
his greatest support and strength. “My wife Champaben Govindbhai Dholakia is my
undeterred support system. She is uneducated and knows nothing about our
business but she has supported me in every decision of my life. Today, she is
the richest woman in Surat when it comes to white and legit money and it makes
me very happy to tell you this. She is the sleeping partner in SRK Export. I am
proud to say that in 42 years of our marriage we have never ever fought and we
still feel the same way about each other as we used to when we were young.” He
further adds, “My daughters Minaxi and Sweta are married and my son, who is 25
years old, is now looking after Mumbai operations. He is very bright and I can
see him taking over the reins of our business successfully in the coming years.
But that is not my entire family. We are a total number of 70 cousins and they
and their children are very close to me. All 70 of them are very well settled
in life with their own business. Seeing my entire family so well settled is my
biggest achievement in life.”
Talking about his favourite food he
says, “I love home-cooked Gujarati food, which my wife cooks for me, the
simpler the better. I don’t mind the pastas and pizzas either. When I go out on
holidays I try out different cuisines. Holidaying is very important for me. I
go out twice with my family and twice with our staff every year. I prefer
greenery and scenic places for holidays, where I am in nature’s company.”
Govindbhai has no airs about himself
and there are very few business stalwarts who have this amicable character
trait but this is how Govindbhai is when he is a millionaire and this is how he
was even when he was a farmer. “Till a few years back I used to wonder myself
that how did I achieve this success? I have no educational degrees, had no
forefathers in this business, and have no extraordinary brains or looks. Then I
came across a book about most famous millionaires in the world. Most of the
millionaire featured in the book thought that there are certain qualities that
a person needs to possess in order to be successful. I realised that many of
those qualities were innate in me. Most important quality is that one must
value every person and respect them,” he states with a smile.
“I would suggest the younger
generation in the diamond business to understand the importance of this
quality. I would also like to tell them that they should love the diamond with
the bottom of their heart. The younger generation should keep their confidence
and aggression in check because over confidence and extreme aggression can ruin
a business. Spend time with good people and imbibe their good qualities and
stay away from any type of addiction,” he signs off.
Talking about his favourite food he
says, “I love home-cooked Gujarati food, which my wife cooks for me, the
simpler the better. I don’t mind the pastas and pizzas either. When I go out on
holidays I try out different cuisines. Holidaying is very important for me. I
go out twice with my family and twice with our staff every year. I prefer
greenery and scenic places for holidays, where I am in nature’s company.”
Govindbhai has no airs about himself
and there are very few business stalwarts who have this amicable character
trait but this is how Govindbhai is when he is a millionaire and this is how he
was even when he was a farmer. “Till a few years back I used to wonder myself
that how did I achieve this success? I have no educational degrees, had no
forefathers in this business, and have no extraordinary brains or looks. Then I
came across a book about most famous millionaires in the world. Most of the
millionaire featured in the book thought that there are certain qualities that
a person needs to possess in order to be successful. I realised that many of
those qualities were innate in me. Most important quality is that one must
value every person and respect them,” he states with a smile.
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