A quick look through the history, evolution and the future of the Parakh Group which started more than 50 years ago. The foundation of what would eventually become the Parakh Group was laid by Harakchand. K. Parakh, a visionary and a philanthropist who started off with only a modest background. The only thing he didn’t learn was to give up. Let us take you through the origin story, evolution and the future of our legacy.
THE ORIGIN STORY (1950 – 1985)
-
Inheritance of Values
Born on October 30, 1930, in a small village called Daudi in Maharashtra, Harakchandji was the eldest son of Kesharchandji Parakh, who made a living running a small grocery store. A man of uncompromising principles, Kesharchandji deeply mounted the thought of doing any work with values in his sons, Harakchand, Deepchandji and Jalamchandji Parakh.
-
The Passion
Tough circumstances made Harakchandji drop out of school at an early age. His keenness to learn and passion to work made him explore different opportunities at a young age. He gained interest into the business of trading while interacting with the suppliers of goods at his father’s store. From thereon he travelled to various towns and cities around Maharashtra to trade different products like spices, pulses, vegetables and clothes investing the little money he saved over the years.
-
Ready Before Opportunities
Harakchandji always believed in using the most economical way to execute trade. Whether it was driving a truck all the way to trade potatoes in Shimla or riding around to visit smaller shops in the village on a bicycle or to trade with those shops riding a bollock cart, his zeal to work encouraged him to be ready for whatever was necessary to trade goods in the most efficient way possible.
-
A Unique Style
Harakchandji also believed that a lasting impression must be created on our customers for them to be confident of whom they are doing business with and certainly so that they don’t forget you amongst the crowd of traders. For this reason, his classic Royal Enfield, his sunglasses and his crisp clothes always made him appear well groomed. His elegant personality was well coupled with his charming style to talk with modesty and truthfulness that always won hearts. These key personality traits aided him to develop and maintain customers in style. His distinctive thoughts and exhilarating personality often made people fond of him and hence his well-wishers often referred to him as ‘Bhau’, which means ‘elder brother’ respectfully.
-
Failure is Important for Success
Harakchandji faced failures while initially trying his hands into various businesses. Yet his unstoppable will ultimately brought him to Pune where he established and nurtured the edible oil and gram flour business. He believed that all the failures we face are essential for learning important lessons to achieve success. However, he also believed that even little victories must be acknowledged. So he was not only seen wrapping his hand around the shoulders of those who were struggling but also received and gave away as many awards he could to appreciate the success of those who worked hard to achieve it.
-
Do It To Learn It!
A few days before Harakchandji was looking for partners and investors to move to Pune and set up a besan mill, Patashibai (Harakchandji’s wife) entered her kitchen in her house in Chakan only to shockingly discover that all her utensils were missing. In moments she saw her husband walking into the kitchen covered with flour all over his clothes. He said to her, “I used all our utensils to soak Dal and I need some of your sarees to keep channa on the terrace to study the results of natural sun splitting before grinding it into besan again. I must practically know how to make besan myself before setting up a mill.” She often found humor in his unusual techniques to learn but always supported him through it all.
-
Beliefs from the Heart
A sincere believer in Jainism, he always strived hard to bring in the holistic tenets of karma and moksha in his daily methods of taking business decisions. Just like a true philanthropist, he played the pivotal role in establishing Mahaveer Pratishthan Institute in Pune and was the president to institutes like Oswal Bandhu Samaj and Jain Samaj to encourage religious preaching and education for the needy. He often requested Jain priests to visit the group’s new facilities and strongly believed in their earnest suggestions to improve conditions for staff, product hygiene and the natural environment around those facilities.
Share Your Story
Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.
Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.
Share Your Story
We would like to hear your stories! Please take a few moments to share your experience. Simply fill out this form and send it our way. We’d love to hear from you! your words of appreciation help build our reputation. Please share your story using the form below.