Once Upon a Dharam Yudh

SRISHTI PUBLISHERS & DISTRIBUTORS

N-16, C. R. Park

New Delhi 110 019

editorial@srishtipublishers.com

First published by

Srishti Publishers & Distributors in 2015

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Copyright © Vibhor Tikiya, 2015

All characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publishers.

Dedicated to my father, Omprakash Tikiya,

who is the best institution I have ever attended,

This book is for you, Paa, and of course for Dharam.

Karmanye Vadhikaraste, Ma phaleshou kada chana, Ma Karma Phala Hetur Bhurmatey Sangostvakarmani.

(You have the right to perform your actions, but you are not entitled to the fruits of the actions.

Do not let the fruit be the purpose of your actions, and therefore you won’t be attached doing your duty.)

CONTENTS

Dharam

The Legacy

Bombay Meri Jaan

This is Not Your Cup of Tea

Nautanki – The Drama Begins

The Dream Team

The Wife in this Relationship

I am Not Born to Yield

His Eyes Show no Relent

The Great Bombay Textile Strike

A New Beginning

The Life of a Poor Man’s Son

Trouble in Paradise

The Battle Begins

It Happens this Way Only

Injure When Injured

The Hearing

It Ain’t Over Yet

Politics is a Dirty Game

Life Ain’t Fair

A Storm is Coming

Inferno

A Lifeless Carcass

Agneepath

Death is Only the Beginning

Resurrection

Resurgence

Satyagraha

Dharamyudh – The Fight for Duty

Elimination

The Journey Beyond

Change is The Law of The Universe

Coming Soon - From the Same Author

Dharam

Change is the law of the universe.

Life can get quite befuddling at times. At one point, you want something so bad, that you are ready to do anything about it. Life and circumstances change fast and you forget what you were ready to give everything up for.

I remember the day I laid the first stone of this institution. It represented everything – our hopes, our dreams and our duties. It had become a religion of sorts and was aptly named ‘DHARAM’.

But when you try to create something good, you first have to overcome all and everything against you, including your own ethos. As I tried to create my way to realize my dreams, I came face to face with everything that made my dream seem impossible to achieve.

My battle was apparently with a man, Uday Shankar Chaubey, who had been through hell and had come out of it. He was unyielding, upright and strongly believed me to be the enemy. My true battle, however, was with a system which selectively went against firms such as ours and put us in a situation where we are forced to be servile to middlemen and touts.

Labour courts, local politicos and other establishments created to ‘defend’ the interests of labourers seldom do so. They made me go from pillar to post trying to find a solution to the conundrum that was Uday. Each time, I emerged poorer and weaker than before.

Dharam is the story of an institution in turmoil, a battle between the perceived haves and have-nots.

For me, it represents a more personal journey, where I gained and lost a lot. It is an expression of my love towards the people that mattered to me. Above all, it is an institution whose trial was executed in the most unconventional way possible – by fire.

The Legacy

The individual self is the traveller in the chariot of the material body and the intelligence is the driver. Mind is the driving instrument and the senses are the horses.

—Bhagvad Gita

Dharam was born out of hope and passion. Two brothers set out on a humble journey to make it big in the world of business.

Back in the 1960s, Manohar and Chand had ventured out to start something in the fabric industry. The setting was Punjab which, in the early 1960s, was relatively underdeveloped. There were hardly any industries in the state and very few people ventured into anything else except agriculture. It was a paradise with paddy plantations forming part of an agricultural largesse that defined the state.

In those days, manufacturing was considered as a risky business to enter into, so Manohar and Chand decided to get into textile trading first. They had a neat arrangement: Manohar would take care of the purchases and stock management; Chand would take care of the Sales, taking the stock on a cycle and selling it door to door.

The two brothers were quite dissimilar in their personas. Manohar was plump, dark-skinned and had a huge moustache. Chand was slim, quite fair and was clean shaven. They were also quite dissimilar in their demeanour. Manohar was the silent, conservative type while Chand was a flagrant, risk-loving individual. Both dressed quite similarly. They would wear plain shirts, vests over them and matching trousers. Except for their garb, it was difficult to believe that they were brothers. But, they made a good team since their skills complemented each other in many ways.

They had a small shop with an attached godown where they kept the fabric. One of them would always be there at the shop. It was situated in the heart of Ludhiana and was quite well-constructed. It was fully tiled which wasn’t common in those days. The walls were replete with photos of the Hindu gods and that of their late father – Dharam.

Chand and Manohar sat looking at the books together. One was feeling very hopeful about the future and the other one was only filled with concern.

One day, this business will become huge, Chand said, patting Manohar on the back.

Manohar looked at him and sighed. The only things that are huge right now, Chand, are our bills. We have all kinds of bills. Electricity bills, material bills and oh wait, this one’s the best. This is some bill from the municipal corporation for cleaning the sewage next to the company building. Wow, this is a shit bill.

We will pay them all. You know, pay the shit bill first. If that is blocked, you will stink this place up.

You’re particularly high today, Chand.

Yes I am, but I don’t know why. Mark my words, Manohar. This firm will be huge one day and you and I will sit on the owner’s chairs and manage it by just commanding people around.

But as much as they aspired for a big business, their beginning was very humble. The business wasn’t easy either. They basically bought fabric from manufacturers and sold it to sub-dealers and retailers. One needed to have a good working knowledge of what the market wanted. It was all about intelligent purchases and efficient marketing. Though the business model was simple, it required a lot of ground work. There were monetary problems since it was difficult to sell and when one did manage to sell, it was on credit. Purchases were cash because manufacturers wanted their money quickly but payments were on credit and they were not very secure. Recovery of money was a problem and it often entailed Chand getting beaten up.

Chand once sold some stock to a Marwari businessman, Prashant and then went to collect his payment from him when it was due. Prashant was a tricky man to deal with.

Chand went to him in his office and said, Sir, I had sold you some fabric two months ago. The payment for the same is due. Could you give me the money you owe me?

Prashant looked at him with disgust, quite like the way a senior power-driven boss looks at an employee who has rubbed him the wrong way. How dare you ask for money from me? I will give it when I want to.

But sir, I need the money, otherwise how will I buy new stock?

That’s not my concern.

Sir, I’m not leaving until I get my money.

Prashant got irritated and slapped Chand on the face.

You want your money? Here is your money. Now get lost and don’t show your face around here again lest I will get you beaten up.

Chand appeared a bit shaken up but did not move an inch. Sir, with all due respect, I am not moving until I get what you owe me.

Prashant then called some of his servants and asked them to beat Chand up. The servants ganged up on him, they kicked and punched him multiple times. He tried to hit back but was overpowered. He was bleeding when Prashant told his servants to stop. Chand lay listless on the floor for some time. After a few moments, he managed the strength to get up. Prashant then held him by the hair and said, Do you want your money now?

Chand replied, You can’t break me, sir. Kill me if you want to. I won’t leave without my money as long as I have some life left in me.

Prashant was surprised by his reply. He had never seen such resilience. He then turned and asked one of his servants to get the money from the locker. The servant got the money and Prashant gave it to Chand.

Chand took the money, smiled and said, Sir, would you like to see some new samples? I have got some really interesting designs.

Prashant stared at him for a moment and sighed. You are a crazy man. Okay, show me what you’ve got.

Manohar was meticulous about the purchase and Chand about the sales. They were honest, fair, hardworking and conservative in spending. Together, they clicked and the business grew rapidly. They slowly expanded from one store to two and from two to four in a couple of years.

One day, when they were sitting in their office, Chand confessed to Manohar that he wasn’t happy. Manohar was surprised and asked him, Why aren’t you happy? We have grown to four stores in a couple of years. We have enough money for our families. We are secure and set in our ways. We can relax now.

We need to expand beyond this, you know. There was this man who I was talking to the other day. He gave me two suggestions. He said that we already have a market so we should invest in machines and that we should move to Bombay since the major textile market is located there.

No, Chand. That’s very risky and we don’t have enough hands.

We have the hands. You manage purchase, right? Instead of purchase, you will manage manufacturing. We can do this, you know.

I am not sure about this, Chand. Aren’t you satisfied with what we’re earning right now? What about the investment?

We’ll sell these stores and then gradually sell this stock. That way we’ll have the initial investment needed for the company.

Manohar heard him out but he was still sceptical about the major transition that Chand was proposing. By nature Manohar was the one to take fewer risks and was content with what he had. Chand was the one who took the lead when it came to new projects.

Come on! You live life only once. I don’t want to die with regret knowing we did not make an attempt to grow big, continued Chand, in an attempt to convince Manohar.

I don’t know, Chand. There’s also a chance that in trying to make something huge, both of us end up on the streets.

There is a risk, Manohar. I accept that, but let us give it one chance. You live once so why think twice. One life after all.

Chand was a salesman and a good one at that. He knew that ordinarily Manohar would not have taken the move to Bombay. He was aware that Manohar was happy where he was, content with what life and God had given him. Yet, he continued trying to convince Manohar till he relented.

They decided to make the move to Bombay to pursue larger goals. Bombay, at that time, was the city of dreams. Anyone who had a vision made his or her way into this city. It was the city where dreams either came true or they burnt to ashes, leaving the dreamer devoid of much hope.

If you wanted to be in politics, you went to Delhi; if you wanted to be in the arts – Calcutta. However, Bombay was the place you went to if you wanted to grow in almost any business. It was the time when manufacturing and trading were both prevalent in this island city. It had become the financial capital of India while the other metros did not have any scope of industrial activity.

Chand decided he was going to go first, get things in place and then ask Manohar to come to Bombay. He knew Manohar would get discouraged if conditions were not right in Bombay and the plan would be over even before it began. So, he told Manohar he would call him later. It took him two-and-a-half days to reach Bombay by train. He reached the legendary Victoria Terminus station. He had never seen so many people together in one place before. There was commotion all around him and yet people seemed to know exactly where they were going.

There was commotion outside the station as well. Street-vendors, auto rickshaws and cars were all around and the whole place was buzzing with activity. It was quite overwhelming. Suddenly, he seemed so insignificant in the world order.

A man named Janardan Agarwal had made the necessary arrangements for Chand. He was to stay in a place called Mahalakshmi not far away from the station. In those days, the wholesale market for fabric was located in Kalbadevi and most of the mills were located in a place called Parel.

The next day, Chand decided to venture out to see the other mills and how they were set up. He was also slated to look at a few plots so that he could determine where he was going to set up his manufacturing and sales unit.

Chand spent a whole week shortlisting and planning his setup. He wanted a constructed facility since he did not want to waste time. At the end of the first week, he had finalized the location and had given the down payment.

The plot was located near Lower Parel. It was about a thousand square metres and there was a decently constructed shed over it which could accommodate about 120 machines. It was an industrial zone and there were other chemical and manufacturing companies in the same zone.

He talked to a lawyer and got the process of registration done. The company was registered on 31 October 1967 as M & C Limited. Manohar and Chand were the shareholders and the registered office was at Parel, the facility that Chand had purchased. Chand got the memorandum and articles of the company registered and the firm M & C came into existence.

Chand called Manohar. Manohar, the company has been registered. We are good to go.

Very good. What have you named the company?

M & C Limited after the two of us.

There was silence at the other end of the call for some time. Manohar then spoke, May I make a suggestion about the name.

Yeah.

Can we name it after the one man who has mattered the most to both of us?

Father?

Yes.

Okay.

For a moment, on both ends of the phone, the brothers quietly shed tears for their late father. They had lost him to cancer and seen him in immense pain in the last few days of his life. Chand kept the phone down. The very next day, there was an alteration made to the Memorandum of Association. The company M & C Limited was renamed to Dharam Synthetics Limited.

After that, everyone dove into action. There was not a moment to be lost since each moment wasted meant money washed down the drain.

Chand ordered the machines. He visited the facility daily and meticulously planned where he would place the machines.

Meanwhile, Manohar was winding up back in Punjab. He closed the firm, sold most of the stock and also sold the office there.

He gave Chand a call. So you have good news. Are we all set to build our empire?

No. We’ll be set when you come here.

Okay. I’ll book my ticket today. Are you doing alright?

I’m fine, but you must come quickly. We are losing potential business each day that you are not here.

Manohar moved whatever stock was left to his house and booked a ticket to Bombay. He was sceptical, slightly scared but decided that he was going to take the risk. After all these years of hearing Chand blabber about the ‘One Life’ philosophy, he had started believing it too.

While Chand had been overwhelmed to see the commotion in VT, Manohar was in a state of shock. He had heard stories about the big city but had never imagined the city to be this vibrant. Reality was much more startling that those stories.

He was scared to see so many people moving around in such a hurry. It was very different from the life that he had seen in Punjab where things proceeded at a relaxed pace. People hardly moved a muscle. They opened their store in the morning, would casually close it by afternoon and go home for lunch, and then would come back in the evening and work till eight. It was so comfortable, so convenient. He was already regretting his decision to come to Bombay and wondered why he had listened to Chand in the first place.

The thing that scared Manohar the most was that while they had been considered big shots in Punjab, they were nobody in Bombay.

Soon it became clear that even the money they had saved was enough for just one shot at the business. Bombay was much more expensive than they had anticipated. Once the capital was exhausted for