in an effort to give his son a taste of the world without all the luxuries that he was used to, Savji Dholakia dared him to go to an unfamiliar place and survive on odd jobs for a month.
Surat-based businessman Savji Dholakia is well off, to say the least. A diamond merchant, he is the owner of Hare Krishna Diamond exports. The company is worth Rs. 6,000 crores, and has operations in 71 countries around the world. Previously he was in the news for gifting his employees cars and flats as a bonus. With such credentials, it’d be safe to say that his son Dravya, who is currently pursuing his MBA in the US, was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
But in an effort to give his son a taste of the world without all the luxuries that he was used to, Savji dared him to go to an unfamiliar place and survive on odd jobs for a month.
Dravya, who was on holiday in India, took up the challenge and went to Kochi with three pairs of clothes and Rs. 7,000.
“I gave him three conditions: I told my son that he needs to work to earn his money and he couldn’t work at a place for more than a week; that he can’t use his father’s identity nor use the mobile phone nor Rs. 7,000 taken from home for a month. I wanted him to understand life and how the poor struggle to get a job and money. No university can teach you these life skills except experience,” Savji Dholakia told The Times of India.
Dravya had to face many challenges. Initially he posed as a student of Class 12 from a poor family in Gujarat. He was in an unknown city with no contacts and was also facing language issues.
“For five days I had no job or proper place to stay. I was frustrated as I was rejected at 60 places, as no one knew me here. I understood what is rejection and the value of a job in these few days. I never worried about money and here I was struggling to get one time meal worth Rs 40,” Dravya told TOI.
The first job he got was in a bakery in Cheranalloor. In the following weeks he worked at a call centre, a shoe shop and even a McDonald’s outlet in the city, and managed to earn Rs. 4,000. Surely an experience that will help Dravya later in life!
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