CHANDRU RAHEJA-AN ENIGMA
Mukesh- who? Obviously Ambani; No? Then must be the versatile singer we had.
Anil-Oh! Come on, there can be only one who goes around by that name and turns heads-Anil Ambani
Rahul—hmmmm? Dravid? History? Gandhi!!!! Yea, you said it.
Sonia- of course, the inevitable Gandhi, you silly.
Yes all these names ring an obvious bell or remind of another name not too far behind. There are several others like this. Because, day in, day out, you see them on TV, or read in the Press.
But now try recalling the name Chandru- Aha! Caught you there. Oh yes, the recently appointed Chairman of SEBI? Oh, excuse me, the ex-chairman of selectors for BCCI, Chandu Borde. No way. I asked Chandru and not Chandu.Ok, keep guessing. But suppose I tell you Chandru Raheja? What??? Where does he fit in? Of Course Rahejas, we know. But Chandru???? No way. Show me one Picture of his. Mention one venture by him…….hmmmmmm…….. give me time.
Now switch to Shopper’s Stop., In Orbit Malls,
I don’t blame you. This is a case where the creator is obscure but the products are better known. Welcome to the world of Chandru Raheja, the Chairman of K. Raheja Corp, promoters of Shoppers Stop, Hypercity, In Orbit Malls etc. This 60-something, reclusive gentleman ranks 368th in the Forbes’s list of top 500 Billionaires. With an assessed wealth of $3 billion (Rs 12000 crores.)
Mr. Chandru Raheja is credited with the upswing of Shoppers Stop, the pioneer chain that set off the Retail Boom in this country, even before Kishore Biyani came up with the Big Bazaar blitzkrieg. Totally media-shy, Shri Raheja is reputed for his far-sighted visionary zeal and the absolute faith he has in his trusted lieutenants. He is seldom heard to have changed his generals. If Rahejas are a name in Retail and realty, Chandru Raheja is the brain behind the success.
In a world where even the teenage son of a business giant flaunts his pedigree in designer clothes and jelled-up hair style when his dad launches an Airline, or the wives of business magnates suddenly become established social workers and the third Page of any paper is viewed with disdain if the faces of a few of these spouses are not grinning away at you, Chandru Raheja breathes in a whiff of fresh air, unpolluted and fragrant. But with the media attention already zeroing in on him, thanks to the Forbes ranking, the day may not be far off when we have Chandru Raheja “walking the talk” or being in the “Cross fire” of some TV journo or the other.
But, anonymity or not, let’s not fail to give the due credit to this gentleman-business man who ushered in the era of Retail boom and Mall culture, even before they were introduced in our neighbourhood.
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March 13th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
not only the person (Chandu raheja) you wrote about deserves to be appreciated but also your style of writing needs appreciation. nice article
March 14th, 2008 at 6:24 am
my point exactly! I also wanted to comment the same thing on the writing style…
March 14th, 2008 at 9:49 am
your writing style is attractive and your research on him is outstanding………hope you continue in the same way chand…….
April 6th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
It’s a pain in everyone else’s butt. Let
April 9th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Guys do you really think that people would write such things about their personal life? Don’t lie to yourself!
May 18th, 2008 at 11:59 am
This is an a wonderfull idea to have information on web about the enterpreneurs this helps a lot for upcoming enterpreneurs . Create a group to post any business idea and share the information and help each other.