RISING FROM THE ASHES-II - `Tough times don't last, tough people do
"Displacement" is a word that Ludhiana-based Harminder Singh Malik understands very well. He experienced its repercussions as a child when his family migrated from Mandi Bahauddin in Pakistan to New Delhi in post-Partition India. More than three-anda-half decades later during the 1984 riots, the family again had to leave their home and a flourishing business at Ambikapur in Madhya Pradesh (now in Chhattisgarh) .
Though Harminder was born two years after the "first" displacement, he grew up with its pain. "My mother says Partition was an accident...a horrendous accident.
One of her relatives was killed during Partition. We lost our garments business.
We had to leave our agricultural land. Everything was over in a snap," he says.
His father died young. The family shifted to Ambikapur.
He saw his mother slog to make ends meet. She would sew clothes for well-off families. It was at this point that Harminder learnt two basic lessons of life: dignity of labour and never-say-die attitude.
In his early teens, he too started pitching in to help the family financially. He forsake regular education after matriculation and helped his mother in her stitching work. He would earn during the day and study at night.
Fortune favours the brave.
The family was able to establish a garments business in the town. It could have been a smooth sailing had their shop not been attacked in the riots.
Again, the spectre of "displacement" loomed; the killing of four persons in the area hurried their decision to relocate to Punjab.
"It was time for taking quick decisions. If we came to Punjab, I knew we would have to start from the scratch. But there was no way out. We decided to shift to Ludhiana. I thought Ludhiana is an industrial town and I would at least be able to earn something. Perhaps, I could take up a job," he shares.
The next few years were strewn with struggle.
Harminder had to marry off his younger sister. The hosiery business he had started did not click. But he remained unfazed. He remembered his mother's oft-repeated advice: "This too shall pass. Tough times don't last; tough people do."
In 1986, he started a plastic manufacturing unit, "Helly Plasto Work". He operated from a rented accommodation in Shimla Puri area. He could barely afford to employ any workers. At this juncture, the two basic lessons of life learnt early in childhood guided him.
He was determined to build up his business, even if it meant working 24x7.
For good eight years, it was a tireless struggle. Finally, in 1994, he owned a home and a factory that was slowly and steadily moving up the growth curve. Today, the annual turnover of "Helly Plasto Works" is around Rs 70 lakh.
"When I started my manufacturing unit in Ludhiana, I did not have any money to invest. I sold off my wife's gold bangles and also took some loan to pool in the money," he says. "Now I know that with the grace of Almighty, I can weather all storms. I would never flinch when it comes to hard work...we can build our destiny if we're determined enough," he adds. WRITE THOUGHTS Harminder is fond of writing.
"My life experiences find a distinct echo in my write-ups.
Thoughts often spill over to paper. We write about our cumulative experiences," he says. This state media convener of the BJP travelled across the country to research on the life of Guru Teg Bahadur.
http://epaper. hindustantimes. com/ArticleText. aspx?article= 06_11_2009_ 001_009&kword=&mode=1
"Displacement" is a word that Ludhiana-based Harminder Singh Malik understands very well. He experienced its repercussions as a child when his family migrated from Mandi Bahauddin in Pakistan to New Delhi in post-Partition India. More than three-anda-half decades later during the 1984 riots, the family again had to leave their home and a flourishing business at Ambikapur in Madhya Pradesh (now in Chhattisgarh) .
Though Harminder was born two years after the "first" displacement, he grew up with its pain. "My mother says Partition was an accident...a horrendous accident.
One of her relatives was killed during Partition. We lost our garments business.
We had to leave our agricultural land. Everything was over in a snap," he says.
His father died young. The family shifted to Ambikapur.
He saw his mother slog to make ends meet. She would sew clothes for well-off families. It was at this point that Harminder learnt two basic lessons of life: dignity of labour and never-say-die attitude.
In his early teens, he too started pitching in to help the family financially. He forsake regular education after matriculation and helped his mother in her stitching work. He would earn during the day and study at night.
Fortune favours the brave.
The family was able to establish a garments business in the town. It could have been a smooth sailing had their shop not been attacked in the riots.
Again, the spectre of "displacement" loomed; the killing of four persons in the area hurried their decision to relocate to Punjab.
"It was time for taking quick decisions. If we came to Punjab, I knew we would have to start from the scratch. But there was no way out. We decided to shift to Ludhiana. I thought Ludhiana is an industrial town and I would at least be able to earn something. Perhaps, I could take up a job," he shares.
The next few years were strewn with struggle.
Harminder had to marry off his younger sister. The hosiery business he had started did not click. But he remained unfazed. He remembered his mother's oft-repeated advice: "This too shall pass. Tough times don't last; tough people do."
In 1986, he started a plastic manufacturing unit, "Helly Plasto Work". He operated from a rented accommodation in Shimla Puri area. He could barely afford to employ any workers. At this juncture, the two basic lessons of life learnt early in childhood guided him.
He was determined to build up his business, even if it meant working 24x7.
For good eight years, it was a tireless struggle. Finally, in 1994, he owned a home and a factory that was slowly and steadily moving up the growth curve. Today, the annual turnover of "Helly Plasto Works" is around Rs 70 lakh.
"When I started my manufacturing unit in Ludhiana, I did not have any money to invest. I sold off my wife's gold bangles and also took some loan to pool in the money," he says. "Now I know that with the grace of Almighty, I can weather all storms. I would never flinch when it comes to hard work...we can build our destiny if we're determined enough," he adds. WRITE THOUGHTS Harminder is fond of writing.
"My life experiences find a distinct echo in my write-ups.
Thoughts often spill over to paper. We write about our cumulative experiences," he says. This state media convener of the BJP travelled across the country to research on the life of Guru Teg Bahadur.
http://epaper. hindustantimes. com/ArticleText. aspx?article= 06_11_2009_ 001_009&kword=&mode=1
