The Hindu : National : He sold idlis; he will start a food chain

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 02, 2006

National

National

He sold idlis; he will start a food chain

Two IIM-A graduates prefer the road less travelled, prefer career in catering, music

Ahmedabad: Two graduates of the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) have decided to opt for unconventional career paths than fat-pay packages, earning laurels from the institute Chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys N. R. Narayana Murthy and Director Bakul Dholakia. While Gaurav Dagaonkar could well be the next Abhijit Sawant with his foot-tapping music, Sharath Babu aspires to build a food chain and employ about 50,000 people.

Modest background

Hailing from Chennai, Sharath comes from a modest background and graduated from the IIM-A this year and has already begun his own catering business in Ahmedabad.

"I faced innumberable challenges during the past 25 years. I remember how my mother Deepa Ramani cooked mid-day meals in a nearby school, earned Rs. 30 a day and managed to tend our family, including two elder sisters and a younger brother," Sharath said while announcing his plans.

Sharath said he sold idlis on the streets to eke out a living.

"I have already registered my company, Foodking Catering Services Private Limited, and I aspire to start a food chain and employ about 50,000 people in about 10 years," he said. "I have approached a few corporates and premier educational institutions in the city and the response has been good so far," Sharath said. He has planned to supply quality food at reasonable prices to the corporate sector and educational institutions.

Love for music

However, for Mumbai-based Dagaonkar, music is the first love. Gaurav, who released the demo version of his album on Saturday, aspires to make a creative mix of his natural ability to sing and his managerial and entrepreneurial skills.Gaurav, who was the cultural secretary of IIM-A, formed a band `Zaahir' in the city and designed a music studio in his hostel. .

Hearing about their plans, Mr. Murthy said: "I am happy and proud that they have opted to walk on a road less travelled." Patting Sharath, Mr. Murthy said: "In India, a lot of children are unable to go to school because they lack enough food to eat. So once you establish your food business, I will request you to donate a small part of your earnings to the mid-meal scheme being run in the school." — PTI

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