First love is what the real estate sector is to him. It was something Harshvardhan Neotia had to give up to get into an ?arranged marriage? of sorts with his family business, Ambuja Cement (formerly known as Gujarat Ambuja). Only to come back to it and take his association with the realty sector to unforeseen heights.

The chairman of Ambuja Realty Group, 47-year-old Harsh, one of the youngest Padam Shree awardees in India, has been credited with infusing new life into the architectural scene of Kolkata. However, beneath the applause and acclaim is a man who just acted on the call of time. ?Life for me has been a series of pleasant and unpleasant accidents. Thankfully, there were more pleasant ones,? he smiles.

As a young twenty-something, just out of college, Harsh got a chance to work on a housing project, on a property which was owned by a family friend. The success of it came as a surprise to both, the owner and Harsh. ?I was just entering my professional life. I thought since it was a new business, it will give me more opportunity to do something on my own,? he reminisces.

But the project sealed his fate in the real estate sector. Harsh went on to do a series of infrastructure projects after that. Some became successful immediately, others had to wait. However, unconventionality of thought was common in all of them.

For instance, the Conclave Club gave Kolkata its first business club. Members could have high-profile discussions in a casual setting there. Ffort Radisson and Shyamolima at Raichak provided an ideal countryside landscape by the river Hooghly to leisure seekers.

Whether is it Swabhumi (a place where art, culture and tradition are at their best), the Town Hall building of Kolkata (a heritage site which was restored to match its past glory) or the City Centre at Salt Lake (the latest addition to the list of tourist attractions in the city, which is spread over a sprawling 4,00,000 sq ft), each project has a unique story to tell.

Rita Bhimani, an independent communications consultant (wife of Kishore Bhimani, commentator and journalist), says, ?I have known Harsh for over 20 years now. His level of creativity is very high, which he backs with a great business approach. This gives his projects a different dimension.?

The real break for Harsh came in 1993, when the government of West Bengal invited public private partnership for a housing project. Developed as a joint venture with the West Bengal Housing Board, Udayan?the Condoville was designed in a way that profits made from the affluent, who could pay free market prices, were used to subsidise houses for the low and the middle class. Small wonder then that it got rave reviews and was declared a model housing project.

?The appreciation sucked us into a completely different orbit in terms of perception, though we had done only one project. It was a Kaho Na Pyaar Hai kind of story. Make just one film and it becomes a blockbuster hit,? he says.

Had it been a conventional story, there would have been no turning back for Harsh. However, fate had a different plan for him. He was sucked into Ambuja Cement, then managed by his uncles Suresh Neotia and Narotam Sekhsaria, despite his unwillingness to join it. The company formed the core of the family business and real estate contributed a meagre 2-3% to it. ?My folks felt that I had my fun and games and it was time to do something serious,? he laughs.

Ambuja Cement had acquired Modi Cement, which was a sick company and was headquartered out of Kolkata. Harsh was persuaded to take responsibility of turning it around. He says that he had a dual problem. ?I had acquired some knowledge in the housing space, the market picture was favourable, plus I had had some success. All these things put together, I was enjoying myself and was sort of not really excited to join Ambuja Cement. Then I didn?t know much about the company. Moreover, the prospect of looking after a company that had its share of losses, huge debts, various litigations and a demoralised workplace was gloomy,? he remembers.

However, he made peace with the fact and took the reigns of the eastern division of the company in his hands. ?So, I kept my first love which was real estate and as they say had an arranged marriage. Then over a period of time, I learnt to live with the partner and love it,? he reflects. The real estate business was turned into a boutique operation with a project or two in a year.

However, the dice of fate turned again. World?s second largest cement maker, Holcim took a majority stake in Ambuja Cement. ?It was not something that we had anticipated. Uncle Suresh and Uncle Narotam had made the company what it was. I had a small role to play towards the last innings. In all fairness it was their call,? he says. Having lost his job, Harsh returned to his comfort zone?the real-estate business. ?I am not sure if what I had aspired for was better or what I got was better,? he quips. Suresh Neotia who calls Harsh a genius and is proud of the fact that he was awarded the Padam Shree at the age of 38, however, puts in a word of caution for him, ?Harsh has got all the capacity to be a leader but he is too independent minded.?

Though Harsh calls his time at Ambuja Cement a learning sabbatical, when he returned to real estate, the dynamics of the sector had changed. Land prices had hit the roof and most of his core team had left for greener pastures.

Three years since then, Harsh has several projects underway including City Centres in Kolkata, Haldia, Siliguri, housing projects, hotels and an IT park in Kolkata, a township Uttarayon in Siliguri and some projects in Punjab and Chattisgarh too. While Rs 400-500 crore have already been put at various levels, the group will invest Rs 5,000 crore in its real estate business and Rs 1,000 crore in expanding presence in hospitality in the next 4-5 years.

Is having pan-India presence the next think on his mind? ?Will I be happy if we are a national player? Certainly. Is this something without which I won?t be happy, no. I am content to be a local player till I churn out quality work,? he replies.

Ask him what?s his game plan for the next five years and he replies philosophically, ?If you had asked that question four years back, I would have said I want to grow the cement business. I don?t know how wise it is to make such plans. Who knows, there might be a crossword again and you might have to turn to a different path.?

This sudden show of philosophy doesn?t come as a surprise, for the man has been deeply inspired by Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Aurobindo and Mahatma Gandhi, whose portraits hang in his office. His upbringing in a family, which is culturally very alive, inculcated interest in arts, music and other scholarly pursuits in him and had a deep impact on his sense of aesthetics. Fond of reading, he likes to read mainly biographies and indulges in architecture books. ?It is not merely an uninvolved passion. It?s like being a painter who also collects art, the involvement adds another dimension to one?s passion,? he says.

Talking of canvases, Harsh did collect art given that his uncle Suresh Neotia is a famed art collector, but gave it up after a while. However, Harsh is involved as a director with Jnana-Pravaha, a centre for cultural studies and research in Varanasi, set up by Suresh and his sister-in-law, Bimla Poddar. Moreover, an annual feature at the Neotia residence is Gulab Bari, a festival which is in its 28th year now and is graced by the who?s who of the Indian art scene.

Harsh can be seen at many cultural events in Kolkata and initiated Hamara Utsav, a festival for his employees. ?For me, it is important to enjoy what I do. I try to make it a process of enjoyment for my colleagues too,? says the man who is enjoying every bit of his time. ?You can never be sure of achieving what you have set out for. And if it?s not something that you enjoy, you end up miserable in the process. So, what?s the big idea of doing it?? he signs off.

Fact File

* Harshvardhan Neotia is the chairman of the Ambuja Realty group

* His mass housing project?Udayan?the Condoville was a first of its kind done by the private sector

* He was awarded the Padma Shree in 1999 for initiating public private partnership for development of social housing

* He will invest Rs 5,000 crore in real estate business and Rs 1,000 crore in expanding presence in hospitality in the next 4-5 years