He still remembers standing in front of a fountain in Connaught Place in central Delhi against the wind so that he would get completely drenched. Then he would go to the nearby Volga restaurant for a coffee. ?I?d be chilled to the bone. And all I could afford was a coffee. So, I?d sit there and think about the mess I was in. My feeling was that life had already ended for me,? he recollects with a smile that belies the tough times he has survived. But then that is what Vikram Bakshi is all about. He loves taking up challenges, pushing himself to the maximum and smiling all the way to the top.
Today every neighbourhood boasts of a place that offers you a burger. But if there is somebody who should get the credit for introducing Indians to this snack, it?s Vikram Bakshi. It?s another thing that he is humble about it. At 53, Bakshi looks as enthusiastic as he ever did. His 90-minute workout and golf stand him in good stead. So, what is it that keeps him going?
If you ask him, he puts it rather simply. ?You need to push yourself to the edge. If you don?t, you will never know what you are capable of.? Bakshi surely believes in translating his words into action. What else would explain an alumnus of Delhi Public School and Delhi University hawking handicrafts abroad? It was a twist of fate all right, but he was also sporting enough to take it up as a challenge. Bakshi was all of 14 when his father, who had migrated from Pakistan and was in the printing business, passed away. ?I was the eldest son of the family. My mother had to take up my father?s business. After college, I joined my father?s set up. The technology was fairly obsolete. I wanted to update it, but there was no money. It?s frustrating when you are young and you think you are bright and can move the world, but you need more than just thinking to move the world.?
But his mother?s support and encouragement led him on.So, Bakshi started exploring his options, meeting people and that is when the talent that Bakshi knew he had was spotted by a young bank manger who put some money behind him and introduced him to an older gentleman who was into exports. Soon Bakshi was selling Indian handicrafts in Europe, going from door to door. Tough days for sure, but they contributed a lot to what Bakshi is today. ?I sold carpets, artifacts, semi-precious jewellery and garments and did it the hard way because I didn?t know how to sell. Today I can sell anything,? he chuckles.
Bakshi stayed in youth hostels where he had to be out at 9 am and couldn?t be back till 6 in the evening because they couldn?t afford to pay people to clean. ?So, I had this huge VIP bag with my samples that I chained to the bunker bed and carried all the things I wanted to sell in it. I?d go through yellow pages everyday and call up people who dealt in artifacts. Sometimes you?d just land up and say, this is from India, it?s handmade etc. There were people who saw your skin and turned you away, others bought some stuff. I had fun doing what I was doing. I made loads of friends. Also, when you are younger, you can take that much more knocking.?
Bakshi?s hard work started paying off slowly. In 1979, he started travelling with his partner to different countries and participating in exhibitions. When he got married to Madhurima in 1983, the travelling continued. ?We had much more fun. She quite enjoyed the work. We had days between exhibitions and we?d travel to all kinds of places right from France to Austria. It was fun,? smiles Bakshi.
But two years later when the duo started planning a family, they didn?t think it would be a great idea to travel so much. ?We wanted to come back to India and settle down. Also, I didn?t want my children to call me uncle,? he chuckles. So, he started working on an alternate business, one that would get him back to India. And trust Bakshi to take up a completely different line of business. That he knew nothing about construction business was not a deterrent for him to get into it. ?You need to have some amount of risk taking ability. Because without it, it?s very difficult to move ahead. ?
And thanks to Bakshi?s exposure to people of various countries and nationalities, he started dealing in housing and offices for expats. One of his popular projects is MohanDev building on Tolstoy Marg in central Delhi. It was a multi-storeyed building and Bakshi built it to rent it out to MNCs. So, back in 1985 where MNC was still a word most people in India didn?t know of, Bakshi actually went ahead and built a space for them, which was air-conditioned and had 100% power back up. Before he knew, the best of companies had occupied it? AT&T, Pepsico, Schlumberger and Indorama Synthetics. Ask him if he was ever scared of taking the risk and pat comes the reply, ?I always felt that to be ahead in the game, you got to have innovative products. If there is one ability I?ve, I think it?s thinking ahead of the time and that always gets me excited. I sell myself hard because I believe if you have the idea, then you can make it happen. But the real challenge is to move from ideation to implementation.?
In 1995 when reforms touched a new high, the adventurer in Bakshi started looking for something new. Interestingly just a year back, a neighbour of Bakshi who was into kitchen manufacturing told him that he was tying up with Mc Donald?s. A few months later when Bakshi met his neighbour again, he said it wasn?t working out and that their expectations were very high. ?That is when I got a little interested and casually asked him if I could look at their demands. ?
So, Bakshi put together a CV with the help of his friends. Within a few days he got a call that they wanted to meet him. The franchising vice-president had a casual chat with Bakshi. Next day he was called for another meeting. ? The next day I walked into Taj Mansingh Hotel and noticed the who?s who of the industry sitting there, waiting for their meeting. The Oberois, the Modis, the Ansals, all biggies were sitting with their marketing and finance heads. As I walked in and saw everyone, I thought I should walk back. This was too big for me. I was almost turning back when this guy saw me and asked me to come in.?
A while later Bakshi was called to Singapore for an on-the- job evaluation to get a feel of McDonald?s. One thing led to the other and before he knew the deal was signed in 1995. After an eleven-month training in Jakrata, which Bakshi underwent with Amit Jatia, the McDonald?s India partner for western India, he came back with ideas bubbling in his head. Ask Bakshi how it was to launch burgers in India in 1996 when all that Indians knew for snacks were samosas and tikki and he smiles, ?It was fascinating. Right from being told what is in chat-pakodi businesses to being told I?d lost my mind, I heard it all. Those were difficult times, but it was fun. Plus, the challenge was big enough to keep me going.?
What probably helped is Bakshi?s international exposure and his belief in people. ?It?s not the equipment or your thoughts, it?s the people who work with you who make your dream come alive. I?d say they are the most important factor. Your vision should become their mission. I know I?m not the one who is delivering, it?s them.?
Having spent 13 years in McDonald?s, the adventurer in Bakshi is thinking of something new. ?Frankly I?ve given my best. There are ideas germinating in my head. Let?s see when they start flowering,? he says with a mysterious smile.
Busy as Bakshi is with his work, he manages to find time for the women in his life — his three gorgeous young daughters Devika, Kanika, Avantika and wife Madhurima. There are times when well-maintained Bakshi is mistaken for his 22-year-old eldest daughter Devika?s boyfriend, but Bakshi has learnt to deal with it.?I?m proud of my wife and my daughters. We love trekking, spending time and travelling to new places.?
His workout is something that Bakshi is very particular about. ?If you are not physically fit, you can?t be mentally fit. Also, it helps you to feel good. You don?t get the usual pains. And, most importantly, it keeps you abreast of the younger lot.As a leader you need to have a pace for people to follow you.?
Another thing that Bakshi swears by is golf, a game he has been actively pursuing for the past eight years. ?You are constantly competing with yourself. And I love it.?