Besides going to school in a car, there was nothing that made him feel he was any different from his classmates. Today when 48-year-old Harsh Pati Singhania looks back, he is glad he was brought up the way he was.
The managing director of J K Paper Ltd, who is also a director with JK Organisation, is a mix of the old and the new. If he has a fascination for vintage cars, he also loves to drive the newer cars at zippy speeds. ?A lot of people tell me I drive fast, I don?t think I drive irresponsibly and that is important,? he smiles.
In fact, the responsibility bit is pretty much a part of the person he is. He likes to get into the nitty gritty of things, a habit that he picked up pretty early in life. Born in the illustrious Singhania family, business, he says, was pretty much a part of his growing up years in Kolkata. In fact he doesn?t remember growing up wanting to do anything else. The grooming started pretty early. He remembers being sent to see the Mython dam, Steel authority of India and various factories in West Bengal as a young boy. The images are still fresh in his mind. ?I still love looking at factories,? he smiles.
In fact, he remembers his summer holidays after class 10 when he was sent to spend time with some of the family?s other businesses. ?I remember travelling by train, visiting dealers in various places like Patna, Vijayawada, Delhi etc.?
It was during his graduation in commerce from Xavier?s College in Kolkata that he started working in the family business on a more regular basis. ?I?d attend college in the morning and then go to the office. I trained in our jute factory and later at a continuous stationery business we had and got to learn different aspects of business. I did 6 am shifts, worked at the shop floor.? From making vouchers to writing account books, he did it all while he sat in the hall with everybody else. ?Today I look back and I think all that training made a lot of difference. If you land up straight at an office, you?ll never really get to interact with people; they will be faceless and nameless ,? he says
That said, he wanted to earn the respect and move up on his own and not just because he was somebody?s son. It was for this the reason that he decided to pursue MBA from the University of Massachusetts, USA.
He didn?t exactly rough it out there but yes, it wasn?t as easy at it was at home in India. As a newly married couple, Harsh Pati and Mamta were both students who stayed off campus and pretty much managed things on their own. From cooking to living without a television to working on projects, their new life was pretty different.
After coming back to India in 1986, he joined a new polyester business that the family was setting up in Kolkata. In 89-90, he moved to Delhi to work with his uncle Hari Shankar in J K Paper. ?I learnt a lot from my uncle and the people I worked with.? Today J K Paper is among the top two paper businesses in the country.
Since paper industry is a capital intensive business, it hasn?t been an easy journey but he has thoroughly enjoyed the challenges that have sprung up his way. In fact one of the toughest times for the group was in late nineties. It was then J K Corp and included paper, cement and polyester businesses. The economy had opened up. Contemplating growth, the group was looking at major expansion and had invested in a lot of projects. In the mid-nineties there was a monetary squeeze, the economy slowed down and the interest rates went up. ?We were in the middle of projects and didn?t have much of a choice. So there was no way of turning back. Either you completed the projects or you didn?t. And if you didn?t, it was worse. So, the only way forward was to complete them.?
Those were tough days, he remembers. Ask him what kept him going and he says, ?You have to stick it out. There are no short cuts in good or bad times. The determination that you want to get out of a situation and the fact that you?ve always aspired to ride a wave and make it a success are enough to keep you going.? And that is when you see the determination in the eyes behind his glasses. He might be a thinly built man but he is made of tough stuff. ?We had to all work very hard and fight it out,? he says.
?We? are not just him, his father and uncles, but also employees, who are very important ingredients for any company?s success, according to Singhania. ?I believe that God gave us one mouth and two ears because he wants us to listen more than talk. My style is more participatory. ?
It?s important, says Singhania, to allow everyone to express oneself. That said, he is still a believer in keeping a healthy distance at workplace. ?I think it?s important. I don?t like the idea of being on backslapping terms with everybody. I don?t think being on first name basis with everybody works.?
Today the Singhania family has various family factions and it?s something that this Singhania takes in his stride. ?It?s healthy if families are together and it makes business sense. But if not working together is in the best interest of the family and business, it?s better to part.?
The workaholic that he is, he has another assignment in his kitty, one that is keeping him pretty busy. He is president of FICCI and is pretty busy with this role. ?I joke with my staff that I?m going to be out of their hair for a year or so and this is the chance for them to take decisions and not complain about me getting into the finer details of everything,? he smiles.
Apart from his new assignment and older commitments, he does find time for a what is a passion with most men ? cars and driving. But in his case, this love has actually won accolades. Singhania has an enviable collection of vintage cars, one of which won an award in Mumbai last year. And despite having a driver with him, he likes to drive to work and back. ?It?s one time I?m completely with myself. There is nothing else on my mind except to enjoy the drive.?
Singhania is also passionate about art which doesn?t come as surprise when you know that his wife Mamta is a ceramic artist and runs an art gallery by the name of Anant. ?I try and attend most of the art openings because I have a fascination for art. I enjoy meeting artists and talking to them,? he says.
When he gets time to catch up on his reading , it can be anything from fiction to business books. Golf is something that he has always time for, even if it means waking up at four on a Sunday morning. ?It is one game in which you are constantly challenging yourself.? It?s something he seems to be pretty fond of.