BREWING SUCCESS

All of them have two things in common - immense success in business and a simple lifestyle. We meet some movers and shakers of the Nepali business world.

Ask him if he can spare some moments, and he will readily comply. Approach him with a problem and he will try to solve it. Nothing in his demeanour will give away the fact that he is one of the busiest men in town, scion of the Khetan Industries holding the office of second vice president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce & Industry and honorary consul of Portugal.

Meeting Rajendra Khetan wit his family at his home is a novel experience though, the family man takes over the businessman here. Tucking in daughter Sneha's hair, escorting wife Sarika to the garden, RK is in his elements. The two married young, Sarika at 17 had just completed her 10th grade from Modern Indian School and Rajendra at 21 was being initiated into the family business.

The marriage itself was a hurried decision. "My grandfather had fallen ill and wanted to see me and my sister married. He died soon after my sister got engaged." he recalls today. "It was not easy in the beginning," he continues, but that their's was a joint family helped.

The Khetans love to travel, "even for a few days", to get away from the mad city rush. "If we can spare two-three days, we prefer to go out of Kathmandu, sometimes to Narayanghat or Chitwan," puts in Sarika, "Otherwise we mostly go out to restaurants," Father and daughter have a taste for pizzas, so Italian it is most of the time. That the couple share similar interests helps too.

Can RK spare much time for family and his other interests? "The most difficult part is to simultaneously manage timings for meetings, but technology has made all this more of a joy," he says. "If not five days a week, at least two days we spend time together, what matters is the quality of time, if not daily then weekly or even monthly," his wife feels. It seems that though earlier RK was more of a workaholic. "Since Sneha was born, it has changed. He loves children and likes spending time with kids," enlightens Sarika.

Sarika chose to rather be based at home and this too stems from putting family first. "It is the consequence of being in a joint family," feels Khetan, though he agrees that "if she has entrepreneurship, it should develop"

Touching upon his 'approachability', Khetan says, "It depends on how you manage your time. Though you can't be available all the time, but at least you can call back. The Khetan Group has been popular for three-four generations, the legacy has to be maintained. And in this, Sarika has been very helpful. She is my trouble-shooter, at times she even manages my email."

Their daughter Sarika goes to Mickey's International School with her three cousins. That they are "flexible from childhood" reflects on Sneha's dreams of being "a pilot" and taking up karate lessons at home.

Though morning walks are something that they "would really want to do" It is more of an "irregular feature", Sarika shares in her interest in physical fitness. She resents that fact that her husband is a well-known businessman and an aspiring politician, "I would rather be low-profile," she says revealing her fears of what the limelight brings with itself.

Khetan, on the other hand, is undaunted. He is talking with political parties, fielding himself as a common candidate from his hometown, Birgunj, as he feels that the political shadow on 12 years of democracy has stalled the growth of Nepal and can be solved with the help of the business community.

Ask him how it feels to be 'rich' and he retorts, "The word 'rich' has a capitalist intotation. Rich is when once can be of use to others in a broader sense, when one achieves cross-societal popularity. That is what being rich is about. Otherwise we have the same food, the same blood"

And coming back to family, values are most important, say the Khetans. "As we become more and more Westernised, what is important is that we handover our value system to the upcoming generation. It is something that is instilled since childhood. My message to the youth would be, "Be competitive, be professional."

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