King of Spice Dhananjay Datar’s growth from rags to riches

Gulf News

From living a life close to poverty to earning billions of dollars, see King of Spice Dhananjay Datar’s growth from rags to riches, all here in the UAE. Daily headlines from the UAE and around the world brought to you by Gulf News. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/videos

Transcript

00:00When I was, my age was 8 and I was in my grandma's home and I was studying there.

00:08But my grandmother was a very poor, middle class, poor family.

00:15So in the morning only tea and the lunch is dal and the jowar ke roti and the dinner only

00:23the chapati and dahi.

00:27That is my food.

00:28And when I am going to school, I have only one uniform.

00:33I was not having chappal.

00:35In the rainy season, there was no umbrella.

00:40I use, wear that guni, jute guni.

00:44And then in the winter time, there is no, what you call, the sweater and all, you know.

00:52And I was right in the, on the plate, what you call that, by chalk we write.

00:58Blackboard.

00:59Yeah, blackboard.

01:00There was no, like a pen or books was at that time and we just, it's almost one, two kilometer

01:08my school, far from my home.

01:11So that much by walk we go.

01:14And the school also, the government school, and I use that pin, that safety pin as, when

01:22I don't have that, some buttons and all.

01:25But this safety pin, it will be useful for me when that, some kind of thorn or that,

01:34that I remove from that safety pin.

01:36So that kind of my life was there.

01:39And I came to Dubai, my age was 20.

01:43I work 16 hours a day.

01:46In the morning, I do the cleaning of my shops, I carry 50 kg bags, I do the packing and all

01:52the, this kind of item, I do the deliveries to the, home deliveries and all.

01:58I do, I deliver the goods to the restaurants, cafeterias and some kind of supermarkets,

02:05that raw materials and all.

02:07And at home, we cook only one kind of dal or sabji, and the chapati we bring the readymade

02:15or sometime that Arabic bread, khaboos.

02:20But we cook at one time at night, and the next day, I eat the same food, just make hot

02:27and we are eating that one.

02:31Then after the marriage life, the life a little bit changed, means my life is still, take

02:37care of myself.

02:41And then, means when I started the business in after 5-6 years that war is started, that

02:50Iraq and Kuwait, the people was going from here and I thought that I will lose all the

02:56money because it's newly opened business.

03:00But there was a change, I seen the people was buying the lot of goods in there, they

03:06are stocking the goods in their home, and I got a huge money, I made good profit.

03:14When there is opportunity, we should make the money.

03:18And then, I paid all my, I borrowed a lot of money from people and I given back to them.

03:27My mother's jewelry also was sold, I purchased all the, I purchased for her and I given back

03:33to her.

03:35That kind of my life was that.

03:38And the main, the second one, life is changed, I become sick, I work almost 16 hours a day,

03:49there was no rest to my body, and I was not eating on time, no breakfast, lunch I was

03:56eating at 5 o'clock, 6 o'clock, dinner I was eating 1 o'clock or 2 o'clock in the morning.

04:02And that, there is severe acidity problem is started, and it is, it was so much painful

04:12for me that, the doctors have given me anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medicine.

04:19It's a very heavy dose, but I was taking the medicine, but there was no, I am not feeling

04:27well.

04:28So, I work only one, one and half hours a day in the whole day in the office, the whole

04:33day I was taking rest in my home.

04:36And, but one treatment I gone and I cured after 5 years.

04:43Then I changed my life, that whatever we make money, so I had to enjoy that my life, I had

04:49to give time to my body also, because it need food on time, and proper meditations

04:59and all.

05:00So, I given, means I work now almost 6-7 hours here in the office, but after I give time

05:07to my family, I go outside with my family, I do jogging and all, walking, doing exercise,

05:17I do meditation, eating on time.

05:19So, life is changed in my life, and I, everybody I will say, do eat on time.

05:29That is what I suffered that you should not suffer, everybody I tell like that.

05:35I can tell 5 business mantras to everybody, when you do turnover, don't think about the

05:41turnover, make the profit which you making.

05:44The profit is more important, because you doing business, but the, in the whole year

05:49how much you made, that is more important to you, for profit is the most important.

05:54And another is saying, take food, take on time, your health is important.

05:59If you are healthy, then you can work lot.

06:02Third, don't shy, whatever business you have, if you are carrying bags or doing any kind

06:11of low category also, but you feel that you are making the money for your family, stick

06:18to only one business, minimum 3 years is required to settle down the business, and any business

06:24start and suddenly it will not give you the profit.

06:26It takes minimum 3 years to settle down business, and slowly, slowly it will give profit.

06:31And if any problems come, don't try to that there is a plan, we will go for plan A or

06:37plan B, no.

06:38There is only plan one, do or die, that is the my, I would say, and the fifth one is,

06:45I can say don't miss opportunity, when times come, try to make money from that.

06:53Because I, war time also I made the money, there are lot of times comes there is a opportunity,

06:59you should take the advantage of opportunities.

07:01This Al-Adeel means, my father always says that whenever we live in that country, we

07:08have to respect their culture, their language, their religion, so that's why we keep Al-Adeel.

07:15So Al-Adeel means good man, you know, and our brand name is Peacock.

07:20So Peacock is the national bird of India, that's why we keep the Peacock brand.

07:24So this Al-Adeel has become so famous that, you know, everybody, Al-Adeel, I am a good

07:31man, means, good man, that's why I kept on, every, all my shops are Al-Adeel, and I am

07:37very happy I am doing the business here, it's a very business friendly, this country.

07:43The law are very helpful, and the less documentation, everything is online, so sit in your office

07:51and home and do all the transaction, it's so helpful, and this country is growing every

07:56day, and the rulers also, they are making the new rules to help to the business people

08:04and the new, they are all business minded, and every, that new people should come in

08:11this country and do this country in a big way, and when I came in some 35 years back,

08:19that Al-Adeel only, few people will know, but now Dubai has become so famous, and if

08:25I say I am from Dubai, that people will say, oh wow, it's such a beautiful country, if

08:31I say like that.

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