i read her story a few years back... truly inspirational... this movie needs to be made!
Kalpana Saroj is a Synonym of Success. It is a name of a journey from Daily Wage of Rs. 2 to Rs. 500 Crores Corporate Empire. It is a journey of Cow Dung Cake Maker to Padma Shree Awardee.
"I always believe in doing the best I can and doing it for others. That is why I knew I could turn defeats into victories."
~Kalpana Saroj
Kalpana Saroj was born in a poor family of untouchables as they were called in India. The family lived in a small village of Maharashtra where no body had heard about electricity at that time. Villagers used cow-dung cakes as fuel to cook their foods. Kalpana in her childhood used to make these cakes and sell them to earn her pocket money.
At the age of 12, her studies was discontinued and Kalpana was married to a man who was 10 years older than her. She left that small village to live in the city of Mumbai but only in slums. There, she was physically tortured and verbally abused on daily basis by in laws family. One day, when her father came to meet her and saw her condition at her in laws house, he brought her back at his residence in the village.
In village, she joined school again and began learning stitching and tailoring side by side. But, things were not good at her part. Villagers started to taunt her for the failed marriage and finally ostracized her. She could not cope with these and tried to commit suicide but failed.
Kalpana Saroj returned back to Mumbai at a tender age of 16 to earn a livelihood for herself. When she first arrived in Mumbai, she didn't know how to travel in local train. At one station, she was pushed by other ladies who wanted to get down. They crushed her under their feet while stepping down. But, it is said that if devils are truth, then angels also. She met a woman at that very station. The woman helped Kalpana to get on her feet and explained her about the routes and indicators.
Initially, she was supported by her uncle in Mumbai. She got her first job at a daily wage of Rs. 2. Later, she started to do side by side personal work of stitching blouses. She got Rs. 10 for each blouse.
In the meanwhile, her sister died because the family did not have enough money to arrange for a proper treatment. That broke her down further. That was the turning phase in her life " Rise of Entrepreneurial Spirit in her. She thought if she could make four blouses a day, she could earn Rs. 40 a day and about Rs. 1000 in a month. She figured that the harder she worked, the more she would get in return. She started to work 16 hours a day. She arranged for some loan and invested in Boutique Business. When her boutique business flourished and fetched her a good profit, she invested in Furniture and Beauty Parlor Business.
Kalpana Saroj remarried but her marital life could not stay for long duration. Her second husband died, leaving the responsibility of two children on her shoulders again.
From the very early days of Mumbai, Kalpana had soft corner for the marginalized and generous nature towards others. She had suffered a lot so that she could easily empathize with others. Before testing her entrepreneur skill, she helped a number of unemployed in shaping her future through an NGO. She tried to help in any manner she can including litigation cases over land-plots. In one such case, she got an opportunity to buy a plot for her own from the savings of her business. With the help of institutional finance, she erected a building complex on it and sold for good profit. This way she entered into the business of Real Estate and Construction. It was not an easy business for a woman especially for the one came from Dalit Community of India. It is supposed to be the business of Power Magnets. It was a tough business, and she had to frequently confront shady elements and opposition of all hues. Then she entered into Sugar Industry and many more businesses.
Soon, she became famous for charity works and helping others. This drew the attention of some workers of Kamani Tubes Limited who approached her for help. The Kamani Brand was once in the same league as the Bajajs and Birlas. But at that time, the company was on the verge of liquidation with a debt of over Rs. 160 crores. Factory was not in operational condition. Its machine parts had been stolen long ago. There were 140 litigation cases against the company. In addition, over 500 workers were clamouring for their dues, which ran into several crores. But these hurdles could not shake her determination to alleviate the conditions of poor workers. She took up the challenge. It took nearly a decade for Kalpana Saroj to get the charge of the company legally. She, to boost the employees' morale, paid Rs 85 crores as salaries in one go which had been pending for last 17 years. The company regained its normalcy with a better production and distribution network.
At present, Kalpana Saroj has a Corporate Empire of Rs. 500 Crores. And, she was awarded with the prestigious Padma Shree for Trade and Industry in the year 2013.
In an interview when she was asked "What motivates you to put everything at stake " your name, your money for a company which had been remain closed for over 17 years?" She replied "I wanted to give justice to the people who were working there. I had to save the company. I could relate to the staff who needed to put food on the table for their family."
Kalpana Saroj is an idol of DETERMINATION, PERSEVERANCE, HARDWORK, COURAGE, EMPATHY and COMPASSION. She says "If you give your heart and soul to your job and never give up, things can happen for you."
Indian Mythology
Hindi TV Shows
7