I must admit that I
knew very little about the man, Shekhar Babu Shetty except what I had heard and
read about him from time to time.
But after meeting him
in Abu Dhabi almost daily for couple of months in his office was enriching
experience. Our chats and one-to-one interactions provided an insight of the
man, the person as husband, a father and as an entrepreneur. And meeting his
wife Kushala at his tastefully done-up home assured me of the woman behind his
success.
Accompanying him with
his trusted aides to the many restaurants and the kitchens spread across UAE
- Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Shrajah, Ajman,
Mussafa, etc was an experience in man and time management, planning and
execution of work.
The long chats also
provided a huge volume of information including those Shekhar Babu Shetty had
long forgotten and had being left behind years ago as faded memories.
The entire exercise was
eye-opener not only for me as his biographer but for himself too, recollected
he had tread this long journey imbibing varied experience, the people he met
and the impact it had in this long journey thus far.
He says, ‘As long as
there are human beings, restaurant business will go on. Food is an integral
part of a human. And cooking is truly spiritual and devotional experience. A
part of us gets devolved in the food we prepare and serve.’
After going through
voluminous information and data, writing, rewriting, editing the manuscript, I
look at Shekhar Babu Shetty in a different light. And I am sure after all the
probing chats, talks and prodding for old memories, Shekhar Babu Shetty, I am
sure will look at himself in awe of what he has achieved over the years and the
galore appreciation it has brought him and the crown ‘Udupi King in UAE.’
Although he had kind
words to say about the contemporary ultra-modern restaurants, he had his share
of reservation too. ‘Most of the emigrants who come here to earn their livelihood,
find it beyond their reach. It compels one to wonder what they would have done,
without the wholesome and affordable food Arab Udupi restaurants provide.
This is the story of an
extraordinary accomplishment of an exceptional Indian against odds in UAE. He
will certainly be remembered for the Udupi restaurant legacy he created.
Felicitated with various prestigious awards, he has been one of the most
respected entrepreneurs in the restaurant industry for over 32 years. Is fondly
referred to as’ Shekhar anna’ for all his accomplishments by many of his
friends.
As Arab Udupi Group’s Managing
Director, Shekhar Babu Shetty has his feet firmly on the ground and believes in
getting the job done. He strengthens his belief that good leadership means
getting away from the desk and building personal relationships face to face
with all – staff, suppliers and customers.
‘Leadership is about creating a
better future. While doing so, a leader will encounter many hurdles and face a
lot of resistance. The one thing that will help leaders to move swiftly in the
face of challenge is energy and new ideas’.
‘Leadership is a lot like
parenting. If the role is chosen after careful deliberation, it will become one
of the most wonderful experiences in the world’, he stated.
‘Bosses command and expect people to comply
with their instructions. On the other hand leaders expect people to follow
their examples and not their instructions. Many a times a leader faces
conflicting viewpoints. Instead of running away from the problem a leader should
confront it. A leader should create a solution where both the parties can
eventually win’.
‘A leader needs to
differentiate between the problems that require his attention and ones that do
not. And this he should leave it to his associates or employees’.
‘Leadership is a choice that an
individual make, it is never thrust upon anyone. Ask yourself the question. ‘Do
I really want to be a leader?’ ‘After all, it is lonely, unglamorous, unpopular
and often thankless job. There is no guarantee of reward’, he added.
‘That kind of loyalty can come when the
management shows a real interest in their well being and forms genuine human
relationships,’ he said.
‘I realized the importance of
the people early in my life and the job I have been in the past 30 years
continues to reiterate that. You can’t really understand what your customer
wants if you don’t spend time with them one-on-one. In our culture such
face-to-face interaction is central to doing restaurant business. The rule,
whether you are in India or in Middle East, requires you to spend time
one-on-one with people’.
‘Personal interaction was very
important for me even as a child. I needed to interact with people all the
time. What I learned during the course of childhood and growing up years
influences the way I deal and work with people, no matter what their style,
need to interact more with others in order to be more effective. I am lucky
that I happen to be enjoying it.’
‘In my years in India and Gulf,
experienced good, bad and fair things; through all this mixed experience that I
loved the most was the people, who serve you well. I might sound like a
politician, but these interludes help me appreciate Gulf, its culture, history
and I developed some strong friendships with different people of different
nationality, religion, etc. And these are the people who helped me in the need
of my hour’.
‘This interactions and
friendship also gave me experience in leadership. My years convince me that you
could work for a large company in a relatively smaller capacity and still bring
about a change’.
‘My job in Gulf, I literally
grew-up to revive the organizational structure and make some significant
changes despite being a lowly employee. I gained a lot of self-confidence in
the process. Of course there were some negatives like you are a second class
citizen in their land. But there were also things to be learnt at every step of
the way which helped me later’.
‘The people I worked with all
played a big role in my life. When I went to work for IAL, the philosophy of the
company was a huge force that shaped me. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting people in
their country amidst their surroundings.
‘The biggest buzz I get is
seeing Arab Udupi Group staff grow and develop personally and professionally. This
uplifts not only them but their family’s lives too. This gives me a lot of
happiness. We have nearly five hundred people on our payroll employed all over U A E. In my
over 30 years of heading the group, I have watched many of them progress from
junior associates to supervisory associates. I love the restaurant business,
every day there is a something new. There is nothing routine about my job’.
‘When I was growing up in
Kalathur, my parents were my biggest influence. My father was an agriculturist
so he used to interact with other people and I learnt lot from observing him. I
was interested in business even at that age. So each step of my career just
kept moving me closer and closer to what I would do in the future’.
‘My modest family upbringing
has left an impression on my life. Even today, to relax I don’t to go to any
hotel or resort. I just need to go home to be with my wife Kushala. My
life-partner and soul-mate Kushala enjoy going to functions and attend
community programmes in Dubai and U A E’.
‘I have never experienced the
life-changing experience of being a father through marriage. But I enjoy being
with my daughters Chandini and Roshni who bring joy, happiness and hope to me
and my wife. Some day I would rather relax and watch my daughters take over and
manage the group’.
‘In Mangalore as a youngster
wanted to join the armed forces. But then reality kicked in. Your dreams have
to be re-dreamt sometimes. I wanted to go out of my village’s protective
environment to Bombay, a big dream those days and circumstances and destiny
took me later to Gulf and acquire an international outlook. I wanted to change
my attitude and was excited. So my dreams changed’.
‘I have always enjoyed the
interaction, the complexity and the need to understand the history of other
countries and their cultures. So I dreamt about getting involved in the
international arena and it came through’.
‘Where my job is concerned my
dream is to establish the Arab Udupi brand all over U A E and other Gulf
countries and possibly India, may be Udupi, as I brought Udupi to Arabia, and
why not Arabia to Udupi to complete the nomenclature Arab Udupi in the true
sense.
‘I also dream of peace and
success. I have seen a lot of restlessness, so I know the value of peace and
progress’.
MyPost
Strange New Year Traditions:
*In India and other places a giant old
man made of hay, etc and dressed in old shirt and pant is burnt at the stroke
of midnight, signifying the end of the old year and the beginning of the New
Year.
*In Bolivia, Venezuela, men wear new underpants on New Year’s eve – red underpants for love and yellow for money.
*Spaniards eat 12 grapes at midnight; each grape symbolizing one month of year.
*The Filipinos wear polka dots and arrange round fruits on the dinner table. Polka and all things round signify coins, hence prosperity.
*In Scotland, the townsmen walk around with giant fireballs hoisted on long poles (resembling the sun) to purify the coming year.
* The Danes break glass dishes on the doors of neighbours and friends.
*Estonians eat seven times on the first day of the year to ensure abundant food throughout the year.
*Unmarried Irish girls place mistletoe leaves under the pillow to catch a good husband.
*In Bolivia, Venezuela, men wear new underpants on New Year’s eve – red underpants for love and yellow for money.
*Spaniards eat 12 grapes at midnight; each grape symbolizing one month of year.
*The Filipinos wear polka dots and arrange round fruits on the dinner table. Polka and all things round signify coins, hence prosperity.
*In Scotland, the townsmen walk around with giant fireballs hoisted on long poles (resembling the sun) to purify the coming year.
* The Danes break glass dishes on the doors of neighbours and friends.
*Estonians eat seven times on the first day of the year to ensure abundant food throughout the year.
*Unmarried Irish girls place mistletoe leaves under the pillow to catch a good husband.
.............................................................................................................................
Picture Post
 |
| Vetobha Temple, Arravali, Maharastra, India |
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