The journey of Rajnikant Parikh
From village boy to BGTA president

We have heard many success Stories that inspire us and give us the confidence to fake on any number of challenges in life, The life history of Mr. Rajnikant Parikh is one such story. It is actually more like a fairy tale where a person makes o humble beginning in a small village and as life progress reaches the pinnacle of success. Today this person who came to Murnbai at the age of 21 years is all set to fake the mantle of President Ship of India's premier transport association Bombay Goods Transport Association.

Mr. Parikh, born in Limdi (Gujarat) on November 11, 194I is a matriculate. He got into working at an early age following the illness of his father. He started handling the shop of his father at Lirndi, which had o few agencies including diverse products such as cement and cigarettes. However Mr. Parikh knew that the village was not what he was made for and had dreams of making if big in life. That dream led Mr. Parikh on his way to Murnbai the city of dreams!

Mr. Parikh set foot in Murnbai on January 31, I960 along with his uncle. The strange part was that his parents had no idea for what he had gone to Mumbai. For them it was just another vacation with his uncle. However Mr. Parikh's uncle knew that Mr. Parikh was a very dedicated and honest person, someone who would prove to be a big asset for his business. Mr. Parikh started working for his uncle and his capabilities soon made very popular within the organization.

Between January and October, Mr. Parikh worked for two of his uncles in the business of chemicals and manufacturing of nuts / bolts. But here again Mr. Parikh's growth was bound to be restricted since he was working within the family Being taken (or granted. But life was all set to take a major twist for Mr. Parikh.

One of the customers with Mr. Parikh's uncle, Mr.Chinubhai Kalidas spotted the quite but brilliant Mr. Parikh and asked him to join him in his business. Mr. Parikh's grandfather asked him to join Mr. Kalidos who was into Clearing &. Forwarding, Shipping & Transportation. Immediately Mr. Parikh took liking for the job and his simplicity, honesty and dynamism made him popular with the boss as well as the staff. Transport Trade where Mr. Parikh started working in the accounts deportment got an initial salary of Rs 50 per month. His honesty and hard working nature was •awarded by the boss within a short time and he was given responsibility of handling the entire cash and accounts of the company. Meanwhile Mr. Parikh also started developing the Transport Division of the company and here again his hard work paid off and he was asked to head the transport division in 1962 and take all decision concerned in this area of business.

Mr Parikh, though a favorite of his boss, never took undue advantage of his position. He was fair to all the vendors and ensured that all materials procured were of the best quality and at the best price possible. He continued with the vendors appointed by the boss and never tried to squeeze in his acquaintances or relatives who in a similar field. What is most amazing about Mr. Parikh is that in his 27years of service in Transport Trade, Mr. Parikh's total leave was not more than 3 mohths. Another example of Mr Parikh's dedication and loyalty is that he was working on the day of his wedding as well. There was a problem in one of the godowns of the company ond even though the wedding just a few hours away, Mr Parikh decided to first sort out the problem at the godown. Well, his wife has been his great support throughout his life, thereby proving that behind every successful man is a...!

While in service with Transport Trade, Mr. Parikh started his own company Special Mover in 1978.Here again Mr. Parikh was very honest and informed his boss that he was starting a transport company along with his nephew. While his nephew managed special Mover, Mr. Parikh concentrated on Transport Trade. Finally in 1986 Mr. Parikh quit Transport Trade and focused on Special Mover. For the sake of records, Mr. Parikh's final salary at Transport Trade was around Rs 12,000. It is incredible that from a merely Rs 50, Mr. Parikh had come up to Rs 12,000.

Mr Parikh had just one ambition in mind   to start his own business and Mr Parikh had just one ambition in mind   to start his own business and Special Mover was the fulfillment of his dream, The Company operates between Mumbai and Vapi / Ankleshwor only and the company's focus is providing quality and personalized service to customers.

Mr. Parikh in BGTA:
Mr. Parikh used to regularly attend BGTA meetings while in Transport Trade, though he was not in the committee. He first entered got elected to the managing committee in 1987 and since then has been a regular face in the committee. He has served the association in various capacities such as Treasurer and Vice President and has also served the association through its various sub committees. Mr. Parikh is also a managing committee member of All India Motor Transport Congress and is also a recipient of the TRANSPORT SAMRAT award by A1TWA. He has traveled all across the country to attend the meetings of AIMTC.

The new President's mission:
In an exclusive tete-6-tete with Tran topics, Mr. Parikh spoke about his plans for the forthcoming year. Although he has not lined up a long agenda, he certainly has one thing in mind i.e. working for the association with utmost dedication and integrity.

"I do not want to draw up huge plans and end up doing nothing at all, it would be silly if I said that I would solve problems related to toll, highway robberies, octroi, WTT Project, taxes, corruption, poor infrastructure etc. We all know that these problems exist. But it is not possible to find a solution to them overnight. However I am not saying that we will not take up problems related to the members. But we will cross the bridge when it comes", says Mr. Parikh.
Mr. Rajnikant Parikh receiving the
AIMTC Transport Samrat Award


The other thing that is playing on the mind of Mr. Parikh is the unity in the managing committee. "It is utmost important that we work as a team and not o bunch of individuals or groups", adds Mr. Parikh. He says further, "I assure all the members of BGTA that I will do my best for the association. But as an individual I have no standing. The President alone cannot do everything. I need the cooperation of all the managing committee members and the support of all the members’ of BGTA. I will be available in the association at least thrice a week and members can feel free to come to BGTA and discuss their problems with my team", says Mr. Parikh.

BGTA is one of the leading associations in the country and therefore everyone watches the Performance of the same keenly. The new committee will continue with the projects taken up in the previous year, which hove not been completed so far. "Wadala Truck Terminal is sure on the top of our charts. We have made god headway this year and most of the legal issues have been sorted out. We are hoping that construction of the same will start within a few weeks. Another good news for the members is that the Nova Shava project is almost complete and we will be able to give possession by January 2008. So this is a good achievement for the association and will boost the spirits of the WTT Project, says Mr. Parikh.

Family support:
Working in any association with utmost dedication cannot be possible without the support of the family. Mr. Parikh's wife has always stood by him and supporting him at work is his son Mr. Jitendra Parikh, who also happens to be an active member of BGTA. Mr. Parikh is also blessed with 3 daughters who are married. So Mr. Jitendra Parikh shares the business burden of Mr. Parikh, thereby giving the latter ample time to spare for the association. Let us hope that the dedication, sincerity, integrity, honesty and simplicity of Mr. Parikh results in a memorable year for BGTA.