KARMA YOGI – SHRI KVK RAJU - A CATALYST OF CHANGE

This is the first of the series of articles as narrated by Prof IV Chalapati Rao, about the life of Shri KVK Raju the founder of NAGARJUNA GROUP, South India’s Largest Conglomerate.

Kanumuri Venkata Krishnam Raju delectably known to his friends and the professional admirers as KVK, was a first generation technocrat and a entrepreneur. He scaled great heights by dint of his hard work, persistence, fortitude and vision from a very humble beginning to attain a paramount position as an industrialist. He broke new ground and blazed new trails to become a torch bearer and a beacon to many others to become entrepreneurs.

Hailing from a small hamlet and born in a traditionally agricultural family, Shri KVK rose to eminence to become one of the few self-luminous, self-propelled figures who lit up the industrial scene. By sheer force of his character and unremitting labour he established NAGARJUNA GROUP bringing his own State Andhra Pradesh into the spot light in the industrial world. He was a common man who achieved uncommon things.

Shri KVK faced hard times and led a life of utter simplicity and intense activity. Inspired by him no less than 42 entrepreneurs most of whom were under his tutelage came into industry.

Shri KVK’s had laudable objectives of generating employment, achieving material progress and upholding ethical standards in a co-ordinated manner each complementing and completing the other, and providing enduring value to all his business constituents, customers, employees, shareholders and the public. His ambition was to create wealth through industry and use it for the good of the nation.

Few industrialists make it to history during their own life time. What appeared as a miracle or mirage to lesser mortals seemed within reach to Shri KVK who was an incurable optimist. Many of his friends wondered that only a maverick would aspire to achieve exgtraordinary results with such slender means at his disposal. Moreover he started his industry rather late in his career when most of his contemporaries gave up because of the fact that the country was sailing in low financial waters, what with its huge international debt and the depleted state of foreign exchange. Besides, an entrepreneur had to face the problems of bureaucracy and red tape. Adding to this, his own people including elderly relatives were not in favour of his forsaking a comfortable and lucrative career in Union Carbide in search of “fresh fields and pastures new”.

Despite all these discouraging circumstances and every other adverse factor, he persisted in the passionate pursuit of his goal. Naturally this appeared to others as a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) or a wild cat venture. His conviction, indomitable courage and infinite patience saw his through all the obstacles and carried him through. The man who invested his provident fund as a capital astonishingly achieved success as one of the leading industrialists of the country.

No doubt Shi.KVK is an ordinary man with an extraordinary commitment.

Published for MSN.COM

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