Bengaluru: In a way, Rajan Anvekar has been a blessed child since the beginning. He hails from a big family of eight children, with five sisters and three brothers, while Rajan happens to be the last but one and has a younger sister. As the youngest son, he was showered with a rather overdose of love, affection and tender care. As he himself admits, Rajan was never burdened with any kind of responsibility.
Greatly inspired by his father, Vamanrao Anvekar: Recalling his successful journey so far with enough sequences of risks, Rajan Anvekar reminisces that knowingly or unknowingly, he looks to have been influenced and guided by his late father, Vamanrao Anvekar. He becomes emotional when he narrates the amazing life history of his father.
Walked five kilometres to sell balloons: Late Vamanrao Anvekar may have studied only up to the fourth or fifth standard, hailing from Aversa, a small village in Ankola Taluk of North Canara district. To start with, he used to walk five kilometres to sell balloons and other items. Later, he continued his hard work, literally struggling, and switched over to tailoring, also doing some construction work, before finally migrating to Dharwad to engage in the jewellery business. He flourished greatly once he entered the jewellery business.
Partnership becomes a significant setback: In 1962, he ventured into a partnership business with a well-educated individual, only to be cheated by the so-called educated person, leaving Vamanrao Anvekar in a substantial setback. However, for being a generous and large-hearted person, he didn't end up complaining about the same subsequently.
A founder member of the school : Vamanrao Anvekar, also happens to be one of the founders of the Shree Katyayini High School of Aversa village in Ankola Taluk of North Canara district. Interestingly, he was a dynamic person throughout his life and was instrumental in setting up the school by contributing two classrooms, to start with.
Renovation of the family deity temple in Goa: His philanthropic activities were not limited to his village alone, as he did everything possible for the renovation of the family deity temple in Goa. He was also the society president of the Daivagnya Bhramana Community in Dharwad, Cosmos Club and several other social organisations like that.
First in sports from the first standard: A 1962-born Rajan Anvekar, who joined the Basel Mission High School at Dharwad, was equally good in sports activities. He excelled in the same throughout his educational career, right from the first standard. He recalls, "Never did I let anyone bag the top prizes in the various events I took part in, and this exemplary feat started from the first standard itself. I also won the overall general championship during the VIIIth, IXth and the Xth standards. Although I was not too studious, I took part in all sorts of sports activities, including the age-old sarabadagi, cricket, athletics, etc...
...The sports saga continues: After BMHS, I joined the JSS College for PUC and also won the general championship in various sports activities. Later, I joined the BVB College of Engineering in Hubballi, although I didn't get in on the first attempt. In fact, my father rushed to Bengaluru and put a word in to his known people to help me out. The sports spree of becoming a general champion continued even in the BVB, as well. I was neither a bookworm nor too studious, but ensured that I could get through in the first class...
...Represented BVB in various events: while in BVB, I represented the college in inter-collegiate events held at Bijapur, Belagavi and many other places, wherever the sports meets were organised. Interestingly, my sports accomplishments were not much known to even my classmates, as there was less interest in the extracurricular activities then...
...Used to run barefoot: Then we used to run barefoot and didn't have proper coaching, forget having any proper gadgets. Then, a thought also arose whether to take sports as a career seriously, and I was a bit hesitant, what if it didn't click the desired way? So, I decided to concentrate on my studies and completed the degree".
Joined the Mysuru Kirloskar company in Harihar: After completing a BE in Mechanical from BVB, Rajan Anvekar joined the Mysuru Kirloskar company in Harihar, and he worked there for two years. There was no pressure on him from the family side for being the youngest son. Coming from a business family, he always desired to start a business of his own, and always pondered on the same; he just developed a vague idea of becoming an entrepreneur, starting a company, rather than working under someone. He was very clear in that aspect and had guided his mentality in that direction.
No interest in joining the family's jewellery business: He also gave thought to the family's jewellery business and wasn't interested much. His eldest brother was already taking care of the family's jewellery shop in Gandhi Chowk at Dharwad, after their father's demise, and Rajan Anvekar wondered whether it was worth thinking about after having a BE degree. While oscillating under such a dilemma, he quit the Mysuru Kirloskar Company job and made up his mind to join the Master's in Business Administration course from the Kousali Institute of Management Studies in Karnataka University.
Risky path and decisions after joining the MBA: It so happened that life later, after joining the MBA, unfolded into a risky path and also paved the way for risky decisions thereafter. He befriended his MBA classmate, who had done her postgraduation in Economics, and the friendship continued for two years, by which time he decided to make her his life partner.
A chance visit changes the life path: After completing the MBA, he wanted to start something on his own and was looking for an opportunity and evinced interest in the marketing field. It was at this juncture that he came across the Catvision company, which was involved in satellite communication and joined the same. Once, he happened to visit a stockbroker's office and was taken aback at the tremendous, aggressive business being done there. The broker was handling about 4-5 land phones simultaneously and was screaming, Take 5,000...10,000 and likewise in Hindi, which excited Rajan Anvekar. He felt it was interesting, exciting and challenging simultaneously. At the same time, he underwent a surprising shock at the volume of business being transacted and was overwhelmed by the activities there. Although alarmed, intrigued and perturbed altogether at the same time, he then and there, immediately decided to plunge into the newfound passion. He quit the job he had joined in 1989 and started Chaitra Investments, his own company, in January 1990! Recalling the hitherto treaded path, Rajan Anvekar asserts, "Maybe it was destiny or so, I don't know...I decided to move ahead with my own company".
Not a rosy way to start with: Though Rajan Anvekar took the hasty and risky decision of starting his own company in no time, doing business was not all that simple then. Getting an entry into the stock market wasn't very easy, as BSE and NSE membership was costing a hefty amount, while membership for the Bengaluru Stock Exchange had not even opened! One could have direct trade only with the membership, or else had to be under the mercy of a broker who was also a member of either of the stock exchanges, and there was no other option.
Fortune leaps: In 1990, Rajan Anvekar became an authorised assistant for a company, and they shared the business like that. Incidentally, his bright fortune leapt from that moment itself. He delved into a roaring business when it was only paper trading in the absence of online trading as it is now. Then, there was also another advantageous position of fewer players compared to the situation now. Now, you name the people and sectors, and they are virtually in the field, including the banking sector as well. However, back then, there were very limited players, and Bengaluru Stock Exchange was also a reputed one to be associated with for trade and all. People were waiting outside, eager to invest, and all those into trading, including Rajan Anvekar, excelled in a roaring business.
Membership of BSE in 1995: Incidentally, Bengaluru Stock Exchange opened up for memberships, and Rajan Anvekar got an opportunity when they were offering the same for Rs 15 lakhs. It was also preceded by an interview, taking into consideration the network and several other criteria, yet Rajan Anvekar could qualify for all those prescribed parameters.
Move by former boss to enrol as a Director: Then, there was also a move by his former company boss to lure him to become a Director of his company, instead of opting for the membership. However, Rajan Anvekar felt like being a Director of some other company would not fulfil his dream of being on his own and didn't accept the proposal and preferred to become a member of the BSE. Thanks to the lucrative juncture, Rajan Anvekar's hard efforts paid rich dividends to enable him to earn a good lot of money.
The Ketan Parekh scam in 1998: The widespread stock market manipulation led to the Ketan Parekh scam between late 1998 and 2001. Ketan Parekh, a former stockbroker and associate of Harshad Mehta, artificially inflated the prices of a select group of 'K-10' stocks in the IT, media and telecom sectors. At that time itself, all the portfolios of Rajan Anvekar had crossed one crore, which was a big chunk of money.
Satyam shares alone skyrocketed to 28 lakhs! The Ketan Parekh scam led to a hitherto unheard chaotic scenario in the stock market. Rajan Anvekar had bought 200 shares of Satyam Computers by paying Rs 40 per share, which meant an investment of Rs 8,000/-, whereas the share value skyrocketed to 28 lakhs! Sadly, he wasn't fortunate enough to encash the same at that time. Later, it started collapsing and witnessed an incessant fall all along; yet he could get some money without undergoing any loss.
Beginning of a down fig: It also turned out to be the beginning of a down fig, which in other words means that you don't have an opportunity to come out and get stuck in a tight rope-like sticky situation. As a result, Rajan Anvekar's portfolio of more than Rs one crore dipped to around 30-35 lakhs! But, he wasn't deterred by the alarming adverse situation and instead invested about Rs 12 lakhs for the office and another Rs 12-15 lakhs for the apartment. Even after that, later it was a lowest pitch in the market, which continued to improve steadily and slowly thereafter.
A risky path all along: Incidentally, Rajan Anvekar was the first person in his family to venture into the stock market, as till then it was dubbed a sort of gambling. There were also apprehensions within the family about his career prospects, as he had taken the stock market route. But for Rajan Anvekar, it was no doubt a risky decision; he succeeded in it just like in his married life. Till then, no one in his family had thought of a matrimonial alliance beyond the community circles. Luckily, his marriage was also accepted by the family.
Many players have vanished from the field: During his course of the stock market journey from 1990, he has been a witness, victim and survivor of several ups and downs and scams, yet managed to sail through successfully to date. In the meantime, many players have also vanished from the field due to not being able to sustain the fluctuating market scenario, and for not developing an expertise to study the market from a professional perspective, which appeared lacking in a big way.
Calculated risk saves the day: Rajan Anvekar asserts, "I have always been steady and have been cautious enough in taking calculated risks, taking into consideration my limited resources, which has become an asset to remain afloat, irrespective of the engulfing waves all along. So far, God has been kind to me; despite taking so many risks, I continue to remain in a contented position. Even assuming that I had joined a company after doing the BE, I could have risen to become a General Manager of some company or some other higher position in some other organisation. In terms of earning money in such positions, I happen to be in a much more comfortable position today, being self-employed. I always have satisfaction with that accomplishment...
...Customers since 1990! Apart from the market situations transforming into a lopsided, piquant, and precarious conditions, our customers have continued to remain with us right from 1990, thanks to the trust built up over a period of decades. Our strength is not just garnering the brokerage, but extending proper support to the clientele. We personally give suggestions on our expertise, suited to the best interests of the customers", signs off Rajan Anvekar.
Architect and medical student: Rajan Anvekar's wife has retired as a professor from the Visvesvaraya Technological University, while his eldest son is a practising architect and his younger son is in the final year of medicine.
-Manohar Yadavatti
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