Bengaluru: Ratnakar Sanjeev Shetty is currently the Chairman and Managing Director of RJ Builders, headquartered in Bengaluru. The over-three-decade-old company has the unique distinction of having built more than Three Million square feet across 40 projects. It intends to expand further with Ten Million square feet in pockets across South India. Karan Shetty, an architect by profession and son of Ratnakar Shetty, is the CEO of RJ Builders.
RJ Lake Gardenia, a 27-storey apartment project in KR Puram: RJ Builders, over time, has developed expertise in multiple spheres, including residential, commercial, hospitals, hospitality, interiors, and IT Parks. Recently, RJ Builders completed RJ Lake Gardenia, a 27-storey apartment project in KR Puram, Bengaluru. There is a swimming pool on the 20th to the 26th floor. RJ Brooke Square is another ambitious project.
The skill sets of the construction business are hereditary with Ratnakar Shetty: It looks like the skill sets of the construction business are hereditary with Ratnakar Shetty, thanks to Charmakki Narayan Shetty, elder brother of Ratnakar Shetty's father, Charmakki Sanjeev Shetty. Charmakki Narayan Shetty was a legendary personality in the state's construction industry with a series of amazing mega projects to his credit. Charmakki Sanjeev Shetty, father of Ratnakar Shetty and Charmakki Nagayya Shetty, younger brother of Charmakki Narayan Shetty were also a partners of the Shankarnarayan Constructions company, floated by Charmakki Narayan Shetty to plunge into big business.
Mechanical Head of Shankaranarayan Company: After completing a mechanical degree from the BV Bhoomraddi College of Engineering at Hubballi in 1984, Ratnakar Shetty joined his father's Shankaranarayan Company as a Mechanical Head. There were 200 Tippers and Dumpers, and he had to repair the troublesome ones the whole night so that they were ready for operation by 05.30 AM the next day, which was a very good experience in learning.
Barter system for daily needs: Ratnakar Shetty hails from Shankarnarayan, a small village in Kundapur Taluk of Udupi district. His father, Charmakki Sanjeev Shetty, owned agricultural land, and the family depended mainly on farming. When Ratnakar was a kid, the barter system was the norm, as they boasted a huge stock of Paddy bags. So, Paddy used to be given in exchange for fish, groceries, or whatever items were needed for daily use. In a way, it was like a true royal rural life in those days. The kids studied in a state government-run Kannada-medium school.
Into the contractor's business, way back from 1955! It was a period in the mid-fifties of the previous century. Charmakki Narayan Shetty, the elder brother of Ratnakar Shetty's father, Charmakki Sanjeev Shetty, was a completely different personality. He was into the contractor's business, way back in 1955! Charmakki Narayan Shetty used to take 50+ people from the village to Sirsi, in the neighbouring North Canara district, to work on contract works.
Take advance and disappear! However, it was not an easy task because people would often take advance payments and disappear, while the onus of tracing them fell on Ratnakar's father, Charmakki Sanjeev Shetty. His father was a tough, disciplined guy who would track them down and send them back to complete the work!
A visionary workaholic: Charmakki Narayan Shetty was, in fact, a farsighted visionary workaholic, thinking far ahead of his time and never staying at home, but was always on the move with a team to finish the contract work. He was known for leading a team to accomplish the assigned tasks on time! No doubt he was paid for the job, and the agreed-upon wages were disbursed to the workforce; it wasn't always a profitable venture, as there were many ups and downs all along the way. He underwent many losses, and interestingly, such an adverse experience was no setback for him to plunge further. Be it profit or loss, he always kept adventuring in getting tasks done.
Walked 25+ kilometres back to the village: Once, the loss was a deadly blow, as both Charmakki Narayan Shetty and his younger brother Charmakki Sanjeev Shetty were forced to walk around 25+ kilometres to return to their native village. Ratnakar's Dad, Charmakki Sanjeev Shetty, was equally a hardworking person, going to the farms as early as 05 am, doing what all needed to be done, and later engaging in other forms of work. But not Charmakki Narayan Shetty; he was adamant about doing what he believed in.
Dug a huge pit for the Sharavathi Dam! Charmakki Narayan Shetty, a six-foot-tall, fair, handsome, but tough guy, went to Shivamogga, where several Government Department Engineers from Bengaluru in ties were found in a perplexed mood. They sought the help of the former to dig huge pits for testing the soil to build the Sharavathi Dam. Digging of such deep pits was mandatory as a study had to be carried out to ascertain the characteristics of the soil at different heights. The excavation was astonishingly done at unimaginable speed, much to the astonishment of the city-based officials. If he was told to complete the job within a week, he used to get it done within 4-5 days!
Bankers make a beeline! Bengaluru Engineers were very happy at the Herculean speed of Charmakki Narayan Shetty and assigned him to clear the trees before the proposed dam, as the area would be submerged and had to make way for the smooth flow of water. Tree clearing was not at all an easy job during those days in the absence of modern equipment for chopping the trees, everything like cutting, loading and transporting had to be done physically. If the forest cover before the proposed dam was assumed to be half a kilometre, then the region to be cleared from trees ranged up to 10 kilometres!
One contract yields Rs 50 lakhs! Charmakki Narayan Shetty submitted the tender form, which was also qualified, paving the way for the contract alongside M S Ramaiah. That one single work worth one crore fetched him a profit of Rs 50 lakhs during 1963, and there was no looking back further.
Hidkal Dam, Malaprabha Dam... Charmakki Narayan Shetty suggested his younger brothers, Charmakki Sanjeev Shetty, and Charmakki Nagayya Shetty become a partner, to which the brothers agreed. In this way, they floated the Shankaranarayan Construction Company and started bidding for several prestigious projects in the state. Together, the brothers bagged the contracts and built the huge Hidkal Dam, Malaprabha Dam, Ghataprabha Dam, Kali Project, Katkol Canal tunnel, Panshet Dam, Shankaranarayan Building on MG Road in Bengaluru, which housed the Passport and LIC offices, to name a few of their milestone projects.
From village school to Baldwin Boys' School! All of a sudden, Charmakki Narayan Shetty decided that all children should have the best of education and his and his brother's sons should be educated in Bengaluru. In this way, Ratnakar Shetty, who was about to go to the second standard in Shankaranarayana Kannada-medium government school, was suddenly sent to Bengaluru and was admitted to the hostel for the first standard in Baldwin Boys' School! As a result, Ratnakar Shetty became the senior-most classmate in the first standard class! Ratnakar continued in the same Baldwin Boys' School for 10 years, up to the 10th standard.
An overdose of red marks in the progress card! Ratnakar Shetty jovially recollects his good old school days at the Baldwin Boys School in Bengaluru, "Although two hours in the morning and one hour in the evening were meant for studies in the hostel, I was more immersed in sports and more so in playing cricket. While all others were busy with their books, other friends and I were overbusy in preparing the score book for the match during the weekend. So, the marks card was overdozed with any number of red ink marks...
...A bashing session back home: So, whenever we went home during Christmas and Summer holidays, it turned out to be a bashing session for me. My elder brother, the late Dr Bhujang Shetty, was a very intelligent person, and his scores in studies were always at the peak of North, while mine were at the bottom of South! So, without even asking anything, my Dad used to beat me, left and right. Then I used to put forth a brave face by promising to do well in the subsequent exams and study seriously for quite some time upon returning. But it used to be only a short-lived glory, as the personal memory of being thrashed by Dad was too short...
...Taught teamwork and leadership: The whole week was dedicated to the madness of playing cricket during weekends. Apart from preparing the score books during the weekdays and teams on Saturdays, a hunt was also on to search for the bat! In a way, such activities also taught the qualities of teamwork and leadership...
...A big world record of sorts! To maintain a distance from books and studies, I set a world record of sorts by failing the ICSC examinations, thereby earning the dubious distinction of being the only person in the Shettys' family to do so. While having written the exams only, I had a doubt, but felt that I probably may pass...
...Being a sportsman helped to dodge the beatings! My father got a lightning call from his elder brother, Narayan Shetty Charmakki, informing about his son Manohar, who was studying at Bishop Cottons School, had passed, and me having failed. Then my father, who was in his tile factory, gave a call to my mother inquiring about my whereabouts. He came and started beating me...perhaps being a sportsperson helped me dodge his beatings, running around the house; yet 10 per cent of them were not missable...
...Thanks to Nagayya Shetty Uncle, shifted to Dharwad: Nagayya Shetty, younger brother of my father, had then shifted to Dharwad to oversee the construction works of the Hidkal Dam. I don't know as to what struck him; Instead of wasting time for having failed in the ICSC examinations, he immediately suggested that I move to Dharwad to appear in the SSLC examinations as a correspondence student. I had never visited nor had dreamt of being in Dharwad...
...82 per cent marks: I joined Prof Walvekar's Tution classes in the morning at Dharwad and cleared the 10th standard with 82 per cent marks, which meant I had talent, but was lazy in studying. Later, joined the Karnataka Science College...
...Thanks to Prof Gudigudi Sir: Thanks to my Mathematics tuition teacher, Prof Gudigudi Sir in Narayanpur locality, he infused a positive mindset in me. He was an excellent psychologist; more than the tuition, he used to make me think positively; pooh poohed the so-called formula, claiming it to be nothing. He deserves all the credit for infusing me with a new outlook on thinking.
First class in Mechanical: Ratnakar Shetty joined the B V Bhoomaraddi College of Engineering for the degree course in Mechanical. He completed the Mechanical degree with a first class.
A Swimming champion all along in the school: Although Ratnakar Shetty paid little attention to studies, he came out with flying colours in all the swimming competitions at the school level. For instance, he boasts of a huge collection of gold medals and championship shields for incessantly bagging the top slots at the sub junior, junior, senior and relay captain tournaments.
God is great: Ratnakar Shetty signs off by concluding, "No doubt, all the hard-earned credibility and goodwill built over three decades went for a testing time during the COVID-19 pandemic due to huge pending payments for the 27-storied apartment building project. Thanks to God, fortunately, everything went well at the end of the day; everyone connected to us is happy"
A Man Friday: Last, but not the least; Ratnakar Shetty is a sought after Samaritan whenever his friends and relatives are in trouble. Perhaps, examples of those kind make a big list for another detailed write up. Dr Devi Prasad Shetty was allocated 08.5 acres of land by the KIDB to build the Narayan Health City. However, he couldn't move further due to several litigations by some of the land owners in the courts. Thanks to Ratnakar Shetty, he was behind the uphill task in pursuing the cases and negotiating with the land owners incessantly for four years! At the end of the day, Ratnakar Shetty was successful in aptly handling the adverse predicament, paving way for developing the iconic infrastructure for cardiac care, hitherto unheard of in the continent!
-Manohar Yadavatti
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