I remember my first visit to Taipei in late 90's. A prosperous capital city of a small island country.
As a visitor from India, I was awestruck by the well functioning city, beautiful people and all round prosperity. I later visited other parts of Taiwan and even in smaller towns & cities, the trend was pleasantly replicated.
I was really surprised as to how a small island nation, with little or, no natural resources could afford to become such a success.
And why, we in India cannot?
The answer started revealing as I went through my business.
I had gone to buy some coil winding machines for the organisation where I worked.
The first meeting took us to a small office that was more like a small office cum bedroom. It was well stocked with furniture & small eats.
After the customary tea session, we went for a tour of the manufacturing set up. Our host who owned the business, took us to the main assembly area housed at the ground floor of another building that looked like a house.
The machines were impressive in their workmanship. The demonstration proved their world class performance. (it was further proved in the tests that followed in the next week).
When we requested a visit to the part manufacturing set up, we were taken to several small workshops in the by lanes. The manufacturing set up though housed in congested areas, were truly amazing in their technologically superior machines, the operating methods, the measuring methods, the workplace organisation, the knowledge of the people working there and the quality of work. It was very difficult not to be impressed.
The surprise came at lunch time. the modest owner wiped his hands off the oil & offered us ride to lunch venue in his gleaming Mercedes-Benz.
The surprise was augmented by the discussion during a spicy Chinese meal, where he shared his share of international business. As it came out, he was a major player in the world market.
What really struck me was:
the level of achievement
the quality of work
amazing organisation in spite of constraints
passion towards the chosen field
the modesty
and the entrepreneurship?
The awe inspiring stories kept adding up during my successive visits to this small entrepreneurial nation.
I always thought that some day we will have such stories in India.
Today, I find such inspiring entrepreneurial stories taking shape in the whole of our country and this beckons for me the birth of a self assured, rising nation in spite of the ills & limitations that we have inherited.
I came across one such story that I found will resonate with lot of young people and also answer lots of questions.
A story of how Raghav Rangarajan chased his dream and became an entrepreneur. | He set up India's first 'Green Garage'
Source: He set up India's first 'Green Garage' - Rediff.com Business