Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani visited the Palanpur Vidyamandir in Gujarat's Banaskantha district and shared with students the memories of his early days of struggle and the learnings.
Addressing the celebrations of 75 years of Vidyamandir Trust on Sunday, Mr Adani said the trading done by his father just through oral commitments, which he claimed never failed, were his initial lessons on the power of trust, and drive every action that the Adani Group takes as a conglomerate.
"My father was involved in what the bankers today describe using a sophisticated term - they call it 'forward trades'. In those days, these trades were just oral commitments between the parties and these commitments never failed, and were my initial lessons on the power of trust," Gautam Adani told the students.
Mr Adani said the dry and tough living conditions of Banaskantha shaped his social behaviour and gave him a sense of family bonds and trust. He said his parents shaped his core values.
"As I look back, I have no agitations in saying that the tough early days I spent here with my parents and being a part of a society that stood by each other, shaped my early beliefs. Over time, these beliefs became my values and today these values of courage and trust and commitment have driven every action that the Adani Group takes as a company," he said, adding that they were the foundations on which his Group stands today.
Mr Adani, after having spent the initial days of his childhood in Banaskantha, moved to Ahmedabad and spent four years completing secondary education at the age of 16. He later moved to Mumbai.
On why he moved to Mumbai, Mr Adani said, "The optimism and desire for independence of a teenage boy are hard to contain. All I knew was that I wanted to do something different, and do it on my own. At sixteen years of age, purchasing a train ticket at the Ahmedabad railway station and boarding the Gujarat Mail to Mumbai with nothing much in my pocket."
In Mumbai, he started working at a diamond unit and quickly went on to pick up the nitty gritty of the diamond trade business. After having worked for about three years in the diamond unit, he left to start his own brokerage in diamond trading at Mumbai's famous Zaveri Bazaar.
"I still recall the day I did my first trade with a Japanese buyer. I earned a commission of 10,000," said Mr Adani, terming that moment as his initial journey as an entrepreneur.
On whether he regrets not going to college, he said, "Reflecting on my life and the different turns it took, I now believe that I would have benefitted If I had finished college."
"While my early experiences made me wise, I now realise that formal education rapidly expands one's knowledge," he added.
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