ENTERSURPRISING GUJARATIS

Armed with out-of-the-box ideas, marketing techniques and determination to upgrade their skills and knowledge, two young men ditch the clichéd and raise the bar for enterprising Gujaratis

Would you like to down a ‘Rafale, a ‘4G’ or a ‘Statue of Unity’?

By Ancela Jamindar

Abubbly Mukesh K Modi, 32, has been serving up sodas for the last five years at his stall by the roadside in Nikol. Nothing new or different, one may think. But one look at the menu board near the “live” soda minitruck and one will realise what piqued our interest. Reading out the menu here is as fun as downing a glass full of the flavour hodgepodge the shop offers.

In the last two years, the wedding photographer-turned-soda maker has reinvented his sodas by christening them with quirky and arresting names. And the flavour combos are as interesting as their titles, if not more. Taking the seven basic flavours, the 32-yearold has put together almost 40 new concoctions.

He loves his work and treats his customers as friends. “For me, they are my friends. I make sure to converse with them while I am preparing the soda of their choice,” Mukesh says, adding that some of his customers come from areas as far as Satellite, Prahladnagar and Maninagar among others. The reason, besides the taste and flavours, is the names he has given to his sodas, including ‘Patidar’, ‘Metro’, ‘Pappu ki Jhappi’, ‘4G’ and ‘Tik-Tok’.

It all started with ‘Notebandi’ two years ago – the flavour profile of this soda is a blend of pineapple + blueberry. With demonetisation as inspiration, Mukesh then continued to add on names based on current affairs. For example, his take on the caste equality is translated into a soda called ‘SCSTC’, “Baddha ne samman madvu joiye. Koi bhi jaati, dharam na loko ahiyaan ketla bhi alag kem na hoy, soda piva maa badha ek samaan chhe (Everyone deserves respect. Whoever comes to drink soda here, irrespective of the caste, is considered equal).”

Ask him about the names and he says, “I wanted to give customers something different as a pocket-friendly drink. Besides, being a Modi fan, I wanted to promote good governance schemes.” And you thought it’s all about taste? “If you’re suffering from stomach ache, you can have ‘Modi’ – a blend of ginger + homemade masala (secret recipe, not to be shared) + lemon. For headache, there’s ‘4G’, a concoction of lemon and ginger, served in shot glasses. Then there’s Rafale for cold which is a mix of lemon + ginger + homemade masala,” shares Mukesh, whose latest addition to the menu is the Covid-19 bomb, which is a ball of mint, clove, ginger, pepper, green chilli and soda. It starts to dissolve in the soda after five to 10 seconds. The bestsellers include ‘Metro’, ‘Modi’, ‘Notebandi’, ‘Jwalamukhi’, ‘WiFi’ and ‘Patidar’.

Take your pick
• Statue of Unity (mango + pineapple + kaalakhatta)
• Chowkidar (mango + rose)
• Abhinandan (kalakhatta + pineapple)
• Ram Mandir (soft drink + homemade masala)
• Anamat (pomegranate + orange)
• SCSTC (blueberry + pomegranate + soft drink)
• Kashmir 370 (soft drink + kalakhatta)
• PoK (orange + kalakhatta)
• Jammu 35A (mango + kalakhatta)
• Modi Again (pineapple + orange + rose + lemon + jaljeera)
• Metro (lemon + ginger + masala)


From fasal ugana to profits ‘banana’, this farmer tells us how

By Nischal Sanghavi

While many farmers have turned to smart farming by going ‘organic’ so it causes minimal damage to ecosystems, lower yields have been the common grouse with this type of farming. But a young farmer from Thana Galol village in Rajkot has hit upon a brilliant idea to improve the value of his yield. Ashwin Mathukia, 35, who has studied till class 10, has been farming on his 30 bigha land for two decades now. It was four years ago that the thought of making the most of his yield struck him. Since then, he began attending natural-farming seminars of Amravati-based Subhash Palekar. He began meeting farmers from Baramati, Pune, Nasik and Amravati who were employing Palekar’s technique. He learnt that if he could add more value to his harvest, he could earn more profits.

He first began growing purely organic fruits and vegetables – moringa, turmeric, banana and sugarcane -- and sold them directly to genuine customers who understood what organic produce was and were ready to shell out more money. Slowly, from being a traditional banana farmer, he learnt ways to be active on the food market circuit by making different products out of his yield and reaping profits. For example, he says, bananas are sold for Rs 10 per kg in wholesale market. If he retails it directly, he gets Rs 20 per kg. If he prepares banana chips, he gets Rs 40 per kg and if he makes banana powder, he can get Rs 80 per kg.

Ashwin has invested around Rs 2 lakh in buying machines that help him process his yield. These include solar dryer, turmeric cutting machine, pulveriser, potato peeler, slicer, banana wafer machine and packaging machinery. Next, Ashwin decided to market his products using technology, which no one else in his village has done. He uses Facebook to market his products and puts up videos and photographs. He has been able to create a loyal customer base using the social media tool. “I have at least 1,000 customers so far in Gujarat and Maharashtra. They receive parcels of the products from me regularly. I also have NRI clients but only deliver to their relative’s India address. On an average 10 couriers are sent from my end every day,” he said.

He says that a regular farmer earns Rs 10 lakh revenue with a 25% markup in a 30 bigha farm. But he earns around Rs 30 lakh in revenue with a net profit of Rs 20 lakh a year.

“Every day, seven to eight farmers visit me to learn new techniques and gather tips,” says the proud farmer.