________________
little unsteady," says Sudhirbhai, as he recalls a conceptual stage." the 20 seconds that shook Ahmedabad, brought Having learnt their elementary business lessons Kutch to its knees, and pulled the rug from un- in the pharmaceutical industry, the Torrent der Gujarat's feet. "My first thought was that my Group's philanthropic leanings are primarily toBP had shot up and I was having an attack of wards healthcare and the electricity sector. vertigo myself. But when I heard my teacup rat- Father Uttambhai Mehta started his career as tling in the saucer, I knew immediately that this a medical representative with Sandoz Ltd. As a was an earthquake. Fortunately, all us, my young boy growing up the hard way in Chhapi, a mother, my wife, my brother and his wife and small village in the backward Banaskantha disthe children were at home so we rushed out of trict in north Gujarat, he finished school at the the house into the garden. Then
nearby Mahavir Jain Vidyalaya the lights and the telephones
on loan scholarships. His decicrashed."
sion to leave Sandoz must have By 9.20 am, Samir Mehta with
been a gut-wrenching one, eshis technical staff was already
pecially when the small pharat the Sabarmati power station
maceutical business, Trinity of the Ahmedabad Electricity
Laboratories, he had estabCompany, in which Torrent has
lished with his severance pay a controlling stake, to try and
in 1959, did not do too well and restore the power supply. Within
he had to return to Chhapi vilone-and-a-half-hours,
lace in failing health. However, Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad
wife Shardaben continued to city could switch on electricity.
manage the business from their "For the first 3-4 hours, every
village. Uttambhai never really one was talking about
regained his lost health but his Ahmedabad. What has col
extraordinary will power and lapsed and where, getting the
Shardaben's meticulous care injured to hospital, organising
saw him through the difficult relief," explains Sudhirbhai. "We
times as he carefully laid every had already opened the manu
brick of an edifice that was Late Uttambhai Mehta facturing units and got together
worth Rs. 2200 crore at the antibiotics, painkillers and
time of his death in March 1998 stress management drugs since
at the age of 76. those were the medicines most
"My biggest worry then was needed to cope with such an
how to keep the family toemergency, and set up a distri
gether,"
remembers bution network with local NGOs.
Shardaben, a shadow passing Then we came to know about
over her face. It must have been Kutch. So instead of just giving
difficult, if not impossible, to away the medicines haphaz
bring up a family of four young ardly, we prepared standard
children, look after a husband packets for distribution so that
in indifferent health, and conall those who needed the medi
tinue managing the pharmaceucines had access to the right
tical business where she would drugs in the right quantity."
herself package the medicines, Within two weeks of the
deal with the distributing agenearthquake, the Torrent Group
cies, make bills and collect the had already distributed more
outstandings. "I had complete than Rs. 50 lakh worth of es
faith in Lord Jai Jinendra," she sential medicines through 20
says simply. The same lady who 25 NGOs actually working in the sha Shardaben Mehta
today has access to a consideraffected areas. "We are also working with a very able fortune, could hardly look beyond Rs. 200, committed and wonderful group of doctors, those days. most of whom we know very well since we are Having gone through difficult years herself, she in the pharmaceutical business," says has tremendous empathy for those less fortunate. Sudhirbhai, "and together we have started a "My mother is a completely God-fearing persmall hospital in Bhachau, one of the badly af- son," says Sudhirbhai. "In 1984 when we decided fected towns. The hospital is financed by the U to export to Russia and the Eastern Bloc counN Mehta Charitable Trust. Amongst our long- tries, I was continuously travelling to these counterm plan is a hospital in Bhuj that is already at tries. My mother made me promise that in keep
111 VARDHAMAN
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