Manu and the Chandaria family have come a long way from when their patriarch, Premchand Popat Chandaria, set sail for Kenya in 1916.
Manu Chandaria maintains, as did the Mahatma, that while people create wealth, they are not the owners of it but rather the managers or, put another way, its trustees.
When Manu’s father Chandaria found out that he could not save 4,000 rupees he needed from his employment, he quit, borrowed cash and bravely founded Premchand Popat & Co.
The instruction was terse and final. Do not speak unless you are spoken to. He was not to speak to Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom unless she spoke to him.
Manu Chandaria was named to the committee that President Daniel arap Moi set up to rehabilitate businesses that were destroyed during the failed coup.
The Chandaria family of 36 stayed together in one house. There was only one motor vehicle available for all of them. There were six Chandarias among the 40 employees of Kaluworks.
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