One day, everything changed for the 19-year-old

 

 

 

“To laugh often and love much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of the children, to earn the approbation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to give one’s self, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition, to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exaltation, to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived -- this is to have succeeded.” Mr. Suresh Sharma -- Suresh Ji to all -- quoted these inspiring words as he received the Lifetime Achievement honour at the Vidarbha Industries Association’s Solar Industrial Awards ceremony. That was his inspiration, he said, to keep living life of simplicity and purpose. As Managing Director of the internationally famous Baidyanath Ayurved Bhavan, Mr. Suresh Sharma, has practised this philosophy distilling it in his human touch to every thought and action.

 

His soft but firm voice, his fine command on English as well as Hindi, and unassuming manner certainly form a veil over his persona. But just a few minutes of relaxed conversation start revealing this man’s immense contribution to making Ayurved not just acceptable but popular with masses across the country. It is not without reason that Suresh Ji is part of the galaxy that leads the Ayurveda front -- with no fanfare, no frills, no fashionable talk. In simple words he says, “Ayurved has bright future. Shri Baidyanath Ayurved Bhavan also has bright future.” This quiet confidence comes from lifetime of dedication and disciplined work in one cause. One day about 55 years ago, Suresh Ji’s life changed dramatically. His illustrious father, Pandit Ram Narayan Sharma, asked him to give up his studies as a fifth semester electrical engineering student at the famed Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani, and return home to take care of the business.

 

The father wanted to retire -- which he did without looking back once the decision was made -- and hand over the business to his promising son who was just 19 years old. Mr. Suresh Sharma returned home and started working with his brother-in-law Mr. Kailash Nath -- KN to all -- to learn the ropes of business. From that moment on, there was no looking back. And from that moment, Pandit Ram Narayan Sharma Ji also did not look at business even once. From that point on, Mr. Suresh Sharma focused his attention on developing market in the Southern States of India and succeeded hugely. The business was full of challenges, full of adventure, full of touch calls to be taken. Those were the days when Ayurved had begun capturing the people’s imagination. It was effective, and certainly not as expensive as some other systems of medicine and treatment. Pandit Ram Narayan Sharma had taken lots of pains to create the base. As a young man in his late teens, he had started working, giving ayurvedic medicine to the needy. The business picked up, bringing to Pandit Ji lot of admiration from the common people. In those days, young Suresh Sharma joined the Scindia School where he learned the importance of discipline as well as equality. There were many students from celebrated families, but everybody was treated equally. That principle got imbibed on the little boy’s personality -- and made a lot of difference in later life in business.

 

It was in those days that the belief grew in him that he has to give back to society what he got from the Divine. That belief has kept Shri Baidyanath Ayurved Bhavan on the forefront of serving larger causes for the society -- which is CSR in its own way. As business grew and earned a lot of name for itself, many honours, too, came Suresh Ji’s way. He always respected the recognition, but somehow remained non-chalant about those. What kept him so was the value of being humble, imbibed in his personality as a young fellow. He kept reminding himself that being a better human being was more important. Mr. Suresh Sharma’s politeness and humility are his real marks of personality. His effort is to treat everybody working in his enterprise with certain respect, certain importance, and recognise his or her contribution. Of course, ayurved has by now begun using modern technology for mass production, Mr. Sharma says. He agrees that it is expensive as well. “But look, the herbs are expensive since those take a lot of effort first to be cared for and then to be collected and utilised in industrial production. Gone are the days when we did everything manually. Naturally, when production is made on industrial scale, pricing changes upwardly. But there is no doubt that common people are recognising the worth of ayurved as an authentic system of medicine with thousands of years of meaningful and fruitful tradition.

 

Even in China, ayurved is attracting attention”, Mr. Suresh Sharma says. Mr. Suresh Sharma is a lover of multiple sports. Today at 74, he still plays golf regularly, and is all eager to help different sports organisations and sportspersons in whatever manner possible. Second generation of the family has already taken over. Son Siddhesh is with his father, and other son Pranav is taking interest in wind energy. Both these young men are deeply engaged with their father in all his endeavours.