The Man With The Midas Touch

From moneylending to corporate executive to entrepreneurism, life’s twists and bends have been a rewarding journey of self-discovery for Pankaj Bhandari of Smart Creations. MARWAR speaks to the man who mastered the art of gold plating, only to find that his true calling lay in giving a golden touch to the divine.

- Supriya Newar

IT IS ON THE AUSPICIOUS DAY OF Dhanteras that I have a tête-à-tête with Pankaj Bhandari of Smart Creations, a company that specialises in gold coating services—with a spiritual touch. But that is today. Back in the 1990’s, Bhandari, who then was a commerce student, was balancing the world of academics and money-lending: he would help his father, who was in the business of money-lending through the day, while also trying to understand the nitty-gritty of the stock markets and IPOs, and by evening, he would don his student hat and attend college. That, he explains, helped him acquire the fundamentals of accountancy, human resources and business ethics.

The Bhandaris, who trace their roots to Jodhpur, Rajasthan, have been settled in Chennai for many years.

Finding his calling in life

After acquiring his postgraduate degree in finance, Bhandari went to work for Grasim Industries, where his team’s core competency was to identify financial frauds. The stint was to help him find his true calling in life. “My greatest learning there was that I was neither happy nor cut out to take orders from others. I resigned to be my own boss.”