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How Manohar Joshi did it

For Maharashtrians, Chief Minister Manohar Joshi's accomplishments as a teacher, businessman and politician are but common knowledge.

But the chief minister stood before an audience in Pune the other evening to exhibit his acumen as a personality development counsellor as well.

The occasion: inauguration of a week-long personality development camp, organised by Shiv Sena leader Raj Thackeray. He had invited a galaxy of successful personalities to relate their success stories over the week. The onus of the first lecture on personality development fell on Joshi.

Reflecting on his life in order to inspire the youth, Joshi said that as a child born in a small village in Raigad district, he had never imagined that he would occupy the chief minister's office. Yet, sheer optimism and a determination to succeed had elevated him to the high post, he said.

He recalled that financial constraints had almost forced him to quit education after completing his vernacular final exams and take up a teaching job. In those days, passing the vernacular final exams made one eligible to become a teacher, the chief minister recalled.

Even before that, as a 12-year-old, the chief minister recalled he had to work as a newspaper boy. But a ''never-say-die'' attitude, ingrained in him by his parents and a strict disciplinarian regime enforced upon him by his uncle, inspired him to accept the challenges of life.

Joshi recollected that his first job in Bombay fetched him Rs 30, which was subsequently raised to Rs 55. ''I had hardly enough money to buy one square meal in the city whose mayor I subsequently became,'' he said.

Joshi recalled he used to survive on Rs 30. The remaining was spent on his college fees. ''Education is a must,'' he told his audience.

The chief minister said he succeeded in life because he had 'kept aims for himself and worked hard to achieve them'. In business, too, he had to suffer losses in the beginning. ''Mar khaoon ubha rahilo (I took much beating but continued nevertheless),'' Joshi reminisced.

He said he had set the aim of buying a car at the age of 25. And he did purchase a car for Rs 4,800 which, however, had a penchant for not running unless pushed.

Joshi had the following advice for youth who wanted to start their own business: ''Never have partners. If you want to do something, do it on your own. Take loans but never partners. Secondly, don't rely on just one business. Pursue three lines of businesses at least. One is sure to tick even if the others fail."

UNI

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