Miles To Go Before I Sleep…

This is a true story, a living tale of how a person’s firm belief in hard work, dedication, perseverance, and strong resolution, despite all odds, multiple challenges, setbacks, and failures, made him in the end, a victorious and a highly successful businessman. 

Had it not been for the power of his destiny, Surender Singh a humble, unassuming lad born to a simple family in Sonipat on 15 Oct 1974, would have, one day, emerged an ace 100-meter sprinter. His foot injury, alas, brought a drastic change in his course, neither allowing him to chase further his dream of becoming a sports star nor permitting him to pursue his studies. 

Getting caught from both sides and having no other option but to succumb to the circumstances, Surender picked up small jobs here and there, which weren’t much to his liking, didn’t satisfy his desires, nor suited his passion. He always knew he was poised to do something much better and to achieve much larger goals in life…

We all know that for the valiant and courageous, miracles do finally happen. Surinder, by virtue of his father being an ex-serviceman, was qualified to apply for a Safal Vegetable booth and, to his luck, they were successful in getting one allotted in Moti Bagh (South). “Getting into the business of perishable commodities was a new and risky venture for us and we had to consult a whole lot of people before getting into it,” says he. “With no experience in the vegetable business, it was surely tough for us and we suffered losses and saw a whole lot of vegetables rot. Running around for purchases, looking after the store and the staff, the suppliers and the customers and the lawmakers indeed, were tough tasks to perform.”

“However,” says he, “It was but a matter of time that I got to the nerve of the business and learnt the tricks of the trade. My first focus was paying attention to the consumers and learning their psyche. I discovered that a little recognition, a simple smile, and some courtesy were enough to win peoples’ hearts and their patronage. It took our business a couple of months to settle down, and it finally started stabilising. However, being located in a colony majorly inhabited by Government servants, the sales showed a rather slow progress… 

That being the case, Surinder moved to a booth in DLF – II, where, due to the high paying propensity of people, managed to, just within a couple of months, double his revenues. The four years of incessant hard work, toil, multiple defeats, failures and deceptions by his men, had made him strong and wise. “In my mind, one learns more from failures than from the advice given by people,” says he prophetically.  

A day finally came wherein he took over the SAFAL Booth at Sushant Lok – 1, where, by virtue of his decade-old experience, he could plan and manage it well right from the beginning and was successful, over a certain period, in increasing the sale from 1500 Kgs a day to a whopping 5,700 Kgs a day. The Safal organisation recognized his mettle and his was declared the TOP SAFAL BOOTH 7 years in a row.

However, Surender knew that he was destined to do something much, much bigger. A day came when he decided to abandon the SAFAL and open his own brand ‘Mandi’ by taking a shop on rent for Rs. 50,000/- a month, and over the seven subsequent years, took on a premium rent, three more adjacent shops and two basements.

“There is no middleman, I buy the best vegetables straight from the farmers, give them a good rate and transport them in my trucks” says he with a smile. Being recognized for delivering quality, he was offered to open another Mandi at the Aralias complex and diversified his business by opening yet another brand by the name of KUNAIC. “I bring to my patrons 42 Indian and exotic fruits and a variety of 157 ‘A Grade’ vegetables” every day. On my payroll, I have 50 employees and most of them have been working with me for more than a decade” I treat them as my children.” 

When asked about sanitation and quality, he says – “Our trucks and vegetable display racks are hygienically washed and sanitized every single day” My brother and my two sons, Vineet (28) and Nikit (24) have been my strongest powers, who have given me a strong backing and have worked relentlessly towards building the brand that MANDI today stands to be.” He got his daughter married a couple of years ago.

Asked whether he had done enough in life and if he wanted to call it a day and ‘live happily ever after’ he says – “I am still young and energetic, I have to go miles before I sleep and wish to make my products more reachable by creating an APP, wherein people will have access to my products within the comfort of their houses”