Navrattan Kothari, Chairman KGK Group

A man of high taste—Navrattan Kothari, head honcho of KGK Group is a connoisseur in true sense. Spending his life while on a scout for the best of things and living the high life, he is a name to reckon with. A third generation in the business, Kothari spent his childhood getting hands on experience in gems and jewellery business, thanks to his grandfather, who ventured into the business as a trader and his father, who expanded the realm of the business to another level.

When asked about the reason behind joining the business, Kothari articulates interestingly, “Had it been some drab, boring business then as a youth I might have chosen something that was more alluring. But, my family was already into the business of coloured gemstones, which is a precious and beautiful gift from the nature. With such gorgeous and fascinating things around for which the world craves, why would I look for any other options? By the time I had to choose a career, I was already in love with the gemstones, so the choice was obvious.”

Throwing light on his already paved path and perpetually increasing interest in the business, he says “I did not start something foreign. I knew what I was doing and I was genuinely interested in it. Both interest and knowledge took me towards the business and proved beneficial for me. With God’s grace, apart from small ups and downs in business, I have never had any failure during my journey so far.”

Though it is a common belief that Kothari joined the family business after his marriage in the year of 1962, his training period started at his very early age. “I have been learning about our business since my early childhood and till date my learning has never ceased. Success encourages me to learn more and stretch my limits. Now that I am also a teacher, I love sharing all the knowledge, experience and guidance that my father has taught me,” says Kothari.

Under the able guidance of N R Kothari, the KGK group has expanded far and wide. The group sources its diamonds directly from DTC being a sightholder and also from Argyle and Alrosa mines. While the business that only concentrated on trading coloured gemstones, N R Kothari opened new avenues for the flourishing business. He introduced diamond trading in the year 1972-73that proved to be a turning point in the history of KGK Group. Today the group has diamond manufacturing units in India, South Africa, Russia and China; jewellery manufacturing in India, Honk Kong and China and gemstone manufacturing in India, China and Thailand—catering to varied target consumers. What started with trading of coloured gemstones has now attained great heights with Kothari’s zeal, vision and persistence. After setting benchmarks in first trading of diamond and gemstones trading and then manufacturing of gems and jewellery, the group’s recent foray into retailing with its brand ‘Entice’ is yet another feather in its cap.

“Retail is the future and it cannot be ignored by a group that believes in reaching out to the customers. For any businessman, customers complete the cycle. We have had a pertinent presence in most business aspects, be it trading and raw material to manufacturing of the jewellery, hence retail was the next natural step to get closer to the consumers. With the onset of Entice we are at the foremost leg of the business development. Like our other businesses, we intend to take Entice to greater height,” he smiles.

An avid traveller and a super dedicated businessman, when quizzed about his family, minced no words in admitting that business took most of his time and he missed out on small but significant family moments. “Business almost consumed me. Most of the time, I was travelling, conducting meetings, attending clients and kept busy with handling other aspects of the business. I almost owe an apology to my wife, Anila Kothari, for this, as she has been extremely patient and supportive to me,” says the proud husband, adding, “She has sacrificed too much for me and the growth of the business, and she never complained. I also miss spending time with my children during their growing up years. And I realised that my children are not only grown up enough to join the business, but also have the zeal and the interest in the product. I give the entire credit to my wife for making my children perfect sons and daughter.”

Navrattan Kothari along with his brothers- Vinay and Prakash are the third generation of the Kothari family. Navrattan’s sons Surendra Kothari, Sanjay Kothari and Sandeep Kothari are the next generation carrying on the legacy of the Kothari family, while the daughter, Shilpa Kothari, is happily married.Owing to its deep roots in the business, the Kothari family has already acquired the status of being a legendary business family, and the present generation is leaving no stone unturned in maintaining the status.

Talking about his relationship with his children, Kothari shared a sweet secret. He said, “With my sons I am like a father and teacher. We guide, consult and discuss things. But with my daughter and daughters-in law, I become a helpless dad, who has no courage to utter ‘No’ to their requests. Daughters are always father’s favourite and I am blessed with four daughters (one daughter and three daughters-in-law).”

Though it was difficult to make him budge from the favourite topics of business and family, after a consistent probing and perusal, he finally did speak a little about himself and his interest. “Riding horses has always been my favourite hobby. I was born in a family that owned a stable. All my childhood I was surrounded by horses and gemstones. So riding was a natural interest and a legacy that I inherited from my forefathers. I wanted to play polo, but somehow could not; however I don’t regret things, because if I have missed on something, life has always given me something better.”

Talking about his other interests, he said that he finds immense pleasure and satisfaction in philanthropy. The KGK Groups funds many programmes through a trust that looks into education of the underprivileged and provides healthcare facilities. “We have a hospital for cancer patients – Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital and Research Centre and Subodh Shiksha Samiti - a trust that runs a school and looks into other social work,”shares Kothari. Apart from philanthropy, Kothari is also keenly interested in history and preservation of historical monuments and his project of maintaining and revival of Jal Mahal, an important monument in Jaipur, goes on to prove his interest in art and history. Throwing light on his interest in archeology and travel some more, Kothari talks about places that are culturally and historically rich. “Italy is a heaven for people who like historical architecture, art and paintings. My business itself involves lot of travelling and I love going to Italy.”

Giving a glimpse of his poetic side, the tycoon brings out that he loves ghazals and Sufi songs and his favourite singers are Late Jagjeet Singh, Anup Jalota and Abeeda Parveen.

Try asking about his favourite food and he wraps up the question with a politically correct answer—“I like home-cooked food”, A clear indication that he is done with questions that is beyond his favourites. Gently steering the conversation to business again, the legend talks more about the Indian gems and jewellery industry.

“Before we talk about India, lets first understand who and what is a jeweller. To me, being a jeweller is beyond buying and selling of jewellery. A jeweller must be able to differentiate a real and fake gem and a good quality gem and a low quality one. Having imagination and creative bend of mind is equally important for a jeweller who wants to do good business. Coming to India, the country is fast turning into a design destination while it continues to maintain its image of being the preferred destination for cutting, polishing and manufacturing.”

When asked what interests him most in the business, pat comes the reply, “It has to be coloured gemstones. Though the world is crazy about diamonds, to me nothing can beat the beauty of coloured gemstones. In fact coloured gemstones are rarer than diamonds and a good quality gemstone is also, at times, dearer than diamonds,” says Kothari, who firmly believes that when life is so colourful then why not embrace those colours in all possible ways.

On a concluding note, Kothari says that business is not his work or profession, rather his passion. “Though the time is not so good for the industry, it still is the most fascinating business, where chances of losses are minimal and hence we should be patient. With an excellent take off of our brand ‘Entice’, our group is now foraying into fields like real estate and hospitality,” Kothari signs off.