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“Success never comes as gift,
you have to struggle for it. I
have found success through some
of life’s worst conditions”.
Raju India
Born to the son of an
Indian army officer outside of
Jaipur, Rajendera Singh (Raju
India) has always believed that
being a good man and doing good
for others will bring good onto
himself. While Raju has been
running Incredible Real India
Tours for over 16 years now, it
is not the path he had expected.
 Raju’s
formal training is in Electrical
engineering. After his study,
Raju struggled to find a job.
When Raju was 21, his father
retired from the army and
decided to start a
transportation business with a
partner. This business failed
miserably. “We had a big loss in
that business because of our
innocence; we did not have any
business background so were not
experts in what it mean to run a
business. My family had lost
everything. After this incident
my father became very insecure.
He had lost his hopes and
dreams; there was nothing left
at this time except the help of
God.”
Because of this transportation
business, Raju had learned to
drive a car, which is a very
difficult skill in India. Raju
decided to drive a taxi for a
travel agency as the last hope
for his family to survive.
However, it was very hard for
Raju to drive a taxi in his city
of Jaipur due to being part of
the Warrior caste (high
society), where a taxi driver is
not a respectable profession.
“Most of my friends who played
with me in my childhood stopped
to talk with me.”
In 1992, Raju decided to move to
Delhi to work far away from his
society’s eye. With no money of
his own, and no money available
from his family, Raju borrowed
2000 rupees (almost $70 at the
time) and a tank of gas in order
to work as a taxi driver. This
was the start of his career in
the tourism industry.
At first, living in Delhi was
very difficult. Raju lived off
of less than a dollar per day,
sending money to his family as
their only means of financial
support. “That time was really
hard because I had never lived
without my family. I was feeling
very lonely in Delhi. Sometimes
I was treated by local people
and police like I came from an
enemy country. I was too small
in this big world without any
guidance. It was not so easy to
establish myself in this unknown
market.”
For the first month, Raju showed
up at a travel agency every day,
sitting and waiting for a job.
“It was impossible for me to go
back at home without money, they
were in worse condition then me.
Day by day I felt more and more
hopeless that I would not be
able to find work.”
Finally, Raju got a break. “One
day, one of the people in the
office asked me if I want to
give a tour of Rajasthan. It was
really impossible for me to
believe his words; I could not
say anything to him. He asked me
how much I would charge for a 15
day trip. I told him to pay me
as he wished; they gave me work
for next 15 days. I went in my
car, I cried a lot, I never
cried so much in my life before
-- it was tears of happiness, I
was never so happy before in my
life. I got 12,000 rupees ($240)
from the company and 8,000
($160) rupees as tip. It was my
beginning.” After this, Raju was
able to pay back the 2,000
rupees and the tank of gas he
borrowed.
Through Raju’s 10 years as a
tourist taxi driver in Delhi, he
gained experience and
geographical knowledge traveling
all over the country, making
contacts and learning about the
best places to take visitors.
His next break came when he took
five people from Olesa (Spanish)
tourists on a tour, who entered
his name in a tour guide book
and a newspaper. Another Spanish
group introduced him to the
“hi-tech world” and made a small
webpage for his emerging tourism
business. Raju was starting to
become successful on his own,
gaining tourists from Spain by
word of mouth rather than
through a travel agency.
Raju’s business idea was very
different from other large
agencies. He decided to apply
his belief that doing well for
others brings good to oneself to
the design of his travel agency.
“I was one of the leading people
in this driver's community who
really change the entire system
of Indian Tourism. Before,
tourists traveled in India only
through big travel companies.
But I made my own tourist taxi
drivers organization. We did not
use the corrupt commission
system so many other agencies
were using. We had strong values
of good service, hard work, and
discipline. Because of these
beliefs we were able to keep our
prices low, provide excellent
service, and compete with the
large travel agencies. Sometimes
people did not believe we were
real because our prices were so
good!”
Through the word of mouth from
many happy clients, Raju was
able to get enough customers
from Spain to begin to
officially build his company.
Although business was hard and
very competitive at first, Raju
maintained a positive outlook
and remained patient that good
would come to him. “I keep
patience because I know this is
beginning and our professional
level services will prove us. I
decided to give our best
services and I always tell
clients that if you are happy
please tell to others if you are
not happy please tell me so we
will not repeat the same mistake
again since we are here for you
and your people and families.”
Today Raju lives with his wife
and two children back in his
hometown of Jaipur. Incredible
Real India Tours is a thriving
and successful business who now
serves clients from around the
world, including whole Europe,
the UK, America, and Canada and
of course, Spain.
Peace be at your home and in
life too.
Alaina Appleman
Washington D.C.
USA |
