ENTREPRENEUR|INSPIRATION|LIFE LESSONS
Take A Challenge And Feel Blessed To See That Your Idea Has Germinated.
A young man almost failed the exam but has now become a top-ranking entrepreneur.
The Tapri Restaurant in Jaipur(India)
You can see the happy threesome. What are we doing there? These are my friends Mala and Sudhir Mathur. Both of them are very special to me and meeting them is always a fun time together.
Mala invited me to Jaipur (India)for a short vacation. Sudhir invited us to a cafe called Tapri.
I like Tapri because it is one of the unique tea houses in the country. If you look at the decor, it is like you were sitting in someone’s house. It is informal and has a very casual look to it. It is filled with odd things. Books in one corner. Many different types of kettles in the other. In other corners,s you will find glasses or teacups or queer curios.
The whole of Jaipur relates to Tapri. It is one of the most social and networking places. You meet many friends there and you can even sit and discuss things over there. Also, it becomes so full that you now need to make reservations at times.
The cafe opens at 10 AM and we were there around 11 AM but it was quite full and it was perchance that we were able to get a table with 3 seats.
Tapri has an inside and outside sitting too. Travelers from all over the world could be seen there. By word of mouth, it has become popular and there were friendly tourists from all over the world. It is believed that if you go to Jaipur and do not visit Tapri you will lose something in your visit.
Snacks and tea or coffee
Tapri has a very different type of menu. It has customized street foods into Tapri special Menu. This time I ate things like Namkeen shots, which are the customized famous golgappas of India. They then had small samosas universally accepted but again with a different taste, only made in Tapri.
I just mentioned offhand to my friends that Tapri has the best teas in the world because Tapri means tea house in the Indian language but I wish they had coffee too. The waiter heard me and said madam we have excellent coffees too. Would you like to try our hand-beaten coffee or filter coffee?
Mala and I opted for the hand-beaten coffee and Sudhir said that he would try the filter coffee. The waiter brought us a jaggery sweet, some Muska buns along with the coffee and other snacks.
They were just awesome! Excellent food and the coffee was very different too. Just loved the taste of the coffee so much. Some pictures of Tapri restaurant given below will show you how it is impossible to miss Tapri when you visit the city which is a very popular destination with tourists from Europe, USA, Russia, Australia and other countries as I have met so many warm and friendly people whenever I visited Jaipur.
As you can see above the Tapri is very inviting as people can sit inside or outside whatever be their choice and there are happy cheerful people all around and warmth and friendliness.
Who’s brainchild is Tapri?
My next question to Sudhir who is famous in Jaipur and everyone knows him for his philanthropy and generous nature who is the entrepreneur who made this famous restaurant? Lo behold, I visited Tapri many times before this visit too but never had the good fortune of meeting the founder.
Sudhir was already talking to someone. He beckoned us to meet the owner of the place. I will just show his pictures:
The young man with curly hair smilingly looked at me. I was introduced to him. He is Ankit Bohra, the owner of Tapri. Finding me a professor of management he told me his story as to how he started and expanded his business. His story is so inspirational.
He told me he had another friend Saurabh Bapna. They were both from Rajasthan and friends from class 10. They did their graduation and then did their MBA from Mumbai.
As part of their MBA curriculum, they prepared a project report of a casual restaurant where people would be happy to visit informally but their idea flopped and their examiner failed them and told them the plan was shoddy.
The friends were disappointed. They finished their MBA and started working and were in fairly good jobs. They had an inner dream of opening this restaurant.
The friends left their jobs and started with personal finances and support from friends.
Ankit Bohra who I met is so humble. He said that they had extended the restaurant and opened two more in Jaipur. Moreover, they also started a whole wing like a multi-departmental store with all the products produced in Jaipur like pottery, metalwork, leather, stationery, etc. They were giving a platform to the weavers, artists, and creative people of Jaipur.
Ankit Bohra said that the failed project had challenged them. Though people laughed at their idea at that particular time, the dream inspired them to start a cafe that was unique in its concept.
Now that the idea is germinated they look back and feel happy that they were inspired and challenged to start this work in 2010. They are successful now but ready to help young people who have an idea and other people don't understand the idea. They are ready to extend a helping hand!
The takeaways
#1. Be inspired to fulfill your dream: Ankit Bohra says “sometimes you don’t need a plan but you need to fulfill your dream so trust, breathe and just go ahead, work hard and see what happens.”
#2. Take the challenge: It is important to take the challenge. Although his project was rejected he still challenged himself and now he and his friend feel blessed that their idea has germinated.
#3. Always be humble: Failure and success are part of one’s life. Always be humble and greet people with happiness and be ready to help them. It is a true indicator of being a good human being.
Conclusion
Failure should challenge us. We should not be afraid as to what will happen in our lives.
We should take challenges and accept success and failures in our lives. This is the biggest lesson in life
We should be inspired by people like Ankit and Saurabh who failed but did not lose heart. They accepted the challenge and were happy to be successful in the long run.
“You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go and see what happens.” — Mandy Hale
I recently read a very inspiring story written by Shameem Anwar about a conversation between a father and a daughter. I am sure you would like it also.
©Dr. Preeti Singh, 2021.
