Page 20 - Gujar Mal Modi

on condition that Mr. Gujarmal Modi would ensure his safety. Mr. Modi agreed to

this readily. Sharp at six in the morning he would escort him to the factory site
and move with him like a shadow till bedtime. He also took every pre caution to

ensure that there were no chances of the engineer being poisoned. Close prox-
imity gave Mr. Modi an opportunity to learn from the engineer the field and desk

work required for constructing a mill.

The motto which continued to inspire Gujarmal throughout his career was that
the will power to face odds gives rise to courage in man. Right from his early

days, he had been an early riser. He would wake up at 5 a.m. and after getting
ready, by 6 a.m. he could be seen grappling with his business affairs. The ener-

getic Modi would ride on horseback daily from Nabha to Patiala to supervise the
work. He had not only to look after a team of 500 workers engaged in the mill but

also the construction work of the building. Cement had to be procured; lime too,
was needed and so were bricks, mortar, steel and conduit pipes, and most im-

portant was the managerial skill needed to handle all these without loss of time.

Personal supervision meant that for hours together he had to keep standing in

the scorching sun. All this kept him busy for 16 to 17 hours a day. But hard work
never dampened his spirits. The challenge of ever increasing business activity

gave him encouragement. Even after the day’s chores he managed to find time
to type out replies to a large number of letters.

The new factory was constructed on scientific and modern lines. It took only

nine months to be built. His father, by now, was fully convinced that the young
Modi had fully deve loped the sense of devotion to duty. He had, by then, ac-

quired more experience of running an industrial establishment, of building con-
struction, business accounts and engineering than could be expected of a young

man barely twenty-two years old. It was reasonable and natural, therefore, that
he should be asked to shoulder the responsibility of running the affairs of the

new mill.

In 1924 the new factory at Patiala started functioning under the guidance of the

young Modi. The traditional family qualities of foresight and prudence helped
him to make his way into the business world. His outlook on business was pro-

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