The Life Of 61-Years-Old Dev Mohanty Is A Typical Rags-To-Riches Story

The Life Of 61-Years-Old Dev Mohanty Is A Typical Rags-To-Riches Story

Dreaming to be different from everybody else is something most of us do. Only a few tread on the path to create unique success stories in the process of pursuing their ideas; while many others perish on the way. Hailing from the village of Khandasahi in Nischintakoili block, Odisha, the life of 61-years-old Dev Mohanty is a typical rags-to-riches story of a man with humble beginnings, who goes on to build  a business empire that spreads across several countries.

An electrical engineer by profession, Dev used to work in a shipping company in Mumbai. However, he would secretly nurture the dream to start something of his own. Dissatisfied with working for someone else, he left his job to focus on establishing his own business. He says, “Dreaming is the easy bit. Executing your dreams is where your real test lies. I had ideas and plans but I had no money with me to start anything. My wife, Mena Harapriya stood by me like anunshakeable pillar and supported me emotionally at every step. Thereon, armed with determination and zero investment, I started my first business in the shipping sector, in the early ‘80s.”

Now based in Mumbai, Dev heads a group of companies called ASMACS, which provide services in diverse verticals including shipping sector, fabrics industry and maintenance contract, and later graduating to human resources consultancy, training, development and placement services. The group now has 35 offices in 12 countries including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Dubai, Sharjah, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Malta. His company is also the only private company that holds the license and contract to look after the maintenance of american Army’s defence ships in Qatar. The HR consultancy, which is the largest in Asia, is involved not only recruiting skilled people for jobs but also in training unskilled workers and deploy them to various places.It took three decades of hard work to build the business from scratch, his current assets being Rs. 1000 crores and turnover Rs. 15000 crores. Reminiscing his days of struggle, he says, “After starting my business, for almost eight years I struggled to establish it well. Initially encountering many failures, I continued with determination and learned from all failures. Even people used to take me for granted but that motivated me a lot while taking risks also helped me grow. In 1989, I took one of the biggest risks by putting all my money on a single tender. I was lucky to get it as well.”

A strong believer in hard work and generosity, he recounts an incident from his early days in Mumbai: “Nothing could be achieved without struggle; struggle is always a part of our life. I remember one incident when I had only Rs 13; I used Rs 5 to have Pancham Puri at Victoria Terminus station and saved remaining Rs 8 for my bus fare and dinner. While walking on the streets I encountered a beggar who asked me for some food. I wanted to help him so I took him to the nearest dhaba and offered him some food. He was still hungry and wanted to eat more, so I invested all I had with me leaving nothing for my bus fare. But, the satisfaction on his face after the meal was reward enough for me. Though I walked and reached home late at night, I remember being filled with a deep sense of satisfaction.”

Although, Dev’s quest to pursue his dream took him away from his native village, he never gave up on his desire to come back, serve his own people, and contribute in the development of his village and the state. Out of the more than 4000 employees for ASMACS Group, half of the employees are from Odisha. He says, “Being an Odia, I will always have a soft corner for Odisha which is why I mostly give job opportunities to Odia people and most of them are in good position and are posted in various places.”

He not only established a school at Khandsahi for the children of his village, he even recruited good educators to teach them. He is now constructing a college to help children pursue further studies.

Sharing about his dreams for his village, Mohanty said, “My village is my root, and being a part of it I feel that now it’s time to do something for my people. My village has given many bureaucrats, administrators, ministers, professors, judge, engineers, doctors among others but nobody returned to their roots. It makes me sad. I always feel that we should never forget our roots. When we achieve something in life, we should try to do something for our village and community so that more people could achieve success.”Dev now wants to construct an old age home and an orphanage in his village. “I found most children who went outside don’t prefer to come back, leaving their parents all alone looking after the ancestral properties. I want to build an old age home for senior citizens who have lost all hopes to be with their children again. Together with an old age home, there will be an orphanage for poor kids who don’t have anybody. There they would be loved and taken care of by these senior citizens. This way they can look after each other and never feel lonely in this world,” he averred.

Though now a successful business person, Dev had some interesting hobbies too. He was involved with theatre and acting during his school and college days as it was something he wanted to do. He was also a volleyball player and has represented India in Junior level tournament. Later when he was working in a shipping company, he used to participate in real boxing fights organised by army commandos. “I have participated in these real boxing fights for around five years from 1975 to 1979. My nose was broken during one such fight, which is why I don’t have nose bridge.”

Advising youngsters to put in determination to achieve their dreams, Dev says, “One needs to be focused to reach a destination. Patience and determination are what make an individual grow.”