BrightSpark with Hemant Anavkar: A life lived in the pursuit of knowledge and solving problems

When I first met Hemant, he was the Exports Manager at another company?and I had just started my business. My sales engineer, Illyas Khan, asked me to meet Hemant for an export project he was working on. I remember calling him Hemant Sir. Together we started jointly working on his and my company's first project in Syria.

My rented office at the time was in Bandra. Hemant and I would work late into the night and take the last train to Virar, a distant Mumbai suburb, and crash at his place for a few hours. In the morning, I'd pray; he'd pray.?Then, we'd come back to our offices and get back to work.?This went on for ten long months as we worked on this project. This project was an omen for the future, except we didn't know it at the time. We all lived together in the client's guest house in Syria for three months while we each executed our parts of the project.

Over those months of hard work, we forged a bond and a friendship. After the project ended, we both went our separate ways, promising to keep in touch. But, life happens. I got caught up building my business. He got busy setting up his.

A chance meeting brought us together again. The venture he'd been trying to set up hadn't worked out, and he went off to do a project in Bahrain. We rekindled our friendship, and he did some work for us while still in Bahrain. At the time, my business was going through an existential crisis. I used to work late into the night deliberating the future with my partners. One night at around 2:30 am, I phoned him from the office after one particularly frustrating session. I needed to unburden myself to someone, and in that moment, the only person I could think of was Hemant. When he picked up the phone (I still marvel he did given how late it was). I asked him if I could come over. Instead of yelling at me to call at a reasonable time and slamming the phone down, he asked me to come over. At 2:30 in the morning!!! By the time I got there, it was almost 3:30. His generosity of spirit mattered so much to me. I decided right then we'd work together.

When he returned from Bahrain, we started Airpac Exports together, which eventually merged to become Fabtech Technologies, our second venture together.

Hemant and I couldn't be more different from each other. We have very different work styles, different thought processes. But we mesh perfectly together. And I can say anything to him and take what he says to me with zero egos.

He has a child-like innocence that drew me to him in the first place. In all the years I've known him, that hasn't changed one bit. It's why I feel so protective of him. It also makes me his fiercest critic.

He has an obsessively hands-on approach to work. He chooses sharp focus over multitasking. As a result, he has great difficulty distancing himself from anything he undertakes until it is completed.

His technical expertise is unparalleled in our industry. He has an eye to spot talent and upcoming companies. He is a visual communicator and can get even non-tech folk to grasp complex concepts. You have to watch him explain the workings of a machine. I'm still fascinated by how everyone in the room stops everything they're doing and watches him with rapt attention.

In his career of 40 odd years, he has provided many other companies with a springboard to international markets through his connections. His ability to create connections and maintain them is phenomenal.

He can gauge his clients and their needs very well. He is terribly forthright. Famous for calling out people when he thinks they are full of BS, even customers. With anyone else, it would be a PR nightmare. But Hemant, that's just Hemant. He is just so crudely charming. He has a wicked and earthy sense of humour. He'll swear at you in vilest Marathi. You know he's doing it, and it won't even occur to you to mind because you're so busy laughing with him. And no one EVER seems to mind. When he gets mad, you get the feeling he's going to burn the world down, but in minutes, he'll forget he was angry in the first place. And it's incredible to see him walk around confused about why you're?still upset.

He's the quintessential anti-establishment businessperson. Genuine. Doesn't care for anything but the tech of it all. He is also someone from whom you can learn what not to do. Don't over-train your people or make them over-dependent. I push people into the sea and expect them to swim back to the shore, he won't even push them into a pool. And I do wish he would.

When he travels, he really explores the place he's in. Unlike boring me who'll stay parked in my hotel room, he'll go walkabouts exploring every corner of whichever city or town we're in. He knows what food is available, where and how to get to it. When you travel with him, you don't have to do a thing - all you have to do is go along.

I had my first smoke with Hemant. On a bet, I had my first beer with Hemant?in Syria.?He bet I couldn't drink the beer in one go. Dares and me. Red flags and bulls. #sameguy. I gulped it down and half-choked to death in the process. It's been 30 years. I'm still waiting for that $100.

Here are his answers about a life lived in the pursuit of knowledge and solving problems. Ask him to solve your next problem in the comments.

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AK: What are the memorable milestones in your career journey?

HA: I've been in this industry for over 40 years, so there are many of these.

The most notable would be introducing turnkey project management in 1992. It was the first time an Indian company was involved in such an endeavour. We did this for Dr Hayat Alrai of Ibn Hayyan in Syria. This ampoule injectables project kicked off our journey as a project management company, and many others followed suit.

I have many innovations to my name like the mini-blister pack, mini capsule-filling, mini-tablet press multi-tooling machine, innovations that I took from concept to design and manufacturing.

Another would be a challenge set to me by a machine fabricator - an Aluminium ROPP Cap-automatic plant, per GMP standards, which we then sold to a dear client in Iraq.

AK: What do you like to do when you are not working?

HA: I am a workaholic and spend my free time obsessing about work. The best way to recharge the creative juices is to focus on a healthy body. So I work out, play all kinds of sports for at least 4 hours a day - the best way to recharge the old batteries.

AK: What is the best piece of advice you have ever received that you wish to share?

HA: Be a lifelong learner. Be curious. Staying informed is the key to everything. There are more than a hundred solutions to any one problem; each time you think, you'll come up with a new one. Then it's up to you to pick the best one.

AK: What does success mean to you?

HA: This one time, I was travelling to Dubai with Dr Sayyed Hindawi. We were working on a massive project for him in Egypt. When we arrived at the airport, it was very crowded. First, the check-in line was long, followed by an even longer line for security checks, and another long line for immigration.

I thought up a speedy fix to cross the immigration line on the fly, which Dr Hindawi loved. He was vocally appreciative, even though my suggestion had been a very simple one.

I have in my career met many people who come to me for solutions they are stumped by. I'm not an expert as they think I am - it is my curiosity and interest in finding solutions to complex problems and not giving up until I have found one that makes me their go-to contact. To me this is success.

AK: What's the mantra you would like to offer to the youth and your peers?

HA: Never say, 'chalta hai'. Stay away from a 'chalta hai' attitude. Sab kuch nahi chalta hai.