The benevolent diamond merchant from Surat became internationally famous a few days back when he distributed flats, cars and jewellery as Diwali bonus to nearly 1,200 employees.
In an extra-ordinary show of appreciation, all the employees of Harikrishna Exports, qualified for the "loyalty programme" were given three options to choose from- a brand new Fiat Punto, diamond jewellery or a three-bedroom flat.
"All my dreams have come true only through my workers. A target was set for the artisans and engineers and they have achieved it. This is a big day for the entire Harikrishna family. We are the first company in the world to offer performance incentives valued at around Rs 3.60 lakh to each of the 1,200 diamond workers," Savji Dholakia, the diamond merchant explained.
Dholakia's story is literally that of a rag-to-riches and is fondly called Savji Kaka by his employees. A native of Dudhala village in Amreli district, he recently revealed to NDTV that he has only gone to school till the 4th Grade. "I dropped out of school when I was 12 and joined the diamond industry," Dholakia said.
He had arrived in Surat in search of a job and built up the entire empire from scratch. "This is God's blessing that I have come this far from zero. I had nothing. This is God's gift."
The loyalty program was started with the idea of giving back to his employees, whom he calls his family, who are responsible for the enormous growth of Harikrishna. Dholakia, extremely pleased with his 1,200 employees says that people should hear their stories and get inspired.
Dholakia's son, who has an MBA from New York and some other office bearers got together to select these employees who qualified for this generous Diwali bonus. "What we have given them is nothing compared to the effort put in by these people," Dholakia reiterates.
He says that Harikrishna does not make diamonds, it makes men. "Meri factory heerey bananey ki nahi hain, manav bananey ki hai"
