MARWAR India - November - December 2020

In this issue

In this issue, we have gone beyond our usual focus on entrepreneurs and industrialists for both our cover story and issue contents. Marriage is a serious business for the Marwari community. Long-drawn, elaborate and extravagant, the event veritably takes on epic proportions, and the logistics and the groundwork involved are monumental. We have featured Sima Taparia on our cover this issue, who has brought Marwari matchmaking into the limelight through her docuseries Indian Matchmaking, which was aired on Netflix India earlier this year.

As a mercantile community, Marwaris may have earned widespread renown, but there are those whose capabilities in other fields go beyond many an accomplished businessman. We bring you the story of avowed weatherman Dr Laxman Singh Rathore, who has held numerous prestigious posts at both the national and international levels, especially the United Nations, and continues to serve several ministries to this day. Be it weather forecasting, or devising modern forecast methods, or dedicatedly serving the nation and mankind as an eminent agrometeorologist and scientist, Dr Rathore’s contributions are truly remarkable.

Dr Kriti Bharti’s story is no less impressive, who as founder and managing trustee of Jodhpur-based Saarthi Trust has taken the lead in annulling child marriages and has rehabilitated thousands of women and children in Rajasthan. Read about the intrepid child rights activist, rehabilitation psychologist, researcher, and philanthropist, whose ability to transform personal pain, injury, and oppression into positive action is admirable and touching.

With all this and more, we bring you yet another interesting issue of MARWAR.

Scaling new heights

Akhil Jain, the fourth generation of the Jains at the helm of Jain Amar, a family-owned clothing and accessories business founded in Ludhiana in the pre-Independence era, takes MARWAR through its history and his efforts to scale up the business as its executive director.

4 mins

Meet the Next Generation of the KHETAWAT CLAN

STANDING in his family’s office in Kolkata during a rare quiet moment in the day, young entrepreneur Vedang Khetawat reflects on his ancestors who cleared the path that brought him where he is today. The office is nestled in the midst of what quickly became a bustling hub of commerce and trade in the mid-twentieth century.

4 mins

Stitched to perfection

Kolkata-based designer Naina Jain is known for her ensembles that honour traditional crafts and textiles while infusing versatility and modern styling.

5 mins

The Weatherman

Be it weather forecasting, or devising modern forecast methods, or dedicatedly serving the nation and mankind, eminent agrometeorologist and scientist Dr Laxman Singh Rathore has done it all with amazing mastery.

6 mins

Matchmaking on Netflix

Meet Sima Taparia, the Indian matchmaker who has married traditional sensibilities with modern-day choices.

8 mins

Towards inclusive growth

Nearby Technologies brings basic banking, digital payment and financial services to people at the bottom of the income pyramid through partnerships with neighbourhood retail and kirana stores. MARWAR talks to Anand Kumar Bajaj and Yashwant Lodha, two of the group’s four co-founders, to learn about their journey of building India’s largest hyperlocal fintech network.

5 mins

THE POWER OF LOVE

Love, compassion and kindness are simple tools, yet they hold tremendous power to transform lives, as Prasanna Bhandari’s lifelong dedication to the service of the weak, helpless and underprivileged has exemplified.

4 mins

BACK to NATURE

At a time when sustainable practices have become the need of the hour, Ayush Baid’s growing retail chain Ellementry stands out as a rare example of a business rooted in eco-friendliness and sustainability, while also keeping India’s traditional arts and crafts alive.

4 mins

BEJEWELLED SPLENDOUR

Whether you are a traditional bride or a daring trendsetter looking for unique bridal jewellery, here are top jewellery houses decoding the latest trends for your big day.

5 mins

Mithai magic

Indian mithai makers are creating magic by amalgamating traditional flavours with international techniques and the results are simply tantalising.

5 mins

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MARWAR India Magazine Description:

Marwar is a community-based magazine with an emphasis on profiling the best and the brightest in the Marwari community. The magazine reaches the elite in India and abroad who want to read and discover the wonders of all things connected with the community. Thus, the subjects featured have to have the flavour of Marwar and Rajasthan—its culture, lifestyle and traditions. We highlight arts, crafts, music, dance and theatre as well as fashion and food that are connected to the region apart from immensely successful businessmen and businesswomen. In the past, luminaries like Laxmi Mittal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Indu Jain, Sanjiv Goenka and Rajashree Birla, to name a few, have graced our cover.