The remarkable story of Shardaben Kundaliya, the founder of Shree Khodiyar Gruh Udhyog will inspire many entrepreneurs. At a time no one talked about enterprise, Shardaben not just created a brilliant business and a brand, but also create employment for women. Her journey so far has been very difficult. A few years after marriage, her husband died at the age of 25. She was just 20 years old then.
Shardaben, who was widowed at an early age, decided to raisechildren on her own instead of having a second marriage. For this, she started a business of making and selling Khakhara papad. The Khakhara of Shardaben has reached the departmental stores today with her continuos hard work and perseverance. Her Khakhara-Papad is being praised all over Gujarat and with this, she is earning more than 5 lakh rupees every year.
Remembering her journey, Sharadaben said, “After the death of my husband, some people supported me in difficult times and also helped financially. One of them was Amarchand who helped me in every way. Previously, I used to live in a rented house. Amarchand gave us a house to live in Kewdawadi. At that time, I used to do cooking, cleaning and dishwashing for livelihood.
After this, a company called ‘Tasty Papad’ was established in our area in 1980. I got a job as a manager in that company. I had to teach my children and we were also facing financial constraints. So I accepted a job as a night shift manager in ‘Tasty Papad’.
Recalling the days of struggle of his mother Sharadaben, son Rajesh says that my mother worked in the papad factory from 1980 to 1995. She worked for about 20 hours and took 2-3 hours of rest. In addition to working in the factory for 12 hours at night, she used to work in the houses during the day. By 1995, my elder sister Bhavnaben had become educated and she has planned to start a business. At that time Tasty Papad became India’s number one company. My mother has decided to quit that job and she started the business with an investment of just ₹100. At that time, our mother started making Khakhara of 4 flavors including ginger papad and spices, fenugreek, garlic and coriander.
Bhavnaben and Rajeshbhai used to sell khakhara and papad on cycles. Gradually the scope of business grew. Rajesh under the guidance of his mother took over the business after Bhavaben’s marriage.
In 2005, they started their first shop in Kewdawadi, under the name of Sri Khodiyar Gruh Udhyog Since then, they have been making 15 types of Khakharas and 4 types of flavored papads.
Presently, Rahul and Deep, grandchildren of Saradaben (The third generation) are handling the business and have converted the Khakhara-Papad business from a shop to a departmental store. They started this store after the lockdown. In this regard, Rahul says, “We currently have a staff of 35 people. We are currently selling 65 items in departmental stores including Khakhara, Papad.
Sharadaben has become a source of inspiration for many women. She also guides women who are depressed or want to do something. She says- We all should face the problems of our life with courage and determination. Hard work is the key that definitely lead you to the stage of success one day.