Sameer Kochhar carries his humble past as a batch of honour in the glitterati of Delhi. He, the chairman of the Skoch Group, declares with aplomb, “I was a practitioner of poverty for the first 17 years of my life.” It was a great learning curve. And life's a journey that he has never ceased to enjoy.
Sameer grew up in Paharganj, where his parents settled after migrating from Pakistan during the partition. They lost a part of the family, their livelihood destroyed, and struggled to piece it together here in Delhi.
They were blessed with a son, Sameer, who would change all that. To him problems were challenges that taught valuable lessons of life. His rags-to-riches story is a sexy one. Rightly so, his elder son Rohan describes him as “the most successful man I know.”
As Aldous Huxley famously said, “That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.” Well! In that sense, Sameer is a notable exception. He refers to his humble past all the time as he marches on toward a brighter future. The metamorphosis of circumstances has happened in style. Sameer is an untaught economist par excellence, a foodie who celebrates cooking as an art form, the key ingredients being love and affection. He takes great pleasure in sampling various cuisines, Indian and foreign, common and exotic, and his kitchen is the blessing of Ma Annapurna.
Sameer speaks his mind frankly, with no embellishments or moral judgement attached. He has an enviable ability to deal with life as it is. Howsoever bad or good the circumstances may get, he keeps equanimity. The happenings around him are like a divine message that he heeds to, and deals with the situation to the best of his ability. A believer in the divine feminine energy, he has a collection of paintings, artifacts and sculptures epitomising it from varied cultures.
Cliches have a value, that’s why they become cliches. Behind every successful man is a woman, this is true for Sameer as well. Manisha is the love of his life and also the wife. Rohan says with a conviction of a devoted son, “my mother is an equal partner in my father’s success.”
Rohan’s younger brother, Sayan, is a silent member of the family, at least to a visitor, though he has a strong presence in the conversations of his family members. Both of them did their schooling at St. Columba's School in Delhi. Rohan got a sibling when Sameer took the advice of a Catholic priest from the school seriously: 'a child should always have a sibling to play with'. Sameer presented it as an incontestable reason to get Sayan admitted to the same school as his brother.
The easiest way to get a glimpse of his Sameer's life is to detail how he planned Rohan’s wedding. In those few days, a lifetime was lived, with all its flavours or emotions. Rohan recently married Gurmehar, who Sameer describes as the daughter he never had.
For Rohan’s wedding, he meticulously planned each and every detail to reflect who they are, where they have come from, and their life journey. He’s against commercialisation of weddings and didn’t want to throw money at strangers to plan the wedding of his son. All the troubles that come with planning the wedding were an unmitigated joy to Sameer: food, jewellery, attire, canopy, tent–you name it, he planned it to the last detail.
Sehra or the headdress the groom wears is tied in a ceremony, with family members singing certain songs. A practice that’s not in the itinerary of the wedding planner, was revived. Sehra was the theme of the wedding, as well. Sameer procured some 500 metres of clothes to thematically integrate various aspects of the gala celebration that went on for many days.
The first diamond that the family procured after months of saving was worn in a ring by Sameer for more than a couple of decades. When Rohan went to England for higher studies, he took it with him as his father’s blessing. The same diamond was used for the wedding ring of Gurmehar, and they gave it a name too, ‘Aimnabad ring’--to celebrate the place they came from in Pakistan.
This has to be said. Rohan has proved skeptics wrong all the time. A sure way of getting things done from him is to tell him you won't be able to do it. He did law and majored in Economics (while Sameer was keen, he pursued English Literature) and went on to do a degree in public policy from the University College–London. He was offered to do a Ph.D., but Sameer wanted him back. Rohan is demanding of himself, and his father. Good, he’s set a high standard for himself and doesn’t settle for less.
The guests at the gala wedding regretted, I presume, that they only have one stomach while they were being treated to a gastronomic bonanza: Italian, Mughlai, food of Paharganj (if that’s a category), and Malayali food, the list is long. The menu was symbolic of Kochhar’s palate, in the way they internalised one of the greatest blessings of God, food. As Sameer puts it, “Various phases of our life were showcased in 41 dishes.”
I’m particularly intrigued by a liberal supply of wine and exotic Tartufo or truffle–it’s actually a fungus and is found growing near the roots of trees with intense and enticing aromas that make it one of the most coveted foods (now I regret I was not on the guestlist).
Italy is one of the favourite destinations of the globetrotting Kochhars. Sameer went truffle hunting with dogs trained to sniff out truffles in the lovely countryside of Tuscany–where it’s said time stands still and life is lived to the fullest. And the beauty of the place lies in its simplicity, a paradise for foodies. Truffles were sourced from Tuscany for the wedding. Andreas, a friend, gave the first commercially bottled Indigo wine to Sameer. “To make that kind of wine is spiritualism,” says Sameer. Andreas sent a case of wine from Tuscany for the wedding.
Weddings are symbolic of a generational shift. A new beginning with a certain continuity. Sitting in the living room of his Gurugram house, which houses a random mix of furniture, each object has a story attached that Sameer takes pleasure in narrating. And a large dining table spread across the hall on a higher pedestal is symbolic of his priority in life.
Sameer is an open-minded person, a good conversationalist, an astute businessman, a liberal father who has inculcated strong values, and last not the least, a friend in need who feeds soulful food.
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