“Indians are only good at telling stories (giving excuses). They have no sense of science or historiography”

Al-Beruni had strong opinion regarding his observations about India of the eleventh century. I read this while I was going through some random sample books pre-installed on my Kindle. After reading this, I took some time for self-introspection. Was I telling a story myself? Was I giving excuses myself?

I was in Berlin, Germany back then (2015). I had an interesting job that paid me well. I was accustomed to life that involved a lot of travel, great friends, new experiences, etc. I was having the time of my life. Reading the above statement took me back a few years to my college days in Bengaluru. I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and contribute toward my country. I wanted to start my own venture. Though that idea was always in the back of my head but what had I done about it? Nothing.

In  2016, I started to work on my venture. Came up with a couple of ideas that seemed good enough to advance further into. After a couple of months of rigorous product and market research, I latched on to renewable industry. Stated designing my own products at FabLab Berlin. But it was nothing organized or concrete. I started organizing them. After a few weeks I had a broad road map of how to go on and get started. But there were few fundamental questions which needed answering. The two major questions were, firstly, Why solar and what in solar? Secondly, where do I start my venture? The first question has been answered in a separate blog(link). I am going to answer the second here.

I needed to start a manufacturing plant of solar products and I needed to decide on a location. Whether in and around metro areas or in some Special Economic Zone. I discussed this with my friend and future Co-founder Farees, we decided on Yadgir, Karnataka as our headquarters for Saurally. For many reading this blog, you might have never heard of it or even if you have you might have no idea whether it is a district or taluk or where in the state of Karnataka it is. Yadgir is the newest district located in the northern part of Karnataka in the Hyderabad-Karnataka Region. Historically, it had been one of the most under-developed parts of the state and the country. The Article 371-J of Indian Constitution which bestows some special concessions on Yadgir has limited impact on the condition of the people living there. Everyone blames the government. I, myself in the past have done so. But now I accepted the fact that development is not the responsibility of the Government alone. I and people alike, who were fortunate enough to get the best of education in India and abroad are obligated to contribute to the development of our respective natives.

Hence, the rationale behind choosing Yadgir as the location for our manufacturing plant was to create local employment and hone skills. Next the relative land prices are a bit cheaper compared to other areas and also to encourage other entrepreneurs to do the same. As a son of the soil, I believe, I owe to my region. Over the past year and a half, our manufacturing plant has been constructed in Yadgir and functioning in full capacity. Reflecting on choice of Yadgir as headquarters in hindsight, I would not say everything was easy. Nothing in life is. I knew that I would face many challenges in getting Saurally up and running. I have faced all of them with a smile. I am well supported by my team and my family. This will all be worth it when our hard work will reap dividends.

On a parting note, I would like to say to Al-Beruni, “Modern Indians are good at getting things done”. Saurally has taken a small step towards its multi-dimensional vision. There are more goals to achieve and we will do them step by step. It gives me immense joy to say that Saurally employees 30 members now out which 22 are from Hyderabad-Karnataka region who were trained and skilled locally and we are just getting started.