Page 100 - The Indian Optician Digital Edition July-August 2021

SHRI RATILAL MEHTA

ASIAN OPTICIANS, MUMBAI

(AGE 91)

The Indian Optician (TIO): Let us start this
feature with a brief history of your company.
Please tell us how, when and where you started
this company?
Ratilal Mehta (RM): I hail from a small town
called Jivapar located in Morbi, Rajkot. Even
as a young boy I had big dreams. However,
I was realistic enough to realise that I would
have to migrate to a bigger city to pursue my
dreams as my town did not have the required
infrastructure to achieve anything. Although I
was very short on finances at that time, I had a
strong willpower, so armed with a few pennies
in my pockets but big dreams in my eyes I went
to Mumbai to try my luck. I had a vision of what
I wanted to achieve in life and was not afraid to
go forward because I believed that it would all
work out eventually.

I initially started off with a job in the
wholesale business. I worked very hard to
save money because I knew that I wanted to
establish something I could call my own. I am
happy to share that my hard work paid off and
soon I was able to buy and set-up an optical
shop in Santacruz West in the year 1960. It was
a truly momentous day for me and I named
our first venture Asian Opticians. I managed
my start-up business single-handedly for 15
years and it prospered. It was the only spectacle
retail shop located in a large area and I had the
honour of serving celebrities and politicians
alike. It was an era that I fondly remember till
date. I soon found out that the foundation of any

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