Manish Wazalwar
From washing cars to owning a fleet of 33
Born in Nagpur, India
As an 11-year-old boy from a family struggling to make ends meet, Manish Wazalwar’s day used to begin with washing others’ cars. Today, Manish (28) is the owner of 33 cars and a driving school. His story is the quintessential rags-to-riches tale. 4th is on its way in January,” he says reclining in a massive leather chair in his plush Shivaji Nagar office. He claims that he owns Central India’s biggest car driving school. Manish’s father Govind Wazalwar used to earn Rs. 20-30 every day as an autorickshaw driver. “He bought an auto in 1969,” Manish says. In 1974, Govind took an examination to become an RTO inspector. But he didn’t get selected and opened a driving school for autorickshaws. The school started in 1976 and, though it was only a modest success, ran for 11 years, during which Govind bought a Fiat and an Ambassador as supplementary to the autorickshaw driving school. “But due to financial crisis, we had to shut the shop in 1987. It was a very bad time,” Manish recalls. Manish started low-paying jobs – going door-to-door to sell disinfectants, working in a grocery store, selling chalks and slate pencils. “I used to buy chalks in wholesale and sell them directly to schools and colleges, to earn a rupee or two extra,” he says. To save money, Manish used to walk 18 km to work daily or borrow somebody’s bicycle. But in his heart, he had a dream and he worked for it with determination.
