Jaswant Singh Gandam/Raman Nehra
India Post News Service
PHAGWARA: The Indian Punjabi Diaspora of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) held a felicitation function for honoring Dubai-based NRI achiever S.Surender Singh Kandhari, a business magnate, a religious stalwart and a philanthropist.
The function on February 4 was hosted by Dubai-based Punjabi business tycoons, including K.S. Bassi, Anoop Bhargava, Nitin Anand and Kulwant Singh Thiara. Emirate’s top business brass and other bigwigs attended it.
Mr Vipul, The Consul General of India in Dubai, graced the occasion.
SS Kandhari was feted with a shawl and a memento by Mr. Vipul and the Punjabi hosts of the function.
One of the organizers KS Bassi informed India Post that the function was held to fete Kandhari for his getting the prestigious ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Sanman Award-2019’ from President of India Ram Nath Kovind during 15th Paravasi Bharatiya Divas Sammelan’ held at Varanasi in India last month.
Surender Singh Kandhari is Founder and Chairman of Dubai-based Al Dobowi Group – one of the largest tyre distribution companies in the world, as well as of Gurudwara Guru Nanak Darbar Sikh Temple Dubai, the first and the biggest Gurudwara of the Gulf, besides being a philanthropist engaged in several community service activities.
Kandhari’s elders had moved from Kandhar in Afghanistan to Jhelum (now in Pakistan), then shifted to Mumbai and finally settled in Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh in South India.
His father had opened first automotive spare parts shop there in 1942.
Kandhari was born in Vijayawada in 1948.
After graduating from Chennai (then Madras), Kandhari went to Dubai on a four-day exploratory visit on December 19,1975 when he was 27,on the advice of his father who had earlier done survey of the emirate to assess the potential of establishing/expanding family business of tyres there.
Given to a comfortable life back home, having servants and a driver, Kandhari initially felt a bit difficulty in doing all his work himself in Dubai.
From an early partnership with a friend and using his office, Kandhari finally set up his tyre business in Deira in 1976.
“Over the 40 years, our group has consolidated its global positioning by forming alliances with companies that are regarded as household names in the world of tyres”, he continues.
“We have now developed into a conglomerate of 17 companies. Today, Al Dowboi is a globally renowned systems and solutions provider for tyre management, power storage, industrial rubber, material handling and fluid management industries,” he claims.
“The Group provides jobs to over 2000 employees, contributes to Emirate’s economy, increases its exports earning, reduces UAE dependence on imported batteries by manufacturing these,” he continues.
He said that when he came to Dubai, it was just opening up as a trading hub but locals trusted Indians, especially Sikhs, which encouraged him more.
“One transport company came to me for getting 100 tyres and wondered whether I could supply so many. When they saw over 10,000 tyres in my stock, they were surprised but convinced about my seriousness and sincerity for the business”, he tells.
Kandhari is instrumental in leading community’s efforts to help build the biggest and the first Gurudwara of the Gulf ‘Guru Nanak Darbar Sikh Temple’, in village Jabel Ali on the outskirts of Dubai.
Open to all, free meal (‘langar’) is served here daily to approximately 1500 visitors on week days, about 15,000 on weekends and nearly 45,000 on holidays.
