Andheri east is the underbelly of the corporate world. Its lanes and nooks smell of enterprise. It is within these industrial estates and the galas lie small ambitious, gutsy businesses and the people who make them come alive. For a lot of us Andheri east signifies traffic snarls, the airport and of course the gateway to central Mumbai.
But look closer and you see a web of entities working together and apart to keep the commercial engine running. At the Sagar Tech Plaza which I visited, on every floor there are entities and businesses spanning payments to governance to shipping. On the ground floor there’s a store selling eco-friendly merchandise and on the other side are NBFCs providing easy loans and business finance.
That’s the story of all tech parks and industrial estates. I remember going to many of these galas or units as they are called to do cold calls, in search of sponsorship for college fests. I remember visiting the Spykar office and being fascinated to see the brand come alive. Back in 2006, Spykar was a big brand with a formidable presence and on its way to becoming an aspirational brand competing with Pepe Jeans and Levi’s. It began in Andheri east.
Andheri east is also home to one of the oldest MIDCs or the industrial enclaves supported by the state government. This is possibly why many old manufacturing houses came to establish their presence in the suburbs. If you get a bird’s eye view of Andheri, then you can easily identify the patterns of development. Located between the glass and steel buildings are the industrial estates which continue to thrive even now, manufacturing everything from car components to textiles to plastics and stationery.
Andheri east offices are also very homely. They are the quintessential workplaces which most of us identify with. Cutting edge corporate wallahs who hangout in BKC and South Bombay may never understand the intimacy of the small pantry and cafeterias. Where everyone brings home cooked food and the occasional treat is a Chinese takeout spread from the nearest indo-chinese restaurant.
The choice of clothing is not extravagant. And everyone tries to turn out in their best way possible. But you can feel the aspirations of this workforce far more honestly. There’s a lot of bonhomie and backslapping, celebrations of small and big moments and of course there is the unity formed by common stressors.
Each time I visit the industrial estates, I’m introduced to the real entrepreneurial spirit of the city. For in every small unit there lies an ambitious team working towards running a business and thus supporting many livelihoods. So the next time you think of Andheri east, I hope you look beyond the traffic snarls and the airport and maybe take a stroll through the lanes where tomorrow’s commerce takes shape.