Million-dirham recipe: Couple with a vision

Pravin Shah came to Dubai in 1980 with a few clothes and a blanket. Today, the 75-year-old-man is worth millions of dirhams, owning two restaurants – Al Itifaq at the Gold Souq and Eastern India Restaurant in Sharjah – and also an interior design factory in the UAE!

Not bad for a man who started off by selling home-made food to shops in Deira 28 years back. But, Shah’s journey was painstakingly difficult. After landing in Dubai, he worked in a restaurant for four years before taking up a part-time job at a cloth shop. It was there that he found his calling. "I observed a boy selling home-made snacks every evening. The idea seemed lucrative."

At that time, the gold market had 200-300 Indian goldsmiths with just three Indian restaurants.

Shah was desperate to supplement his meagre income. "I had a wife and four kids to take care of. Taking the plunge was the only alternative."

Six months later, when his wife moved to Dubai, Shah started off on his venture. "She would prepare food for three hours in the morning and three hours in the evening." Shah, then 46, used to walk six hours each day, lugging 25kg of Indian snacks to be sold from shop to shop at the Gold Souq, cloth and hardware markets, and the Naif Souq area.

Pratima Shah, 61, said, "I used to make around 400 samosas, 700 rotis (bread) and 150kg snacks during festivals and Ramadan. My husband would walk with boxes of food covered in red clothing.

"The only other mode of transport was the abra."

A few years later, Shah managed to get loans from the goldsmiths and opened his first restaurant in the Gold Souq.

Things improved for the family and their four children moved to Dubai. But "my family members had to find jobs".

Five years later, his business really took off. In 2002, he opened three new restaurants in Sharjah, but closed down two of them to start an interior design factory. "Since then, I never looked back."

Today, Shah lives "a simple life". "This place has given me everything. My children and eight grandchildren were born here. I know that money can walk in and out of one’s life, so I don’t get carried away by the wealth I earn."