A man who believes the ‘early bird catches the worm’, he is up at 5.30 am for his half an hour meditation followed by treadmill exercises daily and occasionally for a morning walk to keep himself fit for the day.
Son of an ex-armyman, Chandrakant Gawas, is a selfmade man who has sweated to reach his goal and today is proud of his hardwork. “I had virtually no money and it hindered my education in my early days. My friends helped me a lot, both mentally and later financially, which helped me start my own business of repairing barge engines despite not being a qualified engineer. I am a hard worker and I like to keep busy,” said Mr Gawas.
Formal education was a distant dream for Chandrakant Gawas as economic constraints during his early days was one of the biggest hindrances. However, he motivated himself while working for Chowgule’s Mandovi Pellets and obtained a degree in B-Com from Delhi University correspondence courses. “I worked in this company for nine years in virtually all its wings and learnt a lot under the guidance and the freedom provided by my friend, philosopher and guide, P B V Rao,” added Gawas.
As a first generation businessman, with financial help from his friends, he started his own business of repairing of barges in 1996 and continued to “open and box the engines of barges” and then in 1999 he purchased his first barge, which changed his life. He is indebted to his Lord Shiva from Murudeshwar in Karnataka, which according to him played a pivotal role in changing his life. “The very imposing 130 feet statue of Shiva gave me enough energy to work hard. My entire focus and perspective changed soon after I visited Murudeshwar,” said Mr Gawas.
A social worker, Mr Gawas loves to share with the community close to his house in Vasco what he has in plenty. Yes, he shares water from his personal drilled water well with the neighbouring community. “It is a routine and I love interacting with them while they fetch water. It actually gives me immense satisfaction when I see the happy faces,” added Mr Gawas.
When quizzed on what he would love to do something which he has never been able to do during his free time, he said, “I would love to go to a quiet place like Tillari Dam at Dodamarg and meditate to unwind.” Being an active and dedicated member of the Bhartiya Janata Party for last 20 years, he hardly gets his free time.
Among his evening routine, is watching debates on television apart from keeping himself abreast of the national news. “I am a news addict and I read almost all the newspapers of Goa every morning,” added Mr Gawas. He cherishes his quality time with his wife Chitra (to whom he got married in 1989) and married daughter Shradha and son Mayuresh.
