The Unabashed Maverick

Chawla, a successful model, movie artist and entrepreneur, likes to do
things in his own inimitable fashion. This is evident from the name he gave to
his company-MM9 Information Technology. It stands for the exact time he started
it, which was on a Monday morning at 9am

When Parminder Singh Chawla first told his parents that he wished to set-up
his own firm, there was all-round opposition. Both his father and mother were
college principals, as were several of Chawla's relatives. So what was their son
trying to teach them?

Well nothing. It was simply that he wished to do something different. From
the very beginning he knew that he was going to be an entrepreneur, his own man,
rather than work for someone else.

Yes, he too would teach, he explained to them. But not in the way they had.
He would teach the world of how it made sense doing what everyone else
consi­dered madness, so long as one had faith in oneself and one's dream. He,
Chawla, would do his own thing. And he did.

Failure as a teacher

At a very early age Chawla knew that teaching was not his cup of tea. He
felt that in his guts. “My parents' fear was grounded

in our humble background, and it took them quite a while to let me have my way.
But while I could do as I liked, my dad made it clear from the very beginning
that he wasn't going to lend me a single penny. That made me resolve not to
borrow ever in my life; and though in business it is essential to borrow from
banks, I did not do so for the first nine years,” he said.

Since his very childhood Chawla had, what the Americans call a 'fire in the
belly' and the British mention 'the killer instinct'. He doesn't remember a time
in his life when he was not ambitious.

He launched his maiden venture MM9 Information Technology with just Rs 1,500
in his kitty, and he did this with absolutely no help from anyone. When asked
why he named his company MM9, he said, “I never wanted to forget the time and
day when I inaugurated it. That was my reason for christening it MM9, which is
short for Monday morning at 9am!”

Chawla said he ventured into IT because, having previously worked with an IT
firm, he had the necessary basic expertise. Well before he took the
entrepreneurial plunge he had been a Regional Manager at CMS Computers. The job
paid well, but the dream to do his very own thing would not let him rest till he
had made his mark.

This wasn't easy of course. “There were times when I was so broke that I
didn't even have enough to pay for simple car repairs. But I never panicked. I
knew this was a passing phase,” he recalled. While everything else looked bleak,
one thing that remained firm was Chawla's conviction in his dreams.

Support from his better half

In all these travails, his wife (incidentally a teacher like his parents)
stood by him like a rock. “Somewhere at the back of my mind I was confident that
if my business faltered, my wife would take care of the family.”

A postgraduate in statistics from Punjab University, she could count his
weaknesses and strengths as if they were numbers on a chart she was researching!
“That, more than anything else, gave me the space and courage to build upon my
strengths and overcome the inevitable challenges that confront budding
businessmen. But, finally, I reached a point when I knew I wasn't easily going
to be overthrown,” he stated.

But he had to choose carefully. The crucial decision was where to locate the
business. Chawla chose Gurgaon and structured his business in a way that made
sure that he would not need to shuttle between Gurgaon and Delhi all the time.
“This was part instinct, because at the time I began, the Gurgaon market was not
at all the happening place that it now is. It was actually a very, very
slow-moving place; but the businessman inside me would keep nudging me on,
saying that it would grow and grow and grow,” he reminisced.

Just like Chawla, the sun never seems to set on his 'Monday Morning at 9
am.'-which is today a leading channel partner in the Gurgaon market. What began
as a little comet fitfully radiating IT infrastructure, currently spins out
deals at a pace, and of a variety, that has got the industry to sit up and take
notice.

In front of the camera

MM9 is involved in systems integration, networking, reselling solutions, IT
infrastructure development and imple­mentation. These factors that prompted him
to open an office in Delhi, that was once too far for him to commute to.

And so successful has been this move that Chawla is now planning to spread
MM9's reach right across India. “But step-by-step please,” he cautioned. “I
don't recall being in a hurry. Resolute, yes, but I always had my doubts about
those who worried about being left behind in the rat race. At the same time it
was important for me to live my life on my own terms and to enjoy it fully.”

For instance, he also wanted to act and model. And it happened as simply as
if that aspect of him was just waiting to be explored. Said Chawla with the same
confidence that reflects in all his business successes, “Maruti came to me three
years back for their advertisement and I was only too happy to be a part of it.
And I suppose they liked what I did because I was recalled for the sequel. Don't
ask me why I enjoy modeling. When people ask for my autograph, it again gives me
a high.”

When asked what he likes best about the celluloid profession he mentioned
that what he liked was is the kind of treatment he gets on stage. “People treat
you like a king. At the same time its great fun. Like the time when I got the
role in the Telugu movie Stallion, starring Khushboo and Chiranjeevi. I was also
featured in the Hindi movie Bunty and Bubli,” he smiled.

But this is fine only so long as the roles come to him. Nobody should expect
him to go to them! And if they at all come, he must feel comfortable with the
role. It must happen on his terms and must match with his MM9 philosophy!
Recently for instance, Chawla was offered the role of a pimp in Nagesh
Kukunoor's Bombay to Bangkok. He declined the offer because the character was
not to his liking. Chawla's cine idol is Amitabh Bachchan, with whom he dreams
of acting, never mind if it is just a small role.

Manisha K

manishak@cybermedia.co.in