Mr Aerya Balakrishna Hegde – Mangalorean Star
Sri. Aerya Balakrishna Hegde hails from Aerya, Dakshina Kannada District. Born in a well known Aerya family in Bantwal Taluk, D.K., in 1952, he spent his childhood in Hiriadha, Udupi.
Sri. Balakrishna Hegde founded the Chartered Group in 1983 and is at present its Managing Director. Under the group there is a NBFC Chartered Leasing (P) Ltd, with a high degree of credibility. The flagship company of the group is Chartered Housing (P) Ltd, which is primarily into promotion of residential apartments since 1989. Their areas of interest are Interiors, Facilities Management Services, etc.
Mr. Hegde started his career in Vijaya Bank and rose to become the youngest Branch Manager in 1977. After a twelve year stint in banking, he carved out his own path into the business world. He believes in conducting business with uncompromising ethical values. His sheer passion and aptitude has led him to building homes for people. Chartered has so far built more than a dozen complexes.
“Beauty is skin deep” is an old saying but Balakrishna Hegde begs to differ. According to the policy of Chartered Group, beauty should travel beyond the skin. This is reflected in their interiors as well. Interiors is allied to construction, therefore from exteriors to interiors, Chartered gives its clients the best of both worlds.
Mr. Hegde’s professional chart is impressive. He is the President of the Karnataka Ownership Apartments Promoters Association (KOAPS) which is an association of all the major Real Estate Developers of Bangalore and Karnataka.
But what he is best known for is his philanthropic work for the society, more specifically the underprivileged persons around him. He is the Chairman of the Premaanjali Educational Trust ever since its inception in 1988. Premaanjali is engaged in several activities focused around the homeless, needy and destitute children. It also provides facilities for the blind. Founded by a group of like-minded individuals, it is an attempt to give back to society what is received in abundance from the almighty. Premaanjali includes Foster care programs for destitute children, Home Stays, Day Care Centres and Distance Sponsorship programs among other things.
“A house is made of bricks and stones but a home is made of love alone” is an old epigram which is exemplified by Premaanjali (an offering of love). Here, Mr. Hegde emphasizes that the focus is on the holistic development of children and the infusion of good values in them to enable the little ones to blossom as morally strong individuals.The most unique thing about ‘Premaanjali’ is the complete accessibility the children have to
The most unique thing about ‘Premaanjali’ is the complete accessibility the children have to Mr. Hegde. He is available to them at all times and his staff has standing instructions not to dissuade any calls coming from these children. The Hegde family celebrates all family occasions like Anniversaries, Birthdays etc with the children of Premaajali.
Mr. Balakrishna Hegde is also a true love of art and culture and is interest in works of art, plays, music, folk art etc. This is reinforced by the fact that the Premaanjali Festival is a cultural event organized by him periodically. It was envisioned with a two-fold objective. Firstly, to augment funding for the Premaanjali Trust and secondly, but most significantly, to bring some of the best cultural masterpieces to Bangalore City.
The fifth Premaanjali Festival will be a three part musical extravaganza called ‘CONFLUENCE’ to be held on April 7, 2007 at Koramangala Indoor Stadium, Bangalore. It will include:
• A Hindustani Recital by the famous duo Pandit Rajan and Sajan Misra.
• A spellbinding jugalbandi by Saxophone and Flute by Padmashri Kadri Gopalnath and Pandit Ronu Majumdar.
• A solo performance by young tabla sensation called Rimpa Siva.
The previous years also had some renowed names performing at the Premaanjali Festivals.
2006 – The “Legends in Harmony”, namely Kathak exponent Pandit Birju Maharaj dancing to the magic of Ustad Zakir Hussain’s tabla.
2005 – Renowned dance exponent Dr. Mallika Sarabhai’s Fusion Dance.
2004 – Jugalbandi of the Titans, the two living legends – Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Dr. Balamurali Krishna.
2003 – A play “The Liar” by the noted actor Naseeruddin Shah and his team.
Mr. Hegde is also the Managing Trustee of Dr. Chandayya Hegde Foundation. The Trust has been supporting various educational, social, religious and cultural activities.
He is also the President of Rathna Avenue Association. It was he who initiated the refurbishment, upgradation and beautification of Rathna Avenue which was a narrow potholed lane off Richmond Road, with the help of the residents in the lane. Today, it is one of the most beautiful lanes in the city.
Mr Hegde With wife and children
Mr. Hegde is married to Sukhada and they have two lovely children. His son Bimal is in his final year Engineering in Bangalore and shows sure signs of following in his father’s illustrious footsteps. His daughter Bhakti is studying law.
Apart from his various commitments to the needs of society, Mr. Hegde is also a keen student of the Bhagwad Gita and other books and believes in the enhancement of knowledge in all spheres. Clearly he believes in simple living and scholarly thinking as is proved in his interview with us.
Mr Balakrishna Hegde with the correspondent
From a banker to a builder. What made you decide on the shift in the profession?
Sheer passion and aptitude drove me to effect this shift. A drive to create beautiful places for others to live; to create job opportunities for as many as possible.
“Chartered” – was this always your dream? Did it just happen?
This is my own enterprise that stemmed from my own dream. So, you could say “Chartered” is a product of a lot of contemplation.
“Chartered” the name is definitely unique compared to others. It derives its genesis from…?
I was a banker from 1971 to 1983. The word “Chartered” in the then “Chartered Bank” always fascinated me and in those days I also had a fascination for English names. But today, I would have preferred a Sanskrit one.
Chartered builds apartments and offices. How many projects have you completed?
We have completed more than fifteen projects. So far all these have been residential. Now, we are venturing into commercial projects and our first one will be the ‘Chartered Cube’ in Adugodi.
Any new projects in the pipeline?
Yes, we have the following. 500 Lifestyle Apartments called ‘Chartered Beverly Hills’ off Kanakapura Road, 125 Economy Aparments called ‘Chartered Madhura’ near Padmanabha Nagar, 27 High End Apartments called ‘Chartered Jardine’ near Hebbal, 20 Apartments called ‘Chatered Samskruti’ off Bannerghatta Road and the Gated Villa/Layout Project called the “Chartered Windson” near Devanahalli.
Tell us about your dreams and ambitions.
I would like to continue to be of help to the helpless till it hurts me. Would also like to concentrate on “Quantity” for Chartered along with “Quality” and help in the creation of more jobs. My other dream is to be more involved in the welfare of construction workers.
Your Ideals and Principles.
They have always been Transparency, Truthfulness and Honesty.
The Chartered Philosophy?
“What man conceives in his mind, that he expresses through speech and that he does by deed.” – Taittriya Aranyaha.
Your message to the society in general and to the readers of Mangalorean.com in particular:
Be sensitive to others’ needs and their growth while you grow. Also pick up someone who is struggling while you rise to fly.
Mangalorean.com thanks Shri Balakrishna Hegde for sharing his thoughts with our readers and wishes him all success in his undertakings.
Submitted by: Mrs. Jaya Ramesh, Oman/India
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Comments:
Roberts, India:
So tall, yet so down to earth…humble and gentle. God bless him and his doings always. It makes me immensely proud of a person i had known so closely. Let his tribe increase in this country filled with selfish politicians!!
Manmohan, India:
Well Written Article Of A Very Gentle Soul, Gentleman, Who Cares For Everyone And Very Softspoken Person.
Keep It Up Sri Hegde; You Make Us All Proud.
r c purohit, India:
A beutiful peice of article, I have known
Mr Hegde for the last two decades and have
seen him as a enterprenuer as well as
president of the developers Assn. He is a thorogh gentetlmen, very sweet in talking and
a man of actions. I wish him and his family a
very happy and healthy life.
rc purohit, past president FKCCI
fanclub-Chartered, India:
Building homes for those who can afford at your residential apartments and at the same time giving shelter to those who are homeless… Premaanjali…. A home for home less kids… incredible….. Indeed India is shining only because noble people like you… hats off to you… Jai Ho….