Sumer Singh Pinglia
Real Estate
President, Pinglia Group Investments | Houston, TX (USA)
Ancestry
Kheri Salabatpur, Rupnagar (Punjab)
Birthplace
Indore, Madhya Pradesh (India)
Residence
Houston, TX (USA)
The Shortcut to Success: Hard work, Hard work, Hard work & God!
Starting with a $5/hour job, he is now an exemplary figure making India proud with his purity, love and dedication to help the society…
I was born on 5 February 1946 to Sardarni Dharam Kaur and Sardar Dhyan Singh in Madhya Pradesh, amid five brothers and two sisters. Although my father owned big farms in Kheri Salabatpur, he had leased it out for tending and chose to work in Indore, the town he had grown up in. My dada ji1, who had left the world rather early at 42, was a sergeant in Maharaja Holkar’s army in Indore. My father started with a small job initially, but with his persistence, he was appointed the forest contractor and later, he started out as a timber merchant.
Three gifts from God
My family was finding it difficult to discipline me, so when I was 5, my father sent me to live with my paternal grandmother, who was living in Punjab, wherefrom I completed my higher secondary schooling. I used to address her as Maa. A religious, kind and loving lady, she was everyone’s favourite in the family and much respected by the entire village. She would feed every stray animal that came to her door. Growing up with her was fun; she would tell me stories, often with a lesson. I still carry with me the various teachings she imparted me. Watching her to through the day taught me to be humble, handle hate with love and wisdom and respect women. Staying with her was one of the best things that happened to me. The lessons from her have shaped my life. This was my first gift from God.
After completing school, I returned to Indore for my diploma in Mechanical Engineering in SV Polytechnic College, which I completed in 1967. The same year, I joined BHEL in Bhopal where my two elder brothers were already working. Continuing to work there till 1977, I also enrolled and successfully took another diploma, this time in Electrical Engineering. If you’re wondering why I got a second diploma, you can blame it on my family who had a knack for acquiring education. One of my sisters completed her MA as well as BEd, while another was a BA and BEd. One of my elder brothers was an Engineer at BHEL. Later, my younger brothers got jobs in Chandigarh and one of them got a good position in a company called HMT. I was fortunate to have a support system where everyone knew the importance of education. Had it not been for them, I would not be the man I am today. This was my second gift from God.
When I decided to work for BHEL, little did know that it would lead me to my better half, Surinder! One of her relatives worked in BHEL, and he recommended me to her family. They were convinced that I was the right guy for her (laughs), though it was the other way around! she was an independent girl who was not only living away from her family but also working overseas, which in itself was a rare achievement at that time. She wanted to be the modern-era Florence Nightingale and so pursued nursing and found a job at a hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. A year before our marriage on 25 September 1977, she accepted a nursing job at Buffalo, New York, which was her promised land all along. In this new country, she would go all the way to Toronto, Canada, to get flour because she couldn’t eat American food! So, you see it was me who was lucky to have Surinder because she was a gem – a well-educated Punjabi girl who was capable of living her dream and equipped to survive in a foreign land by herself. This was my third and the best gift from God.
A foreign land and an Indian friend!
After I came to the USA in March 1978, I attempted many interviews in several companies. Unfortunately, the companies preferred experienced Americans. I, therefore, settled for a $5/hour-job to get the experience, though there were others offering more money but all far from Houston.
Looking at our struggles, one of my Maharashtrian friends, Arvind Wardarikar, suggested we get into the real-estate business; we did, and started buying and selling buildings, gradually getting into the business of apartments. I invested time and efforts into making sure that the apartments I dealt in met the high standards of Houston. Surinder’s hard work and sacrifices made our real-estate business flourish. While I was juggling between a job and a business, she worked at the hospital and also looked after our real-estate business. Her experiences from Lusaka and Buffalo came in very handy in surviving those tough times. We recently ventured into hospitality by buying out Dundee Resort & Golf Club in 2017.
Ever since I got to know Wardarikar in 1978, we have been friends. I still keep in touch with some of my old-time friends.
Adopt the good western values but be an Indian
New places, new things, new people, new lessons, but Surinder and I love to keep our Indian values. We are proud of our culture, upbringing and my turban. She still loves to wear salwar-suits2. Not willing to give it up for anything, we do nothing that’s disgraceful to our Indian culture. When I came to the USA, there were only five turbaned men in the area but we never felt the need to change our appearance. We maintained our Sikh identity all our lives. I remember once it became difficult for Sikhs to wear a turban here; many Sikh immigrants considered giving it up but we strongly decided not to give up our values. We decided that we would rather go back to India if such be the need.
We passed on the same values to our family members whom we assisted in settling down here. So far, we have helped around 90 members from my and Surinder’s family in finding jobs, residences, etc. We have also guided them to absorb the good things from the western world, without westernising themselves. By God’s grace, all our nephews and nieces are living respectable and successful lives, closely bonded, available for each other.
Coming from the land of farmers, we still love growing our own vegetables in our small kitchen garden. I tend to my garden on my own too.
Sewa is the way of life
Although we are in the USA since long now, yet we realise what our motherland needs. We help a few Punjab villages to develop by helping bright students. We contribute to the development of schools, from infrastructure to sports tournaments. I have initiated the set-up of the national Sikh centre in Houston, and helped in its construction, while Surinder actively participates in the langar, sewa and other services in the gurudwara, which also has a free dispensary. We run a school, the Punjabi School, in the gurudwara every Sunday here, which is enthusiastically joined by children. The school teaches Gurubani3, reading and writing Punjabi, musical instruments, etc. As a team, we organise several programmes to keep the society connected.
A lot of Muslims join us too. I believe there should be no discrimination on the basis of caste or religion. Surinder and I encourage people to visit the gurudwara, where good moral values are taught. We like to see children joining us because if they understand religion in its true beauty, they will turn out to be better individuals.
We never miss a chance to visit India, every time I am there, I prefer to forget I was a businessman ever and live like a villager, eating the locally grown food, breaking into dance. I still remember how crazily we had danced during my barat! India brings that happiness.
Philosophy
Success does not evade those who work hard. Give back to the society as much as you can.
I love…
Serving my community.
Success Mantra
Hard work with patience, without expecting the fruits of your work, lead to success.
I’d suggest the youth…
To be honest, with themselves, their work and everyone they deal with if they want to go a long way. Be polite and helpful. Help people get de-addicted.
The world doesn’t know that…
to work hard, make the most out of what they have and never stop dreaming. Most importantly, they should be honest and not be selfish. Have faith in God. Everything happens for a reason. Whenever they feel low in life or feel that nobody is trustworthy, they should close their eyes and remember God.
Gallery
ISBN : 9788193397695