Born on 18 April 1946 in Hoshiarpur, Anand is the eldest among two brothers and six sisters. His father, Bal Gopal, was a grain merchant of modest means but with a big heart. His mother, Radha Rani, a daughter of a tehsildar, was a rather less educated but a pious lady. ‘Making it happen’ was his only option as he had responsibility for his siblings. Many years later, today, Kal Ho Na Ho, a Bollywood number from a movie with the same name, reminds him of his growing up years.
Bal Gopal inculcated strong traditional Indian values in all his kids. He ensured that all the kids grew up with the feeling of welfare of people and nationality, spirituality and praying. Sikh values and Hindu traditions were the basis of existence in the family. Every summer, the siblings together visited their paternal and maternal grandparents in Punjab, where they interacted with Sikh families. Anand was mighty inspired by Sikhism and started valuing both the religions equally.
Anand’s mother had a great understanding of performing daily chores at homes and handling people. To add to it was her aptitude for Mathematics, which she clearly had passed on to Anand.
The parents wanted Anand to become a mechanical engineer and so he secured himself a seat at the prestigious IIT Delhi with his academic excellence. Moving from his small town to a metro city was a lot of transition. The institute had the best students from all over the nation, which gave a new edge to his competitive spirit and a new perspective to his pursuit of a bright future. The standards of the yearly examinations were soaring and only the brightest of students could clear them.
New heights awaited Anand as he chose to learn computers after his post- graduation in mechanical engineering from the University of Alberta. Computers were the booming industry in Canada. He remembers fondly, “The first time I entered my computer class, I was made fun of. The professor called me a plumber. But, after the first mid- term examination, the same professor congratulated me socially. He was amazed that I had secured 100% and finished the examination in half the time.”
Season of new beginnings!
Graduating in 1967, he took tentative steps towards his career when the Federal Government offered him a job in Ottawa in a crucial role in solving some complex ventilation and heating issues in various buildings using computer modelling.
While he was leading a happy life, the entrepreneur inside him wasn’t satisfied. Responsibilities from back home in India too were increasing. He started his new part-time business, bought a 16-unit building with two others – his stepping stone in the world of real estate.
Pretty much settled again, his parents thought it was the right time for his marriage! In 1972, Anand married Saroj, a Sikh girl in Ottawa. Anand had told her his middle name was Singh and she accepted his proposal. Religious and pious but a graduate in education and library science, she performed her everyday prayer rituals and did a government job before marriage; post marriage, her prayers continue till date and she later also joined the family business. Saroj performs Prakash every day. The couple has a gurdwara and the central religious scripture of Sikhism, Guru Granth Sahib, at home. They were blessed with two children, Lalit (1976) and Jyoti (1980).
They ensured that their children were brought up with the best education and stretched their resources to provide for them. While Lalit studied at Wharton School of Business and Oxford, Jyoti studied at Cornell & John Hopkins and is working at Boston. Anand ensured they got whatever he had missed in school life, sports being one. Lalit became the captain of the college hockey team and later took up a career in investment banking, and is now a renowned economist helping the Government of Ontario. He is the Chair of AGCO Board of Directors and a director in several boards including Hospital for Sick Kids. He and Wendy, his wife, are well-settled with their five kids. Jyoti was no less. She took up public health in Boston and is a senior director of health economics and outcomes research. She provides free food, health education and check-ups to the needy. Anand not only uplifted his children but also stood up to his father’s hope of looking after the six sisters, got them married and assisted them in establishing themselves in Canada.
Having lived in a small house in India and seeing the affordable housing shortage in Canada led to the foundation of Manor Park Management. Helping him pave his way forward was the late Dr. Pramod Kumar, the designer of the Canadarm for the Canadian and US space programmes. The two had known each other since IIT days. In 1983, Kumar invited him to Toronto where they bought a piece of land together and started a construction business. This was the beginning of Manor Park Estates. For the next 3–4 years, Anand commuted to Toronto and built almost 500 houses. But the market changed soon and the business collapsed.
But all that glitters is not gold. Anand too faced his share of ups and downs. In 1986, when the bank interest rate shot up, he was forced to sell certain properties at huge losses. A few years later, in 1989, he mustered up courage to start Manor Group and things started to fall in place once again. His vision of providing affordable housing in Ottawa gradually became a reality. Today, Manor provides affordable housing to over 4,000 families. Anand views tenants as customers, who are treated with respect and are his large family. Later, he diversified into commercial real estate too, which today includes five hotels and the Infinity Convention Centre.
Anand is respected not only for his business acumen but also for his trustworthiness and integrity. “If not a lot, I guess I have been able to do my bit for the economic development of this city,” he says, satisfied.
When serving society became the focus!
Leading a satisfied and successful life, Anand always finds time to dedicate to society. He has always been very social and community-oriented. In 1975, he started doing his bit for his school in Hoshiarpur by helping build proper washroom facilities. Eventually, he started funding scholarships to help the destitute who wanted to study further. Moreover, he has been involved in bringing affordable housing to various parts of India.
A legacy of the Aggarwals is their charitable activity on a large scale. Anand too took charge of the financial and developmental support for the gurudwara and the Shri Sathya Sai Spiritual Centre. This altruistic desire led him to co-found Dhadkan, which continues to donate to the Heart Institute for more than 10 years now. He has also helped establish a lectureship to study heart disease among south Asians. For the Habitat of Humanity, they have contributed land and development for affordable homes. He also made a significant financial contribution to the STEP programme for children at risk, given one of his premises to open a cooking school for Ottawa Mission, funds for Canada Cancer Society and several other local groups.
Anand’s association with the Indo-Canada Ottawa Business Chamber (ICOBC) and then with Indo-Canada Chamber Of Commerce (ICCC) has helped a lot in bridging the gap between the two countries. He has been working actively in assisting the environmental concerns. He was one of the 2019 inductees of Order of Ottawa.
The kind and large-hearted couple has never let anyone go empty-handed from their door.