Ashwinder Singh
Founder
Dawat – Indian Restaurant | Milan (ITALY)
Ancestry
Amritsar (Punjab)
Birthplace
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (India)
Residence
Milan (ITALY)
Introducing the Taste of India
His father had a successful business in India, but he had a dream of making his life himself. He moved to Italy, studied there and established his restaurant to promote Indian cuisine.
There’s no bigger star for me than my father, Gulzar Singh. An IITian, who had worked in Germany and USA, chose the slow and sleepy town of Bhopal to settle in with my mother, Darshan Gulzar! He started a steel factory, Steel Air Industries, and two cinema theatres there before I was born on 24 September 1964. My sister and grandmother completed our beautiful family.
Family was my teacher
We siblings were taught not to hurt someone and be nice to all. As a child, I loved reading comics; my favourite was Superman. From him, I learnt that he was super strong but had values – that he did not kill even the cruellest of villains as he believed in justice. It had a significant impact on my life and I started believing in it. As, my interest turned to rock music and playing all kinds of games with my friends. I remember one of my friends was a strict vegetarian, and I tricked him into eating an egg, which made him rather furious when he found out.
After studying in Lawrence School, a boarding school in Sanawar, Himachal Pradesh, up to high school, I joined Campion School, Bhopal. While in grade 12, I requested my dad to send me on tour to Europe after exams. He agreed to it only if I could score a minimum of 60 per cent, but I scored 59.50 per cent – and he didn’t allow me to go.
Pain made me a master
In my head, I was an ambitious person. While studying Economics at Bhopal School of Social Science, I joined my father’s factory at Rs 500 a month. Being the owner’s son, I assumed it my privilege to come late and leave early. Dad had this if I played some sport, I could cut short the office hours. But I did not know that at the end of the month, the accountant would not give me a salary because of my irregular timings. In anger, I went to Mom, crying, and she gave me Rs 500. My dream world had burst!
Completing graduation in 1985, I decided to move to Italy to do masters in Economics and started working as a broker. For the first time, Dad gave me money to invest, and I lost it all. He did not get angry; instead, he forgave me and told me that this would be a real lesson in life. And I learnt from my mistakes!
My journey of life
It was while working as a fund manager in a bank that one of my friends advised me to start an Indian restaurant in Italy. I discontinued with the bank 1997 onwards and started the restaurant, Tara in Milan, and since then, it has been my work and worship. In 2013, I started another restaurant, Dawat. At times, work caused a lot of stress, which, in turn, lead to ruptured relationships and health. Understanding what damages I had done to myself, I reduced my working schedule and recovered the health I was losing due to long hours and unhealthy eating and drinking habits.
I genuinely believe that burdens are overcome and milestones are achieved with helpful hands. All the credit goes to my family and my wife, who stood by me even if they disagreed in my undertakings. My children, Sabina and Raul, complete my family. Sabina has done her masters in Political Science from Germany and Raul is doing Software Engineering from Italy.
Punjabis are one of the most socially helpful people today globally. As our gurus say that every 10th breath and earning should be devoted to his name and the needy, I contribute to the sewa for women and children in war-torn areas. I also contribute to an animal shelter that my sister manages in Varodara, Gujarat.
Philosophy
I don’t think western culture is a threat to our culture. As long as we maintain true values, we can make it the best of both worlds.
