CEO, Claridge Group of Companies

As I look back on my achievements of the last four decades after coming to Ottawa, as a 21-year-old, everything seems absolutely incredible. When I first came here on 11 October 1971, I had only $8 in my pocket. Today, I’m proud to say that Claridge Homes, our flagship business, is one of the biggest real-estate development businesses of the country and I have been dubbed as the Condo King of Ottawa. This, however, is not the beginning of my journey.

I was fortunate that my brother, Ashok, asked me to move to Ottawa, my father coaxed me in the right direction and my mother always stood by me. Within six months of my arrival here, I was able to buy my own townhouse in Ottawa. But my journey did not begin in Canada; it did some two decades earlier in India.

Inspired by Subhash Chandra Bose, India’s greatest freedom fighter, Mata ji chose to name me Subhash after my birth on 8 September 1949 in New Delhi. My parents, Shakuntala and Narinder Nath, are originally from Lahore, where they were lecturers and leading beautiful lives. However, when the partition swept across the land like a malevolent storm, they had to flee for their lives and lost everything in this nightmarish upheaval. But it could not dampen their persevering spirit. Life wasn’t too harsh; Papa ji joined the SN Das Gupta College as a partner and professor and Mata ji, like an ideal homemaker, kept busy nurturing and caring for their four sons, Ashok, Rabinder, I and Rajinder.

The fact that both my parents were educationists made a big difference, as it provided us with the right kind of environment for studies while we were growing up.

After attending JD Tytler School, Rohtak Road, up to grade 3, Papa ji made me join Ramjas Higher Secondary School, number 2, as he wanted me to join a school that stressed on Mathematics. In Ramjas, I got hugely interested in sports and spending time with friends. I remember once my elder brother, Rabinder, and I entered a newly built, unoccupied house right across our home and he broke all the window panes while I watched. As a result, Papa ji took him to task in the evening! School was fun too. We were a group of boys; Arun and I have been best friends since 1958. Sometimes we would be quite mischievous. I remember we once lost a Cricket match against Ramjas School, number 5, and instead of going back to school, a lot of us decided to go home. The next day our class teacher, Mr Madan Lal, gave us a solid punishment. Arun Chopra, today the owner of Kake da Hotel (KDH), and I are still in touch and good friends as ever.

However, Papa ji exerted a perfect counterbalance against my playful ways, turning me around and pointing me in the direction of discipline and studies. At the same time, he was also very indulgent: I remember having lunch at one of the best hotels of New Delhi, The Claridges. (Who knew it would become an inspiration for me later!) It was only because of his patient coaxing and prodding that I was able to pass my grade 11 board exams in first division. My scores made it easy for me to find a seat at BITS Pilani. At 15, I was one of the youngest students pursuing bachelors in engineering. I graduated at 20 in 1970. Perhaps another reason for this is that people residing in our neighbourhood all happened to be either engineers or doctors. This in itself was a big inspiration to do well and make a mark in life.

On 15 June 1970, I got a job with Engineering Consultants India, where I was mentored by none other than Mahendra Raj, a leading structural engineer of India. Although I worked there for just 15 months, I had the most extraordinary time of my life, learning and gaining experience. What I learnt with him comes handy even today. I soon got a break when Ashok, already working for Robert Halsall and Associates, Ottawa, found me a job in the same company as a structural engineer. Since Ashok would always call me Bibbal, my Canadian colleagues anglicised it to Bill!

Before departing from India, I decided to get onto a hopping flight so I could visit Beirut, Rome, Paris and London. The Air-France manager, Mr Awasthi was Papa ji’s close friend. I requested him to arrange my airfare, boarding and lodging at all these places. I reassured him that I would repay him once I started earning in Canada. Happily he agreed to my proposition and I was able to have a great time. In fact, on board my first flight were also the Pakistani Olympic team heading for the Commonwealth Games.

When I joined my new job with Halsall, my biggest plus factor was BITS’ affiliation to MIT; some of our professors were Americans and all our books were based on the curriculum there shipped by the Ford Foundation, which was a fantastic exposure. In 1974, I was accepted as a registered professional engineer by the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario. The big change came in 1976 when I got the opportunity to join the Building Permits Department as the Chief Structural Engineer, where I had a good salary but had a limited scope of advancement. By the time I was married and my sons were born, my aspirations had grown big and I set myself certain milestones which I knew I couldn’t achieve if I continued with just my job! I wanted something more out of life.