From impoverished teenager to furniture king

KARACHI: At the age of 16, Hajji Pervaiz faced a grim future. His father had died, he had no income and no skills to earn one, and close relatives had abandoned him and his family.
Now, 42 years later, his life could not be more different. Pervaiz is a skilled, self-taught carpenter, a prominent businessman at the Arambagh furniture market in Karachi, and a role model for many young entrepreneurs.
“After the death of my father and the cold attitude of my relatives, I decided to craft my own future. Now, thanks to God, I am content with what I did to escape from poverty,” he said.
As a teenager, Pervaiz started out by selling birdcages. Although at the time he had no craftsman’s skills, he dreamt of owning a small shop in the furniture market, and every week he squirrelled away some of his meager income.
“Initially I was only able to rent a shop, but I gradually started to learn about the furniture business and craft. When you are determined to do something, Allah opens new ways for you, and he did that for me,” he said.
Through hard work and skill, Pervaiz is now in a position to provide work for others, and he is happy to do so. “We have skilled workers and salesmen who are sources of livelihood to hundreds of individuals,” he said. “I never say no to anyone who comes for job.”
His one disappointment, perhaps, is that some boys work for a day, earn some money, but do not appear the next day, a trend among youth who want to become overnight millionaires.
“I made my fortune by working day and night,” Pervaiz said. “Believe me, there is no short cut in life, you have to work hard to get to the destination you chose.”
Atiq Mir, chairman of over 100 trade associations and long-time friend of Pervaiz, said he was a self-made businessman and distinguished among furniture traders. “He started from zero. Now he owns a major chunk of properties in Arambagh market and has achieved financial stability,” Mir said.
After troubled times with close relatives as a teenager, Pervaiz now has a family of his own — a wife, a son and three daughters. His son Nauman, 33, helps with the business, and sees a huge difference between now and when his father was young.
“We enjoy a lot of facilities that our father did not have,” he said. “His times were hard and tough, but we are not running between display centers and factories as things are done on the phone with great ease.”
Nauman designs his own furniture, and keeps up with modern trends, demands and materials. “In the past, the materials for furniture were different and complicated designs were popular, but things have changed and elegance is taking root,” he said.
Autumn and winter is wedding season in Pakistan, and demand for furniture picks up pace. As he speaks to Arab News, Pervaiz takes an order from a woman whose daughter’s wedding is next month. His furniture sells for between Rs50,000 ($500) to Rs300,000, which suits middle-income families.
The tradition of giving dowry is deeply rooted in Pakistani culture and many families are unable to afford it, and many girls have married only with Pervaiz’s help. “I have not forgotten the days of my poverty,” he said. “I always extend help to the poor. I even sometimes pay from own pocket to provide relief to a family, and I have never regretted it.”