Overcoming initial doubts, Ashok built a multi-storey building in Nathdwara and ventured into the realty sector. Besides, his vision to provide quality education led to the establishment of a renowned educational institution.

Ashok Parikh holds the position of Chairman of the Shrinathji Group of Institutions in Nathdwara.

His journey started with trying out different things. First, he went into the silver business, then he got into property business, and after that, he tried the realty developing and building industry. But at the beginning, not many people supported his new and unique ideas.

Ashok says that his one big success was when he built a multi-storey building in Nathdwara in 1988.

He shares that even though many people doubted him at first, he did not give up. He worked hard to make his dream of building a multi-storey building come true. That was a very important moment that changed the direction of his journey and helped him grow. But achieving this success was not easy – he faced many challenges and difficulties along the path.

Ashok recalls a time when Nathdwara was growing as a popular destination for tourism and pilgrimage in the late 1980s and 1990s. Recognizing an opportunity in the hotel industry, he courageously started a really good hotel, becoming one of the pioneers in the sector in Nathdwara. He mentions that prior to his hotel there was just one good hotel in Nathdwara in 1985. He says that his decision was a catalyst and led to the development and construction of many more hotels in Nathdwara.

Ashok shares that in 2001, his life took a big turn when, on the advice of C.P Joshi, the Higher Education Minister of Rajasthan of that time,  he opened an engineering college. The aim was to provide local students  good facilities for higher studies without leaving their town.  Later, it grew into the Shrinathji Group of Institutions.

He says that when he began the Shrinathji Group of Institutions, his first idea was to create an engineering college. This occurred in the year 2003. After that, step by step, he added more institutions. In 2006, he introduced Pharmacy and MBA courses. MBA courses were popular then, so he decided to offer them, under the guidance of IV Trivedi. The group now offers a wide range of options including masters courses, B.Sc, academic courses, law, and much more.

Reminiscing about his childhood, Ashok says that he was born and brought up in Nathdwara, and his family belonged to the business class. He mentions that his family was affluent for their time, and his childhood days were filled with fun.  He believes that today, even though people have money, they often miss out on the happiness and feelings that were more prevalent in the past. He points to mobile phones as the main reason for this disconnection with nature.

When asked about his role models, Ashok mentions that his father, an accomplished businessman, is the person he looks up to. Additionally, he admires his uncle Devkinandan Gurjar and CP Joshi for the support they provided him in his journey.

Ashok thinks that there is no special mantra for success. It is about learning from experiences and achieving success through hard work. He suggests that success comes by taking one step at a time.

Ashok shares that he enjoys listening to old songs by Mukesh and Mohammad Rafi in his free time.

Comparing education and experience, he says he thinks that both are important. He says that to become successful in life, a person needs to have both education and experience.

When asked what he would change from his past if given a time machine to travel back in time, Ashok says that he does not believe in the idea of such a machine. He maintains a positive outlook towards the past, present, and future.

He shares that all the work he has done in his life has been through partnerships. He explains that the people he worked with trusted him. He emphasizes that all his partners have supported him and he has never had any disputes with anyone. His message is that partnerships are a wonderful idea, as long as you work with honesty.

Ashok advises young people to think about becoming entrepreneurs instead of choosing regular jobs. He encourages them to start new businesses and startups.