Part I – A Meal, A Dream, A Beginning

–

Picture this.

A young boy sits in his school classroom in Gujarat, the midday sun casting long shadows on his desk. In front of him is a tiffin packed from home, but other children only have a simple plate of food provided by the Birla Group’s mid-day meal charity program. For many of his school friends, this meal was their lunch, their fuel.

That meal did more than just fill his friends’ stomachs. It planted something far greater in his heart – the understanding that charity sustains lives. This seed of giving back would one day grow into the cornerstone of his business philosophy.

That boy was Anil R. Bakeri, born in 1932, son of a government civil engineer, who would go on to become one of the most respected names in India’s real estate industry.

After graduating from Vidyanagar in 1955, Bakeri dada didn’t walk into inherited wealth, deep-pocketed investors or plush offices. Instead, he began with a seed capital of ₹15,000 from his father, which was later topped up with an additional ₹1 lakh. It was enough to ignite a journey.

In 1959, Bakeri Group was born. 

But real estate in those days was murky, messy and mistrusted. Deals were opaque and shortcuts were common. Many considered it impossible to stay clean in an industry built on compromises.

Bakeri dada thought otherwise. He believed that back then, ethics were not being taught in universities, that they had to be chosen, self-taught and inculcated. And he resolved to build not just homes, but a business that could stand as a beacon of integrity in an industry that sorely needed it.

What began as a modest venture soon became more than a company. It was an experiment in proving that you could be human in business, that you could give back, play fair and still win. 

How, you ask? Not just by building structures, but by building trust.

---

Part II – Betting on Dreams, Building for Generations

The 1970s were not kind to dreamers.

India was reeling under economic stress. Real estate, in particular, was choking. Banks and financiers refused to back builders, clients were scarce and many companies collapsed.

But Bakeri Group stood tall, on the strength of its reputation. When lenders were suspicious of everyone else, they trusted Bakeri dada. When buyers were skeptical, they chose him. His reputation became his currency and Bakeri dada had more than most could’ve asked for, in such grave times.

It was during this turbulent period that he made one of the most audacious moves of his career. Instead of chasing luxury or quick profits, Bakeri Group pivoted to building large-scale housing schemes for the lower-middle class.

It was a gamble. Conventional wisdom said such projects were too risky, too low-margin, too uncertain. But Bakeri dada wasn’t following convention, he was following conviction. And that conviction paid off. The projects succeeded, reshaping Ahmedabad’s housing landscape and cementing Bakeri Group as a household name.

Beyond business, Bakeri dada’s life was one of remarkable discipline and quiet passion. For the past 52 years, he has brisk-walked every morning for an entire hour, without fail. He finds solace in classical music and adventure in long drives through the wilderness. These rituals weren’t hobbies; they were reminders that balance is power.

He also gave his mind where it mattered most, education. For over a decade, Bakeri dada has been on the Board of Governors of IIM Ahmedabad, shaping India’s brightest managerial minds. It was his way of giving back, the same way someone once gave others a meal when they needed it the most.

Real estate gave him buildings. Ethics gave him respect. But it was social service that gave him purpose.

---

Part III – At 93, Still Building Futures

Fast-forward to today.

At 93 years old, Bakeri dada still walks into his office every morning. No retirement speeches, no ceremonial farewells but just a calendar jam-packed with meetings, decisions and people waiting to seek his counsel. His presence isn’t symbolic. It’s active. Continuous.

He is the rare kind of leader who has lived through every cycle of India’s modern real estate – the booms, the busts and the recessions. In the late 1900s, the industry plunged into one of its worst slumps, clients vanished and banks refused credit. Yet Bakeri Group survived, not because it was the biggest, but because it was the most trusted. That trust unlocked funding when others failed.

Over the decades, Bakeri Group has built millions of square feet of homes, offices and townships but the true legacy of Bakeri dada cannot be measured in concrete. It lives in the stories of families who bought their first affordable homes in his projects. It lives in the industry professionals who saw that transparency and profitability could coexist. It lives in every handshake he honored.

And yet, despite the skyscrapers and accolades, Bakeri dada has never lost his grounding. Ask him his secret and he’ll tell you simply:

“Always give back. Always remain human. And always remain ethical.”

From the boy who had no backing in the industry to the man who built a real estate empire, his story is not just about building a business. It is about resilience, ethics and the extraordinary power of doing things the right way, even when it’s the harder way.

At 93, he is still proving that ethics don’t retire. They endure. And through them, so does he.