Bekal Mohamed Salih (centre), Managing Director, Bombay Silk Centre and Chairman of BMS Exports (Mumbai), India, with Vipresh Seth (sixth right), General Manager, BSC, and some of the employees of BSC at the showroom. Pics: Salim Matramkot / The Peninsul
DOHA: Bombay Silk Centre (BSC), established in 1988, is an exclusive showroom for silk products and is located in Shara Kaharbaa at the heart of Doha.
The pioneer at the helm of Bombay Silk Centre is Bekal Mohammed Salih, also known as the “Silkman of Doha”.
A first of its kind showroom in Qatar, when it was opened, is now gearing up to celebrate the 30th anniversary on March 22 under the leadership of Salih
“Bombay Silk Centre deals Natural Mulberry Silk, Dupion Silk, Pashmina Wool Shawl, Bhagalpuri Khadi Silk, Natural Linen by Linen Club, 160 micron Kashmer woolen by Reid & Taylor, Chairman Collection by Raymond, original hand-embroidered Zardosi Silk, Banarasi Uphada, Paithani, Bengal & Coimbtore Cotton, Rajkot Handlooms, Jamdhanis, and Jaipuri Bandhej to name a few,” says Salih.
Recalling the launch in 1988, Salih says: “Many others followed suit with similar shops. But we remain number one in Qatar. Our customers are mainly Qataris but expatriates from the US, Europe, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka placed huge trust in us. They know we never compromised in quality and pricing.”
When the first branch of BSC opened, it was a ‘three-shutter’ shop with five employees. “Four years later, we moved to a new premise with ‘eight- shutter’ shop in the same area,” he says. A few years later he opened a branch in Salwa Road. Now BSC occupies 11,000 square feet in floor area and now employs more than 100 workers.
“It’s not just my hard work. People like General Manager Vipresh Sheth, Paulose, Sunadaran and other staff brought all these business. They are with me since the beginning and I am very grateful to them,” says Salih. He also started Lexus Tailoring, devoted to stitching long Arabic robe (thobe) for men with Abdul Azeez Akkara in 1997-98. Lexus Tailoring now has 22 branches in Qatar and some branches in neighbouring countries. More than 900 employees are working at Lexus Tailoring.
Achievements apart, Bekal Mohammed Salih is very active on the social and charity front. He is a member of ICC, ICBF, KMCC, Welfare League and several other bodies functioning in Qatar and in Kerala.
Recounting his life’s journey from his native village of Bekal, in Kasaragod district of Kerala, India, Salih says he landed in Qatar in December 1971 on a cargo dhow from Khor Fakkan.
In 1972, he started a small restaurant in Azeeziya in partnership with the late Kunjhammad, a friend from Bekal. Khalifa Sultan Al Suwaidi, a citizen, helped him legalise his stay in Doha. In 1974, Salih went back home. After four months, he returned to Doha. He took up odd jobs for livelihood. Later he landed a job at a British Bank and worked for two years. In 1977, he started ‘Metro Hotel’, an Indian restaurant, which gave him enough money to start a textile shop in Souq Faleh in partnership with MP Shafi Haji.
In 1980, he joined hands with three partners who were running Century Textiles and Tailoring. “It was a small shop in Shara Kaharabaa. I took initiative to expand the business. Other partners, mainly Moideen and Thangal cooperated well. The business flourished,” he says.
While at Century Textiles, Dubai’s Al Humaidi group backed by Indian silk merchants Vijay Silk Limited suggested him to start a separate shop for silk products. Thus Bombay Sllk Centre took shape and from thereon there was no looking back.
