Young Gwalior resident Yuvraj Mahanaaryaman Scindia is a natural businessperson whose start-ups have already secured finance from events featuring food and music as well as from apps.
HIS GRANDFATHER, Maharaja Madhavrao Scindia, a former Union Minister of Civil Aviation who died in a plane crash in 2001, is remembered by the 12-kilometer marathon he just completed in his hometown of Gwalior. Yuvraj Mahanaaryaman Scindia of Gwalior, 27, a Yale graduate, is the son of Maharaja Jyotiraditya Scindia of Gwalior, Union Minister of Civil Aviation. “It was his birth anniversary and it was a special marathon for unity, where we had around 6,000 present,” he says. As his friends and family call him, Aaryaman is constantly moving around, splitting his time between Gwalior, Delhi, and any other cities where he is required.
He manages two start-up businesses, one of which is a social enterprise that serves fruit and vegetable vendors in four cities, fosters and supports athletes in Madhya Pradesh, collaborates with an NGO to modernise government schools, and looks after family properties in Gwalior, including the 400-room Jai Vilas Palace with a European design.
Aaryaman worked for Boston Consulting Group after graduating from a U.S. university in 2019, but she left the company three and a half years ago, just before the pandemic began. Passionate with both music and food, he went on to found the music festivals Cymbal (with his friend Nakul Mehan) and Pravaas (with Mumbai-based Chef Prateek Sadhu), which debuted at his residence, Jai Vilas Palace, in 2021. It was place in Kasauli a year later. Since that time, Pravaas, a collection of multi-sensory experiences with a focus on food, music, art, tradition, and culture, has slightly modified who it is. Aaryaman claims, “We’ve collected money and changed the business, giving Pravaas a new identity. We now have a variety of streams, which places all of our experiences in distinctive settings connected to the local cuisine and culture.
“The Pravaas journeys will now happen just once or twice a year,” continues Aaryaman, who is introducing a brand-new IP called Pravaas Trails, which concentrates on the culinary highlights of a certain place like Lucknow, Srinagar, or sections of Meghalaya. The cost of the experience, including airfare and lodging, ranges from 75,000 to 2 lakh rupees per person.
Gwalior’s Jai Vilas Palace as seen from the outside
Aaryaman requested that his mother Maharani Priyadarshini Raje Scindia supply the crockery for the special food tasting at the 2021 Pravaas experience at Jai Vilas palace. She collaborates with regional artisans in Madhya Pradesh and Gwalior to produce plates and other items, including pottery, along with other artefacts.
MyMandi, a B2B2C marketplace founded by Aaryaman, is an online aggregator that collaborates with the community of cart-pushers and vegetable/fruit vendors to efficiently distribute fresh food throughout India. In the wake of Covid, Aaryaman explains, “I had to start something on my own, committed to a particular cause, but it had to have a business foundation.”
“At that time, the number of B2C delivery platforms increased, which resulted in valuation bubbles throughout the industry. Many businesses made mistakes and began bleeding money as a result of high logistical costs and fresh food waste. They also had to raise capital at absurd prices. Aaryaman realised there had to be a better approach while analysing data while working at the BCG.
Aaryaman and his close buddy Suryansh Rana (co-founder of MyMandi), began analysing trends in Tier-II cities while they were visiting Gwalior. According to Aaryaman, 80% of the population lives in Tier-II cities, which are where India’s growth story will be told. “We found that there are a lot of thelawallas, or vegetable pushers and vendors, in each city.
And they already have India’s largest fresh food delivery network. MyMandi was conceived at that time.
MyMandi gives thelawallas access to a procurement service that enables them to buy fresh vegetables at a discount and receive it directly from the mandi, eliminating wastage. The entire business concept entails purchasing the goods in large quantities, utilising economies of scale to obtain better profits, then delivering to thelawallas along a designated path. According to Aaryaman, “They would search for good produce for 8 to 9 hours, saving about $15,000 a month in transportation costs.”
“One thelawalla would buy 10 kg of product, and we would buy one tonne, so there would be a group of 100 thelawallas. Additionally, there is less waste because we pack, segregate, and send it to them. At the moment, we are active in four cities: Jaipur, Nagpur, Gwalior, and Agra. By January 2024, we want to be profitable.
Aaryaman claims that revenue has increased from 70 lakh to 80 to 85 lakh rupees per month and is currently close to 1 crore. The goal, according to him, is to reach $5 crore every month by December or January. Additionally, he is developing a B2B app that will enable data analytics and allow thelawallas to place orders online.
He hopes to work with EV firms to design unique carts that can deliver other FMCG goods, transforming them into mobile kirana stores.
In July of last year, the company got capital totaling 4.2 crore. In order to improve forecasting capabilities and optimise the basket, it is currently raising a new round of $1 million to invest in technology. It wants to know who is purchasing what fruit from where and how much. As a tool for businesses to reach the underserved thelawalla population, the company plans to incorporate services including mobility, banking systems, UPI, and health insurance. Upskilling will take place even within the business. “We will start people as sorters and packagers at a minimum wage, and they move up to being managers and regional heads, and they start earning 10 or 15 times what they are paid,” claims Aaryaman. He presently employs 150 people across four locations, with plans to add more as demand for labour increases.
Aaryaman’s favourite spot in the palace, the royal kitchen, has been extensively renovated by his mother Priyadarshini. It features English and French touches, a massive Dutch oven and gas cooking ranges that are on display for the public (some 25 rooms of the palace are open to visitors, forming the Jivaji Rao Scindia Museum).
Aaryaman declares that she enjoys cooking the most.
The largest pair of chandeliers in the world, which weigh 3.5 tonnes apiece and house 300 lights each, are located in the museum’s gilded Darbar hall. One of them is said to take three months to clean. – the ceiling, which is a work of architecture because it can hold 7 tonnes of weight without any columns. The largest carpet in the world is also in this room, Aaryaman adds. “It was stitched by Gwalior prison inmates in the hall itself, in the classic tribal style, with ornamental borders.” To give the roof of the Darbar Hall its golden appeal, almost 2.5 tonnes of pure gold were melted and painted on it.
The small silver train with crystal containers that runs on the dining table in the banquet hall is another attraction worth seeing at the museum. “Each container bears a letter from the name Scindia — so you have S, C, I, and so on,” explains Aaryaman. The canisters contain cigarettes, alcohol, and chocolate; if a passenger wants to assist themselves, the train will stop.
Aaryaman enjoys travelling, going on hikes, and kayaking when he’s not working on startups. He enjoys whipping up meals for family and friends because he is an avid home cook and foodie. His favourite dish is a family recipe for mutton stewed in cashew and almond paste for six hours with a white curry base. The native bajra and makki ki rotis from the tribal districts of M.P. are served alongside it, according to Aaryaman. “Yakhni pulao is another recipe I learned to make, and I recently prepared some delicious roast chicken with edamame pasta.”
The young Aaryaman prefers to dress casually, wearing a T-shirt and jeans, a T-shirt and track trousers or a white kurta when it’s extremely hot outside and he needs to visit villages. He dons the traditional anga (a long, flowing coat made of silk and delicate brocade), along with the crescent-shaped Gwalior pagri (turban), when attending ceremonial events.
As vice president of the Gwalior Division Cricket Association, he most recently joined the state cricket board.
In order to identify talented rural residents, we are putting together district- and village-level tournaments. With 4-5 teams competing, he is also developing a miniature IPL league for MP that would pay players and give them a platform to display their skills.
In order to prevent young cricket players from giving up on their goals of becoming professional athletes due to financial insecurity, Aaryaman assists them in finding work in businesses. According to Aaryaman, “we’ve been able to land a few jobs with businesses like Panasonic and Shiprocket.” “We established a brand-new division for disabled cricket. They serve as an inspiration to all of us watching, it’s great to see these guys perform while in wheelchairs.
In order to identify talented rural residents, we are putting together district- and village-level tournaments. With 4-5 teams competing, he is also developing a miniature IPL league for MP that would pay players and give them a platform to display their skills.
In order to prevent young cricket players from giving up on their goals of becoming professional athletes due to financial insecurity, Aaryaman assists them in finding work in businesses. According to Aaryaman, “we’ve been able to land a few jobs with businesses like Panasonic and Shiprocket.” “We established a brand-new division for disabled cricket. They serve as an inspiration to all of us watching, it’s great to see these guys perform while in wheelchairs.
