Most of you might not have heard his name because he believes in working silently and serving the needy and deprived. Coming from a very poor family, Tarak Arolkar has scaled the heights of success with his sheer determination and hard work and he understands the pain of being poor and destitute. This man has a dream – a dream to make Mapusa a Model Town in Goa as he intends to contest the election from Mapusa Constituency in the forthcoming by polls.
Some stories are really inspiring and once you read them it gives everyone a sense of positivity. The story of Tarak Arolkar is one of them. He was born in Mapusa into a family which could only work on a hand to mouth routine. “My mother was a government servant working in Asilo Hospital in Mapusa while father used to take small government contracts,” said Tarak adding that whilst his father was alive, they had a reasonably good life but after he expired in 1995, the family’s entire responsibility fell on his mother who was the only real earner in their family.
Despite these adverse conditions, Tarak did not give up on his dreams. “Being the fourth child in the family, I did not have so much responsibility on my shoulder but still all of us have gone through hardship and with very limited resources and no support, my mother took care of me and my 4 siblings,” he narrated.
Tarak completed his primary education at a Government School and his secondary studies at Janata High School, a government-aided school in Mapusa. “My college education I completed in DMC College with science being the major subject and after that, I went to complete my post-graduation in Law,” said Tarak, adding that he also holds a Diploma in Civil Draftsmanship.
Swimming against a current is never an easy task and it takes a lot of effort and for Tarak, it was no different. He overcame all adversities and obstacles, and still managed to come out a winner. “After completing my studies, I worked 12 years in the police department and then I left to continue my practice,” said Tarak.
Although he was doing well in his profession he felt something was missing and to fill that void, he needed to enter into the business arena and that was the time he decided to enter into Real Estate. “I knew that if I had to work towards the social cause then being into the profession of lawyer will not allow me to do that and that is the reason I decided to dive into the business of Real Estate which was booming then. My real estate business gave me all the freedom to work at the same time help the needy people,” he narrated.
Presently Tarak gives his full time to the real estate business but also invested in an Information Technology start-up project. “I also own part of one IT company known as One Phone technology Pvt Ltd that develops the Mobile Apps. It is a start-up known as iFly and I have four more partners in this business”.
Tarak’s journey towards his achievements continued alongside his social work. “I never gave up on my social responsibilities. I do not want others to face the situations that I have gone through and I always remain on my toes to help those who need me the most,” he said. Tarak has been involved in social services for more than a decade now. “I hold may key positions shouldering various social responsibilities,” he said adding that he is the treasurer of the Janata High School and Chairman of G5 Amonkar PTA and a president of one temple and committee member of other organizations.
According to Tarak, he got into social work as he saw people struggling to live and some of them didn’t have even one meal a day. “My intentions were never to enter into active politics and that is why I did not contest even the Municipal Elections for so long. I have grown up struggling and I wanted to work for the less fortunate people of the society,” said Tarak, adding that his entire family is into social work one way or the other.
You might have come across stories of people donating a percentage, around 10% of their salary/wage to the social cause. According to Tarak, he does not believe in accumulating wealth. “I rather spend it on a good cause,” he says. Tarak spends 50 percent of his earnings on social causes. “The money that I accumulate I prefer to spend on social causes, according to me 50% of my income goes in for the social worker,” he added.
The Beginning of his Political Journey
Tarak Arolkar was apparently never interested in entering into active politics. “But now it’s high time to take a step forward and join the political arena, so that I can try to help my Mapxekars (People of Mapusa) who have been deprived of their rights and privileges for the past four decades,” said Tarak, adding that “I want to help the youths of Mapusa to get jobs and I want the overall development of Mapusa city which is being run-down for more than 4 decades.”
Tarak Arolkar didn’t enter politics earlier or fight any elections for the councilor’s position in Mapusa because he wanted to have a bigger platform. “I had never thought of getting into local civic body elections, because, if I do then it had to be at a bigger level where the real changes can be made in the society. It was my supporters who are working with me in to help the needy and deprived had requested me to join the active politics to help the people,” he averred.
“There are many plans in the pipeline, but as of now, my main focus is on getting jobs for the youth of Goa which is simply a necessity. Most Government department jobs have been filled by non-Goans and it is in the politicians’ interest to keep it this way in order to keep their voters on their side,” he said, and he is correct as many Goans have left Goa due to little employment opportunities in the state.
Mapusa city is in shambles with a distinct lack of administration and vision. “Our earlier leader had no vision, and he never took any efforts to improve the condition of the Mapusa city. Take the example of Mapusa Market which lies in a pathetic condition. The roads are still undeveloped in Mapusa and there is hardly any traffic sense in the people,” he took a little pass and continued, “The earlier candidate got elected due to its vote bank a place called Indira Nagar, situated in Mapusa. The entire place is full of migrants. The setting is such that the people of Indira Nagar provides the support to the son of MLA and vice versa.”
According to Tarak the people of Indira Nagar have all required facilities unlike the people of Mapusa. “They have 24hr water supply and electricity, at least one family member is in Government service which is not good for the rest of Mapxekars,” he said.
The situation now is that there is going to be a fight in the forthcoming by-polls and the son of the former MLA may have an advantage over the other candidates. Mr. Arolkar’s views are completely different though and he doesn’t think that there will be any advantage to the MLA’s son as he has hold of the limited vote bank. “If you look at the votes of the whole of Mapusa, the population of Migrants is limited. Goans have lost their faith in the family Raj and they need a positive change.”
Today people do not believe in Family Raj and they want to change, “Unless someone is engaged into the social activities it cannot prove their credentials to be eligible for the post of MLA of any constituency, just because someone’s father was former MLA does not make them an eligible candidate,” said Tarak, adding that it is now time for the people of Mapusa to decide who will be the next MLA of Mapusa. “They need to know about the candidate’s background and what vision he has because most of the contestants do not have any vision. According to me if anyone wants to contest at an election they should have a strong and successful background in his own field. There are only a few that are true and strong competition.”
