Budhi Prakash Thakur

Where there is will, there is a way.

Budhi Prakash Thakur from Khakhnal, a small, beautiful village nestled in the mountains of Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district. His father was a farmer. Budhi Prakash did his schooling in government schools, and at the same time helped his family in various farming activities.

After finishing his schooling, Budhi Prakash went to Chandigarh to do his intermediate education. He studied in DAV school but never lost an opportunity to visit his village and help his father. Budhi Prakash, who believes that his father’s struggles were much larger than his own.

From a very young age, Budhi Prakash was his father’s right hand in supporting the family. When he was just a teenager he helped his father start growing apples. This decision eased the family’s financial troubles. He was in his second year in college when he decided to quit regular studies to join the family in starting a homestay in their village.

Investing the money that came from the farmland, Budhi Prakash and his father built a small five-room property for tourists seeking budget accommodation near Manali. Within just six years, the homestay grew into a popular resort, named Sarthak Resorts, which today has 65 rooms. This success completely transformed the fortunes of the family.

During his days of education, Budhi Prakash had also observed the zeal among tourists for his home state. He wanted to start a resort in his village, which was just 9km from Manali, where tourists flocked in increasing numbers with each passing year. In 1996, after several years of planning and pooling resources, Budhi Prakash laid the foundation for Sarthak Resorts in his village.

Budhi Prakash soon started an air-travel service called AirHimalayas under the company Himachal Holidays. However, he soon met with closed doors as no aviation company was willing to partner with a newbie. Budhi Prakash didn’t give up and finally partnered up with the Bengaluru-based aviation company Deccan Charters to start its services in the region.

On April 2, 2014, when their first aircraft took flight, it was also the first time a private company flew a business class chartered aircraft service in Himachal Pradesh. That was a day of tremendous joy for Budhi Prakash, he happily recalls.

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