A Sanman Patra (certificate of honor/merit) was conferred on industrialist/philanthropist Sham Burjorji Sethna of Bharuch on January 25, 2007 by Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and governor Naval Kishore Sharma, as part of the Republic Day celebrations.
Sethna, who made a modest beginning in 1948 under the guidance of his late father, Burjorji, never looked back because of his own business acumen, grit and hard work, reveals a write-up sent by Rushna Ginwalla. His first venture was a flour mill in Ankleshwar. In 1951, along with his brother Minoo, he started the Sethna Ice and Cold Storage at Bharuch, Dhaboi, Amod, Jambusar, Palej, Miagam and Rajpipla. In 1972 Sethna ventured into the field of entertainment and built a cinema theater named Relief. In 1975 he moved base to Bharuch and a decade later built another theater, Relax, in that city. In 1992, with his son Eric, Sethna ventured into the hotel industry, building Hotel Sethna Plaza. An annex was added in 2000, called the Sethna Plaza Annexe. Sethna’s late wife, Nargisbanoo was his silent strength through all these endeavors.
Bharuch businessman Sethna (inset), receiving award from Modi
Sethna has contributed generously to many institutes for women, schools, remand homes and a school for spastics named Kalrav. Whenever any aid was required in the community or outside, Sethna was among the foremost in lending a helping hand, notes the write-up. Awards were not long in coming. In 1995 Lions Club of Bharuch honored him as did the Ankleshwar Parsi Anjuman in 2003. And now, with the government recognizing his work in the social, economic and cultural fields, Sethna has become the only Parsi in Bharuch to be honored with a Sanman Patra, notes Ginwalla.