ONE OF THE HILLS FINEST ...
Rajiv believes that giving to charity should have a purpose behind it , which is why he started the Spicy Bean Café . by Lorna Gordon
Rajiv Chaudhri was born in India , and he spent his formative years traveling to different countries with his family , following his father ’ s posting as officer in the Indian navy . It wasn ’ t until he went to a boarding school for his high school learning that Rajiv stayed in one place for any length of time .
Far from this being a difficult thing for a child to experience , Rajiv found it to be a wonderful way to grow up and looked upon it as a way to learn in its own right , rather than a challenge .
“ Travel itself is a form of learning as you meet with different people and experience various cultures and people so I ’ m fortunate to have travelled a lot round Europe , Africa and Asia ,” Rajiv said .
“ Another advantage of travelling as a kid is that you got used to being out of your comfort zone , you are thrown into different areas and different parts of the world with different people , learn to adapt , adopt and be cohesive . It gives you a more holistic view of the world at a very young age .”
After high school Rajiv graduated in hotel management with an honours degree in English . He moved to London to work at the exclusive St James Hotel as a manager . The hotel is based in Mayfair and being a stone ’ s throw from Buckingham Palace , 10 Downing Street , and other important destinations , saw its fair share of celebrities , dignitaries and Royalty .
“ It was a wonderful place to work , I had staff from Morocco , Spain , France , Germany and Algeria , great to be working in a multi-cultural setting . I met ( the then ) Prince Charles and Princess Diana , Andre Agassi , Mike Tyson and Sir Elton John , who would play piano in the foyer if you brought him a glass of sherry !”
“ I also met Bill Gates when he was first starting out , it was great to see these entrepreneurs . I would notice how they carried themselves , how they acted and if they were humble or arrogant .”
During his time at the hotel Rajiv began to learn more about computing and used his skills to improve the systems in the hotel . He gained his Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer qualification and became a Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator . He became a small business specialist , helping other entrepreneurs improve their businesses .
Rajiv briefly moved back to India to get married as his wife didn ’ t want to live in England , and he set up his own IT business there and built it up from scratch . The couple decided that Australia was a good place to call home and while his wife stayed in India to complete her chartered accountancy degree , Rajiv made the move Down Under to begin setting up a life for them . He joined the Nerds on
6 ISSUE 95 // MAY 2023 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HILLS INDEPENDENT