“Success”, most of us describe this term as a never ending journey that bestows us with various accolades and achievements; teaches us new lessons; offers us numerous opportunities and introduces new milestones in our lives. However, it does not come easy, at some point or the other one needs to put some efforts to be successful. The person we are about to introduce to you today is a quintessential example of a “dreamer” who turned his dreams into a beautiful reality. He is not only a howling success himself but he has also played a crucial role in giving uplift to the careers of many individuals. From being an entrepreneur to receiving the prestigious award of businessman of the year to becoming a well-known face in the Indian fashion and pageant industry, this man has catapulted various stars in this scintillating galaxy of glitz and glamour. Wherever we went, he made a mark for himself and whatever he touched turned into pure gold. It would not be wrong, if we call him, the man with a Midas touch. We are talking about Mr Pankaj Kharbanda, the vice-president of Rubaru Group, one of the biggest and most successful pageant organizations in India.

Pankaj was born and brought up in Mumbai, the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. This strikingly handsome, 6 foot and 1 inch tall Indian gentleman studied hotel management in Mumbai and graduated with a master’s degree in business administration from the University of London. Later, he moved to the United States of America to study food quality and bakery. In the year 2008, this highly qualified young man was honoured with the prestigious award of “Best Youngest Chef from India” in London. Gradually, Pankaj established himself as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in India.

In midst of all this Pankaj felt something was still missing. He felt he had the potential to do even more. He then started his journey with Indian pageantry. It was the year of 2009, when Pankaj attended a fashion show with one of his friends, who was walking as one of the models for that event. The show was organized by Sandeep Kumar, the founder and president of Rubaru Group and is often referred to as the “Czar of Male Pageantry in India”. Later, Pankaj collaborated with the Rubaru Group and started taking care of the events taking place in the Southern part of the India. After a while, all his hard work and dedication bestowed him with the honour of being appointed as very the first vice-president of the Rubaru Group.

The Rubaru Group is an NGO and talent promoting group based in the Northern part of India. It was created by Sandeep Kumar in the year 2004. It is regarded as one of the most successful pageant organizations in India. The organization is the producer of five beauty pageants and modelling contests that include the Rubaru Mister India pageant, one of the oldest and most celebrated pageants for men in Asia; Miss Supermodel Worldwide, the very first international modelling competition for women based in India; Mister Model Worldwide, the first ever international modelling competition for men based in India; Rubaru Mr and Miss Junior India, a talent and fashion event for kids and the Rubaru Miss India Elite pageant, a national beauty pageant for Indian women that elects India’s representatives for various international pageants and modelling competitions across the globe.

Since its inception in the year 2004, the Rubaru Group has produced various notable beauty pageant winners and titleholders who excelled in various fields including arts, television fashion industry, politics and many more. The Rubaru Organization holds the record of being associated with the maximum number of international pageant organizations in India. Every year, the pageant is attended by various notable people from the modelling industry and pageant world. Since the year 2014, the Rubaru Group has sent India’s delegates to more than 30 different international pageants and modelling contests taking place in different parts of the world.

Apart from serving as the vice-president of Rubaru Group, Pankaj also owns a grocery store, a motel, a restaurant and a firm that manufactures ATM machines and credit cards in the United States of America.

Since being appointed as the vice president of the Rubaru Group, Pankaj has played a crucial role in changing the face of male pageantry in India. He has discovered and trained some of the finest models of Indian origin have brought laurels and pride to Indian nation. Apart from being a well-known face in the Indian pageant industry, he is a successful businessman and has been awarded with the title of Youngest businessman of the year not just once but twice, first time in the year 2015 and then in the year 2017 by the US and the Indian government.

The key responsibilities that he shoulders being the vice president of Rubaru Group is to make sure everything is carried out in a holistic and planned manner. Over the years, along with Sandeep, he has been playing a vital role in encouraging individuals from remote areas of the nation to come forward and showcase their talent. During the Rubaru events and pageants, both of them make sure that every candidate gets equal opportunities to showcase his / her skills and talent and the most deserving candidate gets elected as the eventual winner. After the election of the winners, as the chief operating bodies of the organization, they arrange the best groomers and experts for them to train them for their international pageants.

According to Pankaj, he is just a guy next door who dreamt about something and made consistent efforts to achieve that. He says, ‘I’m no celebrity, I’m just an ordinary person with extra-ordinary dreams. I’m extremely thankful to the almighty who gave me the strength to pursue my dreams and turn them into reality’. When asked about the success of Rubaru winners, he simply replied, ‘I always try to make people around me happy as it gives me immense happiness when I see others happy and being the reason of their happiness makes me feel even more proud and blessed. I am just trying to do my part in assisting others to achieve their goals. At last it’s all in the hands of the almighty’. According to us, he not only turned his dreams into reality but he also made others’ dreams come true as well. Indeed, he is an achiever with a very unusual story.