The seed of a small entrepreneurial operation Was Sown in a tiny village Of Rajasthan called Mulwas Seelwa in 1960. Nurtured with care, resilience and ambition, it has bloomed today into India’s premier workplace interiors behemoth. Padam Interiors caters to global Fortune 500 companies, led by its dynamic MD Shankar Kularia. The road from an interior hamlet in Rajasthan to India’s commercial capital Mumbai, is not an easy one. Nor is it a short one. Shankar Kularia has walked this road with measured steps, concrete goals and a road map etched with the ink of integrity. He stands today at the helm of the Padams Group, flanked by his two brothers Kanaram Kularia and Dharam Kularia. Together they steer a global business that prides itself not just for the stellar services provided to bluechip clients across world, but also for the ethical business values and loyal human networks that are built along the way. Mulwas Seelwa in Nokha Rajasthan was where the family patriarch Sant Shree Padamaram jee Kularia Suthar set up a carpentry enterprise. His business acumen was fueled by Shankar and his brothers in 1995, who swiftly transforming their father’s vision into a business that has redefined India’s workplace interior fit-outs industry, with a presence in all Indian metro and tier 2 cities. The Padams Group of companies, led by Shankar Kularia, undertakes architectural interior works and turnkey projects across market segments from banking, aviation, IT, financial, healthcare and hospitality, retail and residential real estate sectors. It has crossed the 1000- crore turnover mark to become India’s front runner in the workplace interiors fit-out business.
“We don’t juSt create SpaceS, We build cOnnectionS and mOuld cOnSumer experienceS. At PadamS, technOlOgy is uSed suppOrt Our human asSetS,
nOt replace it.”
Shankar Kularia, MD PadamS GrOup.
Padam. The Sanskrit word for lotus, symbolizes purity and wisdom. The Padams Group, named after the family head Sant Shree Padamaram jee, has acquired a rock-solid reputation for high-end quality service delivered in an ethical and timely manner, by a team of exceptional professionals. This ethos stems from the Group’s Chairman and Managing Director, Shankar Kularia, the recipient of many awards for his exemplary leadership like the AsiaOne Award in 2022, the Zee Business Award in 2021, for blazing a business trail that has brought success not just to the company but to every stakeholder. While Forbes magazine has called Kularia ‘the face behind India’s workplace interior industry’, his unflinching service to the community has not gone unrecognized by the Government of India. He was given the Bharat Gaurav Award year 2022, followed by the Rajasthan Chief Minister’s Award in 2023 where he was felicitated by the Home Minister for his work in the promotion of animal welfare. Perhaps inspired by the human ingenuity that native Rajasthani architecture personifies, Shankar has turned his legacy of organic desert wisdom into integral company policy. Making the most of limited resources, for instance, is inherent to every desert dweller, and has become a non-negotiable at Padam group of companies As is the use of innovation that embraces both nature and tradition. This is the mantra for the sustained growth that the Padam Group has clocked year after year.
Community before Commerce. A community that is content, overcomes adversity to thrive financially, physically and emotionally. It is with the blessings of the community that Shankar believes that he has been able to steer the Padams Group to never-before heights. His commitment to this community remains steadfast. The upward curve on a human face has always been prioritized over the upward curve on the company sales graph. Padams stand by every single individual that makes up the 10,000 strong people network, including suppliers, partners and customers. Rural community development is a key focus area, with active engagements in education, social awareness, health and animal welfare. Distance and heat have been a detriment for the girls in the Nokha area to attend school, which is miles away. A sprawling school for girls, with digital climate control is under construction at Dawa Mulwas, the Padams family base. Not only will this social initiative change the lives of the village girls, its architectural style attempts to revive traditional craft and harness indigenous labour, while being climatically contextual. The Padam Smarak or the Community Center at Mulwas Seelwa is another example of Shankar’s incredible ability to fuse tradition with function and form. Conceived as a hub for learning, bonding and artistic expression, this award- winning architectural marvel made from locally sourced sandstone,
amphitheater, library incorporates rainwater, recycling systems, minimizing its environmental footprint while initiating the locals into modern water conservation techniques. Hospitals across the state of Rajasthan have flourished under the philanthropic care of the Padams Group and its leader, Shankar Kularia. What started as a massive Covid aid rollout has continued over the years and brought both medical technology and talent to the facilities. Animal shelters and tree plantations are two other areas that have been actively supported across the state by the Kularia family, making their community circle a truly holistic and inclusive one.
