Shields, salvers, medals, plaques, trophies - such are the stuff that his thoughts comprise. Meet Kishorebhai Jhaveri, the youngest of the three Jhaveri brothers, noted for their curios and trinklets in Bombay, who has carved a niche for himself in the specialised field of making these coveted items.

A visit to his office at Gundecha Chambers at Fort would make any has been failure choke with envy. A champagne trophy, the ranji trophy, the Ramayan Shield, a social club's silver salver and finally the filmfare award, not to mention other impressive ones, are arrayed all over the place. A careless movement of the elbow or a swing of the chair and you are sure to topple an award.

I am the only specialised professional in this field ", is the smug statement of the 58-year old Kishorebhai. I have not printed a catalogue, "he replies to a query and gushes: "Of course, you can get near similar items made. But then, you have to undergo a great deal of sweat and bother. For instance, I know of people who had gone to one of those small time trophy manufacturers and were left wringing their hands two days before the function when a drunken manufacturer confronted them for money since he had already spent it.

"Look at his item", he says, thrusting forward a trophy. " I make this for Rs. 850. You can get the same thing from those small-timers. But then, the clients hardly get the treatment there which they get here. First, I gave them the design on paper and then a plaster of paris model. The spellings and the inclusions of the logos, emblems - as the case may be - are re-checked and only then do i set about making the real thing"

"But i hardly bother with rush jobs. They are not for me. As it is, i have over 70-odd orders to tend to every day." he says, pushing forward a register containing the order list for the day.

In 1958, he left Bombay after having completed his inter-commerce at Sydenham College and proceded to the US. He returned in 1961 with a BS degree and Masters degree in retailing from New York University.

"If it was Dale Carneige's book 'How to win friends and influence people' that has been the hallmark of my character, it was nana Chudasama who lit the extra-something more fire raging in me'

Some of the clients