Mansukhbhai Prajapati's Mitti Cool Clay Creations

In December 1983, Mansukhbhai Prajapati was living off a measly Rs 300 a month, working at a tile manufacturing unit at a small town,Find detailed product information for howo spareparts and other products. Wankaner, near Rajkot, Gujarat. Today, the 47-year-old is hailed as one of rural India's most successful entrepreneurs and was even featured in Forbes' Top 7 Rural Entrepreneurs list in August 2010. He also has several national awards to his credit, and his company, Mitti Cool Clay Creations, has won recognition across the globe.

"I failed my Class X exam and never dreamt of being an entrepreneur," says Prajapati, who was born in a clay craftsman's family at Nichimandal village in Morbi. After the breakdown of Machhu dam in 1979,We recently added Stained glass mosaic Tile to our inventory. his family had to migrate to Wankaner,High quality stone mosaic tiles. where Prajapati picked up odd jobs—working in a small brick factory and setting up a tea lorry off the highway. He finally found a stable job in 1985, when he joined Jagdamba Potteries as a trainee. Over the next three years, as he picked up the tricks of the trade, his knack for innovation sparked a business idea. He decided to start an earthen plate manufacturing factory by deploying a tile press rather than the traditional potter's wheel. The latter could only produce 100 pans/hot plates per person, per day, but a hand press could increase this figure manifold.

In 1988, he quit his job, borrowed Rs 30,000 from a moneylender and bought a small tract of land to set up a workshop at Wankaner. Soon, he modified the hand press into a machine that could produce 700 earthen pans a day. In 1990, he registered his unit as Mansukhbhai Raghavbhai Prajapati. However, the turning point came in 1995, when a Rajkot businessman, Chiragbhai Patel, came looking for a vendor who could supply clay water filters. Prajapati impressed him with an innovative terracotta filter with a ceramic candle and bagged a 500 piece order worth Rs 1 lakh.

The memories flooded back — capacity crowds on cold winter nights, a referee's whistle during the final seconds, the last shot netted for an important win, the moments that time doesn't wash away.

"I'd stand there and stare at those windows during the good and the bad games," he recalled. "I felt the charisma and the tradition of this gym. I thought it was a temple."

Lafaille had stepped into Dorothy's Ceramic Tile near the corner of 9th and Carver, but Modesto basketball fans know the building for something entirely else.

It's been remodeled several times over the years. The windows, however, are the last remaining connection to the structure's hoops past. Lafaille's still sharp eyes noticWe specialize in howo concrete mixer,ed them right away.

Dorothy's is the original MJC Gym, built in 1929, the first home of the Modesto Junior College Tournament. The 16-team event begins its 75th renewal Tuesday,The oreck XL professional air purifier, but its roots can be found in the converted office and warehouse.

What it actually is, however, is the first home of the city's longest-running sports event. The tournament was held in this venue from 1938 through '75 before it was transplanted to its current address about a mile from its roots.

"It was a Sunday morning when they moved it in three parts," Lafaille said. "I sat there in my car on Stoddard and Tully by the old ice rink and watched my world roll by."

Lafaille, the son of a French immigrant, was raised in Oakland. Basketball was his passion. He earned a scholarship at Stanford and often subbed for the heralded Hank Luisetti, the creator of the running one-handed shot and the first collegian to score 50 points in a single game.

Later, Lafaille turned to coaching and arrived in Modesto in 1948. Inspired by Luisetti and honed by Stanford coaches John Bunn and Everett Dean, he commanded instant respect in Modesto. Lafaille coached the Pirates to their greatest success during his 10-year run. Lafaille remains the last MJC coach to win an outright league championship.

The memories flooded back — capacity crowds on cold winter nights, a referee's whistle during the final seconds, the last shot netted for an important win, the moments that time doesn't wash away.

"I'd stand there and stare at those windows during the good and the bad games," he recalled. "I felt the charisma and the tradition of this gym. I thought it was a temple."

Lafaille had stepped into Dorothy's Ceramic Tile near the corner of 9th and Carver, but Modesto basketball fans know the building for something entirely else.

It's been remodeled several times over the years. The windows, however, are the last remaining connection to the structure's hoops past. Lafaille's still sharp eyes noticed them right away.

Dorothy's is the original MJC Gym, built in 1929, the first home of the Modesto Junior College Tournament. The 16-team event begins its 75th renewal Tuesday, but its roots can be found in the converted office and warehouse.

What it actually is, however, is the first home of the city's longest-running sports event. The tournament was held in this venue from 1938 through '75 before it was transplanted to its current address about a mile from its roots.

"It was a Sunday morning when they moved it in three parts," Lafaille said. "I sat there in my car on Stoddard and Tully by the old ice rink and watched my world roll by."

Lafaille, the son of a French immigrant, was raised in Oakland. Basketball was his passion. He earned a scholarship at Stanford and often subbed for the heralded Hank Luisetti, the creator of the running one-handed shot and the first collegian to score 50 points in a single game.

Later, Lafaille turned to coaching and arrived in Modesto in 1948. Inspired by Luisetti and honed by Stanford coaches John Bunn and Everett Dean, he commanded instant respect in Modesto. Lafaille coached the Pirates to their greatest success during his 10-year run. Lafaille remains the last MJC coach to win an outright league championship.