From a village lane to a leader in the Gulf
Karimnagar in the 1980s — drought, unemployment, and a hard choice: pack your clothes and leave, or stay and struggle between the police on one side and the ‘annas’ on the other. In those years the desert nation beckoned, and the young men of rural Telangana took the Gulf road. Among them was a boy from Vemulawada, in Karimnagar district (now Rajanna Sircilla) — ‘Ramu’ to the village, Thota Ram Kumar to his school. He boarded the flight with no clarity about where his life would land, carried only by a belief that if you stay positive, even nature cooperates.
Born to Thota Narayana and Narsamma of a farming family, he reached Dubai in 1989 and joined a company as an accounts assistant. The days passed without growth. Stung by a friend's remark that a tenth-class pass could hope for nothing better, he set out to change it — finishing his Intermediate in Dubai, then studying Chartered Accountancy while working as a sales manager. A big role followed: Sales Director at the Adani Group.
Living isn't just feeding yourself. You must live well — and help ten others live too.
At Adani, under the mentorship of petrochemical head Yogesh Mehta, a new world opened up. He built a network among the sales directors of companies across the Emirates, joining a group where international trade was debated and plans took new shape. As Dubai's construction sector gathered momentum, the man who had thought a job was life itself decided on a new path — building-material trading. In 2004 he launched ‘Total Solutions,’ and the business ran far better than expected. But as the profits arrived, so did differences with his partner, and by 2007 he had to walk away and start again on his own.
In a foreign land, at every hardship the first thing that came to mind was his village deity. His devotion to Raja Rajeshwara Swamy of Vemulawada was boundless — so he named his new company after the god himself: Sri Raja Rajeshwara Building Material Trading (SRR). Loyal customers stood by him, and for any major construction rising across Dubai, SRR began to supply the material. In its very first year the firm drew the attention of the Gulf with nearly ₹200 crore in transactions.
Where SRR material stands tall
From the world's tallest tower to the city's grandest malls, SRR has supplied building material to Dubai's most iconic projects.
“The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. Getting the chance to supply material for such a structure is an unforgettable experience in my life.”
An empire across three nations
He didn't stop at Dubai. In 2005 he set up an aluminium-panel factory in China — now a ₹200-crore business in which he holds a 40% stake. With others, he opened a branch in Oman too, cementing his place as a top dealer of building material to the Middle East. Across Dubai and Oman, SRR handles around ₹600 crore in transactions a year, with 345 employees — Telugus alongside people of many nationalities — supplying close to a thousand kinds of material. Among companies of its kind in the UAE it ranks second, and 23rd on the GCC's list of top billionaire companies.
Milestones of a self-made life
- 1989
The flight to Dubai
Leaves Vemulawada with two pairs of clothes and a tenth-class certificate. Joins a company as an accounts assistant.
- 1990s
Learning to rise
Completes Intermediate, then Chartered Accountancy in Dubai — while working his way up to Sales Director at the Adani Group.
- 2004
The first venture
Enters building-material trading in Dubai with the firm ‘Total Solutions’.
- 2005
Into China
Sets up an aluminium-panel factory in China — today a ₹200-crore business in which he holds a 40% share.
- 2007
SRR is born
Founds Sri Raja Rajeshwara Building Material Trading — named for the temple deity of his home town.
- 2008
Weathering the storm
Through the Gulf financial crisis, not a single employee is let go and not a single salary is cut.
- Today
A Gulf leader
A ₹680-crore empire across Dubai, Oman and China — and a Consulate member representing Telangana in Dubai.
Then, and now
Tested, and unshaken
When the 2008 crisis threw Gulf businesses into turmoil, SRR stood firm — not one employee removed, not one rupee of salary cut. When customers vanished in 2016 owing ₹10 crore on worthless cheques, he absorbed the blow and carried on. Through every setback, he kept his people first.
Rooted in Vemulawada
To organise his giving, he founded the TRK Trust in Vemulawada, with his brother-in-law Uppula Devaraju and friends Naini Shekar, Goli Srinivas and Boora Sadanandam as trustees. He is building a home for the trust and plans to extend its services to the surrounding villages. For over a decade, he has also celebrated Bathukamma grandly with the Telugu community in Dubai. “Whatever I do for my village,” he says, “it's still too little — it's the village that gave me my life.”
I love my friends dearly. At every turn in life, without friends there is no ‘me.’ After reaching a high position, I wanted their lives to be better too — so I ease their hardships as well.
“My father never said, ‘build a company, son’ — only, help at least some people. That outlook became an institution. Today, if so many find work at SRR, hasn't his dream come true?”
The same devotion that named a company now welcomes you home. SRR Grand carries his name, his roots and his standards to the doorstep of the Vemulawada temple.