OUR LEGACY

Prem Mehra and Rashmi Mehra are the two primary pillars of RMBAY. This
family owned business, built through grit and sheer perseverance, is now run by the two seasoned entrepreneurs and their three daughters. Their fascinating history forms the very
foundation of this pioneering company.

PREM MEHRA, COO, RMBAY.

“The journey from hand dehairing cashmere wool to creating state of the art wool handling production base is very dear to me and my family. I was associated with my family’s wool and woollen textile business right from the beginning."

The Mehra family was involved in exporting dehaired cashmere wool to USA from the 1950's.

"I still remember how tedious the entire procedure was from procuring raw cashmere wool from the difficult Himalayan terrains, and its  transportation on pony backs.
Everything was dependent on manual labour. The cashmere wool was dehaired manually by batches of specially trained ladies in Kullu and Amritsar, after which the cashmere wool was successfully exported to USA by sea and sometimes, by post parcel from the local post offices. It was my early fascination with this process (I must be 9 or 10 when I got exposed to this process), that convinced me to join my family business after a formal education. Post my graduation, in the year 1963, I played an active part in the establishment of a combing
factory in Thane near Mumbai, which is where we began to follow the process of handling wool and other fibres with the help of machines. Since then, wool has not just been my business but also my passion.

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In the year 2006, I put up a state of the art Combing and Spinning Unit in Amritsar. My wife, Rashmi, has always been my backbone and driving force in all that I have done, therefore the name we thought suitable the firm was RMBAY’ meaning ‘Rashmi Mehra, Bombay’. In Indian mythology we call the lady of the house, ‘Laxmi’ which means the wealth of the house in every term".

It would be apt to say that the family has not just passed its values but also its business down to the future generations. Today, RMBAY is owned by Rashmi Mehra, and their three enterprising daughters. The enthusiasm of the young team and Prem Mehra's experience of
five decades in the woollen industry have come together to take RMBAY forward into the future.

RASHMI MEHRA, PARTNER, RMBAY.

“I first assisted my husband to set up his new work in a new location. And now RMBAY is a successful enterprise, not to mention a company to reckon with."

"Inclined towards arts and crafts as a child and influenced by my artistic aunts, I had developed a keen interest for aesthetics at a very young age. What began at an art competition with my painting ‘Lost in the Forest’ turned out to be a love affair with the arts that sustained me all my life. Another milestone came in my teenage years, when at age 16, I made my very first ceramic mural for an entrance patio. I went on to study Textile Designing for 3 years, following which I conducted my first exhibition (inaugurated by our former Prime Minister, Mr I K Gujral) of hand painted saris, outfits, printed rugs, printed beachwear, bathmat sets and steel sculptures.  

Getting involved with RMBAY, with my husband and daughters, has been a fitting culmination of my artistic journey.”