Business Legends

Front Cover
Penguin Books India, 1999 - Biography & Autobiography - 654 pages
The Golden age of Indian industry, as it now seems in retrospect, lasted from 1951 to "62. and industrialists of the lime were not afraid to think ahead and plan big. Among the entrepreneurs who led this Industrial resurgence, four were particularly outstanding, G.D. Birla, Walchand Hirachand, Kasturbhai Lalbhai and, J.R.D. Tata. Gita Piramal, author of the acclaimed Business Maharajas, sensitively recreates the Lives and Times of these four titans of industry. She draws upon hitherto untapped sources of information to Sketch her profiles, making htis perhaps the closest Look at these legends this fair. Thought provoking and incisive. Business Legends is a compelling Account of ambition and achievement.
 

Contents

Birla Park Calcutta 1925
3
The Rebel
8
Ghansyo
19
Crashing the Jute Barrier
26
From Business to Politics
38
Back in Business
55
Trade Talks
66
The Monkey Brigade
79
Siddhapur 8 April 1953
289
KASTURBHAI LALBHAI
292
Bombay 8 August 1942
297
The Builder
301
First Blood
309
The Economics of Nationalism
325
The Cotton Club
336
Khadi Swadeshi and Boycott
355

The Emissary
93
An Unidyllic Relationship
106
The Autumn Years
124
People Partha and Profits
137
London 11 June 1983
148
Delhi 14 March 1923
157
Mr Rightaway Now
160
Sholapur
168
The Phatak Years
175
SS Loyalty
185
Whos the Pirate?
199
A Real Compliment
211
Big Daddy
229
War Babies
243
Looking for a Pal
250
Sumati Morarjee
263
The Firm
270
Gandhi Nehru and All That
278
Trade Wars
365
Heading West
383
An Incomparable Project
394
The Chetty Affair
401
Paterfamilias
412
Ahmedabad 20 January 1980
421
Santa Cruz Airport 1 August 1953
427
The Frenchy
441
Climb to the Top
450
Indias Numero Uno
464
Temples of Modern India
481
As I Wake Up
495
Commonwealth
507
The Emperor Under Attack
522
Does Tata Mean Goodbye?
539
Geneva 29 November 1993
551
Copyright

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About the author (1999)

A freelance journalist with a Ph.D. in business history, Gita Piramal is the author of the best-selling Business Maharajas and the co-author of a pioneering work on business history, India's Industrialists. She has also contributed to the seminal volume Business and Politics in India-A Historical Perspective, edited by Dr Dwijendra Tripathi and published by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. She has been writing and commenting on the corporate sector for over eighteen years for leading Indian and international newspapers such as the UK's Financial Times and Economic Times. Piramal has been involved in the making of television programmes on Indian business for the BBC and for Plus Channel. She is married to industrialist Dilip G. Piramal and they have two daughters, Aparna and Radhika. Piramal divides her time between Mumbai and London.