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A close look at a legend

"Forever Jeh" carries interviews of people associated with JRD Tata

JRD Tata left indelible impressions. Not only as an astute businessman who instinctively sensed opportunities, but as a leader who cared and a friend who could be counted upon in any crisis. And to call JRD iconic solely on the strength of his varied contribution to industrial growth, is to ignore what he meant to the numerous people whose lives he touched. While writing "Forever Jeh", which takes a close look at the legend through the eyes of those who have known him over an extended period of time, Surekha Tenneti Venugopal was careful not to be carried away by the grandeur of his achievements. Married to a Tata Steel engineer and having been a columnist for "TISCO News" (she wrote `Tiswoman', which profiled the wives and daughters of Tata Steel executives), she herself has had a ringside view of JRD's versatility and commitment to a rigorous work culture.

Early on in the book, she quotes him, "Nothing worthwhile is ever achieved without deep thought and hard work" and Sir Homi Mody on the assessment of JRD's genius. "He has a very keen intellect... his versatility is truly amazing. Whether it is a blast furnace or an ice-cream freezer, an aircraft engine or a cigarette lighter, he is equally at home with all of them."

The book, which is set as a collection of interviews with people who were associated with JRD, gives fresh evidence about the admirable qualities that he is known to have possessed — such as "an amazing lack of pomposity". According to Surekha's interviewees, JRD would patiently stand in the queue for a buffet and had a disposition to call a spade a spade.

"He looked beyond labels and his eyes penetrated right through to the intrinsic value of human beings," says Surekha. Surekha says designations meant little to him, and he always sought to find out how someone was contributing to the organisation. "He was quick to spot leadership material," says the author. Strategist Russi Mody was catapulted into prominence when JRD learnt about his proactive leadership qualities.

Says Surekha, "A labour problem had erupted and the workers were beating up executives. Into that horrifying melee, stepped Russi Mody, all of 29, khaki-kurta-and-shorts-attired, crying `Kya hua? Kya taqlif hai?' and won the workers over". JRD rewarded him by appointing him the head of the Personnel Division at Tata Steel.

Surekha says that JRD was a great leader who "fashioned men out of his own book" and set high standards for them to aspire for, but he is essentially known as a kind-hearted man who by the sheer power of his humanity commanded fierce loyalties. The employer-employee equation never interfered with JRD's natural affection.

Russi Lala, author of the acclaimed biography on Tata `Beyond the Last Blue Mountain', says "I miss his affection."

PRINCE FREDERICK

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