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Steel man's human touch
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"Forever Jeh" is a compilation of interactions people had with JRD Tata
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"Everyone loves to eavesdrop. So I thought I could present his life through the conversations he had," says Surekha Tenneti Venugopal, author of "Forever Jeh!."
The book was recently released in Chennai. Actor Madhavan was presented the first copy by writer Sivasankari.
"I didn't want to write a biography from one person's point of view," says the author, explaining the format, a compilation of interactions people had with JRD Tata (fondly called Jeh).
She listed Jeh's interests and chose a few interviewees based on them; they in turn recommended a few others. She spoke to around 40 to 50 people that included the top brass and the attendants at the Tata Steel, Jamshedpur.
"I wanted to focus on his human values," she said, "and each one of them spoke of his `aura'."
Sivasankari talked of how Jeh served food to an old gardener at a dinner party, helped clean an airport toilet and used his pen to tighten the wheels of a food trolley on an aircraft.
Professor S. Ramachander, writer and management guru, said that JRD once insisted that the liftman who made him wait in a queue with the others should continue in his post.
BRT Rajan, a Tata Steel veteran, narrated an incident when a driver, who had worked for Jeh for 45 years and was retiring, wanted a photograph taken with him.
Jeh, on learning of the request, walked up to the driver at a party, praised him for his excellent service and requested for a photograph with him.
Akila Srinivasan, of the Sriram Group, said that they run their company based on the "Tata philosophy" of social responsibility of corporate entities.
"He made the most inconspicuous person feel important," said actor Madhavan, who grew up in Jamshedpur. Bhanumathi Neelkantan, educationist, said that Surekha, the teacher, had always presented JRD Tata as an icon for the youth to follow.
Surekha's decision to write the book was taken years ago, after a dance.
At a function for Tata employees, Jeh saw her tapping her foot to the music and asked her for a dance. "I could sense his honesty and graciousness in those few minutes," she said.
"Forever Jeh" is priced at Rs. 495.
ASHA S. MENON
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