A 100 Years of Trust

I sometimes wonder at the Tatas.

Yeah, those pioneers of the modern Indian industry, a fine line of illustrious folks who contributed and still contribute to India's growth like no other, one of the few family names which might ring a bell in just about any corner of India.
My knowledge of the Tatas is restricted to just a few books I've read and a couple of documentaries I've seen. But the general impression I take away each time is that of shrewd business folk having a human face, pragmatic people but with a vision for the future, filthy rich but philanthropic, and their integrity always remains a recurrent theme. I got my hands on this book recently and it only serves to extol these virtues further. Now I do understand these accounts are meant to celebrate their achievements, and Iam pretty confident that the big guns of the Tata clan, be it Jamshetji, Naval or JRD, had their human failings, but their remarkable story does make for some fascinating reading.

I sometimes wonder how it would have been to be born into the Tata family anytime in the last 100 years....

I might have been dropped off at school in a Rolls-Royce and felt embarassed about it.

I might have been regularly exposed to Western, Mid-Eastern and Far-Eastern cultures at a time when it was considered an accomplishment if you moved across states.

I might have been among the first in the world to take to the skies.

I might have had that much more understanding and respect for education.

I might have had a much better grasp on the idea of India than I actually do now. I could have been actively involved in the early days of the INC, in the bloody partition, in the framing of the Bombay Plan, in the crisis that was the Emergency....


I sometimes get gooseflesh just going through these records. The contributions of the Tatas are immense, and virtually cut across all spheres of human activity. It's like they lived their lives to the brim, and overflowing...and I feel small, very small in comparison.
But heck, Iam in a Tata organisation myself...and in the blue-eyed, fastest growing sector at that! Isn't this a great opportunity for me? Can't I try and emulate these illustrious folks? At least, I do have a precedent. Can't I go ahead and make a difference to the country? Sure, why not! Maybe it's time I stepped out and did something really worthwhile with my life! Maybe it's...


"Jonas, documentation done yet? "...

I look at my half-complete work for the day. Pages and pages of code review. And pages and pages to follow. Iam weary just by the thought of it.

"Yeah, should be done in a couple of hours..."


The Tatas can rest in peace.