Book Review - Beyond the Last Blue Mountain by R.M. Lala

This book made me rethink about biographies. How should one look at a biography? How often a biography becomes a hagiography. I presume that to write a biography, the author would have to have some fascination, admiration, or plain interest in the subject of the biography. If the emotion is strongly positive, would that not bias the whole book? This has been the case with most biographies I have read. Another factor which can attenuate the whole effort is that inputs are required from the person on whom the biography is being written, such as interviews, past letters, memorabilia etc. The person thus may have a final say, or at least inputs to the final manuscript. This can significantly dilute the veracity and exactitude that the author is trying to achieve. But then again, is it not one of the purposes of a biography to inspire the reader? Everybody has weaknesses, why to ponder on those. Look at the positives for motivation and how to improve our life. While this is right, but I feel that knowing the person’s weaknesses makes them more relatable. Also, it makes their achievements more worthwhile, because overcoming personal drawbacks and inadequacies is the best inspirational story. Without weaknesses, a person becomes un-human. Then it becomes easy to write him off as well as his/her achievements as a freak, nature’s aberration.

I had similar feelings when I read this book. No weaknesses of JRD are exposed, apart from his short tempered nature (that too when he was young). While the book is not fawning of JRD, the author appears to be in awe of the Tatas, indeed he has held positions in the Group. This reduces the believability. Nevertheless, there are many things to like about the book and JRD. What definitely shines through is the man’s energy, his charisma, his sense of humour, and his vigour - both physical and mental.

The book is divided into four sections - on JRD’s childhood and early life; his interest in flying and his role in developing civil aviation in the country; his achievements as an industrialist; and his different roles as a person. Out of these, I found the section on civil aviation as protracted, repetitive and boring. Since the book is not a chronological account of the person, it goes back and forth a bit, which makes it difficult to keep track of the facts. This also led to many aspects getting repeated in different sections - for instance JRD’s relations with Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Also, despite the family tree given at the beginning, the family structure is confusing. Otherwise the book is even paced and solidly written. The language is simple yet effective, without cliches and embellished with quotes, and poetry. I found the last two sections most interesting, as these were not emphasising on facts but trying to bring out the facets of JRD.

Upfront, one can’t help but feeling that JRD was ‘born with a silver spoon’. And thus things were easier for him. The book does not hide this advantage. He was born in a rich industrial empire and had a luxurious life, with birth in Paris and upbringing in Paris, Japan and Britain. But at no point is JRD shown to be a prodigy, or a highly talented individual. Infact, the book does not make JRD to be a very skilled person in any tangible aspect. Instead his abilities are more in the softer aspects - leadership, determination, energy, drive and ambition. JRD himself thought he had no major achievements when he was appointed the Chairman of Tata Sons in 1938 at the age of 34. In fact the only ground-breaking achievements attributed to him is to pioneer civil aviation in India, literally from ground-up, making Air India into an airline of international repute and standards, difficult though it may be to believe today.

This is not to say JRD had no qualities and strengths. Infact there were many. What impressed me most is his sense of humour. The book gives many anecdotes in support. In most of this correspondences and speeches, he has started with a humorous tone to get the listener hooked or to ease the tension. A lot of humour was self-deprecating. He came across as somebody who did not like to think too highly of himself, despite his achievements. However, such impressions can be incorrect as they are based on few selected examples by the author. But another undisputed quality of JRD which stood out for me was his world-view, his wide interests. I think it came from his upbringing across continents, and the exposures he got by being born into a wealthy family with French mother and Indian father. And over the years, the exposure of the man only grew. At the helm of the largest industrial group in the country with presence across industries, had expanded his vision. A lot of JRD’s views on the state of economy, polity and society sound prophetic. JRD learning also grew because of his love for books. I especially liked the initial chapters which quote his favourite poems - made me excited about poetry.  

I think it is hard for lesser engaged people like me not to get amazed by how a corporate head like JRD’s time is spent. He was on the board of so many companies; he had to take important business decisions on a daily, nay hourly basis; he is on so many international committees and delegations representing the industry or the country (United Nations, IATA, Bombay Plan); he has to liaison, advise, or even spar with important ministers domestically as well as internationally (even the Prime Minister of India). It just makes one think how he managed his time across these responsibilities, not to mention, giving quality time to his fitness and other pursuits like skiing.

I especially enjoyed reading about JRD’s skirmishes with ministers of various stature and capacities - most importantly in the matter of greater political intervention and control of businesses, and increasing socialism. Some of the skirmishes were even with Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. I felt intimidated to know that JRD was on close terms with the who’s who of the country (Mahatma Gandhi, GD Birla, Sardar Patel, C Rajagopalachari to name a few) as well as the world. What confidence, communication skills and candour it requires - and JRD possessed, or at least honed these.

I was stimulated by the language of the time, as gleaned from the many excerpts of the letters exchanged between JRD and others - both Indians and Westerners. The clarity of the language, the correctness of prose, the non-reliance on cliches or abbreviated phrases, was refreshing. It was a lesson in correct, stylistic, yet simple English for me. While it seems like a different era when people wrote like that, it did not sound outdated.   

Despite reading 360 pages on JRD, I was not sure of this actual contribution to the growth of Tatas. Sure he was the Chairman of Tata Sons and thus must have taken many important decisions. But I kept asking - ‘What was his personal contribution to the growth of Tatas? Something which JRD did and would not have happened under any other Chairman?’ To this, I did not get a satisfactory answer, or possibly I did not read between the lines well enough. There is a chapter which talks about various companies promoted by the Tatas in diverse industries, which showed vision as well as lack of clarity. Such conclusion may be derived from my own knowledge now, in 2017, when I know that Tatas have spread too wide and doing badly in most of their businesses. For me, Tatas today are a sign of unfocused conglomerate who entered almost every industry it could think of - a strategy which has not paid off.

But this is hindsight. JRD was driven by the need to pioneer industries in the country which once was in the clutch of a foreign rule and after independence, in severe need of entrepreneurs willing and capable of taking bold risks by rolling out factories in the face of challenges of execution, availability of technology and infrastructure, and uncertain demand. Tatas had the capability and wherewithal, and they certainly stepped up. Also, a lot of initiatives taken by JRD were not towards generating more profits or becoming more powerful, but towards building capabilities way ahead of time. These included pioneering projects like - building a cadre of managers, developing nuclear capabilities in the country, developing information technology industry and other technological centric industries. These initiatives showed a singular vision, risk-taking and zeal for development.

One quality of JRD which, should not have been in any doubt anyway, and which was reinforced by reading the book was his man management skills. He was not highly educated and acknowledges that he had no significant knowledge of any industry other than aviation. But he identified right people and developed and empowered them to grow specific business. Eventually people like Darbari Seth, Dr. Homi Bhabha, Sumant Moolgaonkar, Russi Mody, Nani Palkhivala, Ratan Tata, grew to be not just industry stalwarts but pioneers and knowledge centers in specific areas, for which India had limited background. I keenly took home some of JRD’s messages for people management, namely having trust in people, developing a degree of affinity, and to communicate well. Also, to not hold grudges despite personal differences or dislikes - to move on.  

As the book covered a man whose active life was from 1920s to 1980s, it encompassed a most interesting period of modern Indian history. There was the pre-independence era, the struggle for and eventual independence, and the post-independence building of the nation. It was interesting to note the distance that a business house like Tatas maintained, or had to maintain, from the freedom struggle. The book gives some feel of the life of a rich family in Mumbai during the British era and it sounds anachronistic to the state of country that one usually hears about. The rich certainly benefited from the British influence and exposure. Post independence, the country started with a mixed economy model which gradually become more socialistic. During such time, the frustration and anguish of JRD and his fencing with various ministries is well documented. The book gives insights into the direction of Indian polity and the mistakes made during this period.     

One character who provides comic relief in the book, apart from some of JRD’s repartee, was Bobby Kooka. He was JRD’s cousin and became Air India’s Commercial Chief. He is credited with creating the Maharajah and lovely advertisements around it. The book gives many instances where he is not afraid to use this medium for satire and getting even, partly, at the rich and powerful. Wish there were more like him today.  

While the book does not ponder much on JRD’s shortcomings, I could nevertheless sense a few. In some instance JRD came across as looking to control too much of the businesses. This was especially true of the airline business. As the corporate world has evolved over the years, there has been greater distancing of the owner/promoter and the management. Against this knowledge, and given that the Tatas had been ahead of the times in incorporating the best practices, I felt that JRD’s stint with Air India was a case of overstaying the welcome. While his involvement in deciding the smallest of details such as colour of tea and coffee,  are shown as virtues, but considering that he was the Chairman, a non-executive role, they can be questioned as intruding on executive members. And he continued to be the Chairman of many of the companies till late in his life. Another aspect, which is just my impression, is that there seemed to be a preference for Parsees in Tatas. WIth the exception of people like Sumant Moolgaonkar, Darbari Seth, Dr. John Matthai etc, all other key members mentioned in the book are Parsees - Nani Palkhivala, SA Sabavala, Russi Mody, Homi Mody, Ardeshir Dalal, Sorabji Saklatvala to name a few. Again, most business houses of those times had similar practices wherein a corporate was seen an extension of the promoter and thus carried the biases of the promoter. Principles of equality had still not permeated all spheres and on all aspects, and a high degree of discrimination prevailed, true today also. Not questioning the capabilities of the people, but one expected greater push to meritocracy from the Tatas.   

As the last few chapters course towards JRD’s last years and his demise, they focus on his religious beliefs. These are enlightening chapters. JRD had some belief in God but was not a faith-driven or a religious person. Most of all, he questioned the religious rituals and other orthodox practices. This middle path is refreshing and has greater, if not absolute, logical coherence to plain fanaticism. This approach also goes with his industrious nature - focusing more on what a person can do rather than relying on faith. The book talks about his penchant for poetry on ‘Death’ and greater reflection on existence and role of God during his last years. While the person’s modesty is evident throughout the book, from his letters and his conduct, it specifically shines through the description of his un-extravagant living. What a person! Just wished I could have understood him better from this book.