legendlegacy

The

and hisA tribute to Tata Founder Jamsetji Tata

a tata review publication l march 03, 2014

Profilethe visionary Jamsetji tata

02

birthPlacenavsari: where it all began

04

businesses textiles, Hospitality, Steel and power

06

Photofeaturea multifaceted personality

08

12

educationthe Jn tata endowment Scheme and indian institute of Science

Minor businesses Ship building, Sericulture, egyptian cotton, Mango trade

14

the other sidelighter moments

15

obituariesan irreparable loss

16

02 profilea tata review publication l march 03, 2014

for Jamsetji tata, wealth was never an end in itself; it was the means to an end, the greater prosperity of india. Stanley Reed

Jamsetji Tata’s vision and business acumen would

have been enough to mark him as an extraordinary

figure, but what made him truly unique, the quality

that placed him in the pantheon of modern India’s

greatest sons, was his humaneness

The TiTan who saw Tomorrow

Had Jamsetji Tata lived in Europe or America, his name would have been

more familiar to the public.” This is what Frank Harris wrote about the Founder of the Tata group in his book, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata: A Chronicle of his Life.

Jamsetji was more than an entrepreneur who helped India claim a place in the league of industrialised nations. He was a patriot and a humanist, a man of his times and beyond, whose ideals and vision shaped an exceptional business conglomerate. These attributes contributed to shaping Jamsetji’s world view as an industrialist, one with a sturdy bent for nationalism and a strong heart for social development.

Born on March 3, 1839, Jamsetji was raised in the sleepy town of Navsari in Gujarat, the first child and only son of Nusserwanji Tata,

the scion of a family of Parsi priests. When he was 13, he joined his father in Bombay (now Mumbai) and enrolled at Elphinstone College, from where he graduated in 1858 as a ‘green scholar’. The liberal education he received would fuel in Jamsetji a lifelong admiration for academics and a love of reading. Those passions would, though, soon take a backseat to what he quickly understood was the true calling of his life: business.

The indusTrialisT An eager learner, Jamsetji gradually grew from an apprentice to a skilful practitioner of the business arts under the tutelage of his father, gaining knowledge about commodities and markets, trading and banking. He started his first company — a trading firm — in 1868 at the age of 29, with a capital of `21,000.

Jamsetji made his move into textiles in 1869, when he acquired a dilapidated and bankrupt oil mill in Chinchpokli, in the industrial heart of Bombay, renamed the property Alexandra Mill and converted it into

a cotton mill. Two years later, he sold the mill for a significant profit to a local cotton merchant. In 1874, Jamsetji floated a fresh enterprise, the Central India Spinning, Weaving and Manufacturing Company

mil

esTo

nes

1858

Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata is born in Navsari, Gujarat on

March 3

1839

1853

Joins Elphinstone

College, Bombay

Joins his father’s firm, Nusserwanji

and Kaliandas,

General Merchants

1877

Empress Mills opens on January 1

Graduates as a ‘green

scholar’

1867

At Manchester, Jamsetji hears

Thomas Carlyle — ‘The nation which

gains control of iron, soon acquires

control of gold’

Starts a private trading firm in

Bombay, laying the foundation

of the Tata group

18681859 1874

Promotes the Central India

Spinning, Weaving and

Manufacturing Company in

Bombay

1869

Makes a move into textiles by acquiring

a bankrupt oil mill in Bombay and renames it Alexandra Mill

Jamsetji Tata in his fifties

profile 03 a tata review publication l march 03, 2014

Limited in Bombay, with a seed capital of `150,000. Three years later, the Empress Mills came into existence in Nagpur.

The period following the establishment of Empress Mills was the most significant of Jamsetji’s busy life. From about 1880 to his death in 1904, Jamsetji was consumed by his three great ideas for India: setting up an iron and steel company, generating hydroelectric power, and creating a world-class educational institution of science.

The naTionalisTJamsetji had set his heart on building a steel plant in India that would compare with the best of its kind in the world. This was a gigantic task. The industrial revolution that had transformed Britain and other countries had, by and large, bypassed India. Officious government policies, the complexities of prospecting in barely accessible areas and sheer bad luck made matters worse.

Against the odds, Tata Iron and Steel Company was established in 1907 by Jamsetji’s elder son, Dorab Tata, and the first ingot of steel rolled off the plant’s production line in 1912. Jamsetji had been dead eight years by then, but his vision continued to guide his descendants. Tata Iron and Steel Company was a showcase for worker welfare schemes: employees benefited from shorter working hours, well-ventilated workplaces, and provident fund and gratuity (long before these practices became statutory in the West). Today Jamsetji’s dream for India stands as tall as Tata Steel, a company that ranks among the top 10 steelmakers in the world.

Energy was another critical resource which Jamsetji wanted India to have, because, as he said, “Clean, cheap and abundant power is one of the basic ingredients for the economic progress of a city, state or country.” This was the impetus for the setting up of India’s first power plant, a 72MW hydroelectric station in Khopoli, near Bombay, which was established in

1915 under Dorab Tata’s guidance. Today Tata Power has grown into India’s largest integrated private power company.

In all spheres, including philanthropy, Jamsetji’s thinking was far ahead of his peers. At a time when the prevailing practice among the wealthy was to give alms to the poor or sponsor religious activities, his thoughts focused on how to make India a developed nation. “What advances a nation or community,” he said, “is not so much to prop up its weakest and the most helpless, as to lift the best and most gifted, so as to make them of the greatest service to the country.”

He was convinced that national resurgence was only possible through multilevel industrialisation, higher education and scientific research. This motivated him to establish an institution of advanced scientific education and research, the like of which even England did not have, at the end of the 19th century.

Jamsetji donated half of his personal wealth (14 buildings and four landed properties in Bombay) towards the creation of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore (now Bengaluru). This institution opened its doors in 1911 and grew into one of India’s premier centres for research and advanced scientific study. Over the years, several of India’s foremost scientists have been closely associated with the institute, including Nobel laureate CV Raman, Homi J Bhabha, Vikram S Sarabhai, and Bharat Ratna awardee, CNR Rao.

In his efforts to bring to life these three visionary ventures, Jamsetji had to endure long years of heartburn, without much tangible recompense in his lifetime. Fortunately, he did live to see at least one of his dreams come to fruition. Jamsetji was keen to set up a luxury hotel in Bombay, one that would match the grandest of its kind anywhere in the world. The foundations of the Taj Mahal Hotel were laid in 1898 and the hotel was built at a cost of more than

`40 million. It was the first building in Bombay to be lit by electricity, the first to have American fans, German elevators, Turkish baths and English butlers. Preceding the famous Gateway of India by some 20 years, the hotel was the first sight for ships calling at the Bombay port. Today that seed sown by Jamsetji has grown into the Taj group, a 120-property hospitality chain with a presence across the globe.

The philanThropisTJamsetji’s philanthropic principles were rooted in the belief that for India to climb out of poverty its finest minds would have to be harnessed. With this belief, in 1892 he set up the JN Tata Endowment, a fund that enabled Indian students, regardless of caste or creed, to pursue higher studies in England. This beginning flowered into the Tata scholarships, which flourished to the extent that by 1924 two out of every five Indians coming into the elite Indian Civil Service were Tata scholars.

Jamsetji’s vision and business acumen would have been enough to mark him as an extraordinary figure. But what made him truly unique, the quality that places him in the pantheon of modern India’s greatest sons, was his humaneness.

The distinctive structure the Tata group came to adopt after Jamsetji’s passing, with a huge part of its assets held by trusts devoted to plowing money into social development initiatives, is a direct outcome of the empathy embedded in the group Founder’s philosophy of business.

“It is by solid work such as your father did,” wrote a friend to Dorab Tata, “that India will be brought up to a higher standard of comfort and civilisation.” Enshrined in Jamsetji’s vision for business was the spirit of nation-building and a commitment to the community, and that continues to be the guiding light for the Tata group. n

— GayaTri KamaTh

Forms a company, Tata

and Sons, in partnership with sons Dorab Tata and Ratan Tata

1887Buys the sick Dharamsi Mill

and renames it Svadeshi Mills

1886

Jamsetji Tata passes away at Bad Nauheim

in Germany on May 19

1904

1902

Jamsetji visits coking processes in Birmingham in UK

and the ore market at Cleveland in the US. Charles Page Perin agrees to visit India

1903

The Taj Mahal Hotel opens in

Bombay, also the first building in the city to be lit

by electricity

CM Weld arrives in April to explore raw

material for the steel plant

1903

Starts the Endowment scheme with a capital of `25 lakh. Freney Cama,

the first scholar, goes to Edinburgh for higher studies

1892

TribuTe

“There is no finer legacy than what Jamsetji Tata has left behind, and it is for us to grasp the essence

of his vision, his values, his fortitude and his humaneness as we strive to make our efforts count.”

cyrus misTry chairman, TaTa Group

“Jamsetji set the mandate for the group to look beyond profits and serve the communities

in which Tata companies functioned. more than hundred years later, his vision remains the group’s guiding force.”

raTan TaTa former chairman (1991 - 2012)

“The wealth gathered by Jamsetji Tata is held in trust for the people and used exclusively for their benefit.

The cycle is thus complete; what came from the people has gone back to the people many times over.”

Jrd TaTa former chairman (1938 - 1991)

“To my father the acquisition of wealth was only a secondary object in life; it was always subordinate to

the constant desire in his heart to improve the industrial and intellectual condition of the people of his nation.”

dorab TaTa former chairman (1917 - 1932)

04 birthplace as a boy Jamsetji grew up in an atmosphere of traditional piety, whose lofty ethic and elevated conception of divine purpose for mankind left a lasting impress on his character. Verrier elwin

a tata review publication l march 03, 2014

Nestled in the coastal lowland along the Purna river in the western Indian state of

Gujarat is Navsari, the birthplace of Jamsetji Tata, Founder of the Tata group. It was here, in this picturesque land of sugarcane fields, chikoo (sapodilla) plantations and mango trees, that one of India’s greatest pioneers and industrialists was born, on March 3, 1839, to Nusserwanji and Jeevanbai Tata.

Jamsetji’s family came from a long line of Parsi priests and they lived in Mota Falia’s Dastur Vad, an area where families of the Parsi clergy generally stayed. Jamsetji and his four younger sisters — Ratanbai, Maneckbai, Virbai and Jerbai — grew up in this strongly religious environment, wholeheartedly embracing the tenets of the Zoroastrian faith.

Ervad (a term of address for Parsi priests) Homi Kotwal, a 79-year-old, has been looking after the holy fires in the Parsi temples of Vadi-Dar-E-Meher and the Navsari Atash Behram for the last 50 years. He proudly preserves two old books: the Athornan Vansavali, which records the family trees of several families from Navsari,

including the Tatas, and a register of Navars — the first stage of initiation into the Parsi priesthood — ordained from 1633 to 1928. He points out Jamsetji’s name in the register and says that it was his great-great-granduncle, Ervad Burjorji Kotwal, who performed the Navar ceremony that initiated the young Tata into priesthood, thereby following in the footsteps of 25 generations of the Tata family.

Who would have imagined then that this particular Parsi priest was destined to one day be acknowledged as one of the ‘nine jewels of Navsari’? Who would have believed that he would lay the foundations of a business house which today has more than 100 companies with operations spread across the globe? It was here, in Navsari, where the seeds of Jamsetji’s greatness were first sown.

The Navsari of today bears little resemblance to what it was when Jamsetji grew up here, but he lives on in the memories of old-timers. Even the history of the town is intimately interwoven with that of the Parsi community he belonged to. In building the qualities of head and heart that were to stand by him both

as a priest and as a businessman, Jamsetji drew upon a rich Parsi heritage that has moulded life in Navsari for several hundreds of years.

the parsi influenceThe Parsis, who first landed in India in a town in Gujarat known as Sanjan, moved to Navsari around AD 1141 to promote their trade. The town was known by several different names, including Nagvardhan, Nagshahi, Nag Mandal, Nagsarika and, for a while, as Parsipuri (a place where Parsis resided in large numbers). Evidently, the Parsi influence was instrumental in the naming of Navsari. One interpretation has it that the place came to be known so because ‘Nav’ means ‘new’ and it had the same climate as a place in Iran called ‘Sari’.

When the population of Parsis began to increase in Navsari, the need was felt for more priests to perform religious ceremonies. The community enlisted the services of a man called Hom Bahmanyar, whose descendants came to be known as Bhagarias,the group to which Nusserwanji and his family belonged. The Bhagaria priests of Navsari were one of the five

groups (panths) of Parsi Zoroastrian priests in the region, each of which had clearly demarcated territories in which they could perform religious ceremonies and earn their money. Dinshaw Edulji Wacha, a prominent politician and a contemporary of Jamsetji, throws light on the environment and influences that may have affected his industrialist friend in his book, The Life and Life Work of JN Tata.

According to him, there was a keen rivalry among the priestly cadre in Navsari and the environment was quite acrimonious. Mr Wacha went on to explain: “Brought up in his boyhood in a community possessing such traits, it is perfectly intelligible what influence heredity and environments must have exerted on Jamsetji Tata, who all through his life was preeminently distinguished for this great force of character and perseverance.”

Controversies aside, Navsari was an important place for Parsis, and their religion, culture and society thrived here. For centuries together, the town enjoyed the status of being the religious headquarters of Parsi Zoroastrians and their priestly families. The holy fire, first consecrated in Sanjan, was later kept alight in Navsari for nearly 300 years. The fire was then moved to Udvada, where it currently resides.

The first Atash Behram — a Parsi temple where the fire is of the ‘highest grade’ — in India, other than the one in Udvada, was established in Navsari in 1765. The town’s Vadi-Dar-E-Meher (where the Atash Dadgah, or lesser grade of fire, is housed and mainly used to train Parsi priests and initiate them into the priestly ranks) is more than 850 years old, and is the oldest of its kind in India.

Among the other well-known Parsis who hailed from Navsari, two names stand out: Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy

Navsari, the sleepy town in Gujarat where

Jamsetji was born and spent the first 13

years of his life, remained close to his heart

and he returned to it as often as he could

Where it all began

The house in Navsari where Jamsetji Tata was born to Nusserwanji and Jeevanbai Tata

The 850-year-old Vadi-Dar-E-Meher, where Jamsetji was ordained as a Navar, the first stage of initiation into the Parsi priesthood

birthplace 05a tata review publication l march 03, 2014

(1783-1859), the first knight and baronet of India, and Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917), the first Indian to be elected to the British Parliament.

Not much is known of the early years and life of Jamsetji in Navsari. In those days, formal education was nonexistent, and the only form of teaching was through verbal instruction in the Zoroastrian faith, the tenets of which had a strong influence on Jamsetji’s life. His mother, Jeevanbai, played a crucial role in the development of his character, it is said, setting a fine example for the growing boy and instilling in him a strong sense of moral values. The Parsi priests also taught him some basic reading, writing and mathematics.

moving to bombayJamsetji’s formal education began at age 13, when his father called him to Bombay and he joined a local school. At age 14, he gained admission to the Elphinstone College and passed out as a ‘green scholar’ (equivalent of a graduate today) in 1858.

Although Jamsetji lived most of his life outside Navsari, he always had a soft spot for his native land. Even during his last days, he often chatted about his estate in Navsari. Jamsetji was fond of horticulture and did not hesitate to spend money on this hobby, experimenting at his estates in Matheran, Navsari, Ootacamund, Panchgani and Bangalore.

In Navsari he created a miniature botanical garden, for which Jamsetji imported shrubs and plants from places far and wide, including some exotic species. According to Frank Harris, his biographer, he also had several wild animals here and part of the estate was made into a public park for others to enjoy. Today, Tata Baug, as it is called, stands as testimony to his love for nature. Marzban Giara, author, publisher and a student and researcher of Parsi

history, whose family hails from Navsari, nostalgically remembers his mother telling him about the ditty that she used to sing along with her friends when they were young: ‘Chalo chhokra wadi jaiye / Tata seth ni wadiye’ (come on children, let’s visit the garden of the wealthy Tata).

Jamsetji was known for his generosity and hospitality. A rich man not given to display of his wealth, he was like a benevolent patriarch and many family members looked to him for advice and to resolve conflicts. Fondly called Bapooji, a pet name given to him by one of his younger sisters, Jamsetji’s home in Bombay, Esplanade House, was open to all his family members, including distant relatives, and he enjoyed meeting them and catching up on all the news.

‘Chalo Navsari’ was his standard invitation to family and friends in Bombay, and he welcomed them to his hometown. December was usually the month when Jamsetji went to Navsari, and while his wife and her companions stayed in the house built by his father, he and the male guests stayed at the house in the park.

Jamsetji was an early riser and he would be seen in his garden before 6am every day. During his Christmas break there, ‘Navsari week’ was celebrated in town, with schoolchildren often putting up a gala show and receiving prizes. Older folk were given presents and there was much merrymaking.

The Tata Founder loved his country and was a great patriot, but Navsari always remained close to his heart. During his lifetime and afterwards, he and other members of his extended family gave much to the town, by way of generous acts of philanthropy, some of which still remind us that the roots of the house of Tata remain embedded in Navsari.n

— Jai madan

Homi Kotwal, whose great-great-granduncle, Ervad Burjorji Kotwal, initiated Jamsetji into the Parsi priesthood, holding the register — open to the page (inset) — which has the Tata Founder’s name in it

philanthropic contributions of the tata family in navsari

1878

One of the wells (dokhma)

in the Parsi Tower of Silence

in Navsari was erected by

Jamsetji’s father, Nusserwanji

Ratanji Darabji Tata, in memory

of his mother Cooverbai.

1880

The DK Tata Boys School,

founded on May 1, 1880, was

set up using the funds donated

by Sorabji Kawasji Tata from

the estate of his late brother

Dadabhai Kawasji Tata

(JRD Tata’s grandfather).

1883

The NR Tata Family Trust was the

first trust set up by Nusserwanji

(about 15 months before his

death). The trust supports the

Nusserwanji Tata Zend Madressa

and the Bai Navajbai Tata

Zoroastrian Girl’s School.

1908

Kaikhushroo Edulji Bamji

Khush-rhu building was built

by Jamsetji’s sister Ratanbai in

memory of her son. It was earlier

known as the Tata ‘hunarshala’ or

institute which gave vocational

training to the youth of Navsari.

1978

The JN Tata Memorial Centre

was inaugurated by the then

Prime Minister Morarji Desai

on March 21, 1978.

2009

The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust gave

a grant of `9 million for building

an annexe for the First Dastur

Meherjirana Library.

2011

A grant of `20 million was given

by the Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust

to the Navsari Atash Behram and

the Vadi Dar-E-Meher Trust Fund.

06 Businessa tata review puBlication l march 03, 2014

By establishing and developing several

mills, Jamsetji Tata aimed to increase

India’s industrial prosperity

The MILLS of change

T he textile mills at Nagpur became Jamsetji’s laboratory. He looked after every little

detail of its growth. Here he tried experiments in technology and labour welfare never before attempted in India. To conserve the new company’s capital, he purchased in Britain low-priced equipment and, consequently, his yarn turned out to be of inferior quality. Quickly learning from his mistake, he replaced it with most up-to-date American machinery, ring spindles, till then untried even by mills of Lancashire.

The excellence of his new plant was matched by his care for the workers. He installed the first humidifiers and fire-sprinklers in India. In 1886, he instituted a Pension Fund, and in 1895, began to pay accident compensation. He was decades ahead of his time and miles ahead of his competitors. The Empress Mill experiment showed that not only profits but people mattered to him. Emboldened by these early successes, he decided in 1886 to buy a mill that had proved to be the graveyard of many reputations. At 47, Jamsetji took on the challenge of making a ‘sick’ mill healthy. This

second unit, called ‘Svadeshi Mills’ to mark the first beginnings of the svadeshi–national movement, was massively supported by Indian shareholders. But two years later the mills failed to pay a dividend. Share prices toppled to a fourth of the original. The name ‘Tata’ was at stake. Jamsetji revoked the trust, liberated his capital, sold some Empress Mill shares and pumped more capital into the Svadeshi Mills. By an amazing display of personal energy, and by bringing the best of his staff from the Mills at Nagpur, he pitchforked the Svadeshi unit into the top bracket of the textile industry.

Even as he battled for the survival of his industry, he was not too busy to think of the health of his workers. As polluted water was a cause of illness, he installed a water filtration plant and arranged for sanitary hutments. A grain depot was opened, followed by a dispensary, provident fund and pension schemes. In those early years he also introduced a system of apprenticeship. n

Reproduced from the book

Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata: A Chronicle

of His Life by Frank Harris, 1925

Jamsetji was planning a major investment

in textiles. Everyone knew Bombay was the

only location for a textile mill. So why was

Jamsetji looking at Nagpur? He had reasons

aplenty. Nagpur was in the heart of the

cotton-growing district. Coal and water were

easily available. There was a ready market

for the finished product. Land was cheap —

for an incredibly small sum, Jamsetji was

able to buy land on a marsh. He planned

to fill the land with earth that had been

excavated for a reservoir nearby, and then

start building. People were aghast.

The mill set off to a rocky start. To cut costs,

Jamsetji had purchased cheap machinery in

England, which proved an expensive mistake.

It showed in the product as well as production

levels. Worse, a fire devastated the loom shed.

The outlook was bleak. Share values dropped.

Jamsetji created opportunity out of disaster.

He rebuilt the shed and replaced equipment

making no compromise. The results were

dramatic. Dividends went up to 16 percent.

Perhaps Jamsetji’s most serious challenge

in the textile industry was his purchase

of the Dharamsi Mills at Kurla in Bombay.

The mill had been in liquidation for four

years, becoming a symbol of bad luck for

prospective buyers but that never deterred

Jamsetji. He weighed the advantages of

buying a ready mill, on a freehold land

available for a sixth of its original price.

Confident of his ability to turn it around,

he bought it. But managing the mill proved

to be a Herculean task. Dogged by labour

shortages, beset by poor equipment,

besieged by continuous complaints, the

problems never ceased. Shipments were

returned. Share values plummeted. The

image of the company was at stake. Finance

wasn’t easy to come by. But Jamsetji wouldn’t

give up. He put everything he had into the

mill, staking his own personal resources. He

got new engines, new boilers, new sheds.

He invested an enormous amount of time

and money. Through sheer perseverance,

the mill was transformed. Jamsetji was a

great believer in innovation. When James

Brooksby, the technical expert with Empress

Mills, saw some innovative ring frames, he

sent them back to the mill in Nagpur for trial.

Interestingly, in England, the frames were not

yet in commercial use. Jamsetji backed the

experiment.

The trials were successful, the ring frames

were adopted, even before they were adopted

in the land where they were invented. Output

doubled. Share values zoomed and Jamsetji’s

reputation as an astute industrialist was

firmly established.

Source: Tata Steel Diary, 2004

‘A MILL ON A MARSH? THAT’S A REALLY SHAKY FOUNDATION.’

Women weaving the Founder’s dream of an industrialised India at one of the mills

In the 1880s, Jamsetji opened a creche inside the Empress Mills for young mothers

The medical dispensary (for men) at the Empress Mills. In keeping with the times, there was a separate one for women and children

Business 07in a free enterprise, the community is not just another stakeholder in business, but the very purpose of its existence. JamsetJi tata

a tata review puBlication l march 03, 2014

The stately carriage rolled up to one of

the leading hotels in Bombay. It was the

first carriage in the city to be fitted with

rubber tyres and its noiseless passage

drew amazed crowds every time Jamsetji

Tata drove past.

The simple, almost austerely dressed

man who stepped out was no stranger to

attention. He shunned the limelight but,

paradoxically, it followed him wherever

he went. Now he was back home in

Bombay, invited by a foreign friend to

dine at one of the city hotels. Jamsetji

walked in with his host, only to be rudely

accosted by the supercilious English

hotel manager with that ignominious

line, “We don’t allow Indians in here.”

How would you reply to an insult like this

— an insult to you, to your country, to

your countrymen? Well, if you’re Jamsetji

Tata, you choose your answer carefully.

You build one of the finest hotels in the

world, on a site facing the magnificent

ocean, select one of the world’s leading

architects and equip it with the best the

world has to offer. Jamsetji spent more

than £300,000 on the Taj Mahal hotel.

His sons and friends — everyone urged

him not to go ahead with the project. It’s

going to lose money, they insisted. But

Jamsetji was obdurate. “Perhaps it will,”

he said, “but that makes no difference”.

He wanted Indians to get what they

needed — a great hotel that would be

proud to serve them. Under Jamsetji’s

watchful eye, the Taj rose on the seafront,

an impressive edifice that dominated the

landscape, predating Bombay’s Gateway

of India.

When the Taj opened its doors in Bombay

in 1903, it inspired delight and awe in

every Indian, and not just for its imposing

exterior. To many Indians who had never

travelled abroad before, the Taj was an

incredible wonder of the modern world.

The Taj was the first building in Bombay

to be electrified. It had the first ice-

making machine. The first soda maker.

The first lift. The first generator. The first

mechanised laundry. The first polishing

machine. Most important of all, it was a

hotel into which any Indian could walk

with his head held high.

One hundred years after it was opened,

the Taj has retained its position as one

of the world’s great hotels. It has spun

off an entire chain of hotels, the largest

in India, each hotel built with the same

careful attention. But more than bricks

and mortar, it’s Indian courtesy that sets

them apart.

Ultimately, as Jamsetji Tata well knew,

this is really our finest Indian heritage.

Source: Tata Steel Diary, 2004

A t Indian Hotels, we consider ourselves custodians and torchbearers of the vision

of Jamsetji Tata. The company was founded in 1901 and the Taj Mahal Hotel opened in Bombay (as it was called then) on December 16, 1903. The genesis of the company lies in Jamsetji’s vision of a hotel that would be a beacon for visitors to Indian shores. Back then, when the idea of a hotel was germinating, he visited many of the world’s capitals and stayed in the grandest hotels. That was the basis on which the Taj Mahal Hotel was created.

Because of Jamsetji’s vision, we were pioneers in several aspects of the hospitality business. We were the first Indian hotel with electricity, the first to put in electric lifts, telephones in every room and an ice machine. We had Bombay’s first liquor licence — numbered 001 — for the Harbour Bar. The Taj was essentially a state-of-the-art, world-class hotel that reflected the modern India of Jamsetji’s vision. It continues to be so today, an icon that symbolises the city of Mumbai. Among our people, we have many third- and even fourth-generation colleagues of

the Taj family. To all of us the hotel is not just a building or a place to work, but a representation of our pride in the great hospitality tradition that the Founder created.

For more than a century, the Taj has maintained its premier position as the centre-point of India’s hospitality industry. Over the years, the hotel has been a witness to many historic events of local, national and international importance. The farewell speech of Lord Mountbatten, for instance, took place in our ‘grand ballroom’. We have what is called the ‘princes’ room’, where the royal princes met to discuss becoming a part of the new India. More recently the hotel has been the port of call for practically every important head of state and continues to have that cachet in the corporate world, too.

Over the last century, our operations have changed and guest expectations have evolved. For example, we were the first to bring in Chinese cuisine, back in the 1970s. In the new millennium, we brought in Vietnamese cuisine through Blue Ginger and Japanese food through Wasabi by Morimoto.

The pioneers of HOSpITALITYThe Taj group has played a torch-bearing

role in upholding Jamsetji’s vision. The Taj

brand continues to stand today as a Tata

symbol of excellence and quality

The vision of the Founder was crafted around the core idea of nation-building. At Indian Hotels, we carry forward that tradition in our role as the leader in our segment. We believe that building the India brand overseas is a part of nation-building, and in the last 10 years we have taken our footprint beyond our shores to key source markets, the only Indian hotel company to do so.

Technology is a big part of the hotel experience today, but it has to be simple, user-friendly and unobtrusive. I am happy to announce that in 2014 we will be the first Indian hotel company to offer free WiFi to all our guests at Taj Hotels, Vivanta by Taj, Gateway and Ginger. The needs, tastes and expectations of the ‘millennial’ generation are different and it’s a whole new ball game to keep these stakeholders satisfied and engaged. We need to ensure that the Taj brand resonates with this demographic.

What’s remarkable is that Jamsetji would have participated in similar conversations in 1901 as he set out to fashion his vision for a sustainable hospitality enterprise. The company has been blessed by having had his patronage. The Chairmen of the Tata group have always had the Taj very close to their heart. The Taj brand continues to stand today as a Tata symbol of excellence and quality. n

— RAYMOND BIcKSON,

managing director,

indian Hotels

‘DON’T REAcT TO AN INSULT... ANSwER IT!’

A file picture of the Taj Mahal Hotel taken in 1903

08 photofeaturea tata review publication l march 03, 2014

beloved bapoojiThe adventurous Jamsetji Tata

was dearly loved and admired by

his family, which he knit together

with a bond of respect and

affection. He had an impeccable

sense of style too.

3

1

2

The cap or head gear is part of the established religious dress of a Parsi. In the early days, no Parsi, man or woman, was found bare headed. The men always had a head gear and the women had the saree draped over their heads.

In the Zoroastrian culture, it is considered a sin to move around without slippers on the feet and without the head covered. One of the reasons could also be to preserve the sanctity of the religion by always wearing the sudreh (a white cotton vest), kusti (waistband) and the head gear, which is part of the religious

attire. Also when the hair falls off the head it is considered ‘naso’ (dead matter); the head gear helps contain any fallen hair and maintains purity.

In the early days, there were generally three types of head gear commonly seen in the Parsi community: the phento, the pagdhi and the topi. The topi was mostly worn at home, while the phento and the pagdhi were generally worn on special occasions like weddings, Navjote ceremonies or while going for social functions and business meetings.

4

1. Born on March 3, 1839, in the sleepy town of Navsari in Gujarat, Jamsetji Tata was the first child and only son of Nusserwanji Tata, the scion of a family of Parsi priests.

2. The patriarch of the family, Jamsetji Tata with his wife Heerabai, sons Dorab Tata (extreme left) and Ratan Tata, and his daughters-in-law.

3. Jamsetji Tata (right) and the three men who, together, formed the nucleus of the Tata group during the patriarch’s lifetime: Elder son Dorab Tata (sitting on left), cousin RD Tata (second from left) and younger son Ratan Tata (second from right).

4. Different items from Jamsetji’s clothing have been preserved at the Tata Central Archives in Pune. Showcased on the right is a set of clothes from the collection.

The many hats of jamsetji Tata

The simple Topi The ausTere pagdhi The royal phenTo

10 Businessa tata review puBlication l march 03, 2014

The door to a small, crowded office in

New York opened. At a table covered

with books sat Charles Page Perin, a

well-known geologist and metallurgist

of his time. Here was a stranger in an

even stranger garb — a man in a simple

white coat wearing a peculiar headgear.

Who was he? Even as he wondered,

Charles Perin knew the answer. This

was the person Julian Kennedy had

written to him about — the Parsi

gentleman from India whose dream

was to build a steel plant for his

country.

The two men gazed at each other

in silence. The visitor said in a deep

voice — “Are you Charles Perin?” The

metallurgist nodded. And Jamsetji

said, “At last, I have found the man I’ve

been looking for. I have spoken to

Mr Kennedy. He will build the steel

plant — wherever you advise. And I

will foot the bill. Will you come to India

with me?” Perin was dumbfounded,

struck by the character and force that

radiated from Jamsetji’s face. Perin’s

answer was short, “Yes,” he said, “I will

go with you.”

Soon Perin was to embark on one of

the most unusual adventures of his

life. On his way, at Aden, he received a

telegram asking him whether he could

ride a bicycle. Mystified, he replied in

the affirmative. He reached the village

of Sakchi, and discovered the reason

for this strange question. It was tough

going, but Perin and his team finally

found more than they even dared to

hope for — perhaps 3 billion tons of

ore, located just 45 miles away from

the railway station.

For 30 years of his life, Jamsetji had

dreamed of this. And now, when the

great moment had arrived and Perin

was getting his report together, the sad

news reached him. Jamsetji Tata had

passed away in Germany. Fortunately,

men like Perin and Jamsetji’s son,

Dorab, would ensure that his dream

lived on. Tata Steel came into being in

1907 and became one of the flagship

companies of the Tata group. Truly, a

man of steel.

Source: Tata Steel Diary 2004

I joined Tata Steel as a management trainee in 1988, fresh out of the Indian Institute

of Management, Calcutta. My first posting was in Jamshedpur. From the moment I arrived in Jamshedpur, I knew I was in the right place. Over the years, I came to appreciate the feeling that comes from the value systems and the larger purpose with which the company operates. One is able to sleep well at night, secure in the knowledge that one is working for a company that believes in giving back to society generously. These are the values that every Tata Steel employee tries to live at work.

In many ways, I believe that Tata Steel is the epitome of all the companies belonging to the Tata family. Tata Steel in Jamshedpur has a flavour and aura distinct from any other Tata company. One just has to witness the celebrations in Jamshedpur every year on the Founder’s Day on March 3 to understand just how deep the bond

is between the company and the community, which includes not just employees, but also the suppliers, traders, shopkeepers and others in the city.

At the Tata Steel archives in Jamshedpur, one can see the plans Jamsetji had created for the steel company he relentlessly pursued for years, defying naysayers, the hostile investment environment of colonised India, and his own failing health. The steel venture had become an important piece of his vision of an industrialised, independent India.

Although the Founder did not live to see the steel venture take shape, every generation of Tata Steel management has lived his dream each day and translated his ideals into reality in everything they do, never forgetting his commitment to the community and to the nation.

Even before the steel plant was set up in an obscure village called Sakchi, the company set up

The zeal for sTeel

a hospital to bring much-needed medical care to the region. That was in 1908; the first ingot of steel rolled out of the Sakchi plant four years later, in 1912.

There were several industry firsts in those early years: an eight-hour working day for labourers was introduced long before it became the norm around the world; free medical aid was introduced in 1915; the maternity benefit scheme was launched in 1928; the retirement gratuity scheme was introduced in 1937. These welfare measures were meant to empower the employees.

If I were to narrate one incident from my 25-year career which demonstrates the company’s commitment to people, it would be the board meeting a few years ago where the then Tata Sons Chairman, Ratan Tata, decided that the families of contract workers suffering accidents at Tata Steel premises would be provided cover through the ‘suraksha’ scheme. It is hardly surprising then that the last workers’ strike the company settled was as far back as 1929.

The turning point for the company came in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, when India’s economic liberalisation forced the company to revisit its business processes. Tata Steel took the challenge head on, emerging a more agile entity. Over the last decade, the company has taken to the global stage with the same zeal that once made it a national entity. A string of acquisitions, starting with NatSteel in 2004 and leading up to Corus in 2008, have seen Tata Steel take not only itself but the larger Tata brand to the fore in international business circles.

Today our commitment is to be involved in building every nation and community that we are present in. I can confidently assert that we will continue to be steered by the principles espoused by our Founder in all our endeavours. n

— TV NareNdraN,

managing director, tata Steel

One is able to sleep well, secure in the knowledge that one is working for a company that believes in giving back to society.”

Jamsetji Tata defied naysayers, hostile

regulations and failing health to turn his

dream of a steel enterprise into reality,

and inspired generations of employees

with his monumental deeds

‘aT lasT, THe MaN I’Ve BeeN lOOKING FOr.’

One of the first blast furnaces at the Tata Steel plant in Jamshedpur

Business 11a tata review puBlication l march 03, 2014

clean, cheap and abundant power is one of the basic ingredients for the economic progress of a city, state or country. JamsetJi tata

More than a century ago, a remarkable man had a wonderful vision — to

provide pollution-free, clean power to Mumbai, a city that was choking on the fumes of the boilers of textile mills. The visionary Jamsetji Tata dreamed of and inspired the setting up of one of the first hydroelectric power plants in the Western Ghats, with a hydel dam that would harness the power of flowing water to create electricity. The preliminary work had begun, but before the new power company could be formed, Jamsetji passed away. His sons Dorab and Ratan subsequently laid the foundation for affordable and clean power for the city of Bombay (now Mumbai).

In the next few years, three hydroelectric entities, Tata Hydro-Electric Power Supply Company (in 1910), the Andhra Valley Power Supply Company (in 1916) and the Tata Power Company (in 1919), were incorporated to give shape to the dream. Together these three companies were referred to as the Tata Electric Companies. The other two entities were amalgamated into the Tata Power Company in the year 2000.

Tata Power’s journey over the last 10 decades has been a fascinating saga of pioneering initiatives and

responsible business with minimal impact on the environment, and the socioeconomic empowerment of the communities that it touches.

Tata Power is India’s largest integrated power company, with 20-25 percent of its generation sourced from clean energy sources. It has an installed generation capacity of 8,521MW in India, with 1.8 million customers across the country and an effective presence in all the segments of the power sector. The company has to its credit the installation of India’s first 500MW unit (in Trombay, near Mumbai), the first 150MW pumped storage unit (in Bhira, Maharashtra), the first flue gas de-sulphurisation facility for pollution control at a power plant (also at Trombay) and the first and most celebrated islanding system (to ensure uninterrupted power supply to Mumbai). Tata Power was the first to establish state-of-the-art technology and infotech-based systems for distribution in Delhi and to bring in India’s first 800MW super-critical unit for its power project in Mundra, Gujarat.

The company has successful public-private partnerships in generation, transmission and distribution and is one of the largest renewable energy players in India. It

Grey skies, torrential rain, flooding — yes,

it had been a typical Bombay monsoon.

But now the skies had cleared, the sun

was out, the sea was calmer. “Let’s go out

on a picnic tomorrow,” said Jamsetji to his

good friend, Nusserwanji Guzdar. Jamsetji

regaled him with stories of his travels.

They stood for a while with the wind

blowing through their hair. Jamsetji loved

this coastline. Bombay. This was the city

he loved. He had come here as a boy of

14 and it had really opened its arms to

him. Suddenly he asked the pilot to take

them to Roha creek. The launch sputtered

and sighed as the pilot changed course

and obeyed. The conversation carried on.

Jamsetji stopped mid-sentence. His friend

looked in the direction of his gaze. This was

the Roha River.

The monsoon was just over. The river

was swollen with water. The water gushed

tumultuously. The banks were green.

The earth was fresh. Everyone came

around to marvel at the picturesque sight.

Jamsetji’s mind had already raced ahead

of the pretty picture. “Nusserwanji” he said,

“We must harness this water. We must turn

it into power.”

There was a shocked silence. Everyone

knew that power was an electrifying

concept. But power needed a waterfall.

And while there was water aplenty here,

this was a river. How could this water be

harnessed? Jamsetji’s mind was already

working on the answer. Bombay would

have a power plant. He would find a way.

Source: Tata Steel Diary, 2004

leveraging eNerGy

More than a century ago, Jamsetji Tata

pioneered an industrial breakthrough for

modern India, and for Tata Power which

has followed in his path

has also implemented the country’s first 4,000MW ultra mega power project (in Mundra, Gujarat).

Tata Power’s international presence includes strategic investments in Indonesia through a geothermal project and a 30-percent stake in four coal mines; in Singapore, through Trust Energy Resources, for the supply and shipping of coal for thermal power generation operations; in Africa, through the joint venture Cennergi, to develop projects in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia; in Australia through investments in enhanced geothermal and clean coal technologies, and in Bhutan through a hydro project in partnership with the Government of Bhutan.

Over the last several decades, the company has participated in an extensive eco-restoration and eco-development programme in the Western Ghats, which is one of the most sensitive ecosystems in the world. More than 7 million saplings of 60 tree species have been planted and flora and fauna in and around our lakes have been restored. Around 600,000 trees have been planted as a reforestation measure. In the process, a large variety of wildlife has found a habitat in the area.

The lakes have been part of a rehabilitation programme for the endangered fish species called Deccan Mahseer. Tata Power provides millions of seedlings of this fish to agencies across India. The company has also pioneered initiatives to increase public awareness about energy conservation and climate change. The Tata Power Club Enerji addresses these issues in an interactive manner at the school level whereby it sensitises youngsters and equips them to become energy champions.

Continuing its focus on corporate social responsibility, the company has conducted a number of training programmes for developing self-employment opportunities among the rural population. Rooted in a century-old dream, Tata Power continues to be a testament to Jamsetji’s vision and commitment to India’s progress, a vision that rests on the tenets of sustainability. n

— aNIl sardaNa,

managing director, tata Power

‘leT’s GO ON a pIcNIc...’

The Walwhan dam in Lonavala, Maharashtra

12 education

One of the first educational scholarships in the world, the JN Tata

Endowment has helped smooth the path for several meritorious

Indians during a critical period of their academic lives

A gift for life

He travelled the world but India and her welfare always remained the core

of Jamsetji Tata’s vision. This was the motivation that inspired the establishment, in 1892, of the JN Tata Endowment for the higher education of Indians, on the strength of a trust fund of `2.5 million.

Jamsetji wanted to enable young, meritorious Indians to pursue higher studies at the best universities in the world. In pre-independence days, placements in key services such as the Indian Civil Service (ICS), the Indian Educational Service and the Indian Medical Service were dominated by British citizens. Jamsetji realised that it was the unavailability of funding, not the lack of talent, that prevented Indians from assuming an active role in the administration of the nation.

The endowment that he set up enabled Indians to pursue professional courses. He would say, “What advances a nation or the community is not so much to prop up its weakest and most helpless members, as to lift up the best and most gifted so as to make them of the greatest service to the country.”

The first beneficiary of the largesse was a woman, Freney K Cama, who went to Edinburgh and Dublin in 1892 to study gynaecology

and midwifery. More than 120 years later, the Endowment is still going strong, having enhanced the lives of more than 4,585 scholars. The list of illustrious names includes Ardeshir Dalal, member of the British viceroy’s executive council; KR Narayanan, the former President of India; Raja Ramanna, director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre; Jayant Narlikar, renowned astrophysicist; JJ Irani, former director, Tata Sons; and Rahul Mehrotra, the renowned architect.

Nawaz Mody, advisor, JN Tata Endowment, is happy to play her part in building the future of talented youngsters. The goal is to advance loan scholarships to meritorious Indians, regardless of caste, creed, and financial status, for higher studies. The list of subjects has been updated over the years to include more than 200 disciplines.

Dr Mody says, “On an average, we get more than 2,000 applications from around the country each year, and we sift through them to find around 120 deserving candidates.” Candidates go through a stringent selection process. Students have to be able to justify why they have chosen that particular course and institute. Once they are shortlisted, an expert from the respective field of interest interviews them to gauge their

ability. The advisor herself sits in on all the interviews.

The selected scholars receive a loan scholarship of up to ̀ 400,000, which they must repay in seven years. The scholarships are given as loans, not grants, because Jamsetji believed this could instill valuable lessons in self-reliance. The idea is to make the students feel a sense of responsibility and accountability towards their education. The repayment of every loan helps ensure that another deserving candidate is able to study abroad.

As part of their efforts to assist students, many of whom may be undertaking their first trip abroad, the Endowment introduced orientation sessions a few years ago. These sessions guide the scholars on cross-cultures and value systems, and on giving back to the country.

“The orientation programme makes a lot of difference,” says Dr Mody. “Repayments have gone up as a result. People are now paying back their loans within two years.” Dr Mody also feels heartened by the steady increase in the number of students returning to India. “I have seen a rise of almost 20 percent,” she says. “A large number of these people are returning voluntarily.”

The Endowment continues to reinvent itself. It understands the significance of the task it performs, and how the act of committing to an individual’s future often enhances the fate of a nation and the world.

The Founder would have been pleased. n

— CynthiA RodRigues

One hundred and twenty years after its inception, the JN Tata Endowment is still going strong, enhancing the lives of scholars

tAtA sCholARs

“the endowment invests a lot of time, energy and resources in its selection process. once

you get the scholarship, it is an endorsement that opens many doors.”

RAshneh pARdiwAlA enviRonmentAlist

“without the endowment, i could not have realised my dreams of securing a

higher education. the initial support from the endowment was the most significant.”

dR vikRAm RAut liveR suRgeon

“A higher study programme abroad gives you a breadth of exposure. the Jn tata endowment scholarship programme was a significant catalyst in shifting me into a new league of the cinema workforce in india.”

nishAnt RAdhAkRishnAn filmmAkeR

“such loan scholarships were extremely helpful in those days. middle-class students

found it difficult to study abroad at that time. the Jn tata scholarship was the answer.”

RAJA RAmAnnA nuCleAR physiCist

“the tatas were rigorous in selecting their scholars. there was prestige attached to receiving a tata scholarship. it played a crucial part in shaping my personal life and influencing my professional career.”

kR nARAyAnAn foRmeR pResident of indiA

We get more than 2,000 applications each year, and we sift through them to find around 120 deserving candidates.”Nawaz MOdy, advIsOr, JN TaTa ENdOwMENT

a tata review publication l march 03, 2014

education 13

nAfter a long wait of more than

a decade, the Indian Institute

of Science (IISc) was finally

established in the year 1911.

nBy the time the institute broke

ground, Jamsetji Tata had passed

away and the initiative was being

driven by his sons.

nAt its inception, the institute

was run jointly by the Tatas, the

Government of India and the

Government of Mysore (now

Karnataka), marking the first

example of a public-private

partnership in the country.

nThe Institute of Science was

earlier named the Imperial

University of India.

nMorris Travers was chosen as the

first director of the Institute.

nThe industrial genius

M Visvesvaraya was closely

associated with the management

of the institute for three decades.

nIt was here that Homi Bhabha

visualised the Tata Institute of

Fundamental Research (TIFR).

nThe institute enabled scientist

CV Raman (the institute’s first

Indian director who also initiated

the Physics department in 1933)

to undertake research in light

scattering, which eventually won

him the Nobel Prize in 1930.

nOver the last century, IISc has

grown into a premier institution

of research and advanced

instruction, with more than 2,000

active researchers working in

almost all the frontier areas of

science and technology.

nThe institute has also manned

prestigious and nationally

important missions and

projects in the field of science.

The Indian Institute of science was born

out of the vision of a heroic leader

Writing to Lord Reay on November 17, 1896, Jamsetji told the

Governor of Bombay that ‘no more…fruitful results can be provided than (by) a national system of education’. In September 1898, Jamsetji announced an offer that was to astonish men of his day. He decided to set aside 14 of his buildings and four landed properties in Bombay (now Mumbai) for an endowment to establish a university of science.

The proposal of Jamsetji was presented to the new Viceroy, Lord Curzon, in 1898, the day after his arrival in India. Curzon was lukewarm, and had two major doubts

about the scheme. The first was whether qualified Indians would be forthcoming for such advanced scientific training. Secondly, whether there would be employment opportunities for them in a country that had no industries worth the name. To report on Jamsetji’s scheme, the Secretary of State for India requested the Royal Society of England to send out an eminent scientist. They selected Professor William Ramsay, the discoverer of rare gases (including helium and neon), who was later to be awarded the Nobel Prize. After a quick tour of the country Ramsay reported that Bangalore (now Bengaluru) was a

A fresh impulse to leARning

iisc: fACtfilesuitable site for such an institution. Ramsay also recommended liberal scholarships of `40 to `50 per month.

Meanwhile, Curzon was writing to the Secretary of State for India, Lord Hamilton, on June 26, 1901: “We are endeavouring to save Tata’s scheme from the shipwreck, and asking the Committee (Clibborn-Masson’s) to consider and submit a scheme under which the annual expenditure will be limited to £10,000 of which £2,000 will be provided annually by the Government of India for 10 years.” Jamsetji’s endowment alone provided £8,000 (`1,25,000) a year. He had hoped ‘that Corporations, the Native Chiefs, Sirdars’ will gradually see their way to bountifully help such an Institution. The Maharaja of Mysore did come forward with a generous offer of 371 acres of land in Bangalore for the Institute, a gift of `5 lakhs for construction and a recurring grant of `50,000 a year. But no other source of revenue came forward.

The canvas that Jamsetji was working on was too vast for his contemporaries to fathom, far less to accept. Attacked by some co-religionists, denied cooperation from those he inducted into his business, confronted with an arrogant Viceroy who could not understand the greatness of the giver or of his gift, any other man than Jamsetji would have withdrawn the offer. In fact the British reckoned that he would. But Jamsetji was not easily deflected from the accomplishment of his purpose.

While the scheme was still being considered and a provisional committee was looking into it, Jamsetji died. The following year, 1905, when Lord Curzon was on leave in Bexhill, he finally gave the green light to Dorab Tata, by agreeing that the Government would meet half the cost. n

Source: The Creation of Wealth by RM Lala

published in 1981

“We are not aware if any project at once

so opportune and so far-reaching in its

beneficent effects was ever mooted in

India, as that of the post-graduate research

university of Mr Tata. The scheme grasps

the vital point of weakness in our national

well-being with a clearness of vision and

tightness of grip, the masterliness of which

is only equalled by the munificence of the

gift with which it is ushered to the public.

It is needless to go into the details of

Mr Tata’s scheme here. Every one of our

readers must have read Mr Padsha’s lucid

exposition of them. We shall try to simply

state here the underlying principle of it.

If India is to live and prosper and if there

is to be an Indian nation which will have

its place in the ranks of the great nations

of the world, the food question must be

solved first of all. And in these days of keen

competition it can only be solved by letting

the light of modern science penetrate

every pore of the two giant feeders of

mankind: agriculture and commerce.

The ancient methods of doing things

can no longer hold their own against the

daily multiplying cunning devices of the

modern man. He that will not exercise his

brain, to get out the most from nature, by

the lease possible expenditure of energy

must go to the wall, degenerate and reach

extinction. There is no escape. Mr Tata’s

scheme paves the path placing into the

hands of Indians this knowledge of nature

— the preserver and the destroyer, the

ideal good servant as well as the ideal bad

master — that by having the knowledge,

they might have power over her and be

successful in the struggle for existence.

By some the scheme is regarded

as chimerical, because of the immense

amount of money required for it, to wit

about 74 lacs. The best reply to this fear

is: If one man — and he not the richest in

the land — could find 30 lacs, could not the

whole country find the rest? It is ridiculous

to think otherwise, when the interest

sought to be served is of the paramount

importance.

We repeat: No idea more potent for

good to the whole nation has seen the

light of day in modern India. Let the whole

nation therefore, forgetful of class or sect

interests, join in making it a success.

The letter written by Swami Vivekananda in

April I899 in Prabuddha Bharata, a monthly

magazine started by him in 1896

Source: Tata Central Archives

‘no ideA moRe potent foR good to the whole nAtion hAs seen the light of dAy in modeRn indiA.’

a tata review publication l march 03, 2014

14 minor businesses Tatas represent the spirit of adventure. MahatMa Gandhia TaTa review publicaTion l march 03, 2014

contemplated, as he said, with great anxiety. He saw, too, that the ‘infant prodigy, Japan’, was becoming a serious competitor in the China market, while Germany, Austria, and Belgium, as well as England, were flooding India with

Mango trade and cold storage

On their estate at Navsari, both Jamsetji Tata and his father had cultivated the

mango on a considerable scale.

Apart from Jamsetji Tata’s major undertakings, he had numerous minor interests, all

driven by the spirit of patriotism, to bring the best to his country

other experiMents

sericulture

During his travels in France and Italy, Jamsetji had, with his usual ardour, studied and

seen something of the cultivation of the silkworm. He regarded it as suited to the conditions in India, for it was a cottage industry, well adapted to a small district. His visit to Japan in 1893 convinced him that scientific sericulture on Japanese lines could be extended to his own country.

Mr Tata was convinced that the introduction of a trade in which the Japanese excelled would be of direct benefit to his own countrymen.

On his return to India, he selected for his silk farm, a site in Mysore, a state which, through the influence of the Dewan, Sir Sheshadri Iyer, always lent a ready ear to his schemes. The temperate climate around Bangalore, somewhat resembling that of Japan, was especially adapted to the rearing of the silkworm, of which a healthy variety was indigenous to the neighbourhood, and could be cultivated and improved.

As early as the time of Tippoo Sultan there had been a flourishing silk trade in Mysore, and it was still carried on in several villages around the capital. Mysore silk was well known, and had often been exported to Europe.

Encouraged by the Mysore Government, Mr Tata, after buying the necessary ground, endowed and subsidised a small farm where Indians were enabled to study the growth of the mulberry tree, the rearing of the silkworm, the treatment of the diseases which affected it, the care of the cocoon, the reeling of the silk, and its proper preparation for the market. n

egyptian cotton

A less successful venture which Mr Tata made was an attempt to encourage

the growth of Egyptian cotton in India. It seemed to Mr Tata that the Government had by no means exhausted the possibilities of cotton cultivation, and as he said, ‘any experiments that have been tried have not been under suitable conditions’. He made this assertion in a memorandum which he published in 1896, and republished in 1903 upon the growth of Egyptian cotton in his country.

He reviewed the state of the cotton industry in India, which he

ship building

Mr Tata had long been disturbed by the high freightage charged by

the steamship companies for the carriage of cotton goods, yarn and

other goods. His active mind was considering the possibility of making India her own carrier to the Far East, for the cost of carriage, due to lack of competition, made considerable inroads upon the profits of the Indian mills, and though Mr Tata was mindful of his own interests, he saw the benefits which would accrue to India if she developed a mercantile marine.

While in Tokyo he saw the Directors of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha line, who were ready to compete in the China trade, provided Mr Tata was prepared to take an equal risk, and run steamers of his own. He signed an agreement with the NYK for

the carriage of Indian cotton goods at cheaper rates.

After leaving Japan, Mr Tata travelled first to Canada, and thence to America, where he visited the Chicago exhibition. He then proceeded to England. As soon as he arrived in London he chartered an English vessel, the Annie Barrow, at the rate of £1,050 a month. He decided to build up a line of his own, and began to work with great spirit, and with hopes which were unhappily frustrated. ‘I suggest that it be called the Tata Line,’ he wrote to his sons, ‘so that it may serve as an incentive to our family to make it a permanent one, as far as it may be in our power. n

Outside Bombay the fruit was grown in fair quantities, but only for the local market. There was, however, no export trade, and in 1899 Mr Tata made a few inquiries as to the possibilities of its development. For several years he had been accustomed to send small consignments of the fruit to his friend Sir George Birdwood. The success of his own consignments had encouraged Mr Tata in the idea that a new and profitable trade might be established between Bombay and London. For many years the P. and O. had experimented in tentative fashion upon the best methods of carrying the mango. Finding that the results of the experiments

were unsatisfactory, and the cost somewhat heavy, Mr Tata put aside the venture as unprofitable both to his country and his farm. At the same time that he was investigating the mango trade, Mr Tata had in hand his project for installing cold storage in Bombay. He bought an ice-house from an American Company, to be used for the preservation of fish, fruit and meat but his project failed for lack of public support.

He was ahead of his times; another 20 years were to elapse before Crawford market (a wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Mumbai) was equipped with adequate refrigerators and cold storage. n

Source: Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata: A Chronicle of his Life, by Frank Harris, 1925

their manufactured goods. His remedy was the cultivation of

Egyptian cotton. For the higher class of goods, the use of exotic cottons was necessary. ‘If India,’ argued Mr Tata, ‘were enabled to grow for itself the long-stapled varieties, she would derive immense benefit in three different directions: such an expansion would assist agriculture, conserve the money of the country and improve the exchange. Of course,’ he added, ‘all this is not to be attained in a year or even half a dozen years; but if the cultivation of Egyptian cotton proves at all feasible, it may be the means of solving one of the greatest problems of the generation.’ n

The oTher side 15a TaTa review publicaTion l march 03, 2014

Jamsetji Tata was a pioneer and a world

traveller, but his favourite moments were

those spent with friends or books

lighterMoMents

As he drove through the town, or walked from Esplanade House

to Victoria Buildings, Mr Tata, with his kindly face and snow-white

beard, was a familiar and picturesque figure. As a rule, he wore a

simple white costume and, on his head, the Parsee turban, or the

small skull-cap, which orthodoxy forbade him to lay aside. To those

who saw him in the streets, the only sign of wealth displayed was in

the perfect appointment of his carriage, for he took great pride in

his horses and their equipment.

Jamsetji Tata’s social life was spent mainly at the Elphinstone Club, where he often entertained some well-known traveler to talk over the world’s affairs, and at the Sunday dinner he chatted about the doings of the community with his fellow Parsees.

For Mr Tata was the

central figure of

three generations, all

of whom looked to

him for assistance or

advice. His father was

a partner and a friend;

his sons were to him

the same. The whole

family regarded him

with veneration and

with a great affection.

His favourite hours were those spent at home among his books…His favourite authors were Dickens and Thackeray, in whom he found a constant source of recreation; he also delighted in the broad humour of Mark Twain and the vigorous stories of Bret Harte. The cadences of poetry pleased his ear.

Mr Tata’s travels were timed, as a rule, to

coincide with some great exhibition, where

he saw inventions, large and small, with

which his country was wholly unacquainted.

He loved an ingenious device. Though

he cared little for music, he bought an

electric piano for his home. When the

cinematograph first appeared, he acquired

one at once. He was a born pioneer. His

purchases were made, not so much for

himself, as to let India know what was new

in the great world across the seas.

Source: Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata: A Chronicle of his Life, by Frank Harris, 1925

a tata review publication l march 03, 2014

16 obituaries

an irreparable lossIt is with deep regret that we

have to announce the death, which took place at Nauheim near Vienna in Austria, of Mr Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, the well-known millionaire and mill-owner of Bombay. Mr Tata was the pioneer of the mill industry in the Central Provinces, and the Empress Mills at Nagpur is a standing monument of his labours in this direction.

The late Mr Tata was more or less a self-made man and his eminently successful career furnishes an inspiring example of what perseverance, tireless industry and a determination, not daunted even in the face of difficulties and disappointments, can accomplish. The loss of such a good and great man cannot but be felt as an irreparable loss to the country.

— The Nagpur Times (May 21, 1904)

I have heard with deep concern of the death of Mr Tata and although I never had the pleasure or advantage of his acquaintance, I hope that you and his family will accept my sincere sympathy and condolences. No Indian of the present generation has done more for the commerce and industry of India than Mr Tata, and few, I believe, have exercised a more generous and widespread philanthropy.

Mr Tata was truly of one the greatest of the Indian citizens of the

Empire, and his loss will be felt far beyond the limits of the Bombay Presidency. I particularly grieve that Mr Tata has not lived to see the establishment of the Research Institute, the conception of which has made his generosity and public spirit so renowned.”

— Lord Lamington, the then Viceroy of India

My mother and I have heard with much sorrow and deep concern of the death of Mr Tata, one of India’s greatest citizens. We consider it a national calamity and are assured that Mysore, so intimately connected with his great Scheme of the Research Institute, mourns for it. We sincerely sympathise with you and the rest of family in your great bereavement which we as well deeply regret.”

— The Maharaja of Mysore

Death has snatched away from among us an industrial hero, well known all over India and not unknown in Europe and America. There are many cotton mills in India, but there was only one Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata. There is one Taj Mahal Hotel, and may there be at least one Research Institute. Belonging to a community which, among other

achievements, has raised the ledger to the dignity of an Unpanished, Mr Tata exhibited from his earlier years a remarkable genius of business.

Grand were his schemes, and given the time to complete, as successful as they were grand. They penetrated the domains not only of weaving and silk rearing, but also of navigation and house-building, of mineralogy and botany.

Mr Tata, however, was not merely a businessman: he was a trustee for the nation. Money and more money was to be the road to knowledge and more knowledge which would make the East as opulent as the West.

If, from the domestic standpoint, there is something sad in the reflection that he did not spend his last days in Bombay there is, another standpoint, something appropriate, in the occurrence of his death in Germany.

— Lord Alfred Tennyson

There are a good many people in Bombay who have amassed fortunes by their import and export trade by pocketing only the middlemen’s profit. But among them, men are rare who think in terms of their country’s interests. The late Mr Jamsetji Tata did possess all the qualities of such merchant princes but what entitles him to the country’s everlasting gratitude was one extraordinary

quality of his. He did not merely carry on trade as a middleman like others. He was always absorbed in thoughts as to why there were more imports of foreign goods from year to year, he was anxious to find out whether some of the imported goods could be manufactured efficiently in this country and if there were any obstacles in the way, how they could be removed. Over and above all this, he was prepared to spend from his own private purse for removing such obstacles.

Had he been born in some western country he would have wrought an industrial revolution but our misfortune is that his talents, his efforts, his genius, were only very partially utilised for the benefit of this country.”

— Extract from an obituary written by Lokmanya Tilak (Kesari, May 24, 1904)

My hearty sympathy with you and your family in your great bereavement. India loses in Mr Tata one of her greatest sons, whose services in the cause of industrial development and in the spread of scientific education the country will always gratefully remember.”

— The Chief of Miraj

Source: Tata Central Archives, The Hindu

Archives and the Times of India Archives

The Tata family mausoleum at brookwood Cemetery in the United Kingdom

where Jamsetji Tata lies buried

a tata review publication l march 03, 2014

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