Point of View

At the age of ten or eleven, Thirupathi Raja fled his family and went to live in Chennai, where he found employment cleaning tables at a restaurant.  Later, he started helpin…

Amarshi Bhurabhai Shah, who stowed away to Africa in his youth, eventually returned to India and secured a job in Bombay. He soon left that job to venture into business on his own…

Before India's Independence, the domestic pencil manufacturing industry struggled to compete with imports. In the years before World War II, around 6.5 lakhs worth of pencils were…

Despite being nearly 120 years old, Heinz has managed to maintain its relevance. This is how you maintain your brand's relevance and avoid it becoming a throwback. This way, you c…

A member of a family of rubber planters, PC Mathew founded Duroflex in 1963. Mathew, an engineer by training, had been working in his family’s tyre business, National Tyres, and s…

The origins of the Kurlon brand can be credited to Ramesh Pai, a member of one of Karnataka’s prominent business families. His father founded Syndicate Bank, and Ramesh Pai played…

Digambar Parashuram Dandekar, a young chemistry graduate, left his government job to pursue a start-up. Realizing that quality stationery products in India were mostly imported fr…

GB Sundararajan and B Soundararajan never received any formal college education. They were born in Udumalpet village, about 70 kilometres from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. This quie…

Duke and Sons Pvt. Ltd, based in Bombay (now Mumbai), was established in 1889. The company was the brainchild of Dinshawji Cooverji Pandole, a multifaceted individual who was a…

Panniyampally Sankunni Varier was born on April 10, 1869, in Kottakkal, part of Madras Presidency's Malabar district. His parents, Marayamangalam Rama Varier and Panniyampally Kun…

Born into a peasant family, Mammed Koya's childhood was marked by poverty. His formal education ended in seventh grade, and he had to fend for himself early in life. Initially, he…

C.K. Kumaravel was born and raised in Cuddalore, a small town near Pondicherry in Tamil Nadu. He graduated with a degree in nutrition from PSG Arts, Coimbatore. Coming from a busi…

One of seven children, Jayaram Banan had a harsh upbringing with an abusive father. His father, a driver by profession, punished him severely, even using chilli powder on his eyes…

Abel Joshua Higginbotham was born in 1819 in Cannanore (now Kannur), Kerala. His father, Joseph Higginbotham, passed away a year after his birth. Joseph served in Bangalore as par…