Point of View

Narandas Desai moved to South Africa in 1892 and bought 500 acres to plant tea. There, he met Mahatma Gandhi and began to admire him. While in South Africa, Narandas Desai studied…

In 1950, Jawaharlal Nehru, India's prime minister, called JRD Tata on the phone. He had an issue. When Indian ladies splurged on expensive foreign cosmetics, there was an issue…

In 1959, Bajaj Auto was given the green light to begin producing two- and three-wheeled vehicles. At the height of the quota and licencing Raj, it was an impressive feat. Although…

After discovering that India lacked a two-wheeler manufacturing environment in 1949, two Parsi gentlemen, Farrokh Irani and Rustom Irani, set out for Czechoslovakia to introduce t…

Nevill Vintcent was a big, blond Britisher born in 1902 in South Africa. He was a good boxer, too. He was commissioned into the Royal Air Force at 20 and, after a short stint in W…

Four Gujarati friends, Champaklal Choksey, Chimanlal Choksi, Suryakant Dani, and Arvind Vakil, founded Asian Paints in a garage, rented at Rs 75 per month in Gaiwadi, Girgaon, Mum…

Rajiv Badlani was working for MCM (Mass Communication and Marketing), a hot shop in advertising, at the time. MCM was founded by a maverick, Kersey Katrak. Rajiv chose to leave as…

During the Swadeshi Movement, people were joining the boycott of foreign products that Mahatma Gandhi had called for. Local inks had not yet been developed at the time. Gan…

After Bengal was divided, a pre-Gandhian Swadeshi movement swept the country. Locals set fire to imported clothing and picketed stores that sold foreign items. Citizens were commi…

By the late 1970s, HM was ready to introduce a more modern car to the Indian market. The only other car they had in production at that time was the Ambassador, which was based on …

Just hearing the word "Parle G" conjures up images of biscuits dipped in warm milk and rapidly eaten before they disintegrated into the drink. Most Indians have grown up eating th…

Mansukh Lal Mahadev Bhai Kothari was born in a tiny hamlet in the Nareli area of Gujarat in July 1925. He was the oldest of eight children. As a young man, Mansukbhai made the jou…

The brand "Sumeet" comes from a dare issued by a lady to her husband. Madhuri Mathur,  in the 1960s, used a German-made Braun blender. It was effective, but the …

Brothers Rishab Kumar Lohia and Gopal Chandra Lohia started the company that bears their names, Lohia Machines Limited. The firm collaborated technically with ARCT France to pr…