It was a twist of fate that launched Ramkrishna Dalmia on the road to success, glory and fame, and it was again the hand of destiny that left him with fragments of the massive industrial empire he had built from nothing. In between all this lies the saga of a financial and entrepreneurial genius whose drive, courage and extraordinary business acumen merits the tribute we pay him. Dalmia's success also contributed to India's growth in a way that has seen few parallels since. Sadly, for the ...

'You are a very capable young man, Shri Ram. So what if your earlier ventures were not successful? Look at me,' said Boota Singh, pointing at himself. 'You think this is my first business? No, not at all,' he continued, wagging his finger at Shri Ram. 'I, too, have tasted failure. But it made me even more determined to succeed. And look at me now!'The year was 1909, and Boota Singh, a successful contractor, found out that a young man employed by him was the son of DCM's secretary M...

The year was 1932, and a young man had just been banished from the state of Patiala. His crime? He had refused a glass of wine in the celebratory party at the Patiala Palace. It had not mattered to the maharaja that the man was a teetotaller.The ban proved to be a boon as the thirty-year-old left Patiala and created one of the largest business empires in India. Looking for a new location to set up his factory, Gujarmal zeroed in on a sleepy village, Begumabad, on the outskirts of D...

The year was 1932, and a young man had just been banished from the state of Patiala. His crime? He had refused a glass of wine in the celebratory party at the Patiala Palace. It had not mattered to the maharaja that the man was a teetotaller.The ban proved to be a boon as the thirty-year-old left Patiala and created one of the largest business empires in India. Looking for a new location to set up his factory, Gujarmal zeroed in on a sleepy village, Begumabad, on the outskirts of D...

How do you go from being a shopkeeper to multi-billionaire in forty years?Kuldip Singh Dhingra, the patriarch of the Dhingra family and the man credited with building Berger Paints, has remained a mystery. He is low-profile, eschews media and continues to operate from a small office in Delhi. In this candid and captivating biography Kuldip reveals his story for the first time.Kuldip lost his father to an accident early in his life. He and his brothers, Sohan and Gurbachan, ...

Why did Harsh Mariwala leave his family business?Why did the Burman family quit the day-to-day operations of Dabur?How did the Dhingras turn a collapsing business into India's second-largest paint company?The Inheritors offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at what goes on in Marico, Dabur, Keventers, Berger Paints, Select Group, Antara, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Luxor and Motilal Oswal. The book focuses on culture, family politics, ego battles, business rivalri...

The Untold Story of the Tata Group's Most Ambitious Leadership Development ProgrammeIn the mid-1950s, JRD Tata envisioned the creation of an exclusive management cadre for the Tata Group, christened the Tata Administrative Service (TAS). His vision was to create future leaders who would perpetuate the Tata values such as integrity, excellence, unity and responsibility throughout the Group. At the core of all these values was the agenda of nation building. Understanding fully well t...