I turned to you then but my heart broke when you simply said ‘No’! I wept and ranted and accused you of being unfair to me because I was a girl child. Today, I am grateful that you stuck to your guns and told me that you would never spend a single rupee on capitation fee, as a matter of principle. You told me in no uncertain terms: ‘If you want something, work for it. Don’t buy your way through things because, if you do, you will never respect yourself.’ Years later, my admiration for your strength of character continues to grow—especially in the context of the challenges of growing corruption this country faces today—as does my appreciation for the value of what you were trying to teach me. To this day I am proud of the fact that I have never ‘bought’ any favour or paid a bribe to facilitate anything that I needed. I simply work till I get to my goal. Thank you, Daddy.
While I shared a deep bond with Daddy, I am deeply inspired by you Mummy. You grew up in Gujarat in a traditional family that placed a high premium on educating seven daughters and their only son.The difference, however, was that they did not think their daughters needed a career. When you married Daddy, you did so understanding that you would spend your life being a housewife and raising kids. But Mummy, you did that with such joy and commitment! Despite your traditional background, you raised us differently, exposing us to your work at the Catholic mission that you volunteered with every week. You encouraged us to interact with your friends from different nationalities, religions, and backgrounds. This instilled a healthy worldview in all of us—that diversity is good and that we must respect different people and their various points of view. And that there is space on this earth for everyone and everything—a lesson that stands us in good stead even today.
Most importantly, Mummy, from you I learnt courage and determination. When Daddy passed away, you were devastated and bereft. You had lost the one person who was your anchor and for a while, it seemed as if you felt your life was over. And then, you surprised us all by emerging from the depths of your grief and despondence to set up your own automated laundry service and you called it ‘Jeeves’ after your favourite P.G. Wodehouse character. You are one of the bravest and most resourceful women I have known—and I am proud to be your daughter.
I look upon all young Indian girls who are approaching adulthood with a mix of anxiety and intrepidation as to what the future holds and reflect on my own youth when I stood at similar crossroads. I would like to say to them: We woman are equal citizens of this country. A good education and pursuit of a career or vocation that is useful to society is what really matters. Making money is not everything; adding value to society with impactful work is.
I would also like to tell them—as I have learnt from you, Daddy and Mummy—there are no shortcuts in life. There will be successes and failures, pain and gain, and there will always be plenty of sceptics, critics, and people with prejudice—as I have learnt through all these years of building Biocon. Life’s rich tapestry is made of all of these. Your task is simply to take everything in your stride and forge ahead. We women are a resilient lot; we are able to take failure and other setbacks in our stride.
My message to all the young girls in our country is that sometimes your weakness can be your biggest strength, and like the handicap in golf, your weakness can be your biggest advantage. If indecisiveness and diffidence are your perceived weaknesses, work quietly on converting these into unwavering self-confidence and decisiveness, and then, go out and conquer the world.
With my deepest love,
Your daughter,
Kiran
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
CMD, Biocon Ltd
Bangalore, 2013
Ajay Piramal
jay Piramal is a man of many interests. An animal lover, wildlife photographer, and a whimsical writer, Piramal is also the man who almost single-handedly charted one of corporate India’s most lucrative deals when he sold Piramal Healthcare’s domestic formulations business to the US-based Abbott Labs for a stunning US$ 3.7 billion in 2010, catapulting him into the league of the country’s top 50 billionaires.
It is easy to get intimidated by his reputation and by the stillness of his top floor office at Piramal Towers in central Mumbai, where priceless art and verses from ancient scriptures, engraved in granite, compete for space.
The man himself is disarmingly humble and down-toearth. Though he initially had to be persuaded to speak about his life, once he got talking, there was no stopping him. His tales were so enthralling that I went back not once but three times, to know the real person behind the veneer of his public persona.
At the age of 29, Piramal found himself at the crossroads of life, shouldering the responsibility of managing a flagging textiles business while ensuring the well-being of his own family and that of his brother who tragically passed away after suffering from cancer, leaving behind a young widow and two little children.
Many in the industry predicted that the business would not survive owing to his lack of experience, but the relatively ‘inexperienced’ Piramal took the challenge head-on and the last few
