The Times of JRD Tata - Tata Story - Part 2

An elderly man has a conversation with a friend of his. The friend, who was also the writer of his biography, remarked.

‘ You had a largeness of heart in that situation ‘.

‘There was no largeness of heart on my part because it was obvious that he was misinformed and had got a totally wrong idea about me’, the elderly man replies. ‘ Don’t forget it’s easy to have largeness of heart when you are indestructible. When a man like him was fighting me, it was not a question that he could destroy me. He could be destroyed. He was the weak one. He knew all the time that he was vulnerable. So it’s easy for me whenever I have a thing like that happen to me--what am I afraid of? Largeness of heart is required when you’re vulnerable.’

A swift and strong sense of where he stood in a situation, coupled with a dose of humility, can be found across many things he’s said and done in life. Let’s talk about that man, JRD Tata.

Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking of Giants. A podcast about the stories of giants of various fields. This episode is Part 2 in the series about the Tata group from India. Today we explore the story of the group from the prism of the life of the man who sat at its helm the longest, JRD Tata.

A Titan's Sunset

In 1904 Jamsetji Tata, the patriarch of the Tata family was in Germany. A frail, old man, he was on death’s doorstep. His cousin, the son of his mother’s brother, was at his bedside. ‘R.D Tata’ he was called. Short for Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata. Jamsetji wanted to see his son Dorab before he breathed his last. Before that, he gave a precious possession of his, a Patek Phillippe watch to his cousin R.D. He told his cousin RD about how he wanted his sons to carry on his legacy. His cousin wisely advised that it would be near impossible to match what he did. ‘Then let them at least preserve what has been done’ Jamsetji hoped. And he waited for his son. Days later, his son Dorab would arrive with his wife. Having seen his son, the nearly unconscious man mumbled a few words. He would pass away the next day. The men who were with him during his death, his cousin RD, and his son Dorab would be pivotal in the march forward. They would help realize three important dreams of his that could not be finished while he was alive. An Institute of Science worthy of global standards, an iron and steel factory, and a hydroelectric network. The Tata Group made huge advances and this duo was responsible for most of it.

A Young Jeh

In 1926, a young man named Jehangir boarded a train from Jamshedpur. The steel plant of the Tatas had expanded well in this city and young Jehangir was learning under fine management. But his travel to Bombay was not triggered by anything auspicious. After the death of Jamsetji Tata, RD Tata and his cousin Dorabji Tata had worked hand-in-hand. But Dorabji was known to have a temper and RD Tata found it hard for him to work with him. He had moved to France where he hoped to establish an independent trade in pearls and silks apart from his responsibilities with the house of Tatas. He had taken up French lessons with a tutor who was suggested by Jamsetji. Apart from a skill in French, he was also to find the woman of his life there. RD Tata had already been married once when very young and was now a widower. Now in his forties, he fell in love with the young French lady, Suzanne. More than twenty years younger than him and of a different faith, it was a tricky place to be. But RD Tata had been surprised by how accepting Jamsetji was. His cousin, on the other hand, had a fiery disapproval letter sent with points as to why this was a bad idea.?Years later, this couple had a son. His French wife had by now converted to Zoroastrian faith and changed her name to Sooni. Born merely days after the death of Jamsetji Tata, RD’s son brought joy to the RD Tata household. They named him ‘Jehangir’. Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata. Or as the whole of India now remembers him with reverence, JRD.?

Now travelling on that train from Jamshedpur to Bombay, many things might have crossed JRD’s mind. He had had a very interesting childhood. One filled with joys and adventures and even minor escapes from death. His father’s insistence had kept him from taking a promotion with the French cavalry. The whole unit he was supposed to go to had gotten killed on a deployment to Morocco. In another instance, a ship they had travelled on got destroyed by German U-Boats in its very next journey. He was also a man that belonged to way too many places at once. His father was of Persian heritage on account of being a Parsi but was an Indian national. His mother was French. JRD had even lived and studied in Japan for a while during the first world war. When he came to India, he couldn’t completely fit in. He still thought in French and it was to be a period of learning before he learnt the way of things. By the time he arrived in Bombay, he realized the weight of his responsibility on his shoulders. RD Tata had passed away. He was now the head of his family with four siblings to look after.

JRD had a tough road ahead of him. Sure, he was part of an extended family that were nation builders, but there was the need to prove himself first. After the death of RD Tata, JRD used to be sick often. His sister recalls seeing him dive into business magazines and other work once he got back home from work. She would insist that he rest and let himself heal. He would refuse to do so, with the simple reply ‘I want to be worthy of the Tatas’.

The Head of a Family

Before he went on to do the greater things in life, JRD first had to attend to his family affairs. RD Tata had some business operations fail during the final years of his life. Due to this, significant amounts of money were owed to different parties, including Dorabji Tata. JRD quickly got serious about the task at hand and started liquidating the family assets. These years were also marked by youthful brashness on the part of Mr. Tata. His father had for the longest time forbade him from getting a motorcycle. After his passing JRD got himself a second-hand motorcycle. He also really loved his Bugatti. He would drive at great speeds and pride himself for years about how soon he could reach Pune or some such other place. This was also going to get JRD into trouble with the police. The police could not put up for long with what they considered a speed driving nuisance. There was an instance where a friend of his got into an accident. As per Mr. Tata's account, they were supposed to meet at a particular place and on the way, his friend had gotten into the accident. An accident that took his life. But the police took the matter seriously and booked a case against JRD claiming that they were racing unsafely. JRD Tata could be in trouble. He needed to lawyer up.

Luck and favorable circumstance are a huge part of a good life. This would be proven in this episode of JRD Tata’s police case. He went to the house of Jack Vicaji, a top criminal lawyer, to help him stay out of trouble. Not only did JRD get out of the allegation without charge, but he also got something way more important. He found the woman he would go on to marry. It was at Jack Vicaji’s house that JRD Tata first saw his to-be wife, Thelma Viccaji. She was Jack’s niece.

Eyes On The Skies

While JRD’s sense of thrill and adventure did get him into trouble, it also was key in his life going forward. Only a man who drove Bugattis down Bombay roads at dizzying speeds could have dreamed the project JRD dreamed of. That too when he was in his twenties. He suggested to Dorab Tata, an enterprise that was not even a consideration within India at that time. He suggested that the Tata Group start an airline. An Airline! This was 1929. Tatas were still recovering some losses made in other fields. No one saw the immense potential and it was mostly rich, and might I add, foolhardy, hobbyists who were into planes at the time.?So what JRD suggested would have sounded to everyone like an expensive indulgence that was sure to fail. But after a lot of convincing, Dorab Tata agreed to fund the venture.

Two things are important for this piece of the story. JRD was not new to planes at this point. Even as a child, his father RD Tata’s house in France was close to Louis Bleriot's house. Yes, Louis Bleriot - one of the aviation world’s great pioneers. The second thing that makes it fitting that JRD Tata started India’s first successful airline is that he was the first pilot to get the A license from the ‘Aero Club of India’. But starting an airline was no easy task. They started as a mail carrier to deliver letters that arrived via Imperial Airways to Karachi. From Karachi, Tatas would transport the letters to places like Bombay and Chennai. During this time, the company that would be named Air India developed a reputation for punctuality. These were days when there were barely decent runways. Come monsoons, one of their runways would be under the beach. They could not even transport stuff at night because the government was not interested in setting up on-ground equipment for guided navigation. At a time like this JRD started and made successful a mail carrier into a functional airline. They started with the humble Puss Moth airplane and owned a huge fleet of Boeings when he stepped down from the company. For him, the story of his career seems to be the story of Air India. Many a time when asked about what he considers as the great experience or achievement in his life he would constantly quote Air India. The experience of flying he would say had been the most gratifying experience.

As fate would have it, more awaited the young gentleman. Dorab Tata passed away in 1932. A man by the name Nowroji Saklatvala would take the reins for a few years afterward but his health too would soon give in. After barely six years at the helm, he passed away leaving a vacuum yet again at the top. This time it would be RD Tata’s son who would fill the role. Despite other seniors present in the organization, the board of directors gathered and voted to make JRD Tata the Chairman of Tata Sons. He was thirty-four.

Champion Of Industry - An Undying Passion

JRD Tata brought in a flair and sense of perfection to Indian industry. He always called the decision of the board to appoint him Chairman, a ‘moment of mental aberration’. But by the end of his career, I am sure even his humility couldn’t have believed that the decision was anything but the best. JRD maintained close ties with the govt. He was friends with Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India. He had a tough relationship with him due to disagreements that would arise later on. It was, however, bound to happen, due to Nehru’s government being inspired by Soviet values of having the state control important industries and JRD Tata being, as a virtue of his trade, a capitalist. The greatest moment of conflict was possibly during the negotiations in which the government wanted to take over Air India, the baby that JRD lovingly raised to international standards. Despite his protest and multiple requests to create a different path, the government did not relent and Air India was nationalized. But so great was JRD Tata’s influence on the world of aviation that he was asked to continue as its chairman. JRD saw this as an insult to injury. Not only was his company taken away from him by what he considered unfavorable terms, but he was also now being asked to be the chairman in that same place. But for JRD Tata, as he would admit later on in life, Air India was an obsession. Even after he left it many decades later he confessed to not being able to keep an outsider's perspective on Air India. On the matter of whether or not to take up the Chairman role of Air India, he was divided in his mind. He consulted his board. The board decided, as it often did, anything that would help the nation was something worth doing. They decided to honour that spirit of Jamsetji Tata, and the Chairman role was taken up. There he worked for three decades as an unpaid chairman.

Taking Tata Into The Future

JRD took what was already a huge established and diversified into multiple growing industries. It was at his behest that companies that Tata Chemicals, Tata Motors, and Tata Consultancy Services took root in their earlier forms. They are now some of the biggest money-makers for the Tata group. When questioned about what led to this success and what set him apart, JRD was usually a little self-deprecating. He even referred to himself as ‘uneducated’. He was not actually uneducated. He only said it due to his unfulfilled dream of going to Cambridge, where he wanted to be an engineer. He however said that his talent, ‘if any’ he would add humbly, was in finding the right people. He always had a talent for finding the right people and the wisdom to give them the space to operate on their own. He was responsible for giving a then young man named Darbari Seth, control of a budding chemical factory in India’s western state of Gujarat. That man would go on to develop India’s biggest soda ash plant and from it a chemicals giant that made India self-reliant for many chemicals. He was also responsible for recruiting the man who was vital in the formation of Tata Motors, the group that acquired Land Rover and Jaguar. Sumant Moolgaokar, the man in question, used to work for the cement manufacturing giant ACC. Steve Jobs is said to have brought in John Sculley from Pepsi to Apple saying ‘ do you want to spend your life selling sugar water or do you want to come with me and change the world ?‘. In an awfully similar anecdote, JRD recruited Sumant Moolgaokar from ACC Cement saying ‘How long are you going to make the glue that sticks the bricks together?’ That man went on to build the successful Tata division that is today Tata Motors.

JRD Tata’s legacy in the Tata story has been many things. A preserver of a grand legacy. A creator of his own legacy. A pioneer of various new fields from chemicals to computers to automobiles to watches for the Tata group, and in some cases, for India. He cruised through business life like the young Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tat cruised on his favorite planes as a young pilot. The charm and humour with which he accomplished these things was a definitive new benchmark for heads of corporates everywhere. He never did let go of a chance for a good-natured joke.

Once an individual he had disagreements with came to the doctor who was set up at Bombay House, the Tata headquarters. The doctor rang JRD and said ‘ Guess who is here. Mr. Kidwai. He is here for my medical advice’.

Immediately with quick wit, JRD remarked ‘ Nothing trivial, I hope’.

(the following is a transcript of the podcast 'Talking Of Giants'. Episode 8 is Part 2 of the Tata Story.)

This work is a result of my endless fascination with the Tata Group. Please write to me at?[email protected]?with any?feedback?you may have.?Thank you?for your time.?