Quintessentially TATA- My Journey over 55 Summers - by Syamal Gupta

 

The TATA group, the pioneer conglomerate that it is, ensures that there are hundreds of great stories from within the group that continues to inspire generations after generations with its vision and working methodology.  “Quintessentially TATA- My journey of over 55 Summers” by Syamal Gupta is one such enriching read that dives deep into the early days of TATA Group. Written in Memoir format, the journey of the author from an engineering trainee with one of the groups prime companies, TISCO, to eventually rising to be a director of Tata Sons and one amongst the bricklayers of the group in the modern in industrial age, is an absolute must read for young minds.

The Foreword to the book has been written by Shri Rata Tata and it brings out the fact that how a great mind within the group of employees in the form of Syamal Gupta was identified by the TATA stalwart, Mr Sumant Moolgaokar. The next portion deals with the preface authored by Syamal Gupta himself where he summarizes his journey in the TATA group.

The first part of the book concentrates on the initial years of the author as a trainee and the challenges that he faced on his job. It also beautifully brings out his interactions with some TATA stalwarts like Mr Sumant Moolgaokar and Mr J.R.D Tata. These interactions not only bring out the fact that how Syamal Gupta was learning and growing through challenging assignments but also the fact how having great minds and interacting with them within the group can help employees achieve more than they can actually measure. This part predominantly concentrates on Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) where the author spent his major working time as a trainee. There are a lot of technical engineering terms and phrases used in this section but these have been kept at basic simple understanding for the average non engineering background.

Another interesting portion in this book is when the author takes a study leave from the job to get more learning and insights in his job and shifts base to Europe temporarily. It is worth noting that if the Company you are working with backs you in your learning, then you can surely go a long way as the Company granted him study leave to the extent of leave due to him plus leave without pay for two years. Subsequently while the author explored more learning opportunities in Europe and particularly at Dusseldorf and Imperial, he also got a sponsorship from the company for his study.

The favourite part of the book would surely be the detailed description of the author at Jamshedpur and subsequently his time in Singapore and Africa. These three different places and the experience of the author at these places forms the most important part of the book and perhaps even the memoir. Without these chapters, the memoir would have remained incomplete. The reader would surely be intrigued with lot of minute details about Jamshedpur. Similarly, the chapters on Singapore and Africa bring out a completely enlightening picture about the working of the group and how a company can contribute to the growth of a nation is very detailed in these chapters.  There is good portion dedicated to the journey of Singapore from its initial struggle days to the days of prosperity. The author very well brings out the key reasons as to why Singapore prospered in such a short period of time.

The Chapter on the authors experience in Africa through Tata Zambia Limited is equally interesting and brings about a different picture about the TATA group. These chapter depict that TATA group was not only looking to expand it own business but also ensure that the countries in which they opened their branches or companies, would also grow along with them. Whether it be in the form of Education, infrastructure or social change, the books explains that the TATA group has always ensured that they contributed to the social growth the country. The portion of the book where a summarized depictions of TATA group’s activities all through the different countries in the African continent is listed gives a good idea about the long- term vision of the group.

As the author entered in his senior years, we can see that the Role of Rata Tata had become predominantly important in visualizing the global footprint of the group.

This is a must-read book for young minds that helps us to understand how companies functioned before advent of Computers and Tech. It also gives some important lessons to the reader about leadership, right career decision, investment in oneself through learning and growing. Above all, this book is like a ride into the nostalgic years of some great time when it could be said that times were challenging but the human spirit to not give up was equally present in all.

A simple and enjoyable read.