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How Green Was My Valley

Letter from the Editor: We need to celebrate the entrepreneurs who feature in the Forbes list of the 100 Richest Indians. In my book, they create jobs, wealth and fame for their families and society at large

Published: Oct 1, 2010 06:11:55 AM IST
Updated: Dec 13, 2010 06:16:09 PM IST

I was born into a large joint family in Calcutta. My grandfather along with his six brothers and two sisters had migrated from outside Dhaka to Calcutta well before the partition, leaving behind large tracts of land there. My father who was barely in his teens, when he had to leave the ancestral home forever, would often tell us about lush green villages, the rivers in spate and an elephant and his mahout that the family had left behind.

How Green Was My ValleyMy grandfather was a compulsive serial entrepreneur. He started a multitude of businesses, starting from lizard skin, bone dust, and even a regional air service that connected Chittagong and Dhaka. His crowning glory was India Cycles, the country’s first cycle factory in Calcutta, well before the Munjals started Hero Cycles. His entrepreneurial chutzpah created enormous wealth and influence for our family in the vibrant city of Calcutta. He bought a sprawling bungalow from an Englishman so that the entire family could live under one roof. It had some of the best Burmese teak furniture money could buy. The garage was choc-a-bloc with foreign cars like Buick, Packard, Humber Hawk and Austin.

By the time I was born, the fame and the fortune had begun to ebb. The brothers had begun to fight among themselves for control and also started to live well beyond their means. Each time someone got married, the wedding would be grander than the previous one. And after an incredible run of 35 plus years, the factory was shut down and India Cycles went into liquidation. The Buicks were quietly sold off. My dad, like his cousins, took up a job in the private sector. Some of us still jocularly refer to it as the end of the Golden era of the Guptas!

For the next four decades, practically no one from our generation or even my dad’s generation has been able to replicate the magic of enterprise that my grandfather created, not once, but again and again. And I doubt the wheel will turn in a hurry. That’s why we need to celebrate the entrepreneurs who feature in the Forbes list of the 100 Richest Indians. In my book, they create jobs, wealth and fame for their families and society at large.

What’s more, for the next 10 years, India has a never-before chance to create another entrepreneurial renaissance. And this time, we’ve got to learn some lessons from the past — and grab the opportunity with both hands. Come, let’s enjoy the journey!

(This story appears in the 22 October, 2010 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)

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