Shobha Ramswamy

Tales from T. R. Doongaji’s childhood are lively, as much as his professional achievements are noteworthy

Tehmuras Rustom Doongaji, managing director, Tata Services, has lived a network of charming experiences that have enriched his life. Today he often dips into his treasure trove and relives the past by regaling groups of enthusiastic listeners. Mr Doongaji spent the early years of his life in his grandparents’ mansion in Nagpur. This was where he imbibed many crucial lessons. For one, his grandfather, a wealthy merchant, preferred to weigh money to counting to save time. At other times, he and his friends he would hide inside the roomy vaults to play hide-and-seek. Evidently, money was viewed as a means to improve people’s lives rather than an end in itself.

His grandfather was simple, soft-spoken and large hearted, reflects Mr Doongaji. He did not think twice before donating large sums of money to charity, and never sought publicity for his generosity. Unknowingly, it was one of the most valuable lessons he learnt early in life. Like his grandfather, Mr Doongaji too looks upon people as investments. "I have never looked at profit generation as a goal in itself. I prefer to concentrate on people and efficiency. When those are in place, earnings and profits will follow," he says.

His mother fondly nicknamed him Donn, after a valiant uncle who lost his life in India’s freedom struggle. His uncle was an alumnus of the London School of Economics. His English friends found it difficult to pronounce his last name. So they called him Donn. The nickname stuck, and was passed to the next generation.

Mixed blessing

Mr Doongaji hails from mixed parentage. His mother, a professor in Sanskrit, is a Maharashtrian Brahmin, while his father, a lawyer, is a Parsi. Sixty years ago it was considered an unusual matrimony. The couple had to be married in Baroda, as inter-community marriages were allowed here. The mixed parentage opened his mind towards traditions and sentiments of people from other communities. As a result of this, he is at home in an agairy as he is in a church, temple or dargah. He celebrates each festival with equal joy and fervour.

His parents were as much his friends as those of his own age. He remembers accompanying his father to the sessions court on more than one occasion. The family lived in Chhatarpur, near Jhansi, at a time when the town was often invaded by dacoits. He and his sisters, filled with wonder, loved to catch the sight of the swarthy mustachioed bandits.

The family lived in Madhya Pradesh for a long time. The only school systems available then were the government-run Hindi medium schools. He chose to attend one of them like others, rather than stay away from his parents to gain a public-school education. He went through a brief phase of difficulty trying to fit into the new system. But he gained confidence soon and mastered the language. Much later in life, it helped him earn his pocket money through the writing of Hindi couplets.

Mr Doongaji strove for academic excellence like his mother, who earned her doctorate in Sanskrit and also studied law. In fact, both mother and son were felicitated with their degrees at the same convocation. He received his MA and Ashirwardam gold medal and she her PhD. Engineering and science were the favoured subjects of study then, with students planning promising careers for themselves. His family, however, did not pressure him to study either. Mr Doongaji chose to chart his own course. Much later he acquired another masters degree, in Middle East politics from Berkeley, California, as a J. N. Tata scholar.

Sporting ties
While in school, he developed an interest in cricket and badminton. He continues to be upbeat about sports. He was the captain of the cricket team in school. His commitment was so deep that he once played a match while running a high fever. He was unable to hit the score he desired, but held on till the end. "I was determined to play against all odds. So I stood in the sun for almost three hours, hitting as many runs as I could. It was rough but we won the match. After the win, I fled from the scene, scampering on a bicycle with my pads still on to escape the crowd.

"I am not interested in keeping a register of the number of scores and other statistics. I just enjoy playing a good game of cricket. Recently, I enjoyed playing the game between corporate houses at Bombay Gymkhana."

His love for the game propelled him to create a team at Tata Steel in Bombay House. Like-minded people from every economic strata converged on a single playing field. Sometimes he left for practice sessions in the afternoon. No one objected.

Apart from sports, he also earned accolades as a keen debater. His most cherished award is the Dewas All-India Inter-Collegiate shield. He won the award under extreme circumstances too. He landed up at Dewas with a friend, to discover that there were no guesthouses that town. They braved the chilly winter night on a tiny veranda at the small railway station. They bundled up in their quilts and woke up at the dawn to discover that a few stray dogs had snuggled up comfortably against them during the night. "The station master was taken aback when we arrived at the railway station the same evening holding up a huge trophy. He couldn’t believe that we were the same veranda boys from the previous night," he laughs. That was not the end of the story either. It was a tough task to fit the massive trophy in the narrow gauge train. A makeshift hammock was tied between the two top berths for the prize to rest in.

Mr Doongaji shifted to Mumbai when his father joined the Tata Group. After having spent some years teaching at the Jabalpur University, he decided to join Tata Steel at Bombay House. He was responsible for the turnaround of two cold-rolled steel mills. "Bombay House is my temple. The bust of the founder at the entrance has been my deity and the name of Tata is a mantra that I have chanted through the years." He feels he was fortunate to have worked with stalwarts like S. A. Sabavala, Sumant Moolgaonkar and J. R. D. Tata.

The Tata mission
Subsequently, he based his management theory on three Cs: credibility, culture and communication. He is the only managing director in the group to be a Tata Business Excellence Model (TBEM) external assessor. As he drives TBEM within the company, he offers an assurance that it will achieve well-defined levels in business excellence. To keep abreast with the latest management techniques, he did his Six Sigma, to equip himself to understand total quality management.

Mr Doongaji has traced the history of the Tatas in a presentation titled 'My Tata’s Glimpses'. He has shared this with around 1,800 professionals from within and outside the company. "Loyalty comes naturally to us and we are committed to preserving the group’s glory," he says. "It’s my mission to spread the story about our roots as far and wide as possible."

It is in this lofty aim that Mr Doongaji has done a full circle through meeting his professional responsibilities.