Meet the men who powered one of India’s biggest brands
The Indian Express — April 21, 2005

“Who the hell is this?’’ Donn barked into the phone, when it rang for the third time. A cricket match was blaring out of the radio and disturbances were not welcome. ‘‘This hell is JRD T-A-T-A,’’ a voice answered, spelling out his name for the benefit of his hooky-playing employee. A few minutes later Donn walked into his boss’ s office, presuming it was his last day in service. JRD looked at him for a few minutes, then burst out laughing. ‘‘Who’s batting and what’s the score?’’ he asked.

It’s no wonder that 61-year-old T R Doongaji, or Donn, is a ‘‘hard-core Tata person’’. He’s been acquainted with the name since he was four. ‘‘There’s a bust of Jamsetji Tata in the Nagpur fire temple and a cousin used to make me salaam it.’’ The nattily-dressed, silver-haired loyalist has been with the group for close to 40 years and is currently the managing director of Tata Services. Doongaji led a special tour of The Century of Trust, an ongoing exhibition narrating the story of the group’s contribution to the country.

Visitors can walk through a mock entrance to the house where Jamsetji Tata was born and, more than the legacy of one of India’s biggest business empires, the exhibits lets you into the world of the men behind it. When Jamsetji Tata’s national pride was wounded because Indians weren’t allowed into the Majestic Hotel, he built the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel at Apollo Bunder. Some unknown nuggets: Tata Steel was the first company to offer employee benefits like an eight-hour working day, leave without pay and accident compensation.

And JRD Tata wanted to promote population control, but Jawaharlal Nehru disagreed. His view was that the more people India had, the stronger it would be. Doongaji smiles as he shares some personal trivia as well. Ten-year-old JRD hoped World War I would continue, so he could grow up and fly a bomber. ‘‘The basic values of the group haven’t changed with the change in leadership, only strengthened,’’ Doongaji says. ‘‘That’s why the Tata name still inspires trust.’’ And yes, he does use Tata Indicom—and Tata Salt.