Book Review: Pilani Pioneers shows joy, hardship of business in India

Pilani Pioneers book by Gaurav Mandlecha and Durjai Sethi

Gaurav Mandlecha and Durjai Sethi, alums of BITS Pilani - one of India’s most prestigious engineering schools, decided to write a book profiling 25 of the most proficient businessmen and women the college has thrown up in its rich history (Full disclosure: Mandlecha presented me with a copy of this book).

The attempt itself, to profile people across diverse categories, from tyre-making to gift-card selling to startup investing, is an audacious one, because the 23-year-old authors themselves are new to the business world, professionally at least, with barely three years of work experience.

Yet Pilani Pioneers is an interesting attempt to know more about some of India’s eminent business personalities, and track down the role of the institution they all attended, in Pilani, Rajasthan (and in some cases, the newer Goa campus).

The authors have picked out 25 leaders who almost cover the Indian economy in some sense- sectors covered include travel, technology, financial services, consumer products, retail, and energy. For anyone interested in Indian business, there are many familiar names- Onida’s Gulu Mirchandani, BigBasket’s Hari Menon, Tata’s Harish Bhat and Alvarez and Marsal’s Nandini Chopra among them. There are lesser known ones too, Pensando System’s Prem Jain, Dailyninja’s Sagar Yarnalkar, or Goodera’s Abhishek Humbad.

The quality of these profiles depends highly on how open or eloquent the interviewee has been, something not entirely in the authors’ control. For instance, Ajoy Misra, former CEO of Tata Consumer Products has many great anecdotes about Tata’s early days, reacting to the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks, Tata’s well-known work culture, and what motivates him. But not every profile has equally compelling details. Some of them suffer from stereotypical quotes and generic ideas, sounding like a press release.

All the profiles give you colour about these people, their ideas, ambitions and motivations. For first-time authors, they have a good eye for detail- the crimson ‘tikka’ that A91 Partners’ VT Bharadwaj wears, for instance.

The effort is commendable because profiling 25 people across industries is not an easy one. It needs you to understand each of their industries, the nitty-gritties of that industry, and their individual quirks and motivations.

It is also pleasing to see women on these pages. Far too many business books have been written, everywhere and especially in India, by, for and about men and their business lives. The women- Chopra; Blue Dart Aviation’s Tulsi Mirchandaney and Beacon Energy Solutions’ Sandhya Prakash all have fascinating stories.

Mandlecha and Sethi also ask each of the 25 about their times at BITS- which ranges from the 1960s to the 2000s, making them reminisce about their college memories, canteens, watching movies, stepping out for non-vegetarian food, and of course BITS Pilani’s famed lax attendance policy. This is one of the book’s best features, and in each chapter/profile, I found myself looking forward to reading about their BITS memories.

The writing is mostly breezy, considering the authors aren’t professional writers. There are a lot of lessons, probably aimed at students, about hard work, adaptability, keeping an open mind, finding happiness and building a large business. For experienced business readers these parts can sound a bit jaded, but if the book is aimed at future engineers and young students, these can be valuable insights.

The authors’ choice of people to profile is also interesting. Certainly not all 25 are equally eminent, or successful in the traditional sense. Are all of them pioneers, as the book promises? For the most part. Some of the profiles are of relatively smaller companies, and while those can be compelling in their one way, whether they belong in an anthology of the most influential BITS alums, is up for question.

The authors’ love for their alma mater, expressed in the book’s introduction, is evident. It also helps them join the dots, and gives them a footnote when the history of BITS is written. In their own way, they also wrote a historical account, and it holds some compelling stories for those interested in how business in India works, and what it takes to rise up the ladder.

The Pilani Pioneers: Inspiring Success Stories of 25 BITS Pilani Graduates
By Gaurav Mandlecha and Durjai Sethi
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Available on Amazon