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Number of words: 407 Next, the Tatas focused on just one product: extracting oil from coconuts, for which there was huge demand in Kerala itself. There were local extractors but there were fluctuations in both price and quality. The first Tata product was launched under the brand name of Cocogem, which established itself fairly quickly … Read more

Number of words: 637 The man behind all of these was Burjorji Padshah, a loyal employee of the Tatas and also related to them. His father and Jamsetji had been close friends and Jamsetji cemented the relationship by marrying off his daughter to Burjorji. Those were the days of child marriage. Unfortunately, the little bride … Read more

Number of words: 390 Dorabji stationed himself in London, meeting investors, bankers and anyone willing to listen to his story. He got a lot of encouraging words but no money! London and the world markets at large were in a bear phase and all investors were shy of investing in long-term capital. Dorabji was not … Read more

Number of words: 408 He had seen the Narmada fall from a height near Jabalpur and believed it was the right site for an electricity generation project. Unfortunately, a swamiji, whose ashram was on the land proposed for the site, refused to move. The government, not wanting a religious dispute on its hands, did not … Read more

Number of words: 304 Cognizant of the prestige now associated with the Tata name, the British government enquired after the progress of the construction of the IISc and offered its support to Jamsetji’s sons. Taking advantage of this turnaround, Dorabji and his younger brother Ratanji decided to meet Lord Curzon, who had earlier dismissed the … Read more

Number of words: 345 Dorabji, in the meanwhile, was visiting the local district office to inform them that they were winding up their project, when he spotted a map of the Geological Survey of India pasted on a notice board. He saw the map marked with dark spots at certain places, indicating iron ore deposits. … Read more

Number of words: 226 The East India Company had given large parcels of land to Navroji Jamsetji Wadia in Juhu, which was then a fishing village. Jamsetji decided to buy land in Juhu, Parle, Madh Island and other areas and build a Venice-like city. The price was ` 3 per square foot, an expensive proposition … Read more

Number of words: 171 Meanwhile, always on the lookout to launch unique projects, Jamsetji, on a visit to France, found that the weather was similar to that of Bangalore and Mysore and brought back a few silkworms to try breeding them in India. Silkworm breeding was an old tradition he wanted to revive. At that … Read more

Number of words: 355 It so happened that the King of Abyssinia (the Ethiopian Empire), for some strange reason, arrested the British ambassador and his staff. The two British officials sent to resolve the issue were also arrested and thrown into prison, forcing England to send in an armed force, which it did under the … Read more

Number of words: 114 Air travel was still thirty-five years away and he set sail on a passenger ship. Sea travel was still quite rudimentary. It was well before the time of air-conditioned cabins. Pigs, goats and a very large number of chickens were carried along as fresh food; in fact, the number of chickens … Read more