Tata Sons: What Next

 

On 11^th September, RBI issued a letter rejecting a long-pending application from Tata Sons to voluntarily surrender its registration as a core investment company. This has a huge impact on the Tata Group’s ownership structure and, perhaps, the future of the group itself. Before getting into the nitty-gritty of the storm it subsequently triggered at the Bombay House, let us first understand the unique architecture of Tata Group companies.

Tata Sons is the privately held principal investment holding company and promoter of 31 Tata Group companies, including TCS, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Titan, Indian Hotels, Tata Capital, Tata Power, Tata Consumer Products, Tata Chemicals, Tata Global Beverages, Tata Investment Corporation, etc., besides unlisted companies in critical sectors such as aerospace and defence, electronics and semiconductor manufacturing. Each of these publicly listed Group companies operates independently under the supervision of its own board of directors.  As of March 31, 2025, the aggregate market capitalisation of 26 publicly listed Group companies stood at around $328 billion. 

About sixty-six per cent of the equity share capital of Tata Sons Pvt Ltd is held by philanthropic trusts, viz., Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), and a few other similar Tata family trusts.  These trusts, which receive dividends from Tata Sons, support education, health, livelihood generation and art and culture. The only outside stakeholder in Tata Sons is the Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group, which owns around 18.37% equity stake through its investment companies, Sterling Investment Corporation and Cyrus Investments. The rest of the equity is held by Tata Group companies (12.86%) and a few other Tata family members (2.87%).    

This being the peculiar structure of Tata Sons, in March 2024, when Ratan Tata was alive, its board had considered the question of public listing and unanimously decided that it should remain unlisted. Accordingly, it proactively prepaid ₹ 21813 crore in debt during 2024 to become “debt-free” and claim the qualification for deregistration as a Core Investment Company (CIC). It is this request for deregistration that the RBI has now rejected, directing Tata Sons to comply with the regulatory framework applicable to an upper-layer non-banking financial company, which means it must go for public listing.  

As the Tata Trusts, majority stakeholders of Tata Sons, are wrestling with this new challenge, Tata Sons board that met on 17^th September passed two resolutions backed by a majority of four directors’ votes: One, to initiate steps to comply with the applicable RBI Upper-Layer NBFC guidelines, and two, to reappoint N. Chandrasekaran as the Executive Chairman for a fresh five-year term.  But Noel Tata, Chairman of Tata Trusts and the nominee director of the Trusts on the board of Tata Sons, was the only one who voted against these two resolutions.

The board meeting brought out the deep-rooted discord between the Tata Sons board and its principal shareholder, Tata Trusts, into the open. Indeed, this meeting was labelled as acrimonious and unseemly. Noel Tata is reported to have said in a note to the Board that RBI “does not mention listing. It prescribes no particular step, and it does not say that the company is in breach. What its legal effect is, and what it requires of this company and by when, are questions upon which this board has formed no view”.   He is for exploring all the  available alternatives, for he believes that going public will destroy the century-old character of the group's holding company, dilute the philanthropic mandate of Tata Trusts, and shift executive focus from long-term institution building to short-term stock market pressures.

The Tata Trusts have also described that as per the provisions of the Articles of Association of Tata Sons, the resolution to reappoint Chandrasekharan as Chairman, with four directors voting in favour and Noel Tata against it, was ab initio illegal. For, as per the Articles of Association, appointment or reappointment of a Chairman requires a majority affirmative vote from the Tata Trust nominee directors. In the instant case, Noel Tata, Nominee Director of the Trusts, voted against the resolution while Venu Srinivasan, another Nominee Director of the Trusts, voted in favour. Hence, there is no majority concurrence from the nominee directors for the resolution. Trusts also argue that the absence of majority concurrence cannot simply be overridden by the ‘casting vote’. That aside, this resolution raises a fundamental question: When the nominee director of the largest shareholder lacks confidence in the prospective Chairman, can he take crucial decisions well in time? Will he have smooth sailing? 

Intriguingly, there remain two more questions, which merit readers’ attention. The first is: Why did Mr Chandrasekharan change his stance within a month of announcing that he would not seek a third term, given the lack of unanimity on the board?  This perhaps needs to be made known to the Tata Group companies that employ over a million people globally for good order’s sake.  Similarly, in 2024, when Ratan Tata was alive, the Tata Sons board unanimously decided that it should remain unlisted. Fast forward to September 17, 2026, the same directors voted in favour of taking steps toward listing of Tata Sons. More striking is that when the SDTT and SRTT unanimously resolved in July 2025 that Tata Sons should remain unlisted, Venu Srinivasan, as one of the trustees, supported the resolution, and the same was communicated to Tata Sons for necessary action. Yet on September 17, he backed the board’s decision to take steps towards listing Tata Sons.   

Reports indicate that these issues may head to Court, but legal battles would only delay solutions, and prolonged battles are certain to harm the interests of the Group as a whole. Listing is indeed more likely to affect the nimbleness of any holding company. In the instant case, it may even shift the board’s focus from the founding fathers’ philosophy of philanthropy to immediate earnings to meet the expectations of new shareholders. At the same time, listing also helps the investment company raise capital and allocate it efficiently, which would, in turn, benefit trusts by boosting their philanthropic activity. Nevertheless, balancing these demands is a big challenge. Still, the House of Tatas, being what it is known for, is sure to live up to its 158-year legacy of good governance, stability, and honoring the Trusts’ philanthropic philosophy.

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7.8% GDP Growth in Q1 FY27 Sparks Intense Debate

 

As is the norm, on the last day of August, the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI) released the economic output data for the first quarter of the current financial year, reporting GDP growth of 7.8 per cent.  This growth rate presents India as the fastest-growing economy. Still, it is lower than the 8.6 per cent recorded in the previous quarter and, of course, higher than the 6.9 per cent growth in the corresponding quarter of 2025-26. This stronger-than-expected performance beats the RBI’s 7 per cent forecast, despite heightened global uncertainties that have pushed up energy prices, stoked inflationary pressures and weakened external demand.  

Interestingly, this 7.8% real-growth estimate for the first quarter of fiscal 2027 is accompanied by an impressive rise in real GVA that stood at 8.2%, supported by strong performance in manufacturing and financial/professional-services. This surge in GVA, many economists opined, acts as a cleaner, more reliable indicator of core economic momentum, for it filters out distortions from volatile net taxation and product subsidies.

Yet, it has triggered intense debate. Subhash Chandra Garg, the former financial secretary, commented that the first quarter real GDP growth is not 7.8 per cent but just 2.6 per cent. He argued that it was the revision of the earlier estimate of Q1 FY 26 GDP from Rs 86 lakh crore to 80 lakh crore that made the year-on-year comparison look much stronger. He further stated that comparing Q1 FY27 nominal GDP of Rs 88.27 lakh crore with the former, unrevised Q1 FY26 figure of Rs 86 lakh crore would imply nominal growth of only about 2.6%, rather than the officially reported 10.3%. He further contended that after accounting for inflation of about 2-2.5%, the real growth might be near zero. His contention is primarily based on the scale and consequences of the revision made to the base-period estimate.

The wider criticism that the revised data attracted from some quarters squarely rests on: one, the substantial revision of past GDP estimates calls for fuller disclosure and closer scrutiny; two, the gap between reported real GVA growth (9.2%) and nominal GVA growth (7.7%) yielding an implicit GVA deflator of minus 1.5%; three, whether the new deflators and double-deflation procedure could make real manufacturing growth appear unusually strong when input-price and output-price movements diverge; and four, the most pertinent question: whether a strong GDP figure adequately reflects employment, investment quality and distributional outcomes.   

The MoSPI rejected Garg’s 2.6% calculation because it compares estimates from different statistical series: Q1 FY27 is measured under the revised 2022–23-base framework, while Garg’s denominator is an older, unrevised estimate based on the base year of 2011-12. They say a valid year-on-year growth calculation must compare the revised Q1 FY27 figure with the correspondingly revised Q1 FY26 figure.

The ministry further stated that the revision resulted from updated sources and methods—such as more extensive GST and digitally generated data—not from a discretionary reduction of last year’s GDP to enhance the current year’s growth rate. On double deflation, it maintains that a negative implicit manufacturing GVA deflator does not mean manufacturing prices fell; it reflects output and intermediate inputs being deflated separately, not because of a 1.5% fall in all manufacturing prices.

Here, one must bear in mind that double deflation measures real value added; of course, the resulting growth estimate may be higher or lower in any particular quarter depending on the data on output, inputs and their respective prices, while a single deflator can distort the volume estimate when commodity, energy and component costs move differently from the prices manufacturers receive for finished goods. Indeed, this switch aligns India’s national accounts more closely with internationally used statistical practice and, as asserted by the Ministry, is not meant to generate a higher GDP figure. There is also a strong argument that economies that grow fast, particularly with a very large informal component, need to reset their base and methodology periodically to capture new information, which may revise overall GDP numbers up or down.

The overall assertion of economists is that there is no playing politics with the data to present a higher GDP number. They argue that if the government were interested in inflating growth, it could have simply tried to push the consumption numbers higher – a figure difficult to measure/verify – but the consumption number was at a lower rate than in the old data. The rise in GDP is also to be understood alongside the growth in investment, imports and import prices.   

That said, it must also be admitted that the GDP growth figures fail to address the concerns about jobs, inequality, or the durability of growth. Nor does it address the higher tariffs on imported goods such as polyester, etc. Surajit Bhalla, in one of his current discussions on GDP, questioned the growing influence of the “deep State” on policymaking. As former finance secretary, SC Garg observed, the sharp downward revision of the corresponding quarter of the previous year calls for far more transparency. His demand to publish the “income leg” of national accounts – revealing how value-added is divided among labour, corporations and government – will certainly clarify how wealth is distributed. Ironically, no such practice was in vogue when he was the Finance Secretary. But in a democracy, these systemic questions matter just as much as GDP growth, if not more.   

Krishnadeva Raya & His Ashtadiggajas

 

Krishnadeva Raya occupies an exalted place among the kings who ruled a greater part of South India from Vijayanagar. He was a brave warrior and a military strategist. He was an aesthetician par excellence. He patronised poets, besides being himself an erudite poet. Although several works, such as Vishnucittiyamu in Telugu and Madalasa Caritra in Sanskrit, are attributed to him, only Amuktamalyada survived.  

Krishnadevaraya’s munificent patronage extended to several poets is a laudable history. Eight Royal Elephants (Ashtadiggajas) were said to have adorned his court. The literal translation of this Sanskrit word, Ashtadiggajas, means ‘eight elephants of the directions’. According to Hindu cosmology, eight mythical elephants guard and support the earth at its cardinal corners. Similarly, these eight literary giants were considered the foundational pillars of the emperor’s royal court assembly, popularly known as Bhuvana Vijayam. Under their influence and Krishnadevaraya’s patronage (1509-29 CE), this era came to be known as the Golden Age of Telugu Literature or the Prabandha Age.

The Ashtadiggajas of Krishnadevaraya’s court are known for their unparalleled literary excellence. They are: Allasani Peddana (Manu Charitra), Nandi Thimmana (Parijatapaharanam), Madayyagari Mallana (Rajasekara Charitram), Dhurjati (Kalahasti Mahatyamu), Ayyalaraju Ramabhadrudu (Ramaabhyudayamu), Tenali Ramakrishna (Panduranga Mahatmyam, Udbhataradhya Charitamu) , Ramarajabhushanudu (Vasucharitramu & Kavyalankarasangrahamu), and Pingali Surana (Garuda Puranam, Prabhavatee Pradyumnamu, Raghava Pandaveeyam, kalapurnodayamu). Adapting lesser-known stories from the Puranas, they have crafted intricate and imaginative Kavyas (epics).

The term Prabandha is usually interpreted to mean a great/impressive composition. In the course of time, certain characteristics came to be associated with it, and soon they turned out to be mandatory requirements. They are: composition should narrate the story of a national virtuous hero, a well-known tale; have as chief rasa Sringara, although there could be attendant rasas like Veera; have eighteen descriptions (Ashtadasa Varnanalu); contain five or six cantos; and be replete with alankaras (figures of speech).

A prabandha, like the epics of the West, commences with an invocation of Gods to bless the poetic enterprise and goes on to sing the praise of ancient poets. It also narrates the circumstances that led to its composition. They are known for rich imagination and highly dignified word arrangements.

We shall now talk a little about Panduranga Mahatmyam of Tenali Ramakrishna. It is an immortal legendary account of the famous temple shrine of Lord Vithoba, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, located at Pandharpur on the banks of the Bhima River. He adapted the core of the text from the ancient Sanskrit Skanda Purana but elevated it into a complex, standalone literary masterpiece.

The overarching philosophy of the text is "Matru Devo Bhava, Pitru Devo Bhava"—asserting that the selfless service and love given to one's parents is the highest form of worshipping God.

In it, there is a beautifully crafted Upakhyanam that narrates the downfall of a brilliant but morally corrupt scholar called Nigama Sarma, who wastes his family’s wealth on vices. More than Sarma, it is his unnamed sister who shines most in the story. She travels across lands to reform her brother. Ramakrishna designed her character so well by mouthing her with powerful and emotionally charged dialogues and logic with which she attempts to wean her brother from vices, making her stand out as one of the finest female characters in Prabandha literature.  That’s what is narrated hereunder in Telugu.

పాండురంగ మహత్యం

“ఏ ప్రబంధం చదివినా ఏముంది నాయికా నాయకుల శృంగార విహారాల విరహాల వర్ణన తప్ప” అన్న కొందరి భావనలో ఎంత ఔచిత్యం ఉందో, “అర్థం చేసుకున్న ప్రబంధ కావ్యాలలో లోకకళ్యాణానికి ఉపయుక్తమగు ఉపదేశసందేశాలు అనేకములు” అన్న ఇతరుల భావనలోను అంతే వాస్తవికత ఉంది.

ఈ ‘పాండురంగ మహత్యం‘ నందలి నిగమశర్మ అక్క క్యారెక్టర్ పరిశీలిస్తే మనకు ప్రబంధ పఠన ప్రయోజనం విదితమవుతుంది. నిగమశర్మ దుర్వ్యసనాలోలుడు. పరకాంతాసక్తుడు. నీతిపథము విడనాడిన వివేకహీనుడు. విచ్చలవిడిగా తిరుగుతూ ఆస్తినంతా హారతికర్పూరంలా కరిగించినవాడు. చివరకు అప్పులు, జూదము, మోసం మొదలగు అలవాట్లకు లోనై అథ: పాతాళగతుడవుతాడు. ఇది తెలిసిన ఇతని అక్క తమ్మునికి బుద్ధి చెప్పి త్రోవకు తేవాలన్న ఆర్తితో భర్తను పిల్లలను వెంటబెట్టుకొని పుట్టింటికి వస్తుంది.

కాంతివిహీనమైన పుట్టినిల్లు చూచి కలతచెందుతుంది. దు:ఖసాగరంలో కొట్టుమిట్టాడు తున్న తల్లిదండ్రులను చూచి అమితంగా బాధపడుతుంది. తమ్ముడెక్కడున్నాడో ఎప్పుడొస్తాడో ఎవరికీ ఎరుకలేదు. అయినా సగటు స్త్రీలా వారితో కలిసి ఏడవదు. ఓర్పుతో నేర్పుగా అన్నిటా తానై మెలగుతూ తీయటి మాటలతో, సంతోషం కలిగించే ఉపచారములతో తొలుత తల్లిదండ్రులను సముదాయిస్తుంది. తెలివిగా ఇంటిని అంటిన చీకటిని తొలగింప ప్రయత్నిస్తుంది.

ఇంతలో ఒకనాడు “చలిది వంటకంబు గుడువం చనుదెంచి”న నిగమశర్మ అక్కను చూచి తప్పుకొనిపోలేక నమస్కరిస్తాడు. ప్రేమతో ఆలింగనం చేసుకోవచ్చిన అక్క తమ్ముని శరీరమును “మదోన్మత్త మత్తకామినీ దత్తంబులగు నఖాంకంబులు” చూచి తాక మనసు రాక, తన రాక లక్ష్యాన్ని మనస్సులో స్థిరముగాకలదై ఉద్వేగమును అణచుకొని, "సీమంతపు బెండ్లికొడుకవు గ"మ్మని హేతుగర్భితంబుగా ఆశీర్వదిస్తుంది.

ఈ దీవెనలోని భావం గ్రహించిన నిగమశర్మ ఇక అక్క ఉపదేశాలు, చీవాట్లు మొదలెడుతుందేమోనని బయటకు పోవ ప్రయత్నిస్తాడు. ఇది గమనించిన అక్క తెలివిగా మేనల్లుడిని తమ్ముడికిచ్చి "మీ బావబంతిని ఆరగింతువుగాక! శాకపాకంబులు నిమిషంబులోన గావింతు"నని చెప్పి నేర్పుగా తమ్ముడిని ఇంటనుండునట్లు చేస్తుంది.

భోజనాదులు ముగిసిన తరువాత తాంబూలం సేవిస్తూ తిన్నెపై కూర్చున్న తమ్మునికి హితం చెప్పటానికి ఇదే తగిన సమయంగా భావిస్తుంది. తమ్ముడి మానసిక స్థితిని గమనించినదై, ముందుగానే విరుచుకుపడక, నేర్పుగా ప్రియవచనాలతో సంభాషణ మొదలిడుతుంది. "ఏరా తమ్ముడ! నీ వేదాధ్యయనమునకు విఘ్నము కలుగుననియా ఇంతకాలం నన్ను చూచుటకు రాలేదు? నీకొరకు ఎదురుచూచి నా కన్నులు కాయలుకాసినవి. నీ బావయు నీరాకకు ఎదురుచూసెడివాడు".

ఇక్కడ మనం గ్రహించవలసిన ముఖ్య విషయం తమ్ముడు వేదాధ్యయనం చేయటం లేదని తనకు తెలుసు. తమ్ముడికీ తెలుసు. అయినా తెలియనట్లు ఆ విషయం ప్రస్తావించి పరోక్షంగా తమ్ముడి ప్రవర్తన తప్పు అని ధ్వనింపచేస్తుంది. తన ప్రశ్నలు తమ్మునికి అప్రియమైనా, విని అలోచించాలి అన్న కోరికతో తన భావావేశాన్ని నియంత్రించుకుని తెలివిగా నీరాకకు ఎదురుచూసి నా కళ్ళు కాయలు కాసినవి అంటూ సౌభ్రాతృత్వాన్ని ప్రదర్శిస్తుంది.

తమ్ముడి అహం దెబ్బ తినకుండా జాగ్రత్తపడుతూ అతని ప్రవర్తన నీతిమాలినదని, కులభ్రష్టుణ్ణి చేసిందని, తెలియజేయడానికిగాను "నీవు యజ్ఞం చేయగా వేదిక అలంకరింతునని, సుమంగిళి పూజలు అందుకొందునని గంపెడు ఆశతో అందరితో చెప్పుకున్నానే! నా ఆశలన్నీ వమ్ముచేశావు; నీవేదియులేక సర్వగుణహీనుడవౌట ఎరుగనైతి" అని అతని మనస్సును ఆకట్టుకునే రీతిలో భావభరితంగా ప్రేమతో బుజ్జగిస్తున్నట్లు తన బాధను వ్యక్తీకరిస్తుంది. తమ్ముడి మనస్సు మీద ఆ మాటల ప్రభావం గ్రహించి, ఇదే మంచి సమయంగా ఎంచి, తెలివిగా అంటుంది: ‘చేయి మీదుగా నడిచిన పూర్ణకాముడవే! నా తమ్ముడవే! నీకీ బేలతనమేల! వేశ్య మందిరములకేల నేగెదవు, వలదు నాయనా! నేను చెప్పినట్లు విను. నీకు కావలసినచో హరికౌస్తుభమైనను తెచ్చెదను" అని తన ఎమోషనల్ సపోర్ట్ ను తెలియజేస్తూ ఇకనైనా సన్మార్గము చేపట్టమని తమ్ముని ప్రోత్సహిస్తుంది. ఇదంతా విన్న తమ్ముడు తను మారినట్లు కొన్నాళ్ళు ప్రవర్తిస్తాడు.

కవి ఈ నిగమశర్మ అక్క పాత్రను తీర్చిదిద్దిన తీరు పాఠకులకు డేనియల్ గోల్ మెన్ ప్రాచుర్యంలోకి తెచ్చిన "ఎమోషనల్ ఇంటెలిజన్స్"—తనను తాను తెలుసుకొనుట, తద్వార తన భావోద్వేగములను నియంత్రించుకొనుట, ఎదుటివాని మనోగతాన్ని గ్రహించి ఇద్దరి మధ్య 'కామన్ గ్రౌండ్' వెతుకుట, దాని ద్వారా వ్యక్తిగతమైన సంబంధాలను వృద్ధి చేసుకొనుట, ఎదుటివాని ఎదుగుదలకు అవసరమైన ఎమోషనల్ సపోర్ట్ ఇస్తూ తోడ్పడుట వంటి లక్షణాలచే ప్రేరితమైన ప్రవర్తన—అను ప్రతిపాదనను గుర్తుచేస్తుంది.

తనవారి మంచిని కాంక్షించుట, దానికొరకు ప్రయాసపడవలసిన ఆవశ్యకతను, విధివిధానములను ఉపదేశించుటకు మించి కవిత్వానికి ప్రయోజనం వేరే ఏముంటుంది? ఈ ఉపాఖ్యానం మరొక సందేశం కూడా ఇస్తుంది: ఎంతటి సద్వంశంలో జన్మించినా, వేదాధ్యయనం చేసినా, వివేకవంతుడయినా మనిషి, నీతిపథమును తప్పిననాడు, భ్రష్టుడగుట తథ్యం.

**

80th Independence Day Celebrations

 

Today we are celebrating our 80^th Independence Day. This is the day that invariably reminds us of the sacrifices made and the sufferings that the freedom fighters endured to liberate the nation from the clutches of British rule. There is, however, nothing new to be said about them, just as there is nothing new to be said about the Himalayas, the river Ganges, or the moon. The years pass off their way. But it is to the same Himalayas, the same Ganges, the same moon that the tired Indians turn forever in unwearied homage. And so is it with our freedom fighters, for no one can confine their radiant and resplendent sacrifices to a day or once-is-more-than-necessary. 

When we think of those unsung heroes, the first to come to mind are the leaders who have fanned the passion for freedom among the innocent Indians of different hues and stirred their emotions to march against foreign rule – march for liberty and, in its course, be prepared to face lathi charges and even bullets if need be. It is the story of these towering personalities – Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, Babu Rajendraprasad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel – that deserves to be recalled, at least on the day of celebrating our Independence Day, for man is known to be a creature of self-delusion and forgetfulness. Hence it becomes necessary for the story of these leaders of the freedom fight to be retold rather than just told. And remain grateful to them.   

Suffice it here to remind ourselves what Albert Einstein said of Gandhi: “… generations yet unborn will wonder whether such a one as Gandhi did in truth walk the earth in flesh and blood”, and salute his leadership that led oppressed people from virtual slavery to actual salvation with a method that is unique – Ahimsa marg, the passive way of resistance. Ahimsa, for Gandhi, “is not simply non-injury to others – it means love for all that lives”. And he also said, “I love the enemy, but I fight evil”. Let us attempt to act the way he did, taking inspiration from the sublime words of Longfellow: “act, act, in the living present; / heart within and God overhead.”

Pandit Nehru, who took the reins of governance of free India, comes to mind next. He built such institutions which are required to sustain democracy in the initial years of our evolution as an independent nation and put in practice healthy democratic traditions that made India the most stable democracy amongst the countries that emerged from colonial rule during the forties. 

There are many such occasions in which one could well visualise his steadfast commitment to democratic principles. One such incident commands our immediate attention: While intervening in the debate on the resolution moved by Morarji Desai on purity and strengthening the organization at the Congress Subjects Committee meeting held at Satyamurty Nagar, Avadi on January 20, 1955, and the suggestion made by Algurai Shastri that the resolution should not publicize the malpractices that had crept into the Congress since self-criticism in public simply would put the noose round the necks of Congressmen which other people might use to drag them with, Jawaharlal Nehru said: “I have been president of the Congress and I know from personal experience that there is a lot of impurity in the Congress and even some of the biggest Congressmen are a party to it. Why should we hide these things? Are we to live behind purdah and wear a veil? Algurai Shastri has himself talked to me several times about these impure trends in the Congress and expressed his regret about them. If any member wants to suggest an amendment to the resolution, by all means he can do it, but we must face our weaknesses and drawbacks and the impure trends that have crept in, truthfully and honestly.” 

There is another strange incident that happened in 1937 which merits every citizen’s attention. Nehru, at the height of his popularity–elected for the third time as Congress President – and unsettled by it, wrote an article titled “The Rashtrapati” in The Modern Review under the name “Chanakya”, and thus no reader at that time knew that its author was Nehru. It narrates the threats that Nehru’s popularity posed to the country thus: “Therein lies danger for Jawaharlal and for India… For it is not through Caesarism that India will attain freedom, and though she may prosper a little under a benevolent and efficient despotism, she will remain stunted and the day of the emancipation of her people will be delayed”. Such was his concern for democracy and the good of the country.   

Babu Rajendraprasad, the first President of the Republic of India, is known for his humility. History reveals that at one of the AICC sessions, Rajendraprasad, a highly respected and top-tier national leader, walked into the kitchen, sat down with the ground-level volunteers and scrubbed the heavy cooking utensils and serving plates. Noticing this, Gandhiji was so moved that he publicly praised ‘Rajen Babu’ and exhorted other political delegates to emulate Rajen Babu’s selflessness by discarding their cast-based or status-based inhibitions about manual work. 

Even after becoming President of India, Rajendra Prasad practised this level of humility throughout: he slashed his Presidential salary to around Rs 2500, stating that he did not need more to survive. After stepping down from the Presidency, he, rejecting luxurious retirement offers, chose to live out his remaining days in a simple room at the Sadaqat Ashram in Patna.  

Vallabhbhai Patel, a key leader in India's freedom struggle, who is known for successfully organizing Bardoli Satyagrah (1928), a major ‘no-tax’ campaign against an unjust increase in land revenue, after becoming free India’s first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, played a stellar role in integrating over 560 self-governing Princely states in the Union of India through diplomacy, negotiation, and of course, firm resolve where required. Despite having fundamental differences with Nehru on Kashmir issue, Patel, ultimately respecting the democratic structure of the Cabinet, worked with Nehru to protect India’s interests during Kashmir crisis of 1947-48.  

Remembering these freedom fighters, one gets reminded of the perennial truth – no matter rich or poor, leader or follower, king or pauper – you will die. It is an inescapable truth. In Meditations, Marcus Aurelius wrote to himself: “You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.” Keeping death at the forefront of his thoughts, the world’s most powerful man managed the obligations of his position, guided by living virtuously now.

There was a Roman tradition that after every victory, military generals were paraded in a chariot drawn by four horses through the streets to the roars of the masses. The General was thus idolised by his troops and the public alike. But there would be a slave in the same chariot whose responsibility was to whisper in the General’s ear throughout the parade, “Respice post te. Hominem te esse memento. Memento mori! – Look behind. Remember thou art mortal. Remember you must die!” The motto behind that whisper is so obvious.

On this historic occasion of the 80^th Independence Day celebration, let us remember all those freedom fighters who blessed us with liberty and strive to sustain it with grace and pass it on carefully to the next generation in good shape. That is the right homage we can pay to all those departed souls.

**

Hail the Pioneers! : The Legacy of IACS

 

During colonial rule, as India was reeling under scarce scientific infrastructure, a visionary philanthropist, Dr Mahendra Lal Sarcar, came forward to establish an institution entirely funded by his earnings from his medical practice, where Indians could pursue science through original research. Thus, the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) was established in Kolkata on July 29, 1876.

As IACS just celebrated its 150^th anniversary, it stands not merely as India’s oldest scientific research institution devoted to the pursuit of fundamental research in the frontier areas of basic sciences, but also as a living testimony to some of the greatest scientific minds it has nurtured over its long journey.  It has indeed inspired generations of researchers by cultivating a legacy of intellectual curiosity and scientific excellence through talks delivered by the brilliant minds of that era, like JC Bose, Father Eugene Lafont and Ashutosh Mukherjee among all those who passed through its portals.

Until the early decades of the 20^th century, IACS was the only research institution in India where higher research in the physical sciences could be pursued. It thus attracted brilliant brains like KS Krishnan, S Bhagavantam, L Srivastava, NK Sethi, and C Prosad from all over India to carry out research in Physics. Their pioneering contributions in the fields of molecular light scattering, experimental wave optics and magnetism, etc., built India’s foundation in modern physics.

Among the most celebrated Scientists associated with IACS is Prof CV Raman, whose quest for research is pretty inspiring. Shortly after joining the Accountant General’s office in Calcutta in 1907, one day, young Raman, while going to the office, having noticed the brass signboard: ‘Indian Association for Cultivation of Science’, jumped off the tram and knocked on the door of the institute and befriending the inmates, he acquired unrestricted access to the institute.

From the next day onwards, Raman used IACS as his experimental research base by leading a double life with a grueling schedule: Every day, from 5.30 am to 9.30 am he did research at IACS labs; 10 am to 5 pm attended to his government job at the finance office; and back at the IACS labs from 5.30 pm to 10 pm he carried on with his experiments in physics. He pursued his research thus for almost a decade, till he resigned the government job in 1917 to accept the professorship of Physics at the University of Calcutta. He pursued his research interests at IACS not because he was paid to do it but purely out of his insatiable curiosity to unravel nature’s mysteries. This passion of Raman for research eventually led to one of the most important scientific discoveries of the 20^th century.

It was in 1921, while sailing back from Europe after attending a conference, that Raman was fascinated by the striking blue color of the Mediterranean Sea. Wondering if Lord Rayleigh was right in saying that the sea merely reflected the blue color of the sky, he pulled out his pocket Nicol prism and blocked out the sky’s reflection, which should have made the sea surface look colorless. Instead, Raman observed that the blue color “far from being impoverished by suppression of the sky reflection, was wonderfully improved thereby." This instantly made him infer that the water itself was actively scattering the light and excited by his observation, he drafted a paper in his cabin and mailed it to Nature immediately on landing in Bombay.

On returning to IACS, Raman, along with his brilliant student, KS Krishnan erected an experimental set up consisting of: i) light source—raw sunlight focused through a telescope/basic mercury vapour lamp; ii) filter—a cheap, violet-coloured glass filter (to isolate a single wavelength of light); iii) target—beamed this light through various purified liquid samples; and iv) detector —a pocket spectroscope and of course, Raman’s own inquisitive eyes. 

On February 28, 1928, when the pure violet light was sent through the liquid, Raman noticed the scattered light coming out the other side containing entirely new colours, such as green. This change in colour happened because the photons of light were colliding with the molecules of the liquid and exchanging energy with them. This quantum phenomenon proved that light interacting with matter can emerge with altered wavelengths carrying unique information about the substance being studied. And thus emerged the ‘Raman Effect’, revolutionizing physics and chemistry forever. This discovery won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930, making him India’s first Nobel Laureate in science.

Here, it is worth recalling a narration in his biography written by Ramaseshan. It seems Raman had “booked two tickets on a steamship for himself and his wife in July 1930, the year he got the Nobel Prize, to enable them to reach Stockholm in early December! Prizes were not announced until November. Had he waited until they announced, he would have been unable to attend the ceremonies”. That was Raman’s confidence about winning the Nobel!  

There is another interesting incident that tells about Raman’s confidence in the worth of his research. In the summer of 1924, Raman, at the invitation of Robert Millikan, went to the US to give some lectures at the California Institute of Technology. Apparently, he was then not that well known in the US, and that must be one reason why very few attended his lectures. Obviously, he was very unhappy about it. Perhaps, peeved by it, he, in one of his conversations with Rosseland, reported to have said, “You see Rosseland, no one knows me now. You just wait, when I go back to India, I will make a great discovery and receive the Nobel Prize. Then everyone will know me”. It appears at that time Rosseland just wrote Raman off, but later he said: “I changed my mind when Raman made good on his promise”. And, to date, he is the only Indian to get the Nobel Prize for work done by an Indian in India. Today, Raman spectroscopy has become a powerful analytical tool across industries worldwide.

Post-independence, Dr Meghnad Saha of the ‘thermal ionization equation’, who became the Director of the IACS, moved it to the Jadavapur campus and transformed it into a world-class institute (1953 to 56) by establishing dedicated research laboratories for active research. Much later, Dr Satyendra Nath Bose of Bose-Einstein statistics and Bosons fame was elected as the President of IACS, and as National Professor, he conducted research within IACS (1959-70), adding lustre to its ecosystem.

Thus, in fostering Indian science, the IACS and Sir CV Raman will forever stand as heroes inspiring generations of young scientists. Hail to IACS and Sir CV Raman!

**

 

 

Cockroaches Swarmed All Over Delhi!

 

The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which started a couple of weeks back as a joke, suddenly ballooned into a mass movement. It has no ideology. It has no leadership. It’s a mere apolitical movement. There is, of course, an innocent gustiness in that movement.

These protestors are the frustrated lot due to NEET-UG 2026 medical entrance exam paper leaks. These entrance exams are pretty gruelling to attempt. The leak in May affected more than 2.2 million students who had to endure that demanding task. Reports also indicate that the leak of a paper caused 20 student suicides due to stress and trauma. Indeed, such leaks have become a routine feature of our educational system.

Hurt and outraged by such repeated leaks of entrance exam papers, boys and girls took to the streets in protest against our broken exam architecture. After the initial isolated protests, the CJP launched an indefinite sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar, Delhi on June 20. Their central demand was: resignation of the education minister who failed to conduct exams with integrity and without leaks. They have also asked for compensation to families of those students who committed suicide. They have also demanded reforms in the examination system.   

This non-ideological and apolitical movement has, of course, in the course of its spreading to other cities, picked up other burning issues such as unemployment, independence of the Election Commission, Judiciary and the future of democracy in the country.

Theirs was a peaceful demonstration of their resentment against the inept governance of the education system. It obviously became contagious. It attracted the participation of affected parents and intellectuals from all walks of life.

The result is: Delhi witnessed its biggest protest in more than half a decade, said the media. Some boys and girls had come in their school uniforms with backpacks loaded with books. Some were carrying red roses, some were chanting patriotic slogans, and some were demanding the resignation of the education minister. Many reporters commented that the majority of the protesters were extremely polite in their demonstration.

The general feeling among civil society is that the anxieties and concerns of protesting students about the leak of question papers and the lack of accountability for such lapses are quite genuine, and their demand needs to be handled with empathy.  

Instead, the government appears to have treated it like any other political protest to be quelled with police force. Videos show bloodied students running away from tear gas shell firing and baton-wielding police. It seems even girls were slapped by the police in plain clothes. Some protesters were seen standing still as the police were beating them, perhaps to show the non-violent intent of their protest. It was alleged that the police used pellet guns, causing severe injuries to the students. The brutal violence unleashed on these peaceful protesters during their march to the Parliament by RAF and Delhi Police has only swelled up the nation’s sympathy for the protesting boys and girls.

The internet was blocked. Yet these smart boys and girls circulated these scenes through phones. In the words of one reporter, the young protesters had succeeded in bypassing the mainstream media’s orchestrated narrative.

Appearing for a PIL filed in Delhi High Court, the advocate submitted that protesters were subjected to “brutality to the largest extent” by the state machinery. He also said, “There are videos of several people in civil clothes carrying lathis, lathis with nails, electric batons and pellet guns.” Another advocate alleged that a large number of police personnel were deployed without nameplates and they used batons not authorised by Delhi police.

These “ghastly” scenes made many intellectuals and political leaders from different parties, including the ruling party at the centre, come out in support of protesting students.

At last, on July 23, the Prime Minister announced late at night that the government “will set up fast-track courts to ensure swift and stringent punishment for those involved in paper leaks. … Those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared”. He was, however, silent on the central demand of CJP: Resignation of the education minister.

“Politics is the art of the possible”, said Bismarck. Governance calls for a give-and-take approach for bettering the people’s welfare. Had the education minister, following the tradition set by his predecessors like Lal Bahadur Sastry, N Sanjeeva Reddy, Nitish Kumar and so on, owned moral responsibility for the leaks and tendered his resignation, the movement would not have swelled as much as the world witnessed. Or, had the government responded with a positive frame of mind to meaningfully address the youth’s concerns about the examination system right at the beginning of their protest, we would not have witnessed these unhappy incidents.  

That being the case, it is not too late for the government to rejig the examination system on a priority. It may have to think of establishing an independent body on the lines of UPSC to ensure leak-proof examinations. Or, all entrance examinations may be assigned to UPSC to restore confidence among aspirants.

True, all this calls for not only money but also a strong belief in government machinery that there can be no true progress in the country without investing in our educational system. Unfortunately, over the past 12 years, the share of education in the Union Budget has nearly halved— it dropped from 4.6% in 2013-14 to 2.5% in 2025-26. It is time to set right the education in the country, for our future rests on it.

**

 

S. Janaki – the Melody-Queen of South Indian Films

 

Smt S Janaki, the legendary playback singer of Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam films, passed away on July 11, 2026, at the age of 88, at Apollo Hospital in Mysuru due to age-related complications and cardiac arrest.

Whenever I think of Smt Janaki, the first song that comes to mind is the one I heard as a school-going boy in the late 50s. On my way back from school to home, how often I heard that song, Nee Aasa adiyaasa (your desire a vain-desire) / Chei jarey manipuusa (a precious gem slipping out of hand) that was blared out of a speaker placed on a Rickshaw wrapped in cinema-posters advertising the release of a new movie! This melancholic song might have bugged the fellow in the rickshaw operating the gramophone; otherwise, why would he repeat it so often!

It was a duet sung by Ghantasala and Janaki from the film MLA. The pensive lyrics were penned by Arudra. The duet starts with a gloomy, swinging, jazzy clarinet prelude accompanied by a syncopated drumbeat. It is followed by Ghantasala and Janaki singing passively in a lifeless voice emoting sadness: Nee Aasa adiyaasa (your desire a vain-desire) / Chei jarey manipuusa (a precious gem slipping out of hand) / Bratukanta Amavaasa (Stygian darkness is the whole life ) / Lambaadolla Raamdaasaa (Raamdaasa of Lambadi clan!). 

The ingenuity of the music director, Pendyala, reflects in his choosing the clarinet for the prelude and the first interlude, for there is no better musical instrument to accompany Arudra’s stinging lyrics that cry out the distress that the singers are passing through. 

Then comes the interlude with clarinet, followed by a matching aalaap of Janaki that echoes anguish, and as her aalaap tapers, Ghantasala comes out in his baritone voice that booms with a hollow grief to sing: Talachinadi okatithe jariginidi veyrokati (thought of one / another is what happened), and as he repeats it, Janaki joins him in cooing talachinadi okatithe jariginidi veyrokati. 

Once that is done, Ghantasala drops out while Janaki continues in her rich, sombre voice delivering the lyrics, chitikinadee nee manasu atukutakuu leerevaruu (broken was your heart / none is around to mend it). She vocalizes these words at such a slower pace, in a lower pitch, and in quite a contemplative mood, echoing the palliative feeling for the male singer embedded in them, listening to which your heart quivers. 

Interestingly, in the second interlude, Pendyala uses clarinet for a short swing and immediately switches over to violin phrases. Following it, Ghantasala comes up in a slightly higher pitch, perhaps, in proportion to the strength of the lyrics: “Gundelalo gunapalu guchhare neevaallu (Pierced the heart your lot with crowbars). Janaki joins him in repeating the lines once again in a high pitch, and on its completion, as he drops out, Janaki carries on but in a low pitch, indeed in a quavering, empathetic tone mirroring his own broken spirit, she gives voice to his grief: Kannulalo godaari kaluvalee kattindi (Godavari River carved bitter canals in eyes). 

The vocal balancing by Janaki and Ghantasala is amazing in this song—the magic lies in how a seasoned giant and a fresh debutante matched each other’s emotional frequencies perfectly. Indeed, this track is known as Janaki’s debut recorded song in Telugu. Singing her lines that echo the broken reality of the male singer, she introduces a tiny, sharp drop in her modulation. Ghantasala’s deep baritone voice holds a wealth of unspoken grief, while Janaki keeps her tone light and conversational, hiding the underlying sorrow behind empathetic emotion. 

Unlike in a traditional duet, here the singers pass the lines back and forth and react to each other’s lines with vocal winks and gentle sighs, making it incredibly human, intimate and deeply relatable rather than theatrical. Hats off to Arudra, lyricist, Pendyala music director and the singers Ghantasala and Janaki! In those days, listening to this song, I invariably ended up in an indefinable melancholy. 

The second song of hers that I love to listen to most often is: Neeli meghaalalo gali kerataalalo / Neevu paade paata vinipinchu neeveela from ‘Baavamaradallu’, released in 1961. How longingly we – me, Sridhar, YSR and Ianumpudi – used to wait in the park every Wednesday evening for this song to be played in that most popular radio program, ‘Kalpataru’ in which this song was mostly played as the last song of the day. 

Ha! What a composition! How touchy the lyrics of Arudra are! The lyrics and the tune composed in raaga Aabheri simply overwhelm listeners with Karuna rasa. Or, should I say, it simply lodges us in the rolling clouds…indeed, tosses us into that gentle swirling summer breeze! 

This song, composed by Pendyala, interestingly starts with Janaki’s soulful aalaap humming as the prelude. She then vocalizes the lyrics Neeli meghaalalo gali kerataalalo / Neevu paade paata vinipinchu neeveela (Amidst the blue clouds, among the air waves / The song that you sang resonates today), with such a modulation that the listener can at once sense the protagonist’s ardrata yearning for the other. 

Then comes the beautiful and melodic interlude, structured with flute and violin phrases accompanied by veena, a soft tabla rhythm, and a subtle bass providing the underlying melody. The real beauty of the lyrics reflects in the next line, Ey purva punayamo nee pondugaa maari (gift of past good deeds turning into your closeness) / apuroopamai nilichee naa antarangaana (remaining precious in the deep recesses of my heart), which Janaki renders so ardently that one can feel her warmth radiating.   

The refrain of this song lies in the next line: Andukoo jaalani anandamee neevu (you are a joy that cannot be attained)/ Endukoo cheeruvai duuramoutaavu (a presence that draws close only to drift away). For it evokes the paradox of a joy that cannot be attained, and a presence that draws close only to drift away. Janaki sings this line with such a tender poignancy that the listener’s heart instantly softens with compassion.   The same lyrics set to the same tune were also sung by Ghantasala, but somehow Janaki's rendition, one must admit, stands out, for she brings out softer, ethereal magic to the melody. 

Then, in 1962, came the Tamil film Konjum Salangai in which she sang that immortal song: Singara velane deva. The same was dubbed into Telugu as Muripinche Muvvalu, and in it she sang the Telugu version Nee leela Paadeda Deva / Manavi aalincha vededa Deva / Nanu laalinchu maa muddhu Deva/ Nee leela…. Later, these two songs became Janaki’s all-time greats. They won her loads of accolades. 

The song was set in raaga Abheri, which is known to evoke deep devotion and romantic yearning. The tune was composed by music director MS Subbaiah Naidu. In those days, music directors used to approach P Leela to sing such devotional numbers. So, director Raman approached Leela to sing the song. Going through the lyrics and the tune, she politely declined the offer, saying, “I cannot sing at such high pitch”. At Leela's suggestion, the director finally approached Janaki to sing the song, and the rest is history.   

The highlight of the tune is the note-for-note tandem and ‘call-and-response’ format between Janaki’s vocals and the Naadaswaram. It was set almost as a musical dialogue between the singer’s voice and the Nadaswaram played by the maestro, Karukurichi Arunachalam. Matching the complex, vibratory, and microtonal nuances of a traditional Naadaswaram (wind instrument) with the human voice is a big challenge, especially in sections where the tune ascends to a high pitch. Yet, Janaki rendered it flawlessly, say the Rasikas. While competing with Naadaswaram, she effortlessly scales upper octaves, lending the song an ethereal, divine fragrance. 

One could notice the magic of matching her modulation with the Nadaswara Vidwan’s typical phrasings and relish its beauty more if one attentively follows Janaki delivering the line, “Sindhuura Raagampu Devaa… aa.. aa.. aa aa.. aa .. aa aa. Aaaa … … ”. This magic is even more enjoyable towards the end of the song when Janaki plays with swaras, and that is what left the listeners wonder-struck.   

You would appreciate this magic more if you knew that Arunachalam’s nadaswaram was first recorded in the studio. Later, Janaki’s version of the song was recorded separately. Satisfied with Janaki’s performance, they wanted to record the song afresh with Arunachalam and Janaki together, but he could not turn up in Madras due to ill health. It is the ingenuity of the studio’s sound engineer, Raju, that ultimately brought out this song to the public. It seems he manually cut the tapes of both the nadaswaram and Janaki’s vocals into strips and pasted them back together to match the tune. It is this manually mixed and edited version that depicts Janaki’s singing in competition with the naadaswaram that ultimately left the audience awestruck. 

There is another sweet song –Pagale vennela jagame ooyala–from the film ‘Pooja Phalam’ (1964) rendered by Janaki, that is etched in my memory from the time I saw the movie in the 2^nd year summer holidays in Ratna Talkies along with Sridhar. The tune was composed by that great music director, Rajeswara Rao. 

The song starts with a soft prelude of a delicate but rhythmic piano beats and a magical alaap by that maestro of humming, Janaki. Though Pandits say that the tune is influenced by C Ramachandra’s song, Aadha hain chandrama from Navrang, there is a cadence in the song–the whole song in Janaki’s honey-laced vocalization, accompanied by soft rolling piano and the delicate flute gently flows like a brook rolling down along a hill slope. 

These brilliant lyrics penned by Narayana Reddy had engaged our utmost attention during the summer holidays of 1964 for, walking along the Bose Road in the mornings, how continually we discussed the wild imaginations steeped in contradictions—–Pagale Vennela Jagame ooyala" (Moonlit day, swinging universe) / Ningiloni Chandamama Tongi Chuse, Neetilona Kaluva Bhaama Pongi Puche (Moon peeped out through the sky, lotus in the pond bloomed in ecstasy);Kadali Piluva Kanne Vagu Parugu Teese, Murali Paata Vinna Naagu Sirasunupe(at the call of sea, the virgin stream rolled down, listening to flute the snake swayed its hood );Neeli Mabbu Needa Lechi Nemali Aade, Pula Rutuvu Saiga Chusi Pikamu Paade(Peacock danced under the shade of blue sky, at the guesture of spring cuckoo cooed);Manase Veenagaa Jhana Jhana Mroyagaa, Bratuke Punnamigaa Virisipodaa (As the mind rings Ghana Ghana as Veena, won’t life glow like the full moon?)—depicted in the song. And no one was prepared to listen to my pleadings that all this absurdity could turn real, could bloom in reality if only that free-flowing imagination—kadilee Uhalake Kannulunte—had eyes of its own.

Janaki sang these wild imaginings in a voice soaked in innocence. Her breath-controlled alaap and balanced landing were awesome. The cadence in lines like ee anubandhame, madhuraanandamai … highlights not just Janaki’s pitch perfection even at high octaves but also her brilliant ability to infuse deep emotion and innocence into the song. In a way, she sings it in gay abandon. What an incredible song! 

Before closing the post on one of the most expressive singers, Janaki, I would like to showcase her brilliance in voice modulation by inviting you to the song, Ee pagalu reyiga pandu vennela ga marinemi cheli, from the film ‘Siri Sampadalu’, sung majestically by Ghantasala, in which you will notice her laughing, sensuous notes and aalap/humming adding beauty to the song.   

What an amazing singer!

 

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