THE TATAS - GIRISH KUBER - How a Family Built a Business and a Nation

Sep 21, 2026

Narrative history of J.R.D. Tata and the Tata family through nearly 200 years, showing how a homegrown Indian business house shaped corporate milestones and national development. The author frames the conglomerate’s “successes and firsts” from the human side—highlighting welfare ideas, industrial beginnings, global ventures, and civic responsibility rather than balance-sheet figures alone. Includes author’s note, preface themes, and chapter progression from early origins to later leadership and India’s dawn.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages287

Reading Time12 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Author’s Note

Preface

Contents

1. Nusserwanji of Navsari

2. The Man Who Sowed Dreams

3. The Glow after the Sunset

4. Son of the Sun

5. The Dawn of the Industrial Age

6. Jehangir ’s World

7. Baptism by Fire

8. J.R.D. Tata: Chairman, Tata Sons

9. Independence Dawns

10. Air India and Free India

11. New Ventures

12. Air India Is Nationalized: A Devastating Decline Begins

13. Stressful Times

14. Naval Ratanji Tata and JRD

15. A Question of Succession

16. JRD: The Twilight Years

17. Ratan Tata: New Directions, New Challenges

18. Settling Down as Chairman of Tata Sons

19. The Birth of a Motor Car

20. Tata Finance Ltd and the Dilip Pendse Case

21. Building Tata Consultancy Services

22. Small Car, Big Trouble

23. The Tata Culture

24. The Search for a Successor

25. The Storm and a New Beginning

Bibliography

Index

Acknowledgements

THE TATAS How a Family Built a Business and a Nation GIRISH KUBER Translated from the Marathi by Vikrant Pande J.R.D. Tata used to say, ‘Live life a little dangerously.’ This book is dedicated to all those who live by this perilous principle and have immersed themselves in wealth creation for the greater good of society against all odds. Contents Author ’s Note Preface 1. Nusserwanji of Navsari 2. The Man Who Sowed Dreams 3. The Glow after the Sunset 4. Son of the Sun 5. The Dawn of the Industrial Age 6. Jehangir ’s World 7. Baptism by Fire 8. J.R.D. Tata: Chairman, Tata Sons 9. Independence Dawns 10. Air India and Free India 11. New Ventures 12. Air India Is Nationalized: A Devastating Decline Begins 13. Stressful Times 14. Naval Ratanji Tata and JRD 15. A Question of Succession 16. JRD: The Twilight Years 17. Ratan Tata: New Directions, New Challenges 18. Settling Down as Chairman of Tata Sons 19. The Birth of a Motor Car 20. Tata Finance Ltd and the Dilip Pendse Case 21. Building Tata Consultancy Services 22. Small Car, Big Trouble 23. The Tata Culture 24. The Search for a Successor 25. The Storm and a New Beginning An Interview with Ratan Tata Bibliography Index Acknowledgements Photographic Inserts About the Book About the Author and Translator Copyright Author ’s Note The narrative of The Tatas spans almost 200 years. In condensing it to a 250-odd-page story with a popular appeal for the lay reader, I have reimagined and reconstructed some scenes and conversations. This is also a work of translation from Marathi to English. As such, the words written may not be exactly the ones spoken, yet they are true to the meaning of the conversations drawn from the sources listed at the end of the book. While the translator, the editor and I have made every effort to ensure that the translation is as faithful to the original sources as possible, some inadvertent discrepancies may have nevertheless survived to the final draft. Any errors are deeply regretted. Preface Why have I written a book on the Tatas and why now? The answer is simple. The Tata conglomerate is intricately intertwined in so many of India ’s successes and firsts, and most of these, incredibly, have remained uncovered. Not many know that it was the Tatas who brought silk to Mysore or that they were the ones who got strawberries to Mahabaleshwar, a popular hill station in Maharashtra now synonymous with the fruit. Not many are aware, either, that the world’s earliest worker welfare policies were drafted in a Tata venture or that the Tatas were global pioneers in conceiving a hydroelectric project. Though much has been written about the Tatas, it has been mostly from a corporate or industry-specific perspective, such as on Tata Steel or Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) . My effort here is to tell the human side of this business story, from the common man’s point of view, without resorting to jargon and mind-boggling numbers. And there is a need to tell this story as there is a growing trend all over the world of measuring success purely on the basis of balance sheets. Profits do matter, no doubt, but that ’s not the only factor. Against this backdrop, it is fascinating to delve into this story that starts with a common Indian middle-class man who aimed high and, while achieving what he set his sights on, thought of what he could do for the country and cared for the environment. Whatever the Tatas did, it wasn’t solely with profitability in mind. The Tatas did not just build companies, they also lent a huge hand in building the nation. There are few stories of homegrown Indian business houses that have a global appeal. The story of the Tatas is one of them. I wrote this book in Marathi as Tatayan about five years ago. The response to it was overwhelming. There have been a dozen reprints to date. From politicians of all hues to businessmen to readers from different walks of life,

FAQs

Why did the author write about the Tatas and why now?

The preface states the Tata conglomerate’s many “successes and firsts” remain largely uncovered, and the author wanted to tell the story now from a human perspective rather than from industry-only or corporate angles.

How does the book approach the idea of measuring success?

It argues that measuring success only by balance sheets is incomplete. Profits matter, but the narrative emphasizes broader impacts—building companies alongside building the nation, caring for the environment, and considering social welfare.

What is explained in the author’s note about translation and storytelling?

The author’s note says the work is translation from Marathi to English and that some scenes and conversations were reimagined and reconstructed. It also acknowledges potential inadvertent discrepancies compared with the original sources.

Sep 21, 2026

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