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    Book Review: The Polyester Prince (Mr.Dhirubhai Ambani)

    Book Review -The Polyester Prince by Hamish McDonald – Ambani family by Ramta Jogi

    In a legal chamber lined with vellum bound case references, a senior lawyer took an equally stark view. “ Today the fact is that Ambani is bigger than the government,” said the lawyer in all seriousness. “He can make or break Prime ministers. ”

    – The Polyester Prince

    The Polyester Prince, a book published in 1998 by Hamish McDonald is an unauthorized biographical book on the life of the business tycoon, Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani. The man who re-defined business practices in India ignoring the ethical and moral aspects, leading to a company which today is one of the identities of how Modern India is seen across the globe, Reliance.

    Hamish starts the book digging deep into the roots of the man in the center. It goes back to the days of Independence, the partition, Dhirubhai s upbringing, his culture and more on how his upbringing and roots had an impact on what his thoughts came out as he grew.

    It highlights how the culture or community of what Ambani is; Modh Bania was perceived and how Dhirubhai was no different from it.

    The book takes you to the days in Jamnagar. His relationship building, sustaining and using them at some point in his future. The old friends and acquaintances from Dhirubhai s old days eventually became his pillars of support in making Reliance a success.

    The pages explain the rise of a young lad in Aden who decides to start his own business. With that vision, he moves back to India and with support enters the textile industry. Juggling into his trading, learning and unlearning things and screwed thinking, he rose high.

    It highlights Dhirubhai s relation with Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Pranav Mukherjee, VP Singh, and even Harshad Mehta. His association with Syndicate bank and many more.

    He was with all of them, either in a good way or bad but he was there. As quoted in one of the paragraphs by Dhirubhai, “I don’t know anyone will ever come to know, how much I was involved in bringing Indira Gandhi back” defines his involvement.

    All his relations worked for him from time to time in profiting reliance. As Dhirubhai says, “I keep two sandals with me. Gold and Silver and as required, give it to the people. I can salute anyone for my work.” What highlights his business in those days was his shrewd mind of using the Bombay stock exchange for his own good. Not officially, but yes he ran it for his profit.

    Policies were made and changed according to his wish, insider information used to reach to him before the announcement. The media was in his control, so where the policymakers. He defined Power. If there was one who can stand against him, there were 10 others to be with him.

    Anyone who had the power to influence was with him. Either their children had business tie-ups with reliance or they had some shareholding in reliance owned companies.

    The book highlights the making of the Reliance and rise of Dhirubhai Ambani along with the penalties, cases and many issues with its name in the center. Specifically talking about his wars with Nusli Wadia(Bombay Dyeing), The Indian Express and the sufferings he faced when the government went against him. But he rose out of all of that because he had money. And during the ’90s the power was shifting from politics to the one who can buy the power.

    By the time things were about to get streamline, it left the entire structure of Government immune to corruption.

    Conclusion:-

    This can be the best book to understand what not to do in business or what should be done to rise in business. The unethical, malpractices and forgery of the Ambani empire is what highlights in defining Reliance. The author has done immense research and came up with a fine book of data and facts.

    This, being my first book of 2020 provided pure entertainment for a reader. With ups and downs, drama and spice, this book shows how the Indian government was being used by someone who was not a part of the government but still ruled it. It could have been a masala entertainer but probably Bollywood might refrain to make it. (Relations matter !!)

    I came across dialogue from a Bollywood movie, “Once upon a time in Mumbai.”

    “Dawood does not live in Mumbai but still rules it.”

    The same goes for this,

    “Ambanis are not a part of the government or power. They are the power”

    For more such Book Review, visit Ramta Jogi

    Book Review -The Polyester Prince by Hamish McDonald – Ambani

    Book Review Rating:-*****(4/5)

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    POETRY

    Stalker !!

    Stalker.. by Ramta Jogi

    Poem: Stalker

    With the slightest touch,

    The phone activates,

    Login into the account,

    She scrolls,

    Clicks and moves through the searches,

    Opens the page,

    The notifications there will never share her identity,

    It will not show who the visitor is,

    In the utmost secrecy, she scrolls the posts.

    One by one;

    The posts there deals with emotions,

    Unrequited love, Heartbreak, Life,

    All posts have one thing in common,

    Herself;

    The posts are her past, her present;

    Her existence, and at times her disguised personality,

    She may not be the one defined in those words, but in parts, she is there.

    Staring on the page and scrolls.

    Reads them and stops for a moment,

    To let it sink in her,

    And realize how much of it is related,

    Slowly with each post,

    She associates more with her past and

    Even her present too;

    She reads and in intervals she smiles,

    In the middle of it, the page has her words,

    Even her dialogues quoted,

    Some posts remind her,

    Of a particular moment,

    A particular day, an hour,

    Reminds her of the innocent times,

    Her stupidity, childishness,

    Even her turbulent state,

    At times the words make her feel,

    That she doesn’t even know that self of her,

    Which the words are able to describe,

    She reads and in intervals she smiles

    She is not a frequent visitor there,

    It is only her last resort to self.

    When the foreign snow becomes difficult to bear,

    Or the heat of past haunts to be heard,

    Or when she remembers who he was,

    Who wrote her,

    She silently stalks the page.

    She loves them

    But never likes.

    She remains hidden from her presence there,

    She is a stalker.

    A stalker of her own world,

    Her life, herself

    She stalks the world of those words,

    The words that define her,

    The words she owns…

    For more such poetry, visit Ramta Jogi

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    POETRY

    KAHANIYAAN

    Hindi Poem KAHANIYAAN by Ramta Jogi:

    वो शब्दों की जुस्तजू
    वो असमंजस में पल रहे स्वप्न
    वो कलम एक चहीती सी ,
    वो खाली पन्नो से जंग
    वो किरदार अनेक
    उनके किस्से अनंत
    चलते गिरते संभलते वो
    अपने ख्यालों में जीते मरते वो
    हर किरदार एक मोती है , मेरी डोर का
    एक मोती को दुझे मोती से जोड़कर ,
    एक माला सजाता हूँ में
    भांत भांत के है ये मोती ,
    अक्सर एक दुझे से मिलकर खिल जाते है ,
    और कभी बेरुखी भरे चेहरों से इनकी चमक घट जाती है
    हर मोती की एक अलग चाह है, एक अलग राह है ,
    एक सोच है
    एक माला में बंध कर ,
    ये मोती दुझे मोतियों के संग,
    अपना किरदार निभा रहा है .
    मेरी कहानियों में वो अपनी कहानी बना रहा है

    रमता जोगी

    For more Hindi Poem, visit Ramta Jogi

     



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