Company Man
for history buffs like me, the rise (& fall) of the east india company starting with 1591 till after the mutiny, was a fascinating story of an organization, the first corporate conglomorate, and possible the last in terms of size, power and above all span.
at its height the company carried out 1/3 of the world trade, a percentage, which i think even china will never reach.
so, imagine my pleasant surprise, that the east india company is now being revived, and that too by an indian immigrant sanjiv mehta.
sanjiv, is not your average immigrant. his ancestors were moneyed diamond traders, and he himself has a lifestory akin to the story of gurukant desai, in the mani ratnam movie, guru.
this article only briefly touches on sanjiv's trading adventures, but one can see through the gaps, the spirit of this man, to think big, trade big and make a big name for himself.
the article is 4 pages of easy reading, with the only discordant note in it, provided by amitav ghosh, who has recently come out with part 2 of his opium trilogy - the river of smoke.
my regret, is that during a recent london visit, i did not know of this place. otherwise, i would have gone there, breathed the air and come out empty handed (dont think i can ever afford any of the wares of this new john company)
for history buffs like me, the rise (& fall) of the east india company starting with 1591 till after the mutiny, was a fascinating story of an organization, the first corporate conglomorate, and possible the last in terms of size, power and above all span.
at its height the company carried out 1/3 of the world trade, a percentage, which i think even china will never reach.
so, imagine my pleasant surprise, that the east india company is now being revived, and that too by an indian immigrant sanjiv mehta.
sanjiv, is not your average immigrant. his ancestors were moneyed diamond traders, and he himself has a lifestory akin to the story of gurukant desai, in the mani ratnam movie, guru.
this article only briefly touches on sanjiv's trading adventures, but one can see through the gaps, the spirit of this man, to think big, trade big and make a big name for himself.
the article is 4 pages of easy reading, with the only discordant note in it, provided by amitav ghosh, who has recently come out with part 2 of his opium trilogy - the river of smoke.
my regret, is that during a recent london visit, i did not know of this place. otherwise, i would have gone there, breathed the air and come out empty handed (dont think i can ever afford any of the wares of this new john company)
