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'Focusing on basics propelled M&M to top of India's utility vehicle market'
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SME Times News Bureau | 22 Feb, 2021
A US aircraft manufacturer coined the term KISS -- Keep It Simple Stupid
-- as it churned out bombers by the dozens at the height of the Second
World War. An Indian company in the 1940s adopted the mantra and
"concentrated on one simple diet of doing what they started with" by
assembling Willys jeeps to grow into one of the countrys largest makers
of SUVs, says a new book on the company and which is perhaps the first
definite work on Indias automobile industry.
"The most obvious
fact is that M&M have concentrated on one simple diet of doing what
they started with and improving that from time to time. This genetic
link has been seen visually and functionally played out in the various
models from 1945 to the present and it is this symbiotic aspect that no
other manufacturer has in its arsenal," author Adil Jal Darukhanawala
told IANS in an interview of his book "Timeless Mahindra" (DJ Media).
"Whether
it was from luck or design or such this has stood the test of time and
since the last three decades at least I have seen the M&M management
realise this, grudgingly at first, and now steadfastly to realise that
the neo-retro theme is one that even an Indian OEM with legacy can play
in modern day times. How has it been so successful? The answer to that
is in the sub-title of the book: 'Workhorse. Nation Builder.
Heart-throb. Defender. Adventure Tool'. No other vehicle made by any
Indian OEM can carry these attributes like the Mahindra vehicles have
and continue to do so," Darukhanawala added.
To this end, the
book is a celebration of the wide-reaching and multi-faceted impact of
Mahindra utility vehicles for every known application - and some which
not many can think of! The 75-year journey of the company has gone
hand-in-hand with the evolution of the early Willys vehicles - through
their many forms, applications and roles - all as ingenious and
innovative as the unique Indian spirit of making things work.
Brimming
with insightful stuff masterfully written with so many hitherto unheard
of stories woven into these pages and illustrated with
never-seen-before photographs to illuminate the path, this journey of
Mahindra & Mahindra from the first civilian 4x4 to the 21st century
second-generation Thar also mirrors the rise of a nation, and the
aspirations of its people!
How did this book come about?
"It
came about thanks to the book I had penned on the history of Ideal Jawa
to coincide with the re-launch of Jawa motorcycles in India by Classic
Legends after a gap of nearly 20-22 years. It was the first time any
book had been written on the history of an Indian automotive
manufacturer and (M&M MD) Pawan Goenka saw this and was impressed
enough by it to ask me to do the same for Mahindra & Mahindra,"
Darukhanawala said.
In a way, the book has been a lifetime in the making.
"It
was easy in a certain way for I had lived the period from my formative
years as an automotive enthusiast in the 1970s to writing on cars and
bikes from the 1980s onwards. My own accumulated one helped. But then
there were the blind spots from the earlier period from 1945 onwards
till the late 1980s when not much was known as to how Indian industry
functioned and there wasn't much chronicled stuff available.
"The
easy and only thing was to get to meet and interview a lot of people
associated with M&M (if they yet remained) from that era and luckily
there were a handful who shared a lot of knowledge and threw a great
deal of light on the subject. Then there were enthusiasts of the marquee
who had hands-on knowledge of these cars so these were another source
of valuable technical information on the variou models made by M&M,"
Darukhanawala explained.
There were also "hidden unheralded gems" within M&M itself who came to the fore with their own stories and experiences.
"A
lot of information was gleaned from the firm's annual reports but you
had to know what you were looking for and also where and when that
happened. The hard graft was all about meeting people, pursuing leads,
joining the dots, sifting folklore from reality, and pouring over the
subject over and over again," the author added.
How did he get bitten by the automobile bug?
"There
is way too much to say on this but then how can a Parsi bawaji not love
bikes and cars? I was always surrounded by bikes and cars from as far
as I can recollect (from about 6-7 months from my birth indicated by
images of me with my father's Norton motorcycle and other cars in the
family) and this love affair has raged and raged and doesn't see it
ending at all.
"Learnt my craft with motorcycle racing in my
early years in Pune (we used to build our own bikes and cars for
racing), started writing on motorsport in 1977 and was the first in the
country to have my own weekly column in a mainstream Indian newspaper on
automobiles from 1980 onwards," Darukhanawala said.
He
conceptualised and started India's first automotive enthusiast (not
trade) magazine Car & Bike International in June 1987. He helmed it
till June 1998 when he stepped out to conceptualise and head Overdrive
magazine from September 1998 till April 2005. He conceptualised the
country's first 360-degree subject focussed media vehicle for
automobiles for the Times of India Group with ZigWheels which he headed
from November 2007 till March 2014. Thereafter, he was with the Zee
Group till May 2016 and then on his own penning books and doing events.
He has penned 15 books to date and find the time to yet drive, ride and comment on the latest crop of motorcycles and cars.
What's his next project?
"There
is a book on the centenary of an automobile association in the country
which is in its final stages. Another book is on the history of
motorsport in India and yet another one being discussed is on the
history of another Indian automobile manufacturer. As you can see I have
my hands full plus yes, my YouTube channel is one other detail that I
am exploring," Darukhanawala concluded.
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