New Delhi: Human beings are a reservoir of potential – a fact confirmed by Mumbai-based author and journalist Pavan C. Lall’s latest, “Forging Mettle: Nrupender Rao and the Pennar story”.
Underpinning the merits of establishing your own path in the entrepreneurial space and the dedication required to do it, “Forging Mettle” is not an ordinary tale.
Born to politician father J.V. Narsing Rao — who was deputy chief minister of Andhra Pradesh – Rao graduated from IIT Kharagpur and then travelled to the US for a Masters’ degree from Purdue University.
He immersed himself in corporate life, reinforcing initially a familiar template for the immigrant experience. But Rao took a leap of faith and returned to India and bought the insolvent Pennar Steels in 1987 – today an established name in a diversity of ventures, ranging from solar projects to railway coaches.
Lall highlights the details of Rao’s entrepreneurial journey and his impressive business that is also connected to its immediate environment. He also manages to paint a picture illuminating Rao’s personal journey traversing borders.
The author captures the awe and confusion of being in a strange country – how even mundane activities feel alien. And, he does it with dollops of humour.
“It took some doing for Rao to get used to the University cafeteria. It was a predominantly meat-based menu – the standard American offerings of burgers, pizzas, grills, roasts and sandwiches – but this was not an issue for Rao. What took him aback was the fact that it was meat – the one meat Hindus do not eat, as they consider the cow sacred. Rao discovered that there was meat beef in the tacos, beef in the burgers, beef in the marinara sauce, and even beef for breakfast.”
“A couple of weeks of misery trying to find palatable food led to a memorable conversation with some of the others in his boarding house. ‘American cows are not the same as Indian holy cows, and therefore you can eat them,’ he was told. Rao was happy to buy that argument.”
The book weaves Rao’s personal trajectory with that of his company, and the excesses and intricacies of Indian society and culture. Pennar Steels is named after the Pennar River that flows through Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Rao’s reason for maintaining the original name was that “a company – like a river, should flow naturally”.
Yet, it is also a reminder that companies, our industries, are not separate from the natural world. They operate together, and seldom drift away from each other.
“Nrupender Rao and Pennar’s story presents a unique philosophy for a company which is rooted in doing good and being good. I recommend this book to all aspiring entrepreneurs who want to understand how to build a principled and ethical institution,” says Arunachalam Vellayan, the Vice-Chairman of Murugappa group.
HarperCollins Executive Editor Sachin Sharma says: “Forging Mettle proves that we can build large organisations on the foundations of values and sustainability. Nrupender Rao is one of the most rare business leaders in corporate India. His value system, integrity and long-term vision will serve as a template for generations of entrepreneurs to come.”
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