(Ed.: It is my privilege to be part of this document prepared by other 59er classmates on behalf of many, and sent to me for editing, correction, modification, so that it represents a true appreciation of the person about whom it is written.
From right: Ashok, his boxer and me in 1993
Not an artificial sunset.
I could add little as the writers did a marvellous job in the first place.
I share this document with you on the birthday of one of our finest classmates, a wonderful friend to each and everyone of us, and a person with whom we would have trusted our lives and limbs. Photographs are from various sources and copyright is acknowledged. Jacob)
November 2008
One of the last photos of Ashok taken at the JOSS Function.
April 16th would have been Ashok Kapur'ss 66th birthday. It is perhaps appropriate to spend a few moments reflecting on a few of our cherished memories about the friend that we knew... an extra special person in many, many ways. This tribute has been composed on behalf of all his friends, but especially on behalf of those who had the privilege of knowing him closely from his school days as well as through all the subsequent years as we journeyed across life from children to youth and onto adulthood and beyond. Some among us were fortunate to have known Ashok over a span of 6 decades - and our lives have been enriched by the experience.
Abbas and Ashok
November 2008.
There was an email from 59er Peter Miovic received at the time of his death which bears repetition. Peter was a Yugoslav who joined us in the 9th standard and knew Ashok for just for a few years. Peter wrote: "Ashok was someone who engaged one at a very personal level. I can still remember his engaging, mischievous smile and the way he would conduct a conversation that could lead anywhere. And he did not make a distinction whether one was from India or Mars. I was sensitive about being accepted by Indians. With Ashok I need not have worried."
Those words from Peter more or less defined the Ashok that we knew in school. He simply got on well with everyone of his own classmates, the ones who were a year or two senior to us, the ones who were junior to us, the teachers, the office peons, the coaches - everyone. And, in turn, it was impossible not to like him. In those years, we were certainly closer than brothers. When you are 10, 12 and 16 years old, the 2 or 3 years that separate siblings is like a generation gap. But there was no such problem between us. We grew up together, we played all the sports possible together, we discovered rock and roll and girls together, and we shared adventures, lots of them. Ashok was the type that all the others in the gang rallied around, a natural born leader, a school prefect by the 10th standard itself, a solid batsmen and wicket-keeper, and Captain of several sports teams.
Ashok was a good student too and managed to rank near the top of the class quite effortlessly. He was particularly good with numbers and we all expected him to go in for engineering, as was the preference in those days. But Ashok had other ideas. In fact, Ashok was always ahead of us in calculating angles that no one else saw, working out the odds. Today it is called “thinking out of the box." In a word he was 'wily' in a smart way. And it showed on the hockey field, where he was a scheming forward, on the badminton court, where he would wrong-foot his opponent, and in the latter years, at the bridge table.
Homi and Ashok
November 2008
If a poll had been taken back then in our graduating class as to whom amongst us was most likely to succeed in our future careers, Ashok would most certainly have won hands down. All of us would have voted for Ashok, and all of us would have been proved right.
Ashok with Ramesh and Piloo in 2003.
So it was that Ashok had worked out all the options and chose not to join college after school, but instead to start his career at the very bottom at Grindlays Bank way back in 1962. By the time the rest of us had acquired our precious degrees, and were just getting started in our own careers, Ashok was well on his way in the banking world. With Grindlays Ashok spent 20 odd years and was a Senior Manager handling a number of business functions when he left them. Then, 5 years with ABN Amro, part of it in Singapore managing their APAC operations . He left ABN to start Rabo India Finance. And after that institution was solidly launched, he decided to start his very own bank, "YES Bank", a very successful venture that is now being hailed as the fastest growing bank in the country, as well as being the best run, most innovative, etc, etc.
Ashok holds forth (undated).
From left: - 59ers Vinay Dabhlolkar, Percy Mistri, Ashok and Ashok Ruia.
In the 46 years that Ashok spent in the banking Industry, he acquired an unimpeachable reputation for his integrity and his honesty. Many times Ashok put his career on the line rather than compromise on his principles. It was no surprise then that Ashok enjoyed such universal admiration in banking circles. Not just for his sheer capabilities and achievements as a visionary banker, but also for his class and his qualities as a human being. Ashok was always calmness personified and had time for everybody. All persons were the same to him, irrespective of whether they were the foreign ex-pats or the boy who operated the photocopier. And it would be hard to find a Manager who could manage his time better.
His friend, 59er Elias (Ooky), had an experience which was probably typical for Ashok, but was a series of shocks for Elias. The first shock was when he called Rabobank to ask Ashok for an appointment to discuss a vague software service - Ashok answered the phone himself! The 2nd shock was when Ashok readily agreed to the date and time requested. The third was to be ushered in immediately into Ashok's office and find that Ashok's desk was totally innocent of any paper or files. The fourth shock was when Ashok gave his undivided attention for the next hour and a half, and the only interruption during all that time was his secretary calling on the intercom to ask if she should serve tea! A truly unique experience for Elias, but normal for Ashok, and one that defined Ashok - the consummate Manager.
(Ed:: Ashok and I were never profeessionally involved, although he knew what I was doing and I knew what he was doing. We kept our professional lives totally separate, so I did not have the experience of Elias as included in this piece. However, I had the same experience when I visited him, as a friend, at his offices in New Delhi, Calcutta and Bombay, I am not surprised how he treated a friend who came on a business visit.)
These same skills in human relations were tested severely during his 3-year stint as President of the Bombay Gymkhana. It was a period of turmoil when several controversies had to be resolved, including the landmark gender conflict. Ashok handled all of them with his usual calmness and quiet diplomacy. At the end of his tenure there was almost universal regret that the 3-year term could not be extended indefinitely.
Ashok liked challenges, especially challenges that kept him mentally alive. When we met him during his time with ABN Amro at Singapore, we were taken aback to hear him say that he was bored with his assignment because it had become routine and there was no challenge left. He had already turned down a posting to Australia and had decided to return to India simply because that's where he reckoned the excitement was. It was hard to believe that he was willing to give up his great life-style in Singapore to return to Bombay. But, as usual, Ashok had worked it all out and knew exactly where he was going professionally. The successful stint with Rabo followed and just when we thought that Ashok was surely at the zenith of his career, he once again surprised us by mentioning casually, over a beer on a Sunday morning, that he was going to start his own bank. He must have seen the look of incredulity on our faces. So he worked out the numbers on a napkin to show us how the venture could not fail and how it would be profitable in its very first year of operation. And thet's exactly how it turned out to be.
Surely the spectacular success of Yes Bank has been the crowning glory of Ashok's career - the one that has defined it.
Three 59er Palmerites, Ashok, Trevor Newnes and Viney Sethi
at the last 59er Mini Reunion (2007) which was graciously hosted by Madhu and Ashok.
Sadly Ashok's golden years were cruelly cut short by a senseless act of violence. The terrorists bullets have robbed Ashok of the chance of watching his grandchildren growing up, playing with them, touring the world with Madhu, playing bridge in the evenings, and his usual high standard of badminton with the same set of friends with whom he has been playing for the last 30-odd years.
Ashok may have been cruelly robbed of his golden years but nothing can ever take away his legacy. Ashok, in his heavenly abode, can be happy in the knowledge that his family is well provided for, the institutions that he has served with and helped grow are all healthy and thriving, and all his affairs are in good order .
Dear Ashok, you touched many, many lives during your lifetime, and you left all of them enriched. Thorough gentleman and dearest friend, may you rest in peace always.
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