Outstanding Alumni: Prof. Ajeet Mathur

In a new series, parallel to "Guest Blogging by Alumni", I have started a new feature which will highlight many of our alumni who have acheived their mark not only in Indian but international spheres.

As a first in this series I have chosen a good friend who has a shared alumni with me both in Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai, and also in St.Stephen's College in Delhi University.

Considerably younger to me, our paths crossed when he came to Finland in 1993. We struck up  a friendship  which has grown stronger over the last 26 years. 

You can read his detailed biodata and his huge list of publications, research areas, teaching experience and the numerous awards he has been given on his Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, website. Prof. Ajeet Narain Mathur

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We have worked together on several projects, even writing a joint paper many years ago. In many of his writings he has acknwledged the contributions of both Annikki and myself in shaping some of his ideas. 

In his most recent book, he has given us a great compliment by referencing one of our major writings "Handbook for Survival in Finland" first published in 1994 and updated in 2014. It was the 1994 edition of our book that helped Ajeet to settle down in Finland.

We were especially happy when he wrote a short acknowledgement when he handed over a personal copy of his book for us.

Although this book covers the business opportunities between the two countries, Finland and India, it is much more than that in that his in depth coverage of the socio-economic conditions, political background and the pros and cons in both countries is much better than many other books that I have had the chance to read.

An excellent feature is the listing of the top 500 companies in both Finland and India. A study of these is most revealing in that it shows the typical differences in the structure of these countries.

Those who know Finland will understand why it is among the top countries in the world in several fields as Innovation, Quality of Life, Happiness, Education, Freedom of Speech, Environment, to name just st a few. 

Taken against our last book "The Titanic Calied India" published after our last visit to India in 2014, the stark contrast between these two countries is obvious.

 

When Ajeet was living in Finland, we had regular alumni get-togethers, which were always 100% attendance as we were were then the only two in Finland. :-)

If you are interested in picking up Ajeet's book about Finland and India you can go to these links in either UK or in the US.

Amazon UK Link for "Finland-India Business Opportunities"

Amazon US Link for "Finland-India Business Opportunities"

For your help here are a few reviews of the book which I found:

“ Due to his long and rich experience of working with Finnish and Indian companies and passionate research at IIM Ahmedabad in India , Aalto University, Helsinki and University of Tampere in Finland, Professor Mathur has a very deep knowledge of how to do business in both countries. I think that every company leader who considers starting Finnish-Indian business should read this new book. This valuable new book will help companies entering new markets to flourish by building robust sustainable business relations.”

- Päivi Leiwo, Chairperson Oilon Oy, Lahti, Finland

“This book is a treasure trove of knowledge explaining the business opportunities, policies, cultures, institutions, country trajectories and nuances pertaining to Finland and India. The author has worked in business, government and academia in India and abroad. He has also had a long association with Finland and is able to bring you an insider’s perspective of both countries”

- Ashok Sharma, Ambassador of India

“The author’s deep insider experience in the two countries enables him to make very sharp observations on both sides. This book will definitely help in understanding the cultural differences and in making all interactions and communications smoother. It is also very interesting and helpful to read about the differences in legal structures and where these differences originate from.”

- Iiro Rossi, Managing Director, Holiday Club Resorts, Helsinki

“This book is a delightful and important guide for those who want to do business between Finland and India. It brings you the numerous business opportunities which wait to be availed, and highlights the deep understanding of the author of the culture and institutional environment of both countries. Read this book, learn and be surprised!”

- Niina Nummela, Vice Dean, Professor of International Business, Turku School of Economics, University of Turku, Finland

“This book is a reflection of Ajeet’s penchant for deep research on a topic and ability to structure and articulate content. This will be extremely helpful to both academia and practitioners who want to develop Indo-Finnish business relations specifically and international business in general. Sonata is currently engaged with business in Finland”

- Srikar Reddy, Managing Director, Sonata Software Limited, Bangalore

From the two of us, Annikki and myself, we can certainly say that is one of the best books that has come over our table during the last few years, and it is even more of great honour that it has been written by one of our alumni. 

Thanks and well done Ajeet.

Does the Cat Alumni President have a point?

In the most recent post by the School Alumni President, Rajiv Bhatia, he asks a couple of questions:

Isn't the 150th year significantly about the Alumni celebrating their educational institution?

Shouldn't the construction of the 150th year events give due recognition to the Alumni Association as the official representative body of the Alumni, rather than involving only select ex-Cathedralites?

In short, the answer to the first question is NO.

The second question may merit discussion, as it will depend on the attitude and relationship between the School Governing Body and the Alumni Association.

The Alumni Association obviously has no locus standing in the affairs of the School. I noted this in the sort of agreement that was made when the Association wanted to use the school premises for some of its affairs.

To me, that was a very sad document.

The reason for this is far reaching and depends on the members of the Alumni who represent us on the School Governing Body as well as the composition of the Governing Body.

I, however, do not care a damn whether the School Governing Body has its own agenda.

If the Alumni has a solid programme and agenda, then the School Governing Body will come running to it.

I was certainly personally disappointed when I wrote a detailed letter to the Principal already last year about my request to make a hi-tech multi-media presentation about the History of our school in time for the start of the celebrations of the 150th Year of the School. That would have coincided with the 50th Year Reunion of the 59ers, which will be the Mother of All Reunions, and for which I will be very much in Mumbai.

I was not even favoured with an acknowledgement to that email, written in the most friendliest of ways. It was very disappointing to see the Principal of our School, who is supposed to set the standards of behaviour, behave in this undiplomatic manner.

Almost every senior Alumni member that I had sent a blind copy of this email was excited and wanted me to prepare this presentation in the way of my dreams.

On the other hand I heard that a similar task was later given to some other people.

I certainly wish them well and hope they make a great presentation. In fact, I am sure they will as some great personalities well known to me are involved with that project.

In my opinion, they will go probably go the traditional way, putting together a nice coffee table book of some of the photographs depicting the history of the school.

That, however, is yesterday's technology.

My intention was something quite quite different. It would have brought our school to the forefront of multi-media technology, making our Alumni and the present students proud of what we could achieve as we move on into the next fifty years of the school history. It would have been what the Apple 3G iPhone is to the Nokia Mobile Phone!

There are wheels within wheels in the driving forces of the School Admnsistration.

Being 7000 km away, I am not privy to the daily ins-and-outs. However, knowing the personalities involved intimately almost 6 decades, I knew what to expect.

The question that the Cat Alumni President asks fits almost exactly with the characters of some of the primary players.

The way to break that mould is to do something the makes every student proud to be part of our Alumni. It is the students who are in school and it is their relationship to the Alumni which makes the difference.

The question posed by the Cat Alumni President may certainly be worth discussing.

However, I would not waste much time trying to flog a dead horse. Let us make the Alumni a galloping stallion straining to be ahead of everyone and everything else!

Prakash updates me from Mumbai

First book published on the internet in 1994

Dear Jacob,

It was great to hear from you.

I have tried to keep in touch with all my batchmates of 1969. Not 1959 (JM: But thanks Prakash, as I have always enjoyed your updates). Many of them don´t even bother to reply or even acknowledge an email / letter because they all seem to be too busy with their lives and many don´t have such great fond memories of school as I do (JM: or all of us 59ers - we had a great batch - both the A and B Sections).

My sporadic news has declined as I have undergone some surgery, and this has kept me housebound for over a month.

Last weekend I happened to bump into Pierce Brosnan (JM: For those who do not know, Pierce, who is now about 52 years old, was born in Ireland and is one of the great character actors. He has acted in over 50 movies starting in 1979 and has produced 6, and the next will be "The Topkapi Affair") who was in Mumbai at the Taj shopping arcade, strolling casually, when I noticed him at 9 am. I got an autograph saying "Love Life" from him. This was published in the Asian Age, where the newspaper got his autograph analysed.

Then a fortnight back, the Norwegian Consulate held an event to promote salmon from Norway (JM: I love lightly salted salmon for breakfast, while the very traditional Finnish salmon soup in cream with rieska - a light chapti type bread - is simply superb). I was invited to meet with chefs from several hotels and restaurants and discussed Indian preparations for salmon, as I had won the MEN CAN COOK CONTEST with my signature dish "Chicken with dill sauce". (JM: Dill sauce with anything is GREAT.)

Several art auctions are being held in Mumbai, including "Concern India and Harvest 2005", after the success of the Osian auction, that raked in nearly Rs. 5 crores (Rs. 50 million). The famous Satish Gujral, Delhi based artist and sculptor (former Prime Minister's brother) had his show at the Jehangir Art Gallery and Sharukh Khan, the leading Indian Bollywood star, picked up his most expensive painting.

December was a month full of weddings and parties with all the NRI's (non resident Indians) (JM: Except Jacob from the frozen Arctic) in town avoiding the bitter cold of Europe, England and USA.

Natasha Advani got married to Kabir Hingorani (ex-Cathedraite) who is based in New York and is in the garment business.

Mohamed and Sartaj Noorani's daughter Aida (JM: I remember Aida as a baby and then as a little girl - she was such a delightful looking and well behaved tot, taking after her mother, Surtaj, who is a 62er and the daughter of a true Nawab. Surtaj's brother, Zaffar Hai, was a year senior to me in St. Stephen's College, Delhi. Surtaj's husband, Mohamed has been a close close friend for over 40 years, ever since we met in Germany in 1964.) got married on 2nd Feb at the Taj in a beautiful ceremony followed by a memorable dinner.

An article recently published in the Newsweek mentioned the increasing availability of synthetically made diamonds from a Russian company. This has given food for a lot of serious thought.

With the Internet family growing, the number of book lovers and readers has dwindled, resulting in bookshops having sales at over 50% discount on their regular prices. (JM: Books are books and Internet is Internet - I think both have their place in this world and neither can replace the other - although I was probably one of the first to publish a book by my wife, Annikki, in toto, on the internet.)

Nowadays, how many youngsters have the time for Coins, Postcards, Stamps? (JM: That all depends on how this is cultivated. Grandparents have a great job cultivating love of beautiful things in their grandchildren as parents have little time for that. And that is what Annikki and I have been trying to do.)

The only tangible items left is ART and Property. Art and paintings sales are not regulated in India, prompting helpers of
artists & con artists to produce fakes, many of them circulating with collectors and galleries. So its really high time a Regulatory Body was set up in the interest of promtoing ART and keep both the interests of the artists and collectors in mind. (JM: I agree with Prakash here, except that the Mona Liisa profile by Annikki obliterates the original by a mile. Also if the knowledge of art is not cultivated in youngsters, they will fall prey to pseudo and fake art!!)

Sadly, the older and established Galleries have not moved with the times and the recently started galleries with younger management have adopted modern sales gimmicks to promote and sell art, which is working, as there is the demand and the turnout at the Sales bears witness to the large crowds attending.

More news later after my return from my trip.

Do keep in touch.

Cheers

Prakash Thadani (69er Cathedralite - Adopted 59er)