Title: #Tata Stories: 40 Timeless Tales to Inspire You
Author: Harish Bhat
Publisher: Penguin Portfolio
Genre: Non-Fiction
ISBN: 978-0670095322
Pages: 304
Buy Online: Amazon
The Tatas have a legacy of nation-building for over 150
years. Dancing across this long arc of time are thousands of beautiful,
astonishing stories, many of which can inspire and provoke us, even move us to
meaningful action in our own lives. #TataStories is a collection of
little-known tales of individuals, events and places from the Tata Group that
have shaped the India we live in today.
Here, I have been sharing an EXCERPT from this memorable book
of legendary TATAs.
The Maharajah Man
This is the delightful story of one of India’s first
marketing wizards, a maverick of the Tata Group, and a close associate and
friend of J.R.D. Tata/ Behind the Maharajah, the lovable Mascot of Air India: Sorab Kaikushroo Kooka, aka Bobby Kooka.
Bobby Kooka was recruited into the aviation department of the
Tata Group in the year 1938. Tata Airlines was still a fledgling airline
service at that time. Many years later, J.R.D. Tata fondly narrated the tale of
how he first met the man.
‘I don’t know how many of you there are here tonight who were in Tata Airlines in May 1938—probably not many—when Mr Kooka first burst upon an astonished air transport world which has never been the same since. On that fateful day in May, Mr Kooka appeared in my office and, having pointed out the deficiencies in the Tata organization, explained how badly needed he was in Tatas to put them right . . . I decided that if there was any place for him in Tatas, it could only be in Tata Airlines. Furthermore, in those days, the chances of survival of Tata Air lines were pretty dim and so it was clear that by employing him there we would be taking little risk of making any permanent commitment.’
Bobby Kooka also recalled this first encounter with J.R.D.
Tata in his inimitable style: ‘I was told that I would have to see Mr J.R.D.
Tata. I was warned that Mr Tata was a terror. Heart in mouth, I went to his
office. He asked me very searching questions, none of which could I answer. He
was obviously impressed, so impressed, that within seconds, I was ushered out of
the room...’
Driving this banter was a brilliant, fertile marketing brain.
After spending a few years as secretary of Tata Airlines, Bobby Kooka had
decided to give the brand (now rechristened as Air India, with J.R.D. as
chairman) a human face that represented India with charm and dignity. At the
first booking office of the company, located in Church gate in Mumbai, he
created ‘an oriental potentate, sitting on a magic carpet, smoking a bubble
hookah’. This was the beginning of the Air India Maharajah, perhaps India’s
very own first advertising mascot that went on to win millions of hearts across
the world.
In Bobby Kooka’s own words: ‘We call him a Maharajah for want
of a better description. But his blood isn’t blue. He might look like royalty,
but he isn’t royal.’ Working together with Umesh Rao of J. Walter Thomson, the
advertising agency, Kooka envisioned with flourish such a lovable symbol of
India—a round face, with an outsized moustache, striped turban and long nose.
After making his first appearance in 1946, the Maharajah was all over the world, in the process making Air India one of the most visible and engaging brands globally. Fifty years before Google even thought of Google Doodles, Bobby Kooka was constantly reinventing the Maharajah—as a lover boy in Paris, a sumo wrestler in Tokyo, a Romeo in Rome, and a guru of transcendental meditation in Rishikesh. The Maharajah was funny, irreverent, up to antics, but always full of India, his proud homeland. He was a friend to every traveller on India’s national airline, and would reach out to them with warmth and hospitality.
What beautiful words. Not only was Kooka a marketing genius,
he was also a maverick who created storms in many teacups in his time. He used
to write for the Tata House magazine, editing the last page, called the ‘Tata
Patter’, under various pennames including ‘Pestonjee Pepper’, ‘Umslopogas’ and
‘Chief of the Amazulus’. On the page ‘Tata Patter’, he proceeded to, in the
words of J.R.D. Tata, ‘play havoc with the whole Tata organization by
demolishing the ego and assassinating the character of every Tata director and senior
official . . . [also], through Air India hoardings, he demolished and punctured
innumerable egos, which placed me at the receiving end of endless complaints from
MPs and ministers, including Mr. Morarji Desai and Mr. Krishna Menon, who were depicted
in red pants running a track race with Mr. Kripalani.’
But nonetheless, J.R.D. Tata provided Bobby Kooka with the required support throughout his career, because he recognized Kooka’s genius, and perhaps also the need for some benign humour in the midst of our daily challenges. As J.R.D. said at Bobby Kooka’s retirement function in 1971: ‘May you never cease tilting at windmills, at the pretentious, the charlatans, and the hypocrites of the world.’ He also said, ‘I forgive him all the apologies I had to tender on his behalf. I forgive him all the scars that I have borne because of the pleasure, the laughter and the relief from frustration and boredom that he provided to thousands, and perhaps millions, of people.’
This immediately reminds me of one of J.R.D. Tata’s key
secrets to his success, of which he says, ‘If I have any merit, it is getting on with individuals according
to their ways and characteristics...to be a leader, you have to lead human
beings with affection. ’J.R.D. led the maverick Bobby Kooka with that same
human affection, and, in turn, Kooka led the fabulously successful marketing
and publicity efforts for the nation’s flagship airline, including the creation
and nurturing of the Air India Maharajah.
Excerpted with permission from #TataStories by Harish Bhat, Penguin Portfolio
About the Author
Harish Bhat, currently the brand custodian at Tata Sons, has
held many roles in the Tata Group over the past thirty-four years, including as
managing director of Tata Global Beverages, and chief operating officer of the
watches and jewellery businesses of the Titan Company Ltd.
Harish is an alumnus of BITS Pilani and the Indian Institute of Management
Ahmedabad (IIMA). He won the IIMA gold medal for scholastic excellence, and
later the British Chevening Scholarship for young managers. In 2017, he
received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from BITS Pilani.
An avid marketer, he has helped create many successful Tata brands. He writes
extensively, and is a columnist for The Hindu Business Line and Mint.
Harish is an incorrigible foodie and fitness freak. His wife, Veena, is a
computer professional and data scientist. They have a daughter, Gayatri, who
has graduated from college and embarked on her professional career. Harish can
be reached at bhatharish@hotmail.com.