If there was one human who deserved to be cloned so that he got a second lease of life, it should have been Lalit Mohan Thapar, LMT to those who knew him well and Lalli to his peer group. He was an outstanding industrialist, unquestioned king of India's paper-manufacturing industry, champion of free enterprise long before economic liberalisation became a buzzword and winner of a bagful of feathers for his family's hat. But above all, LMT was a magnificent human being. They don't make people like him any more.
He would go down in history as the man who lived life king-size the patriarch of Thapar business family, who died of a cardiac failure on Wednesday night in the capital city, would have been a contended man.
``Shri Thapar was one of the doyens of Indian industry who contributed greatly to the progress of our nation in many areas. He will always be remembered for his seminal contribution to the growth of Indian Industry. Apart from that, he was a dear personal friend and I have fond recollections of my interactions with him. On this sad occasion, I offer my sympathy and condolences to you and other members of the family. May God bless you with fortitude to bear this irreparable loss. I pray that the departed soul rest in peace.`` said PM Manmohan Singh.
Just the day before his demise, his team won a Delhi horse racing event, a personal hobby of LMT, as he was known in the group and to people close to him. One of the old guards of Indian business and one of the four sons of group founder the late Karam Chand Thapar, over the last few years he had moved away from business activities.
The scotch-loving LMT had told a few young scribes at a party about nine years back, ``No interviews please... I can promise you a dance.`` Mr Thapar was part of the Bombay Club that was formed in the early 1990s to oppose foreign investment and demand a level-playing field for Indian industry.
The Bombay Club failed to make much headway, but this was amongst the few battles he lost in his long innings as the group chief of the Thapar business group, before its amicable four-way split in late 90s. Among his most memorable battles was warding off a takeover bid of group flagship Ballarpur Industries (Bilt) from a Kolkata-based jute baron in 2000.
However, the big feather in his cap was the acquisition of Sinar Mas in a big-ticket deal at a time when foreign companies were busy acquiring established Indian companies across sectors. Though a major credit for it goes to his nephew Gautam Thapar, he was still the chairman of the company at that time.
About seven years ago, he had passed on the reins of his flagship group company Bilt to Gautam Thapar and last July also relinquished the post of chairmanship to his heir apparent. But all this was not devoid of drama. About a decade back, LMT had taken a backseat, leaving the reins of Bilt to his nephews, among whom Vikram was considered to be a front-runner.
However, he had to cut short his temporary leave from business in the years of crisis, and by the time Bilt emerged from its dark days it was clear that Gautam is the chosen one. In fact, LMT’s remaining business interests including few privately held entities, which has some lucrative investments including that in real estate, are also going to be under Gautam Thapar.
They say only heartless, cynical people succeed in business. Anybody who knew LMT would end up believing the opposite. They say only the smell of profit and bulging bank balances drive entrepreneurs. Anybody who knew LMT would vouch he wasn't among them. They say businessmen can't have friends, only chamchas and rivals. Anybody who knew LMT would assert that's impossible; not only did he have a huge circle of intimate friends outside business circles, but also his ``rivals``never had an unkind word for him.
