Where It All Began

I WENT BACK TO Jamshedpur last week, almost after a decade, and nothing has changed while a lot has too. What has not changed is the indefatigable commitment of the Tata Group to society at large. The way Jamshedpur has been nurtured and kept oasis-like is a tribute not just to the House of Tata but indeed to the indomitable spirit of like-minded and right-thinking caring Indians. There is a reason why, since Tata Steel was founded in 1907, the values of the entire Tata Group are not just embodied in Jamshedpur but equally in great measure in those who work in the various Tata companies in Jamshedpur, as also the citizens of this remarkable city. No wonder that even to this day, March 3, the birth anniversary of the founder, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, is celebrated in Jamshedpur, and I cannot recall there being a time when the Tata Group chairman has not been there to both celebrate and thank the genius that Jamsetji Tata was.

What is worthy of admiration is how the House of Tata continues to send group CEOs and interns alike for not just an immersion but indeed a pilgrimage to Jamshedpur for them to fathom what it is that drives the value architecture of the House of Tata. The year 1907 was a long time ago and one would have imagined that the challenges of contemporary times would have cast an influence on those values, but it is precisely that which Jamshedpur steadfastly holds. It is a lighthouse for modern India and to call it an industrial township would do a disservice to the DNA with which it was created and one that is firmly embedded even to this day.

Even wherever this fascinating city has embraced modernity, it has laced it with empathy and care. Care in the way it looks after not just its own but the larger population too, and it is precisely this that we need to commend. Many companies across the world have created cities and townships around their complexes but what they haven’t been able to do is infuse soul into them. When you infuse a place of living with a soul, you don’t do this for just one or two, or even three generations: instead, you plant seeds of kindness and care for a lifetime and this is what the House of Tata has done.

I know of many people who, after retirement from Tata Steel and other Tata companies, have chosen to stay on in Jamshedpur and have done so not just for the unimaginable services that are available but equally for the kind of people that inhabit this city. In many ways, Jamshedpur is a microcosm of the India we deserve where excellence and empathy co-exist. Where values are strengthened by each generation knowing fully well that they are mere custodians of a legacy that was born of not just self-reliance but also for giving back to society in great measure. And every time Jamshedpur’s value architecture has been threatened, the people of Jamshedpur have risen to resist almost as if caring for their city in a manner that is both heartwarming and a signal to the rest of the world. Jamshedpur is now 117 years old: more than a century of emanating values that every Indian holds dear, no matter what dispensation of faith they follow.

Values of excellence and values of humanism: steeled with time and steadfast devotion. I would imagine that Jamshedpur would be the ideal place for global leaders to visit so that they know the meaning of a purposeful legacy and how Jamshedpur is a living city with an undying soul.

There is merit in the Vedic definition of the soul: in a succession of verses, Krishna describes the soul as eternal, individual, and unchanging through the different developments of the body. And that is what Jamshedpur has been and remains today. The vagaries of time have left it untouched in both its vision and its purpose. Making it special and making it a beacon not just for India but for all humanity across the globe.

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