To Give or Not To Give

Dr Vijaypat Singhania, one of India’s richest persons, is now penniless, all thanks to his tycoon son, Gautam.
He is completely broke, and by his own admission, is living hand-to-mouth.

Dr Singhania had put his blood, sweat and tears into building a company named ‘Raymond’ that started as a woollen fabric manufacturer, but became a household name in India as it diversified into a large number of products like suits, shirts, denims, cosmetics etc.

Dr Singhania was a keen aviator and at the age of 67, he created world record for gaining the highest altitude in a hot air balloon. But with his advancing age, he felt that it was better to leave the important decisions to the younger generation.

Dr Singhania, therefore, gave up all his 37.17% shares in his company worth around Rs 1000 crore in his son, Gautam’s favour, under the impression that Gautam as a loyal son would never betray or mistreat him. Gautam thus became the Chairman of Raymond Ltd.

But that proved to be his stupidest mistake, the Himalayan blunder, as he himself has admitted. The day came when Dr Singhania was sacked as Chairman-emeritus by the Board of the company he had founded. With this sacking, the ugly feud between the two plumbed new depths and reached courts.

His autobiography, “An Incomplete Life” is an eye-opener and worth reading.

This story, however, doesn’t establish the fact that all sons are like Gautam, but it’s also a fact that there is no dearth of Gautam’s, as we see old age homes are mushrooming in almost all cities.

Now many banks and other organisations, as a welfare measure, conduct programmes for their retiring employees for giving tips on the maintenance of health and finance, and one important suggestion given is, “not to transfer your money or properties to sons or daughters in your lifetime. At the most, you write a will.”

That is the reason why many a businessmen don’t hand over the keys of business to their sons, though they make succession plannings.

For people in business, they have the luxury of deciding when they want to retire, but in case of services, one has to retire after reaching a certain age, but we see how judges and senior bankers and bureaucrats wangle their ways onto some committee, commission or agency,  post-retirement.

Why? Nobody wants to miss the power and importance, once they had relished. Even a retired politician somehow tries to wangle a Governor’s post to enjoy the power in peace. 

We have seen how a King or Queen doesn’t abdicate the throne to Prince in his or her lifetime, because King or Queen knows that the day he or she is out of power, he or she will be relegated to a corner in the same Palace.

But there are also instances in the history, when Kings had been dethroned by their own sons, and even imprisoned till death.

One day one has to go, it’s a universal fact. The only thing matters is how one goes. But there is no sure shot formula. It has to be decided by the person concerned, looking to the circumstances prevailing at his or her time, that may prove right or wrong.

In either case, destiny is written, as sometimes one chooses the path, and sometimes the path chooses one.

–Kaushal Kishore

images: pinterest

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