There was a time not far too long ago, when being a Tata was something aspirational in the world of business
There was a time not far too long ago, when "being a Tata" was something aspirational in the world of business. The Tatas were icons with not even a whiff of scandal attached to their impeccable name. Being a baba, meanwhile was an intensely spiritual thing that involved you and a few wide eyed followers. But times have changed. And even as Chief Ministerial daughters go to jail, the Tatas have sleuths, sleuthing around Tata House sniffing into their telecom deals ufffd and babaism is the best business vertical to get into.
The other day, a leading newspaper ran this contest where young, wannabe entrepreneurs could make their elevator pitches with business plans attached ufffd and get their dreams picked if they were brighter and smarter and made their pitch pitchier than the rest. However the truly smartest, brightest ones of the lot didn't bother entering the contest. They merely went and invested in a sackful of orange robes and learnt the lotus position.
While the rest of the bright young 'uns were thinking up names for their corporates, the little babas who saw themselves being babas were merely attaching an appropriately divine nomenclature to their dreadlocks.
It used to be that babas would preach from the holy scriptures and retire to their simple huts for the night.
Now they jet around (no walking and begging for alms, puhleez, that's sooo old school, sorry, old ashram!) to spread the word and make the moolah. But it can't be all easy being a baba to the boomers.u00a0 You have to find controversies and pitch yourself into non-issues so that you can stay on top of the hits on youtube. Throwing a few divine words here and there isn't up to scratch any more. You have to compete with the likes of Mallika Sherawat on one side, and Rahul-baba on the other.
The other day a certain baba-person who mysteriously rose from being a shopkeeper to the head of a business empire (by divine boon?) was seen waving his beard at corruption. The rot in the system certainly hasn't disappeared, and my only question is, who paid for babaji's flight ticket! (He could have claimed he arrived via magic carpet, if four leading Cabinet ministers hadn't walked on to the tarmac to greet him.) Another orange-robed luminary, caught sharing his heavenly passions with an actress, claimed he didn't remember anything because he was in a divine stupor. Apparently the stupor wasn't deep enough to let him forget about transferring all the property the government bequeathed him to his name.
The IIMs, it is rumoured, are now telling their students to forget being a Tata. It's so much easier becoming a Fortune-lister as a baba.
