N Srinivasan Gives Up His First Love …Not His Second

Change is the law of the Universe. Well, a change has happened at The India Cements Ltd (ICL) on Christmas day. The indefatigable N Srinivasan finally called time and moved out the lock, stock and barrel of an organisation which he had captained so passionately for many years. UltraTech Cement, part of the Aditya Birla Group, is the new owner of ICL. Truly, an era has come to a grinding halt at ICL. Significantly enough, a few days from now – January 3, to be precise – Srinivasan will be completing 80 years of age. The sale of ICL to UltraTech as he steps into the twilight of his life is a reflection of the changing time and consequences of hard reality on the ground. One can debate the sale compulsion until the cows come home. Once upon a time, Srinivasan was the unquestioned Czar of the southern cement industry. Not just that.  He successfully spearheaded the industry wage pact time and again with effortless ease. Why did he give up ICL? Maybe he failed to go for modernisation of ICL plants. Maybe his love for cricket had dissipated his energy and diverted his focus away from ICL. As age takes a toll on him, the competition between the two biggies in the field – Adani and UltraTech – came in handy for him to sign off ICL on a reasonably better note. History will remember this man from the founding family for the fighter in him. What belonged to him yesterday, however, belongs to UltraTech today. A lesson from Bhagavad Gita!