Harish Bhat

A diamond twice as large as the famous Kohinoor pledged to survive a financial crisis; meeting a 'relatively unknown young monk' who later went on to be known as Swami Vivekananda; a photograph that Kalpana Chawla carried along with her on her first mission into space; the fascinating story of the first-ever Indian team at the Olympics; how 'OK TATA' made its way to the back of millions of trucks on the Indian highways, and many more. #Tatastories is a collection of little-known tales of individuals, events and places from the Tata Group that have shaped the India we live in today.

40 Timeless Tales to Inspire You

#Tatastories

From steel to beverages and from supercomputers to automobiles, TATA companies have broken new ground and set new standards of excellence over the past two decades. TATAlog presents eight riveting and hitherto untold stories about the strategic and operational challenges that TATA companies have faced, and the forward thinking and determination that have raised the brand to new heights. Among the engaging and inspiring stories told here are those of Tata Indica, the first completely Indian car that succeeded in the face of widespread cynicism; the jewellery brand Tanishq that has transformed one of India's largest industries; and Tata Finance, which underwent several tribulations yet demonstrated the principles which Tata stands for.

Eight Modern Stories from a Timeless Institution

Tata Log

On 12 November 2008, Tata Steel was awarded the prestigious Deming Prize. Being one of the most difficult awards to win, the Deming Prize is one of its kind and is awarded to a company recognizing the quality of work done. There's a lot that goes into making a company so well-organized that it becomes worthy of winning the Deming Prize and no one knows that better than the managing director of Tata Steel at that time, B. Muthuraman. In Tata Steel Wins the Deming Prize, the MD not only describes how he heard the news and how much it meant for him to have won this award, but also throws light on what goes into the process of creating an organization that works in an efficient manner. Read on, as Harish Bhat, brand custodian of the Tata Group, talks about the company’s victory and how they set about achieving this goal.

Tata Steel Wins the Deming Prize

The year 2007 was an important milestone for the IT sector in India: A one of its kind supercomputer, EKA, was released that year and it was ranked the fourth fastest supercomputer in the world. EKA helped India make a mark globally, joining the leagues of countries like USA, who had dominated this sector until then. Additionally, EKA also played a major role in the Chandrayaan project, which was another leap ahead for India technologically. In EKA: Birth of an Indian Supercomputer, Harish Bhat narrates the story of how it came to be a crowning IT achievement of the country and details the journey of two Indian scientists, Dr Sunil Sherlekar and Dr Narendra Karmarkar, in creating one of the fastest supercomputers with the support of one of the most powerful companies of India, the Tatas.

Birth of an Indian Supercomputer

All that glitters is not gold, but Tanishq was determined to give India as much gold as its heart desired—and for that, it needed to glitter. It is no secret that Tanishq is one of the most successful jewellery stores in India today, but, at the beginning, as a first attempt at corporatizing the jewellery business, there were many challenges that the company had to face. The very first being, how could people trust a gold merchant if it was not a family business? Overcoming outdated dogmas about how a jewellery business should function, Xerxes Desai, the founder, would have to go quite a way until they could make it big in the market. In this detailed account of Tanishq's journey, Desai tells Bhat how his company arrived at its path to success. Read on, as Harish Bhat, brand custodian of the Tata Group, describes an account that will definitely inspire entrepreneurs, and those aspiring to become one, to create and preserve a successful business empire.

Tanishq Sets the Gold Standard

When Tata Indica was first launched, it was more than just about another car entering the Indian automobile market. It was the launch of India's very first indigenous car, which eventually led to Tata Motors becoming one of the most trusted automobile companies in the country. Along with understanding step-by-step details about the making of the car, the book goes on to talk about how the car was received by the Indian masses, which eventually helped the growth of the Tata Group. Read on, as Harish Bhat, brand custodian of the Tata Group, details the many snippets that aided in the creation of the car, while also discussing the political, cultural and global influence it had on the country, by helping India carve a place for itself in the automobile industry.

The Very First Indian Car

Tata Indica

On 12 April 2001, a 'Shankar Sharma' wrote a letter containing information that shook the Tata world off its steady feet. The letter brought up allegations against Tata Finance and its director, Dilip Pendse. However, the identity of 'Shankar Sharma' still remains unknown. Tata Finance had a lot of hope placed in it, and seemed to be meeting these great ambitions, and Dilip Pendse was the man behind most of its success. But this was all an illusion—a great deal of filth was shrouded by grandeur and the letter became a means to unveil the gravity of the situation. Suddenly, Tata Finance, the company providing the most dependable financial guidance, was not in a position to manage its own financial goals. Unable to pay its depositors and investors, the company ran the risk of not only losing its priceless credibility, but also good credit. In such a situation, Ratan Tata had to take the reigns back into his hands. Read on as Harish Bhat, brand custodian of the Tata Group, describes in detail how Tata dealt with this grave financial situation, ensuring that they could avoid such calamities in the future.

The Tribulations of Tata Finance

# Tata Stories

When they drink a cup of 'magic' coffee, Rahul and Neha are entrusted with a quest that promises to lead to great treasure. As they race from the plantations of Coorg to Japanese graveyards, they are trailed by the Yamamoto brothers-bearing grudges and carrying swords. Accompanied by a friendly ghost and armed with an extreme love of coffee, Rahul and Neha discover their passion for warm frothy concoctions and each other. But will they manage to evade their Japanese assailants and find the treasure they first set out for?

A Novel

An Extreme Love of Coffee

TATAlog presents eight riveting and hitherto untold stories about the strategic and operational challenges that TATA companies have faced over the past two decades and the forward thinking and determination that have raised the brand to new heights. From Tata Indica, the first completely Indian car; to the jewellery brand Tanishq; and Tata Finance, which survived several tribulations, TATAlog, written by a Tata insider, reveals the DNA of every TATA enterprise—a combination of being pioneering, purposive, principled and ‘not perfect’.

Tatalog

‘Out of curiosity comes everything’ – Steve Jobs From Apple to Tata Tea, many leading brands have their roots in curiosity. The desire to know more often leads to new ideas and new perspectives; for a marketer, curiosity shapes the way one looks at products and their branding in innovative ways. In his new book, Harish Bhat brings his expertise on branding, communication and consumer insights to bear on a rapidly developing consumer-facing arena, exploring more than fifty products, places, people, books and publicity campaigns that excite him as a marketer. From brand marketing using aliens and flying saucers to going big with a delicious local product (banana chips or coconut water), from the interesting concept behind multicoloured socks to the metamorphosis of the Diwali shopper, Bhat touches on fascinating areas that marketers are targeting today. Immensely topical, this is a pleasurable read that will be of great interest to general readers, as well as students and professionals who work in the exciting area of marketing.

Harish Bhat

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