In God India Inc trusts

KK Swamy, the former deputy managing director of Toyota Kirloskar Motors, who will soon take over as the managing director of Volkswagen India, wears a light blue shirt for important meetings, including product launches. Once dressed in a crisp white shirt, he admitted being uncomfortable, though he looked good.

TVS boss Venu Srinivasan makes it a point to send 21 units of every new two-wheeler to places of worship covering every conceivable religion in the country. The green signal for commercial production comes only after this ritual is over.

Divine blessings for a new model make sense, but Srinivasan himself is not sure about the number 21. He simply brushes this aside as a routine he has done for many years now: "Making this first offering to God is part of our culture, isn't it?"

Indian businessmen and executives may not yet be the most meticulous executioners of management principles in the world. But when it comes to keeping the Gods and lady luck happy, they leave no stone unturned.

They might be dealing with the latest technologies and products, Indian businessmen stay rooted in old traditions.

Mumbai-based psycho-analyst Shailesh Kapadia, who works closely with several companies, calls it 'infantile omnipotent fantasies'. He, however, does not dismiss it as a harmless vice. "I will worry about it. Can we trust them with important decisions," he asks. More important, Kapadia adds, there is no 'cure' for this. "It is like trying to change a fundamentalist."

A visit to the temple of the favourite deity is the first insurance most Indian businessmen seek before they set out on a new strategic initiative. Anil Ambani visited Tirupati before he launched his unsuccessful bid for Hutch.

His more colourful counterpart, Vijay Mallaya, has taken his devotion to Tirupati to an altogether different level -- all new Kingfisher Airlines aircraft are first taken for a spin over Tirupati before they are put to commercial use. Jet fuel prices may have risen to prohibitive levels, but not enough for Mallya to hold back this ritual.

What warms the heart is that the belief of businessmen is not bound by religious boundaries. Cognizant Technology Solution retained its registered office at Cathedral Road in Chennai till recently for two benevolent neighbourhood deities -- the Church of South India on one side and the US Consulate on the other, a top official said recently.

Sunil Bharti Mittal becomes a vegetarian before any major business move. He breaks this vow only after the closure of the deal, followed by a visit to a big temple. Mittal's friends say he does this to improve his focus and keeps his body clean from any "impurities" non-vegetarian food might add.

Megh Raj Mitter, the founder of Punjab-based Tarksheel Society, a body of rationalists, has a different take on it. According to him, CEOs do it only to appease superstitious colleagues and subordinates. "I am sure Indian companies would do much better if they let go of these superstitions," he says Old habits, Mitter should know, die hard.