Yet, it wasn't just grit that Nanda was made of. It was an impish charm -- bribing a British colonel openly, or financing his position as captain of the cricket team and an ability to think big even when the odds weren't in his favour that made Nanda the man he was. In 1945, he sensed the Indian National Congress was the only true national party and so gave them trucks for their campaign. They didn't have the Rs 10 lakhto pay him. He later tore up the IOUs and won the silent gratitude of Congress leaders. And, during Partition, he came with Rs 5,000 and two cars but stayed at the Imperial Hotel because he felt he'd create a good impression and benefit from it; later while setting up office, he spent Rs 1 lakh of the capital of Rs 2.5 lakh on just doing up the office, to improve the corporate image. Scenes from the story of Nanda's life, in his own words.

The Lovable Rogue, First Offences...

I wanted to be a leader in whatever I did but I was also lazy. Especially in sports. I couldn't play any game but I wanted desperately to be captain. I found a way: I stole money from my father's pocket to buy hockey sticks, cricket bats and other sports goods which I gave to the school on condition I was made captain of the team. This was my first effort as financier: I financed myself into a non-playing captain's role.

(After wanting to ingratiate himself to a British Colonel, to be able to get the best war-surplusvehicles in an auction) ...I decided to take a big risk. I put six bottles of Scotch whisky, which was very costly and difficult to obtain in those days, into a gunny bag. Then on top, where they would be visible, I put two dozen bottles of beer. ...I arrived at the British officers' mess with the bag and asked to see the colonel... As he came down the stairs from the first floor, he roared at us irritably: ``Who the hell are you and why have you come here?'' I held out Rs 20 in my hand and with a straight face replied: ``Colonel, you have probably forgotten that you gave me Rs 100 yesterday to buy some beer and bring it here. I have spent Rs 80 on the beer bottles, here is the balance Rs 20.''

I was openly bribing a British officer and my audacity could have landed me in jail. ...My gamble paid off. The colonel softened, smiled ... called a bearer to take the sack to his room ... I got the best vehicles...

Thinking Differently, Laterally

One of the hardest things to do is to get people to thinkdifferently. Escorts prepared the blueprint to make this vital transformation at the mass level. We started India's first private Institute of Farm Mechanisation at Azadpur, Old Delhi, of 800 acres of land leased from the army. ... The institute lived up to our dream for 25 years...In the years from 1951 to 1975, we must have trained over 2,00,000 students, dealers, tractor mechanics and agricultural graduates.

The farm at Kashipur was getting noticed for its agricultural output as well. Sugarcane production boomed here ... we set up piggeries and poultry farms ... through cross-breeding with Haryana bullocks, we improved the hybrid and within three years had a successful dairy farm ...

The F(r)ight of his life

(In 1983, when his niece who was staying at Swraj Paul's flat in London called him up, saying she overhead Paul saying that he was buying up a large stake in both Escorts and DCM.)

I soon managed to find out that Paul was not buying the shares in his personal name. Instead, he was doingit through 13 different companies. The reason for this was clear immediately: the rules governing investment in Indian companies by non-residents stated that an NRI could not buy up more than 1 per cent of an Indian company's shares. In order to get around this, Paul was buying through 13 different companies, each of whom would obviously buy 1 per cent of Escorts' and DCM's shares....Most of the 13 companies which were fast becoming such large investors on the Indian stock market did not have a paid-up capital of more that 25,000 pounds each. They were registered in the Isle of Man tax haven. ...My fight to protect Escorts from the non-resident raider had now turned willy-nilly into a fight against the government. ...In the various meetings that I had with the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, he would repeatedly come around to the point that I must get the shares registered. ...At another meeting (with the Chairman of IDBI, M.R.B. Punja) Punja insisted that all the shares acquired by the 13 Caparocompanies be registered.

(Meanwhile, Nanda took the matter to the Bombay High Court) ...What (followed) was one of the biggest excise raids ever: they raided my home, the homes of my son Rajan and several of my relatives and company officials, and 250 Escorts offices across the country.

A witch hunt was to follow. Our tax files were reopened, unbelievably high-pitched tax assesments were handed down (involving a total tax liability of Rs 50 crore) ... it took more than three years to get all the matters sorted out. ...(Mukherjee) threatened that if we did not come to an immediate agreement with the Paul brothers on registering some of their shares, Rajan's and my continuation as Managing Directors of the company would be in danger.

(Then the RBI issued a circular to legitimise Paul's share investments in India -- Manmohan Singh, then the RBI governor did not know of the circular. Nanda took more than three months to get ready and, on December 29, 1983, filed a writ petition. On November 9, 1984, ninedays after Indira Gandhi was assassinated, the Bombay High court ruled in Nanda's favour.)