Basant Kumar Birla, the 98-year-old patriarch of one of India’s most illustrious business families, is dead. He breathed his last in Mumbai where he spent the last years of his life in proximity to, and in the care of, grandson Kumar Mangalam Birla.
“BK Babu”, as he was affectionately called, was a doting grandfather to Kumar who has built the largest business empire within the Birla clan. Under his tutelage, Kumar took over the reins of Aditya Birla Group at the young age of 28 after the untimely death of his father and BK Babu’s only son Aditya Vikram Birla.
The mortal remains of the Birla patriarch will be brought on Wednesday night to Calcutta where he was born in 1921 and spent most of his life. The last rites will be performed on Thursday.
Despite failing health and advanced age, Basant Babu remained the chairman of the board of most of his companies, including Kesoram, the flagship firm. He is survived by daughters, Manjushree Khaitan and Jayashree Mohta, and grandson Kumar. Wife Sarla Devi passed away four years ago.
He was the youngest of the three sons of industry doyen Ghanashyam Das Birla and arguably his father’s favourite.
Two years into his science graduation in Presidency College, BK Babu was inducted into the family business.
“A college degree will make you a good accountant. However, I do not wish for you to become an accountant. I’m convinced the time has come for you to use your skills and engage yourself in doing business full time,” G.D. Birla told his son. By 1940, he was the chairman of Kesoram Industries, a post he held till the end.
But even earlier, he was honing his trading skills,
especially in sugar and stocks, and learning partha (accounts) at Kesoram.
He once famously recalled how his uncle Brij Mohan asked him to earn pocket money. “You are a grown up lad… If you want to earn some pocket money, then you better learn to play the stock exchange,” B.M. Birla said.
The Birlas, originally from Pilani in Rajasthan, had first moved to Bombay after the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 and then shifted to Calcutta at the turn of 20th century.
B.K. Birla and his son Aditya inherited most of the large companies of the group such as Hindalco, Grasim, Century and Kesoram.
While Kumar eventually gained control of Hindalco and Grasim, BK Babu transformed Kesoram and Century from just a textile maker to a diversified entity by venturing into cement, tyre, paper and real estate. He also entered tea plantation with Jayshree Tea.
A stickler for time, he was known to maintain a frugal lifestyle. Getting up at 4 am, BK Babu was often one of the first to come to office at 8.45 am.
Sarala Devi, who was married to B.K. Birla by Mahatma Gandhi, remained a guiding force in his life.
In an interview with this newspaper during 69th anniversary of their wedding, he confessed that he never went ahead with anything without her approval.
However, it was the family’s contributions to education that he cherished the most. Asked once how he would like to be remembered, pat came the response: “I want to be remembered for spreading education. And as an honest person with integrity.”
