Why is Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw such an iconic figure for India? Although he won for India its first war against a foreign enemy in over 2,000 years--the last time India won a war against a foreign foe was in 303 BC when Chandragupta Maurya defeated the Macedonian general Selecus-- Manekshaw himself accepts that luck played a huge part in the victory.
So if there were other generals cleverer than him, how did he become a living legend of the Indian Army? One reason is Manekshaw is one of the finest communicators the Indian Army has had.
And for managers struggling to learn the intricacies of that complex thing called leadership, the model to follow is Manekshaw.
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On March 30, 1972, three and a half months after his victory over Pakistan, in a speech to cadets at the passing out parade at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Manekshaw said: "You are leaving here this morning as officers, as leaders. You will be going from here to your units that are deployed on the border. They are facing an enemy whom they have but recently fought and vanquished. You are going to be given command of troops in an operational area. You are indeed fortunate. Your tasks will be to administer to their needs and to lead them in battle. What sort of men will you be leading? You will be leading veterans, men who have fought, men who have won, men who are used to good leadership. Make sure you give it to them." His speech, his bearing, suggested grace was more important in victory than in defeat.
Management manuals are now discovering many of the attributes of leadership that came to Manekshaw naturally. He had a healthy contempt for bureaucratic authority and detested fawning officers.
He wrote in the confidential report of one such officer: "Why this officer has not developed a stammer is incomprehensible to me. I know I shall never suffer from piles."
He was obsessive about the welfare of the troops, although few know that the Field Marshal never commanded a battalion.
He was a fastidious and unconventional dresser, his uniform never conformed to regulation, it was always that little bit smarter.
And he flirted outrageously with the ladies. All this came together to create a mystique that made people listen to Manekshaw -- after all, how many chiefs would refuse to call the prime minister Madame on the grounds that it would be impolite to use a word more appropriate in bawdy houses?
Not everything Manekshaw describes about his days in the Army is strictly accurate. Lt Gen JFR Jacob, in his Witness to Surrender, an account of the war for Bangladesh, says the capture of Dacca--the event that led to the complete surrender of the Pakistan Army--was never an objective set out by those who planned the war from Delhi, namely Army Headquarters.
Gen Jacob's book is intended to demystify India's military victory over Pakistan in 1971 and Manekshaw's part in it.
But although that is probably the truth, the reality is that because of his personality and the way he tells the story, Manekshaw's version of the war is the one that India has internalised.
That gives students of management something more to think about: to be a leader you also have to be a raconteur.
At his 90th birthday party at the Battle Honours Mess, Manekshaw proved he had not lost this quality. A young-looking general told him, "People say I look like you."
Maneckshaw looked at his young wife and shot back, "Why do you think she married you?" Then he said plaintively: "I don't know why they're saying I'm 90. I'm only 89!"
To this the Chief of Army Staff, Gen NC Vij's response was: "When the World Cup semifinal was on, we hoped someone would score a hundred so that India could lift the Cup for us. We know Sam will do it."