Lunch with BS: Rajshree Pathy

Truly, a sugar baroness

Rajshree Pathy

The transition from a dutiful daughter-in-law to a Global Leader of Tomorrow has been achieved while building up an enviable art collection

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence is one of the most famous museums of the world, housing acclaimed paintings of a range of artists, from Botticelli to da Vinci, Durer and Rembrandt.

"The Uffizi" in Coimbatore is the name

Rajshree Pathy has given to her office. Not unlike its counterpart in Florence, the office of Rajshree Sugars and Chemicals Ltd is crammed with rare and beautiful paintings "" a Raza here, a Ramachandran there....

From here, over a Rs 350-crore empire (give or take a few hundred crores, depending on the price of sugarcane) rules Pathy, who could be a dusky version of Botticelli's angels herself, a little wistful, sometimes serene and always childlike, writes Business Standard

.

"Shobhana [Bharatiya] and I have entered into a pact not to tell any journalist our age," she said pertly, "we've decided we'll always be 35." We'd just been served our hors d'oeuvres "" a selection of dim sum dumplings "" at 19 Oriental Avenue at the newly opened Shangri-La Hotel. The dim sum comprised a set of four-steamed dumplings served atop a plantain leaf in a narrow boat-like porcelain dish with lots of garnishing. It did seem excessive prettification of what is essentially workmanlike food, but Pathy cooed over the presentation. The dumplings themselves were nondescript. We ordered the rest of the food: Tom Yum Koong, the Thai prawn soup, honey-glazed chicken, prawns with plum sauce and teppanyaki noodles. Pathy wanted to try something called the bento box, but she was talked out of it. We also opted not to try the deep fried crispy pigeon.

Pathy looks for art and design everywhere because she became a sugar baroness from being a thwarted artist. She wanted to study art and architecture at JJ School, but her mother tearfully begged her not to leave Coimbatore. In filial obedience, she complied. As the elder daughter of one of Coimbatore's best-known industrial and philanthropist families "" the PSG group has interests in sugar, textiles, automobile retailing and education "" she created space for a few small rebellions, such as opting to study in an Avinashilingam college, rather than a PSG one, which her forbears had set up. It didn't last long. She got married at 17 and a half, when she was still in her second year and tried to curb her restless spirit.

Coimbatore is a rapidly expanding city but with small-town values. "The PSG family produces girls, the Laxmi Mills family produces boys, they marry each other and live happily ever after," she joked. But as with the rest of her life, a different script awaited her. In 1995, her father went to Amsterdam for a visit, and was having dinner when he choked on a piece of steak, couldn't dislodge it, and went into a coma. He was just 52, an active sportsman, lover of vintage cars and racing. "He was a tall, gorgeous-looking man, my father," Pathy said quietly. "For 12 days he lay in a coma." The shock was too much for her mother. She lost her memory a few months later. "Overnight, I had no father, no mother, just a bunch of sugar companies I had to run."

Everyone lost faith in her. Her father, who had been an AIADMK Member of the Rajya Sabha, had, in a moment of weakness, set up sugar factories in Andipatti, late MG Ramachandran's constituency. Those were the years of drought in Tamil Nadu. Cane was not available. There was no money. "For two years we went through a cash loss. I was running between Andipatti and Coimbatore. I was also expecting my second child, my son. All the sugar biggies in Tamil Nadu "" EID Parry, Shakti and so on "" asked me to sell. I refused. Then they went to my in-laws to get them to make me see sense. Everyone told me: 'What do you know about business?' But I decided I have to see this through. So my first decision was to go public. I was called 'arrogant'. This was public money I was dealing with. But I was determined."

During that period, Pathy decided to build "her house". On the way to Coimbatore airport, on a 25-acre plot of coconut trees, is her farm, the place she treasures above all her possessions. "It's brimming with art. It's the second Indian home to feature in the Milan Architectural Digest," she said with a smile. She has designed every inch of the house herself. "It cost just Rs 30 lakh. It is a minimalist home, but nature comes right into the house." She has a joint venture with the Coimbatore-based Arya Vaidya Pharmacy (AVP) and wants to develop ayurveda in a big way.

We'd finished our soup "" that was excellent "" and noted with dismay that the prawn dish was batter-fried prawns with a chutney on the side. Broad noodles appeared to have been quickly dipped in and out of oil. By the time we finished our meal, we'd ingested enough grease to spontaneously combust. We ordered jasmine tea to wash down the mess.

Pathy is currently president of the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), but what she really wants to do is set up a private art museum in Chennai. When she's especially stressed, she likes to go driving "" with cousin Narain Karthikeyan, who's done the Grand Prix. "My family has been in racing since 1952. I haven't done Formula One but I've done Sholavaram. That's fast enough for me. I like speed," she said, eyes shining.

Pathy began coming to Delhi about 15 years ago and loves it. "It's like reading the papers. In Coimbatore, you just read about making policy. In Delhi, you're part of what you read." She's managed to introduce textiles, considered a sunset industry, in the Confedration of Indian Industry and was made a Global Leader of Tomorrow at Davos. More than that, she's created a Global Sugar Alliance and is currently lobbying for recognition of ethanol as an auto fuel.

The restaurant was almost empty but we noticed a guest at our table: the Musca domestica Linnaeus, which buzzed around busily and sat down on the remains of the honey-glazed chicken with a proprietorial air. A man walked in with a broom and pail to remove the proximate reasons for the presence of the fly. We'd had enough. Pathy and I parted, both richer by a friend.