We Are Our Future: Reflections on life

A HEARTFELT REFLECTION ON LIFE AND CAREER BY A STALWART OF INDIAN INDUSTRY.

After his graduate studies in the United States, Ashok S. Ganguly chose to live and work in India instead of returning to pursue a career as a scientist. This single decision would lead him down a path that was inextricably tied to the fate of the fledgling nation.

In We Are Our Future, Ganguly relives the highs and lows of his career with Hindustan Lever, the multinational that introduced branded goods to India. Joining the company as a researcher, he rose through the ranks to become chairman, smoothly transitioning from R&D to management.

Ganguly describes the complex dance between government and industry that characterised the post-Independence years, his interactions with Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Pranab Mukherjee, Manmohan Singh and various others in government. There are moments of levity too, such as the time he caught a mill- worker union leader from Bombay coming out of an upmarket jeweller’s in London, and the day he unintentionally upstaged a Congress trade union leader by standing firm in his decision to not allow him to bring his armed bodyguards into the factory premises.

Much more than a memoir, this book is a reflection on the importance of taking ownership of your own future. As Ganguly puts it, the good, the bad and the in- between-each encounter leaves its mark and moulds our mind and behaviour. Maturity and satisfaction are a result of reflection and our attitude towards the many ‘what if’s of our life. It’s up to us to seize each learning to grow and prosper.

For the future is built on the decisions we make.