The eccentric Haldiram family could be explained with references to Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, author Pavitra Kumar tells ANANYA BORGOHAIN
What about the Haldiram family fascinated you to chronicle their journeyIJ
The Haldiram story is an inspiring one. It started with a young man, Haldiram, in the desert town of Bikaner. In the beginning it was a just small snacks shop and today the business has expanded into a Rs 5,000 crore empire, one of India’s super brands. I wanted to write a book about an indigenous business and the challenges that a family business faces in the modern times.
At the same time, I also wanted it to be a journalistic enquiry into the family members and the leaders behind the business. The Haldiram brand was the perfect story to follow…inspirational, yet human in that they had to face and overcome several challenges.
At one point, you draw a parallel with The Godfather in the book, in the context of Prabhu Agarwal. Why is the family so eccentric and notoriousIJ
The quote by Mario Puzo specifically was “every family has bad memories.” I think the quote says it all. No family is perfect and while there are ups, there are also the downs. While members might be happy overall, there are also sad, challenging and difficult times that are faced by every family.
My intention was to demonstrate that the Haldiram family was also one such family that had to face several ups and downs due to both internal and external circumstances.
Given how huge the empire is and the numerous family members that you have written about, this book clearly required tremendous research, thoughtfulness, and patience. What were the challenges that you facedIJ
It took about a year and a half to conduct all the interviews, do thorough research, transcribe conversations and then actually write the book. There are a lot of different companies that use the Haldiram brand and co-coordinating with the various members, setting up interviews and ensuring that various parts of the story checked out was challenging. However, it was also thoroughly gratifying to see the story unfold through these interviews.
A second challenge was that the family had historically been media shy. However, I realised that they had very traditional values and I would need to respect them in order to be able to break through and make conversations.
For instance, Madhusudan Agarwal in Delhi was hesitant to speak with me unless I had already spoken to his eldest brother Shiv Kishan. They believed in this hierarchy and respecting that made it easier to get more interviews.
What about the women in the Haldiram empireIJ
Women have had a very nurturing role in the Haldiram family. Never overtly involved in business, women have always been of help behind the scenes. For instance, Champa Devi waking up at 2 am with her husband to prepare the batter for the bhujia that he then finished preparing and sold. Women have been respected but never been given the opportunity to really be a part of the business or contribute to its growth or success in a recognised manner.
Which member in the family impressed you the most and whyIJ
I think the whole book and all the characters were fascinating. In fact the differences between each of the characters in the book was what made it interesting to write. If I had to choose one person though, I would say Manoharlal was the most interesting. He had to many a times stand strong against the tide of resistance and do what he felt was right to grow the business. That is inspiring to see in such a traditional family.
What has been their reaction to the bookIJ
They have been very cooperative in giving me interviews and helping me piece together the story. They are receiving several congratulations from close friends who have read the book and are also in the process of reading the entire work.
There is also the mention of a major union strike in the book. What are your observations about the current employees’ attitude towards the brandIJ
Most everyone I have spoken to, be it in Delhi, Kolkata, Nagpur or Bikaner has been in impromptu interviews and surprisingly each and every one of them has sincerely praised the leaders and expressed their love of the company and brand. Many workers and employees in Delhi, Nagpur and Bikaner have been with the family for over 20 years!
As a consumer who had special access to information on their operation, how safe would you call Haldiram’s productsIJ
I think their products are very safe! I’m not a technical person but they have had a strong focus on cleanliness, hygiene, meeting international standards for safe ingredients and safety of employees. This was especially seen in Delhi, Nagpur and Bikaner. They factories were highly automated, workers wore masks and gloves and worked in A/C conditions on limited time shifts of 8 or 9 hours.
Where do you see the future of this brand goingIJ
Only upwards! It is a brand with strong recall, a huge loyal customer base and a growing youth market. It is also a brand that understands its strengths and plays by it. For instance, instead of diluting their talents and efforts they have decided to mainly focus on the education sector. Recently Haldiram’s in Delhi have also entered the education space but mostly with the mindset of making a difference in society and offering children holistic education.
They do face challenges that they are currently mitigating such as modernising their work culture and moving towards a more professional and inclusive environment. The biggest challenge they face in the years to come is having a clear succession plan where a constitution is set in place enabling future family members to join the companies under certain guidelines that would ensure the success of the business.
Bhujia Barons, written by Pavitra Kumar is published by Penguin Random House, Rs 399