Book Review of Seven
Uncommoners by Author Ridhima Verma
Publisher: FingerPrint, Price: Rs 350
Report: P.Tharyan
It was Valentine’s Day and I was walking towards one of the
halls at the Pragati Maidan in New Delhi where the World Book Fair was being
held. It was February 14, 2015. I spotted a young lady in a floral dress and
wearing smart boots, walking a little distance away from me near the hall. She
looked smart and energetic. Later, I was briefly introduced to her by Vineet
Kanaujia of Safexpress. She was Ridhima Verma, the author of the book ‘Seven
Uncommoners’. The book features seven first generation entrepreneurs who came
from humble backgrounds and who had made it big in this world of ours.
Among the seven is Pawan Jain, Chairman and Managing
Director of Safexpress Private Limited. Being an automotive journalist, Jain
was the only one I really wanted to read about since the company is a force to
reckon with in the field of supply chain and logistics. I hurriedly took an autographed book from
Ridhima and walked out just after Jain had launched the book at the fair. I
wanted to talk to Jain but he was surrounded by too many people seeking his
attention.
I took the book home and poured over it for a few days,
reading as much as possible, during the free time I had. Being a journalist and
an entrepreneur myself, I was keen to learn from each of the experiences of the
seven wonderful people. While the entrepreneur in me was excited reading the
real life stories, the journalist me had to assess the book properly in terms
of language, content and spellings!
The author has chosen some good people for her book. The
first chapter is on Pawan Jain of Safexpress and I was truly inspired by the
man’s remarkable journey as a successful businessman. As an entrepreneur, I too
learnt some valuable lessons from his life’s journey. The book says that “...In all these years of
achieving one landmark victory after another, he remains disciplined, humble,
unequivocally balanced, and painfully polite”. Now that is truly admirable. I have met a lot
of top honchos of automotive companies and a handful of them have been able to
impress me with their humility and charm. Though I have not actually met Jain,
I have truly become his fan simply by reading about him.
The other six entrepreneurs featured in the book too share
an impressive journey, while on their way to making their millions. The common thread
that binds all these entrepreneurs is their modest background and their
class-inspiring achievements. Be it Patu Keswani who owns Lemon Tree Hotels, or
Nishith Desai of Nishith Desai Associates or Prasad Lad of Krystal Group of
Companies, their life’s journeys offer us mortals a bright beacon of hope. For
someone like me who became an entrepreneur at the age of 45 with limited money
and absolutely no business experience, the life experiences of people like
Pawan Jain and others will definitely open up a box full of hope for me and
millions like me!