Adi Godrej Centre

Though Godrej Agrovet’s diversified

Much of what we have tried

Was something that we slipped into.

For animal feed this proved quite true

Various meals made up the feed

For compound feed there seemed no need.

Then Bühler sought out L & T

Together they had tried to see,

If any market might exist.

There were no takers on their list.

Thus forced to make a clean swipe

They were then left with a prototype.

A discount customer was sought

And Adi Godrej was the one who bought.

Serendipity and not a vision

Helped us start the feed division.

And now’s the time for all to cheer

Dear Adi our leader and pioneer!

Adi is my elder brother,

For good advice, there was no other.

He always took the greatest care

And in all things was very fair.

At school he was extremely smart,

Excelled in all, except for art.

For fame he never seemed to hanker,

In SSC he was first ranker.

Then Xavier’s college up to Inter.

He then had to contend with winter

As his next step was MIT,

Where, when just twenty-one, you see,

He was both Bachelor and Master.

And few have ever done it faster!

Once back home he started work.

No matter what, he’d never shirk.

This was way back in ‘63.

The years have passed as you can see.

His arrival meant rising hopes

For forty-year-old Godrej Soaps.

Just two crore was then the size.

And Adi set out to modernise-

MBA’s were soon recruited

And cars for managers were mooted.

The marketing was revamped,

And those who couldn’t change decamped.

He introduced cost accounting

And soon the sales started mounting.

Is Adi’s success because of skill,

Or is it more his iron will?

For Adi was always organised

And punctuality was prized.

By dusk his desk is very neat,

His paperwork is all complete.

Not agonising is the trick,

Decisions must be very quick.

Adi can’t stand the status quo

All novel things he wants to know.

And if he thinks that it is right

He puts in all his will and might

Behind the new initiative

And with support that he can give

We quickly learn the latest ways,

Make sure the group sees better days.

But while he strove for the group

The industry was in the loop.

He’s always ready to lend a hand,

Be President or take a stand

With government on policy

And he’ll persist till industry

Gets exactly what it needs.

And once he headed CII

Ensuring that it would fly high.

And anybody that you ask

Will state this is no easy task.

Requiring traveling incessantly

And persuasive advocacy

How he survived I'll never know

In fact, he had a cheery glow.

And now of course we all see

We have a working GST,

A cause he pursued relentlessly

Almost monomaniacally.

And for this selfless contribution

He deserves his Padma Bhushan!

All who see him are inspired.

For all he does, he’s never tired

Where did he get the energy?

It shouldn’t be any mystery,

Adi of course, was very fit.

He didn’t seem to want to sit.

There’s not a sport, he hasn’t tried

For he could even paraglide.

He really loved to water-ski,

Not on a lake but on the sea.

And on a trip to Mt. Kailash,

Although conditions were quite harsh,

The mount was circled in a day.

Most folks his age would say, “No way”.

And none of us could fail to see

That he was always full of energy.

He always set a rapid pace

As he led us in the race.

Though all of us most surely know

That we have many miles to go

But still we're sure it can be done.

Indeed, this race must be won.

And if we stay on the proper way

And never let our value’s sway,

If all of us fulfil our roles

We will surely reach our goals.

A billion Indians, we can say,

Will use our product every day

And everywhere it will be seen

That we are great, good and green.

Adi’s spell was truly great.

The years he worked were fifty-eight!

But all good things come to an end.

Let’s hope we can maintain the trend.

He has stepped down, as you can see,

The mantle has been passed to me.

His shoes are big and hard to fill

But with your support, I think we will

Continue well in the same way

 

As Adi did in his own day.

Now that he’s Chairman Emeritus

I’m sure that he’ll merit us

With his presence and advice,

Invaluable beyond any price.

And he is here with us today

Once again to guide the way.

The new division did succeed

With its first product Animal Feed.

When there was a tallow ban

In desperation we had to scan

For an alternative fat or oil.

After much research and toil

Some success could be seen

As minor oils came on the scene.

These could be used if purified

Deodorisation was often tried.

The tricky chemicals thus removed

Quite fortuitously then proved

To be agrochemicals, par excellence.

We very quickly grabbed the chance

To enter this exciting field

And help the farmers improve their yield.

Growth promoters came into play

One more business was on the way.

Our growth was slow but very steady

For a step jump we were ready.

Ashok is a man of many parts.

Equally at home in Science and Arts.

In Chemistry and music he’s a star

But in golf, as well, he goes quite far.

As a student he was very bright.

He reached such a lofty height

That a scholarship came his way

And off to England he went one day!

First A Levels, then University.

At Oxford he got his degree.

And then there were real sparks

As he got record breaking marks!

We’re lucky he was homeward bound.

His decision was very sound.

For once, there was no brain drain

For India, it was such a gain.

Ashok and his brother Jai,

Together went on their way

A chemical company was made

It prospered well in this trade.

There came a time when Ashok thought

That perhaps he really ought

Go on his own and do his thing

Different products he could bring.

Though Chemicals undoubtedly.

A new stage is what we see.

An opportunity was caught.

From the receiver a plant was bought.

Thus Astec Life Sciences was born

And that indeed was the dawn

Of a new and glorious day

As Astec was on its way!

One of Ashok’s significant roles

Was to master triazoles.

And now he can take great pride

In being the King of Fungicide!

From those beginnings in ‘94

Astec aspired to do much more.

The next generation weren’t so inclined

 

Ashok then had to find

A buyer for all he had built.

No one knew which way he’d tilt.

Then Godrej bought a major share

And don’t you think it would be fair

To state it worked out rather well

As anyone can quickly tell

With just a glance at the share price.

The growth rate has been rather nice!

Each partner brought varied skills.

Such synergy always thrills.

Ashok’s strength was technology

Both safety and novel chemistry.

Now Godrej was more organised.

This is a skill that should be prized.

With finance we could lend a hand.

Forex hedging we understand.

And our lower interest rates

Can open up expansion gates.

Much investment we now see

In both new plants and R&D.

Last year the going was very rough

The Propi and Tebu markets were tough.

At the end of the tunnel there’s shimmering light

The future now looks very bright.

Today is a very special day.

Our R&D is on its way.

In Chemicals India’s strong.

Investment here can’t go wrong.

Our capital costs are very low.

Technical knowledge will steadily grow.

ROI’s good for CDMO.

More interest will steadily flow.

And when all of you will enter

Our brand new Adi Godrej Centre

You will see that it’s state of the art.

This will be a brilliant start

As we turn another new page

And enter a brand new age.

One hundred chemists will work here

Our Dr. Fondekar will steer.

All our chemists will be well guided

Many facilities are provided.

Flow chemistry and fluorination,

Electronic documentation.

The latest technologies are there.

Process engineering and software.

Our CDMO business is bound to grow.

Novel enterprise chemicals will also flow.

New horizons are in sight

The future will be very bright!

Animal feed played a part

When Godrej Agrovet had its start.

That move set us into motion.

Now the stream has reached the ocean.

We’ve been through storms and times of ease

But we will sail all seven seas.

And I for one am willing to bet

We’ll exceed the pace he set.

Now hearing praise can be quite tough,

I’m sure by now Adi’s had enough.

But all the same why don’t we stand

And then give him a rousing hand?

For service to both group and nation

He deserves a standing ovation!