So far, I haven’t written about the November terrorist attacks on Mumbai on this blog. But I was active in other ways. Fox Business TV interviewed me on their first “Money with Breakfast” show on the Monday after and the Hollywood Reporter carried another interview with me. My message about the tragedy was hopeful and defiant. ” The Cafe Leopold where the attacks started is already open and I intend to visit it in a few days.”
Over 700 million Indians don’t earn enough in a year to pay for one night at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai, the facility where the terrorist held out for four long days. Yet it is an icon that most Indians can identify and identify with. It is a symbol of pride and perhaps of the struggle against colonialism (it was built when India was under British rule and many desirable locations were not accessible to “dogs and Indians”)
I was travelling in India for most of December and when the Taj and Oberoi hotels re-opened around Christmas it was headline news on all the television channels and print media.
The CEO of the company that owns the Taj Hotels chain (which are part of the Tata group of companies) is American, Raymond Bickson. He was recently featured in the New York Times, on the subject of the iconic hotel. Here is his story as told to bestselling author, Perry Garfinkel. I highly recommend that you read it to get an insight into the spirit of India.
In my own book on Business in 21st Century India, I note the unique traditions of the Tata Group (socialist in character, capitalist in form) and their long commitment to charitable causes and to the welfare of their employees. So readers should not be surprised by Bickson’s coment that “Families of the 15 Taj employees who died will be paid their deceased’s salaries for the rest of their lives, as well as all medical benefits and education for those up to age 24.”
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
