Book: Daughters of Legacy
Author: Rinku Paul and Puja Singhal
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 191; Price: Rs 299
The best thing about the book is its name Daughters of Legacy. It has been said as it is, without any ifs and buts. It is a tendency now a day to shame anyone who is born in a privilege. It feels good to see that authors and publisher were not scared of naming it as it is.
Book narrates the fascinating stories of twelve enterprising women who have gone beyond managing inherited business and have scripted success by diversifying into different ventures. Authors have covered businesswomen not only from different fields but also from different size of business in turns of volume i.e. from Rs 22,000 cr to Rs 500 cr, some in their 30s to some who are really experienced, some are carrying legacy of 40 years to some carrying legacy which are more than a century old.
But one thing is common; all of them have been supported by their fathers, sometime going against the tradition. And equally important is the fact that not even in a single case brothers objected the inheritance of family business by sisters. This makes this book a mandatory reading for judges and feminists in India.
Husbands, in case of married businesswomen, have stood by them; rather husband and wife have stood for each other. Support from mothers and sisters are equally heart-warming. This book represents the true story of Indian family business. Pictures add lot of value to the book. A note from one of the parent of the each featured daughter is like icing on the cake.
Book is a lesson on how the rich parents keep their kids grounded and how level headed the legacy inheritors are. To be successful even rich kids have to go through the grind, and most of the time it is self driven. A daughter who is also a legacy inheritors has to counter double whammy i.e. being a girl and daughter of boss.
Lot of them have stood taste of time inspite huge losses at the personal front, something which the public at large is not aware of. These aspects add lot of respect for these legacy inheritors. The stories of these heiresses are heart warming but what is encouraging is their big business dreams and their passion to go after those dreams and convert them into a reality. This is a collection of only twelve women businessmen, but we all know that there are whole lot of other women out their making their name in the Indian business world and these 12 are a symbolic representation of them.