Sunita Kripalani - VERBIE GOES BANANAS

My book VERBIE GOES BANANAS

Two books for the Welspun Foundation

In mid-2009, the Welspun Group, a US$ 3 billion company, approached me to write the biography of their founder, the late Mr. G R Goenka, who had passed away in December 2008. The book’s release was scheduled for December 2009 on the first anniversary of the gentleman's transition. After a few crucial preliminary meetings with his close family and associates, I had only three months to submit the final manuscript.

Those ninety days just flew past... Initially I was only taking down notes and gathering data, trying to structure the book in my head. Meetings were scheduled, conference calls and teleconferences were arranged, and interpreters provided to me as I chatted with family members and encouraged them to reminisce. It was arranged for me to visit the largest Welspun plant at Anjar, Gujarat, where I had an opportunity to talk to all those people with whom Mr Goenka used to interact on an everyday basis.



“How can you write about someone you’ve never met?” asked a friend. She had a point there, but as I talked to more and more people, the many facets of Mr. Goenka’s personality were revealed, it got easier as I visited his office, spoke to the heads of various departments, sat in his car and took a round of all the plants just the way he used to... and before long, I felt I was beginning to know him as a person.



A trip tracing Mr. Goenka’s life’s journey took me to the place where he was born, Churu in Rajasthan, then to Hisar in Haryana where he established his first business as a young man, and finally to Delhi where I met his children, his brothers, family and friends. As they shared their memories and dug out photographs from old, forgotten picture albums, I got enough material to compile the biography.



I had a deadline to respect. The frenzied pace and the long working hours necessitated putting almost everything else in my life on hold. The book was completed on time and It was gratifying to see that an aesthetic design complemented the content - the final result was visually very appealing. 

A commemorative book for Welspun, celebrating the Company's 25 years

To celebrate the occasion of Welspun Corporation reaching an important milestone of completing 25 years, the company commissioned me to write a commemorative book, a tome that would pay tribute to the Group’s growth and document important signposts. Once the theme and tone of the book were finalized, I began with the research and interviews and started composing the text, while closely interacting with the corporate office team. The data and photographs were collected from different departments and the entire project was run past various departmental heads for inputs and approval. I finalized the manuscript, collating all material, while coordinating with the designer to provide an aesthetically designed volume.