From an underprivileged kid in a non decrepit town of Titlagarh in Orissa who once ran 7 miles with a friend just to see a steam engine (“aag gaadi”) to a disruptive technologist with over a 100 patents and 15 honorary doctorate degrees to his name, Satyanarayan Gangadhar a.k.a ‘Sam’ Pitroda has come a long way in his life.
In this memoir the man who has been commonly acclaimed as the father of telecommunications in India charts out his phenomenal fairy tale journey that took him out of the bowels of sleepy Titlagarh to many a high echelons of power both in the private sector as well as in the Government of India. Narrated in a simple matter-of-fact manner the autobiography is inspiring, insightful and intuitive. A one sitting read, the book traces the triumphs and tribulations faced by this inveterate serial entrepreneur in his quest to bring connectivity to the second most populous nation on the Planet. The culmination of a dream and the conception of the Centre for Development of Datamatics (“C Dot”) has the reader in a thrall. There are other equally fascinating episodes that leave the reader thirsting for more. Sam Pitroda taking on behemoth companies in a battle against patent infringement relating to his “mobile wallet” concept is a classic example.
Even though Pitroda’s bias towards the Congress Party in general and the Gandhi family in particular is set out in an unabashed vein, this does not detract one bit from the passion nursed by him towards ensuring that India makes an indelible mark on the Planet in the capacity of an economic, social and cultural super power. In Chapters titled “innovation” and “At the Crossroads”, Pitroda reveals a plausible road map for embellishing the humongous prospects that stare this splendid country in its collective face. He also warns against the possible obstacles that primarily take the form of insidious bureaucracy and the ubiquitous red tape. This book, in short is an essential must read for any India who has a fierce ambition to see his country take wings and soar high.
“Dreaming Big” – An instant connect!
