By N. Niranjan Nikam
SOM: Oh, was your fertiliser manufacturing unit the world’s largest?
A.C. Muthiah: Yes, at that time it was. From there we went into other chemical industries. My father had a great liking for developing agriculture-based industry. The input for the fertiliser was fuel oil that was not the best input those days. It was naphtha but now it is gas based. My father was close to C. Subramaniam (who served as Union Minister of Finance and Defence). My father and Chairman of Atomic Energy Dr. Vikram Sarabhai were good friends. His wife Mallika was the sister of Govind Swaminathan, the famous lawyer and he was on our board. With them, he approached Indira Gandhi and she gave permission to start naphtha plant. Later on my father became the Chairman of Maruti Udyog Limited for a long time. You will see a picture of Mrs. Gandhi in this Coffee Table book, where she is being received by my father, very late at night. There is a very interesting story.
SOM: Is it? Can you share it with us?
A.C. Muthiah: As I told you, my father was by then the Chairman of Maruti. Indira Gandhi had come to Madras, but she was not coming to our site. She had come to unveil the statue of V.O. Chidambaranath Pillai (a disciple of Bal Gangadhar Tilak), popularly known by his initials, V.O.C. freedom fighter and one of the first to start an indigenous maritime shipping service between Tuticorin and Colombo. She was passing through our site and it was pitch dark. My father called up Walter Devaram, who was then the Dy.SP or something and asked him to stop the Prime Minister’s car. He told my father, ‘Sir, I will lose my job, I cannot do it.’
My father then checked with the Chief Secretary Sabha Naik, his good friend. Sabha told Devaram that if MAC wants you to stop the car then stop it. The car was stopped. She got down and was surprised to see my father and exclaimed, hey MAC (my father Muthiah Annamalai Chidambaram was fondly addressed as MAC by everyone close to him) what are you doing here? I distinctly remember that day as I was standing next to him when the photo was taken.
SOM: It is very interesting!
A.C. Muthiah: Sanjay Gandhi was running Maruti and my father by then had become the Chairman. Banks wanted guarantee, so he gave Sanjay Gandhi personal guarantee.
SOM: Oh my God!
A.C. Muthiah: In fact you can see a letter from K.K. Birla in the Coffee Table book. He was also a Director of Maruti. He told my father, ‘Are you mad? Why are you giving him guarantee?’ In Chennai the cricket stadium was built only on my father’s guarantee. That is how the stadium is named as M. A. Chidambaram Stadium.
A.C. Muthiah flipping through the pages of the Coffee Table book “Vision Unlimited — The Outstanding Legacy of M.A. Chidambaram.” The picture adorning the cover page depicting a Kingfisher was painted by MAC himself in the year 1989.
SOM: You were a member of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council on Trade and Industry. How much of your advice was taken?
A.C. Muthiah: (Smiles). I don’t want to answer that. It is a very tricky question. It was during Vajpayee’s time. I was the President of FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) at that time. FICCI is an apex body. Vajpayee used to like me very much so he put me on the Council. Whenever he went abroad on any delegation, I used to go along with him. It was in 2000.
SOM: But was any advice even taken?
A.C. Muthiah:(Laughs) It was all taken on record, that is all.
SOM: It is said that M.A.M. Ramaswamy has entrusted all his horses under your care. How challenging is this?
A.C. Muthiah: Yes, it is very challenging. You know MAM had the largest string in the country, over 600 horses. He was racing in all the centres, plus he had the Stud Farm. There again he had about 300 to 400 horses. During his last days, he told me to take over since somebody had to manage it. I was in racing and I was the Chief Steward those days. Then I gave up for a long time. But before that I was the Senior Steward and the Chairman of the Turf Authority once. So, he felt that I knew the game and I took over. It was indeed very challenging. What I did was, I brought down the string to about almost 200. We race all over the country and we have improved the quality of our horses. When I came here on Saturday we had three winners. (On the day of the interview he had one more winner). The Stud Farm has almost wounded down and by next year beginning it will be zero.
SOM: Why is it Sir?
A.C. Muthiah: The Stud Farm is in Chennai and I find no purpose in maintaining it. We have a choice of buying it from various centres. Then why do we need a Stud Farm? Last year we did well, this year also we did quite well. It is not for gambling, but mainly for stake money. Unfortunately, in all the centres, the taxes have gone up and the stake money has been reduced. So I have been telling the breeders that I cannot afford to buy horses and chase my own money.
Dr. A.C. Muthiah is seen presenting The Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy Trophy to S. Ganapathy, trainer of Magistero, which won the event in the Mysore Races held recently. The winning horse, owned by Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy Chettiar of Chettinad Charitable Trust and Dr. A.C. Muthiah, was ridden by Y.S. Srinath. Others seen are the MRC Stewards and Committee Members.
SOM: It is a tricky field, I have never understood racing in my life.
A.C. Muthiah: As far as you are not gambling and keeping a good control, then it is okay.
What an anodyne interview. These Chettiar dynasties talk a lot, but what they do is for their own benefit. Good that Vajpayee government did not take the advice, and that Modi should l ignore these dinaosaurs. The time has moved on from C Subramaniam days