Kerala International Centre & Goethe-Zentrum to organise discussion on Thomas Mathew’s book ‘Ratan Tata: A Life’ on February 22

Trivandrum / February 20, 2025

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 20: Kerala International Centre and Goethe Zentrum will organise a discussion on renowned author and retired bureaucrat Thomas Mathew’s book ‘Ratan Tata: A Life’, which is a riveting and authoritative biography of the late industrialist and philanthropist, here on February 22.

The discussants are Mr T K A Nair, former Principal Secretary to PM; Ms Anita Pratap, writer and journalist; Dr G Gopakumar, former Vice Chancellor, Central University of Kerala;Mr K S Sabarinathan, former MLA; Mrs B Sandhya, former Director General of Police (DGP); and Dr Jisha Gopi, Assistant Professor, CET School of Management.

The discussion at the book, which has been nominated for Amazon Popular Choice Book Award, 2025, will be held at Goethe-Zentrum auditorium at 6 pm.

The book is based on meticulous research of the Tata archives in Mumbai, Pune and Jamshedpur. It was supplemented by interviews by the author with family members, friends, peers, colleagues and, more importantly, through his extensive personal interactions with his illustrious subject.

The biography has been hailed as a tribute to a titan who lived a life extraordinaire, with empathy and gracefulness as his hallmark and a businessman who embraced ethics in business and steered the 1868-founded Tata Group business behemoth to dizzying heights, outpacing in growth any conglomerate of comparable size in the world.

Dr Mathew, a retired IAS officer, author, corporate strategist, defence analyst, and photographer, has a doctorate in international relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University and a Bachelor of Law degree from Delhi University.

He has represented India as the delegation leader in several international conferences and also presented papers at important fora, including those in the United States Department of Defence and Stanford University.

As a bureaucrat, he held important positions in the Ministries of Finance, Defence, and Industry.

Dr Mathew has several publications to his credit, including books like In Search of Congruence: India-US Relations under the Obama Administration; The Winged Wonders of Rashtrapati Bhavan, and Abode Under the Dome. When Dr Pranab Mukherjee was the President of India, he used to present some of these books to visiting world leaders like US President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, UK Prime Minister Teresa May and French President François Hollande.

His photographs of the paintings of the Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan were published by the Lalit Kala Academy. He also contributes opinion pieces for prominent dailies on international affairs, corporate strategy, and defence.

For entry to the event, call Ms. Reshmi Nair, 9446535811.

ENDS