The two are a stunning study in contrast in their lifestyles.While one is flamboyant, the other is low profile. While one flaunts his wealth (mansions in London, Manhattan, California and Goa, to name few) , the other lives in a flat in Colaba, Mumbai, which he has been occupying for years. While one is married twice and loves to be surrounded by beautiful women, the other lives a lonely bachelor's life surrounded by books and dogs.
Their early years too are a study in contrast. Though a rich man' son, Mallya was never brought up to feel rich. He grew up in upper-middle class comfort with his mother in Bangalore, and would offer to fix people's cars to make extra pocket money. Ratan Tata never had to - he grew up in astonishing luxury at a huge villa in the centre of Bombay. Mallya is a graduate of Calcutta University while Tata is a trained architect from Cornell University with an Advanced Management Programme from Harvard.
Mallya's mother separated from his father when he was young and he lived with her in Bangalore, while his father lived with his second wife in Calcutta. Young Vijay longed for approval from his father, and though he never dreamt that he would be as rich one day, at some deep level he envied the Mercedes lifestyle of his father's new family. Could this be at the root of his flamboyant lifestyle and his spending money as if it was going out of style?
Ratan Tata parents too had a troubled marriage and he was brought by a loving grand mother. Though he must have been painfully shy and a loner - just as he is today, he would never have had to envy anyone for their wealth. He went to America for his education and while there, washed dishes, as he had very little money because of Reserve Bank restrictions then in force. He could of course have bought dollars in black, but did not do so, which speaks volumes for his personal values.
However there IS something the two share in common. Both Mallya and Tata never dreamt that they would be named the inheritors of their respective businesses. Both came to head their respective business because of the lack of a male inheritor. Mallya's father had no son from his second marriage and his untimely death brought Vijay Mallya to the helm of the liquor business his father had created. JRD Tata was issueless and therefore groomed Ratan Tata to succeed him, though the latter never really imagined he would succeed JRD.
Our childhood and growing-up experiences leave a tremendous influence on our personalities. It would be interesting to speculate how the adolescent years of Vijay Mallya and Ratan Tata shaped their individual personalities.
But that of course, is the job of a psychologist.
References: Men of Steel by Vir Sanghvi and Internet sources
