Pied piper of philanthropy

Q&A: RM Lala

One of the founding members of the Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy, author of authoritative books on JRD Tata and the Tata enterprise, meticulous administrator, former member of the Academic Council of Tata Institute of Social Sciences, keenly interested in achieving excellence in social work education, RM Lala lives a full life of achievement, fulfilment, cherishing deep personal bonds with a variety of professionals and commoners, notwithstanding the intrusion of cancer into his life and its many lessons. Lala inspires as he speaks with clarity of purpose. pied piper

Philanthropy stimulates…

Every individual wants to be of consequence as it adds spice to life. Philanthropy excites me as giving makes you feel better. Each one of us is here with a purpose. The purpose may not be grand but it becomes noble when it satisfies you and adds value to others. Thus I have been into organised philanthropy for the past 18 years.

Wearing this CAP…

Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy (CAP) was founded to enable people to build trusts for any specific purpose of their choice. It gives free consultancy services to NGOs regarding registration, tax  exemptions, finance and management. We also make periodic representations to    government on behalf of the philanthropic sector.

Meeting the goals…

According to me, we have not been able to spread as much as we would have wanted. CAP has a great hold in Mumbai and we are opening a chapter in Pune. Delhi and Kolkata have similar organisations.

Other interests…

To me, there is a difference between retirement and relinquishing your last job. I have been giving talks on the role of       purpose in life, leadership and cancer. I am associated with Moral Rearmament, an    organisation based in Panchgani, which has helped me get involved with people. I am also on the board for Bombay Community Public Trust and MS Swaminathan   Research Federation. I haven’t felt any pangs of retirement as yet.