No need for speed

He's the dashing brand custodian of the Tata group whose enthusiasm and friendliness has breathed fresh air into the usually staid and plastic environs most corporates preserve to feel safe in. It could have passed off as another boring sponsorship announcement - in this case the House of Tata is footing the bill for India's best known race driver Narain Kartikeyan to make a stab at the upcoming Japanese Super Formula series - but trust Mukund Rajan to throw in a twist.

With a smiling apology to the journalists present for "stealing their thunder" he proceeded to interview Kartikeyan about his life and times as the amused professionals scribbled on their notepads. It's the type of approach that's managed to break the ice at his conferences - though sometimes it's the newswallahs who seem to have the stiffer upper lip. At a recent cocktail evening he hosted for business journalists, Rajan's idea for a fun quiz on the Tata group was powered by several exotic holiday vouchers at Taj properties but the idea was shelved after some invitees voiced their utter disdain for such "games".

Thankfully, despite the hits and misses, Rajan's cheery manner remains intact. During a recent outing with Kartikeyan at the Buddh racing circuit in Noida, Rajan strapped in next to the F1 champ for a 'casual' round of the track. Though it was a regular pilot car instead of a real race machine, all three passengers in the car were getting flattened against their window panes every time Kartikeyan took a bend at 180 kilometers per hour. "It's the slowest speed I've ever clocked on a race track," chafed an almost embarrassed racing champ to this diarist. He's a Rhodes scholar and named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, but Rajan says he's happy to have gleaned some enriching life lessons from the ride which he's distilled into two words:"Never again."