Mukesh high-life socialite; Anil playboy-turned-ascetic: Book

New York, Aug 24 (PTI) Dubbing Mukesh Ambani as a high-
life socialite and perceived-playboy Anil as having turned
ascetic, the controversial author of the 'Polyster Prince'
wonders in his new book who carries Dhirubhai's legacy as
business guru or unsurpassed corruptor - or both?
Hamish Mcdonald, whose book on the saga of Reliance was
banned in 1998 in India after the corporate house moved court,
has come out with the poser in his book 'Mahabharata in
Polyester -- the making of world's richest brothers and their
feud' to be released on September one in Australia.
"Big brother Mukesh Ambani seemed to have learned more
from his father and has often taken the upper hand in the
squabbles with his brother," Mcdonald was quoted by the Wall
Street Journal as saying in the book.
"To say that the sibling tycoons are not close is an
understatement; their feud -- personal and business -- is an
extraordinary story (in) itself," according to the book's
promo by the Australian publisher, University of New South
Wales Press.
When contacted, the spokesperson of Mukesh Ambani-led
group Reliance Industries in Mumbai declined to comment. No
comments could be obtained from Anil Ambani group either.
According to the excerpts of the book by McDonald, "There
was also a curious role-reversal. Mukesh had become the
high-life socialite, with estimates of the cost of building
his (high-rise mansion in Mumbai) Antilla getting ever larger
despite his attempts to downplay them."
Commenting on the younger Ambani, the writer says: "The
perceived playboy Anil was portrayed as more ascetic, making
frequent pilgrimages to Hindu shrines, even journeying on foot
to circle the holy Mansarovar Lake and Mount Kailash in Tibet.
"He ran daily for kilometers before dawn and stayed in
cheap business hotels instead of luxury suites on his
travels."
On the infamous years-long succession battle that led to
the division of Reliance empire, he says that communication
between them came down to stiff press comments by spokesmen
and mounting number of court actions.
"However, both were said to put on a display of
politeness at weekly breakfasts with their mother at Sea
Wind."
The book, which the author wants also to be published
from India, comes incidentally within months of reconciliation
between the two brothers.
Recalling the story of Dhirubhai, the author asks in the
book: "So what to make of Dhirubhai Ambani: revolutionary
business guru or unsurpassed corruptor, or both?
"And how much of his legacy remains with the two business
empires of Mukesh and Anil and more widely in corporate
India?"

As per the publisher, the author has trimmed back the
first part of his previous book, the Polyester Prince, and
expanded the material to focus more on the feuding brothers
and offering key insights into India's transformation into a
global economic powerhouse.
"Ambani saga tells a bigger story about modern India, not
only as an economic powerhouse, but about the complicated link
between the government and big businesses," the publisher
said.
The story of how Dhirubhai started as a simple trader and
rose "during an era of ridiculously strict government
controls" to become one of the most powerful men in India
makes one think about how much the country has changed, the
Wall Street Journal said.
"The chapters on how the brothers have fought each other
and worked to expand their own empires makes the reader think
about how much has remained the same," the report said.
As far as the publisher's opinion is concerned, Dhirubhai
Ambani was a rags-to-riches Indian tycoon whose company
Reliance is now one of India's major corporations.
"His sons Anil and Mukesh took over after his death in
2002 and the respective arms of the company are bigger than
the parent ever was," it said. PTI BJ