‘Mahindra & Mahindra’
Three weeks ago, popular chronicler of Indian automobile history, Adil Jal Darukhanawala, was in city. He was here to release ‘Timeless Mahindra’, a coffee-table book about the iconic Indian auto-maker “Mahindra & Mahindra.” I borrowed a copy of the book, glanced through it, like most people do a coffee-table book, when I chanced upon the story I had long forgotten, a story worth recalling in these times of communal strife and chaotic democracy.
Many may not know that the second ‘M’ in ‘M&M’ was Mohammed. Initially, the company was established as ‘Mahindra & Mohammed’ until loyalty to a new nation and financial compulsion changed it to ‘Mahindra & Mahindra.’
Timeless Mahindra: Adil Jal Darukhanawala on the history of the iconic jeep and how it is intertwined with a free India s The 75-year journey of Mahindra & Mahindra, that started off with the hardy jeep CJ-2A,is traced by Darukhanawala in his new book. Shail Desai December 19, 2020 11:40:26 IST
During his years growing up in Solapur, Adil Jal Darukhanawala remembers a few family friends visiting them in their respective jeeps. While the elders got chatty indoors, the kids had a field day, hopping in and out of these fascinating vehicles that had no doors to keep them out, setting off on their own make-believe adventures behind the steering wheel.