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The Double Life of Ramalinga Raju THE writer and the publisher have shown indecent haste in bringing out a book on the country’s "biggest corporate fraud" perpetrated at Satyam by its own promoter. An attractive subject, no doubt.
The Satyama saga is still unfolding. For instance, the CBI, investigating the case, has estimated the size of the fraud at twice the figure originally pegged at Rs 7,800 crore. Reasons for what caused the fall and why did Raju confess are still hazy. The writer could not reach the main protagonist, Ramalinga Raju, who is in jail. Raju’s lawyer was of little help as he refused to carry any questionnaire to his client. His son, Teja, was contacted, but what he reveals is an incredible defence of his father. Teja says his father fudged Satyam accounts to stave off takeover threats. That makes little sense and does not explain the diversion of company funds to raise a real estate empire. Moreover, a non-technocrat like him can hardly understand the functioning of India’s fourth largest IT company. "The book is not a product of imagination," says the author. It is a wonder how accurately he seems to read Raju’s mind ("Raju’s mind was active`85" "Raju wondered`85" "Raju realised`85") without meeting him. It is hard to understand a calculating introvert like Raju, who measures every word he utters and is not known to open up (his "wife never knew what her husband was up to"`85 "business was never discussed at home" and his mother, according to the writer, still does not know that both her sons are in prison). The writer calls Raju a split personality—one driven by greed, a feudalistic craze for land, fatherly love and a desire to be a provider to the Raju community and the other a Harvard-educated, management guru, a wealth creator who took Satyam to great heights. The company had a presence in 66 countries in five continents. The Resident Editor of The Times of India at Hyderabad, Kingshuk Nag has seen the drama from close quarters. His effort and hard work need be lauded. He has put together varied facts, most of which though have already appeared in the media, in a cogent, readable form. His unsolicited advice—telling the Rajus to leave the country ("They may have a better future if they start life anew somewhere abroad")—is amusing. Nag will have to either update the book after the Satyam episode is over or come out with a sequel to finish the story, which will remain incomplete without Raju’s version of the events. Also, Satyam’s quick, efficient rescue and rehabilitation requires greater attention.
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The publisher’s intent
to cash in on public curiosity and a journalist’s desire to be the
first with a book, it seems, prevailed over patience to wait till it
is all over.