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Godrej and Nation-Building

Jan-Feb, 2013 Volume 1, Issue 8

Though this certainly seems like ‘business as

usual’, it came at a critical stage when ours was a

newly independent country with hardly any state-

of-the-art industrial and scientific infrastructure.

This ‘behind the curtain’ role played by Godrej

was crucial at a time when the country’s premier

scientific institutions were making its humble be-

ginnings from makeshift laboratories. These five

files bearing Accessions Numbers MS08-01-419-

109 to 113 are now available for research at

Godrej Archives. Researchers are also requested

to refer similar files discussing the nature of our

business with public sector offices such as Public

Works Department, Air Force, Indian Railways

etc. for a fuller understanding of the private-public

partnership of the time. . Shweta Sawant

Institution building was not, and has never been, the

work of one man; inspiration or dream may be, but

never the task in whole. Many hands, known or hid-

den, make the envisaged task a reality.

Godrej was the exclusive supplier of steel

home and office furniture, racks, locks, trol-

leys, cash boxes, among other products to

AEET (Atomic Energy Establishment, later

renamed BARC), Tata Institute of Funda-

mental Research (TIFR) and its several es-

tablishments and laboratories.

The AEE Training School, established by Dr. Bhabha to

train in-house scientists, was furnished with a host of

Godrej-manufactured furniture. On several occasions,

Godrej manufactured and supplied furniture as special

cases deviating from standard specifications. For ex-

ample, compressor plates from 4-drawer and 11-

drawer card-Index cabinets (shown in pic) were re-

moved and additional partitions were fitted into each

drawer to store ’small electrical goods’.

Godrej & Boyce with its vast range of institutional

furniture was given the opportunity to become a

silent contributor to Dr. Homi Bhabha’s vision of

developing atomic energy and the required indus-

trial and scientific capabilities within India, by

contributing their bit to the development of the

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) &

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, as is revealed

by a group of five files titled ‘Department of

Atomic Energy’ housed in the Godrej Archives,

and spanning from 1957 to 1959.

The Archives Times

On November 6th 1973, Mrs.

Malati Pathare, an employee

with Tata Electric Company,

gifted herself ’the great big

Godrej’ or the 255 ltr. 7B refrig-

erator for a whopping sum of

Rs.3912.

For this single mother of three,

the Godrej 7B—her first refrig-

erator, was not a mere kitchen

appliance with the sweet prom-

ise of convenience, but a most

fitting way to invest her hard-

earned money. After all, this

refrigerator went on to serve her

and many generations of her

family for 39 long years, till it

breathed its last on 13th No-

vember, 2012. Today, its place

in the Pathare residence has

been taken over by yet another

The story of

A Lady and her ‘Great Big Godrej’

Jan-Feb, 2013

In the year

2 0 1 2 ,

G o d r e j

A rc h i v e s

r e c e i v e d

927 items

spanning

s e v e n

d e c a d e s

and comprising a variety of ar-

chival material such as docu-

ments, artifacts, photographs

and born-digital material. The

oldest item received last year

was a silver souvenir gifted to

Pirojsha Godrej by the staff of

Godrej Soaps Ltd. on 15th

April, 1941.

A division-wise break-up of the

data suggests that the highest

number (approx. 338) of items

was transferred by Corporate

P&A followed by Godrej Info-

tech and Interio. A special men-

tion must be made of Web Page

Development Group of Godrej

Infotech who have transferred

222 CDs containing all photo-

graphs and documents up-

loaded on the Godrej Internet

and Intranet portals and the

many issues of Change maga-

zine designed by them. The fate

of web-archiving tools not-with-

standing, Godrej Archives can

now rest in peace knowing

back-ups exist within our re-

positories too.

Among other noteworthy mate-

rials, a presentation on ‘Project

Knock-Down Storage Sys-

tems’ dated 1995 and a docu-

ment bearing details of equip-

ment and machinery in the

Foundry Department as of

1971 were two unexpected yet

intriguing items received.

2012 Collection at a glance

Godrej Interio learns the ‘Art of Archiving’

As part of Godrej Interio’s

‘Knowledge Saturday’ initiative,

Godrej Archives was invited to

conduct an ’Art of Archiving’

workshop for employees on

23rd February, 2013.

Whether the goal is to leave

behind a legacy or to simply

organize one’s collection, the

90 minute workshop aimed at

introducing employees to the

art behind archiving valuables

for posterity.

The session highlighted simple

dos-and-donts of archiving

and included demos in pre-

ventive conservation by pro-

fessional conservators from

Indian National Trust For Art

a nd Cu l tu ra l Her i ta ge

(INTACH) Archivist Vrunda Pathare explains the

process of tissue lamination to the

audience

(Left): Mrs.

Pathare

(Standing, first

from left) and

her colleagues

during an

office picnic

(Right): 255 ltr

7B Refrigera-

tor

G o d r e j

p r o d u c t .

T h e 7 B

refrigerator

along with

i ts docu

ments such

as Challan,

M a n u a l

and service

cards now

enjoys pride of place at

Godrej Archives as the only

sample from its generation.

The recently demolished Construction

office, circa 1964.

The above photograph is part of 128

images taken by Mr. Maneck Engi-

neer in the 1960s

The Archives Times

And around the Antarctic, heralding new achievements

in oceanography & other branches of science & tech-

nology. As an inveterate traveler and an avid environ-

mentalist, Sohrab Godrej did not miss this opportunity.

“Antartica”, according to him, “(was) the most fabulous

and a fitting climax to all my tours, a voyager’s dream

come true.”

Jan-Feb, 2013

This photo essay was brought to you as part of the Sohrab Godrej (1912-2000) Birth Centenary Celebrations

Sohrab Godrej in Antarctica

The M.S.Lindblad Explorer, an ice-working ves-

sel that SPG sailed on during his Antarctica Cir-

cumnavigation Cruise, Dec.-Jan., 1980-81

Apart from 132 photographs taken during the trip, Godrej Archives

also has in its possession a file containing useful literature—such

as brochures and leaflets—on Antarctica and The Explorer; no

doubt maintained by the meticulous Sohrab Godrej.

Embodying the true spirit of adventure, The Explorer , provided

passengers paraphernalia—typed stationery and a bottle- to send

a ’message-in a bottle’. While its not known if Sohrab Godrej ever

got his note back, Godrej Archives is glad that a copy of the origi-

nal message bearing important details such as date and location

coordinates is preserved.

Having previously traveled into the Arctic region,

Sohrab Godrej (SPG) became the first Indian to have

gone deep into the frozen continent of Antarctica,

within 650 miles of the South Pole. The early 1980s

was a period when India, under the leadership of Dr.

S.Z.Qasim, had undertaken several expeditions with

the aim of conducting a wide range of experiments in

The Archives Times Jan-Feb, 2013

We’d love to engage in a dialogue. Send us your feedback and comments to archives@godrej.com

Godrej Archives, Plant 19A, 6796-2014/ 4124

News from Around the world

A Women’s Day Special

Trace the development of business education for women from Radcliffe College in 1937 to Harvard Busi-

ness School, and discover how program directors, administrators, faculty prepared students to take their

places in the business world in BUILDING THE FOUNDATION, an online exhibition curated by Harvard

Business School’s Baker Library mapping the growth of business education for women from 1937-1970.

The online exhibition can be viewed at: http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/wbe/

The Disney archives have released a

newly discovered sketch, “Mickey’s

Toothache,” an incomplete cartoon

made in 1938.

The previously forgotten piece of

artwork was discovered in the Walt

Disney Archives, hiding out in a

folder lost for more than 74 years.

Disney Archives Director Becky

Cline says the artwork showcases

the transformation of America's fa-

vorite mouse from popular fad to

American icon. During this time of

his development, Mickey had left the

barnyard and become more adven-

turous.

Speaking on the value of the rich

collection, Cline says, "The anima-

tion research library still goes back

and refers to those older cartoons.

... Even though we’re still discover-

ing some of this material for the first

time in decades, they’re not lost.”

In “Mickey’s Toothache,” created in April 1938, the newly adventurous Mickey experiences something akin to a psychedelic nightmare. Mickey has traveled to the dentist and fallen under the influence of too much laughing gas. The overdose sends Mickey into a “nightmarish world inhab-ited by living teeth, dental floss, a psychotic dentist’s chair and a vengeful pair of dental pliers.

BUILDING THE FOUNDATION

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BUSINESS EDUCATION FOR WOMEN AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY, 1937-1970