As the CMD of Biocon India, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw's days are packed with meetings, workshops and seminars. Not to mention the frequent trips abroad on business. Yet, she graciously took time off her busy schedule to give bangalorebest.com an interview.

The media calls you 'Bangalore's Ms Cool'. Could you comment on that?
Media call me many names! All I know is that I want to be known as a civic minded, technology driven entrepreneur. I hope 'cool' covers all these!!

Your sense of fun is well known. How do you define it?
My sense of fun is to be good humoured and enjoy life in a sensible way. I don't subscribe to wild parties as being fun or for that matter doing wild things. My sense of fun is simple and tends to have a note of childlike innocence - my April fool antics are such an example.

Your treasured art collection. When and how did you get into it?
I have always been fond of art and friends of mine, Sarabjit and Purnima Dhawan were responsible for inducing me to buy my first canvas, a Yusuf Arakkal oil, way back in 1986 and I haven't stopped since then!

You are known to enjoy experimenting with food. What were the highpoints in this experimental journey?
I enjoy all kinds of cuisine and my travels give me the opportunity of experimenting with local cuisines. What I also find is that the local flavour is something you cannot capture elsewhere. For example, Greek food in Greece tastes divine in Greece and not so in Greek restaurants elsewhere in the world. Similarly, the best Japanese food I've had is in Nagoya, Japan; the best Italian food in Milan; the best steaks in America, the best French food in Dijon and the best Indian cuisine in India. My favourite restaurants in town are Sunnys, who make the best Italian and French food outside Europe! Jolly Nabob for Dum pukht food, Karavalli and Dakshin for Malabar food, Royal Afghan and the West End Poolside for kababs, Rim Naam for Thai, Schzwan Court for Chinese and MTR for Bisibele bhath!

You have been appointed as the honorary consul of Ireland. What are your duties in this role?
Promote Ireland in terms of tourism and cultural exchange. Provide visa support services in Bangalore to Software professionals and tourists. Liaise with the Irish Embassy in India with trade and other technology delegations. A self appointed added responsibility is to encourage people to set up Irish pubs in Bangalore!

You have just released a book 'Ale and Arty'. What inspired the book and what is it all about?
The book is dedicated to my late father, R I Mazumdar, India's first Brewmaster, whose memory inspired me to write the book, which tied in with the fact that I started off my professional career as a Brewmaster before I steered myself into Biotechnology.

You are a member of the Bangalore Agenda Task Force. Why is it that the task force has not really taken off because plans and projects keep getting delayed? What do you have to say about this and what suggestions do you have to improve its functioning?
I think initiatives such as the BATF are thankless. Citizens basically abdicate their own responsibilities to such initiatives instead of participating and co-operating with such activities. Moreover, BATF needs to be propped up with complementary activities by the BCC, which has not happened. Here again the BCC basically continues to drain their coffers and expect private initiatives to take over to make good this budget deficit! As long as citizens and office bearers don't assume a responsible civic stand, nothing can succeed. The Government also needs to be punitive in terms of fining various classes of offenders and I keep hearing that our by laws don't permit this - shouldn't someone in the Governemnt take this initiative and make things happen?

Today, your company Biocon India is the largest producer and exporter of enzymes. Tell us about your journey from Brewmaster to CMD of Biocon. How did it all begin?
Log on to www.biocon.com/html/history/history.htm and read about this.

Your father R I Mazumdar is said to have 'made a man out of you'. Can you tell something about your relationship with your father?
My father was unconventional and believed that education removes the gender barrier. He encouraged me to pursue brewing as a vocation and I worked closely with him as a father and daughter team offering consultancy to a large number of breweries in the country. He protected me from the social pressure of getting me married off! All in all he did not differentiate between me and my two brothers.

How do you balance your roles as a successful woman entrepreneur, wife and daughter?
It's the deep sense of caring and sharing that my colleagues, my husband and my mother have for me that makes this possible.

What are the vital factors that really help a woman to succeed in a career? I mean, 'make it big' in the way you have?
A belief in oneself and an ambitious passion to succeed.


Running an organization the size of Biocon is no easy task. What challenges do you face in the day to day running of the company and how do you handle them?
Biocon is no different to other organisations in the run of the mill areas of finance and HRD, but the one differentiator is R & D, where the challenge to keep the research focused and productive is key to our survival. I handle these challenges through close and constant interaction with my colleagues in R & D and with my own knowledge, updating reading and attending seminars.

Now, next to IT, Biotechnology is spoken of as the happening technology. What future do you foresee for biotechnology in India?
The potential is enormous but we need to create a strong infrastructure and an enabling patent regime to make this happen.

Recently, a Bioinformatic conference was held in the city. What were the key focus areas and what future strategies were drawn up at the conference?
The principal objective was to give people at large a bird's eye view of what this space is all about through presentations by world experts in the field. The other objectives were to encourage entrepreneurial pursuits in this area and also to get start-up companies in this area to explore real business opportunities with international companies.

You find peace and happiness in…..
In successfully completed projects!

The things you like about Bangalore...
The weather, the people and the IT boom.

The things you dislike about Bangalore...
The roads, the garbage, the awful, undisciplined traffic and the poor infrastructure.

What is your vision of Bangalore ten years down the line?
I would like Bangalore with a Changi-style International airport, with well developed infrastructure, low pollution, disciplined traffic, a crimeless city and a city which is the Knowledge capital of India.

Your poignant memories as a young girl...
To be a doctor!!

Dr Lalitha Appachu |