An Officer & A Gentleman

After giving up a promising military career, Captain CP Krishnan Nair, chairman, The Leela Group went on to become one of India's leading figures in the textile and hospitality industries. Savio Rodrigues unveils the multiple facets of this octogenarian...

Whether it's been tactical maneuvers on the war front or corporate strategies in the company boardroom, Captain CP Krishnan Nair (or Capt. Nair, as he is fondly addressed) believes that the key to success is to learn to do something right. Then do it right every time.

Captain Krishnan Nair being presented the International 5 Star Diamond Award by Joseph D Cinque, president of the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences along with the reigning Miss America Shandi Finnessey and Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins at the recent Awards ceremony held in Berlin, Germany

It is a philosophy, which has underlined much of his life, at least from year 1950. "I was at a crossroad. On one hand was a promising career in the army - it was a profession I always wanted to grow in, and on the other my wife's insistence to do something for the upliftment of the handloom industry in which she was actively involved in. So taking courage I spoke to my senior. What he advised changed the course of my life. All he said was that in the army you can only reach to the highest rank but then what. In the road your wife has envisaged sky is the limit. So I made a promise to my wife that I will walk the unpredictable path she has foreseen and make it a success. And so it has been," he says.

Though the initial years after his foray into the world of business were riddled with hardships, he was able to withstand them. "As a company we were able to contribute substantially to make handloom grow into a Rs 3 billion industry in the early 1960s. In fact the major impetus to the handloom industry came when the government, then led by Jawaharlal Nehru, heeded to a simple suggestion, I made on the behest of the All India Handloom Board of levying a 1 paisa cess to develop handloom. In one year, the government had accumulated over Rs 300 crore which was used to further fuel the growth of the handloom industry," he says.

Just as handloom business was surging ahead, Capt. Nair, in the early 1960s, decided that he had had enough of success and money. His quest turned towards peace, tranquility and God and led him to Swami Sivananda in the Himalayas but the Swami advised Capt. Nair not to take up sanyas as that was not the chosen path for him. "He told me my calling was to serve people by shaping the fortunes and livelihood of innumerable people," states Capt. Nair.

His return to business proved even more successful. After consolidating in India, Capt. Nair established his textile export business in '70s and started to supply to America and Europe. His company pioneered a unique form of textile manufacturing technique - 'Bleeding'. The export business flourished and then he suddenly veered tracks to enter an entirely new segment - hospitality.

Captain Krishnan Nair along with Keith Vaz, MP, UK House of Commons, who felicitated him for winning the Lifetime Achievement Award

"Travelling has been my passion. I have been fortunate to stay in the best hotels in the world. I wondered whether it was possible to offer such hospitality with the essence of India. After much research in the industry and belief in the growth of the Indian hospitality industry, I made a decision to venture into this arena. From our first property in North Mumbai, where at that time no major hospitality player wanted to venture, we have carved a niche in India's hospitality sector. Currently, we have three hotels in Mumbai, Bangalore and Goa, and few in the pipeline in Chennai, Udaipur, Hyderabad and Delhi as well as internationally in Malaysia and Doha," informs Capt. Nair.

Today, at the age of 84, when he looks back, his achievements are many. Over 55 years of business building has culminated in a garment and textile business worth Rs 400 crore and a hospitality business whose expansion is as promising as the exponential rise in its stocks. And as the days go by, milestones and laurels get added, the latest being the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences at the ITB 2005 in Berlin - an award few from the hotel industry have been honoured with. He was even felicitated by the House of Commons, UK.

There's however still much to be done, if not at the business front then in the field of nation building. "It is my earnest desire to see India evolve as a super power. And we have the resources and talent to do so. Just that the private sector and government need to get together to achieve such a success. I see a realisation of that dream happening soon," he says.

But it is not the patriot in him that ranks India as a destination par excellence; rather it is an objective assessment that even though Indian tourism is 50 years late in its offing, it is a destination of reckoning. "It's never too late to focus on our tourism. Look at the sprawling expanse of the backwaters in Kerala, the angelic and scenic beauty of the Himalayas or the beaches of Goa. Isn't India divine?" he asks. Capt. Nair incidentally is the only Indian representative on the United Nations committee for Global Code of Ethics for Tourism established in 2004.

His favourite hotels abroad are Adlon Hotel in Berlin, Ritz in Paris and Waldorf Astoria in New York. "Each time I stayed at the Adlon, I said to myself, I would love to build and run a hotel of such class and elegance. What makes the property spectacular is that from the balcony of your room, you can see the Brandenburger Gate, a gate known for its vast history and whose exquisite design fascinated me," he says.

Along with wife Leela Nair walking through the lush green environs of The leela Palace Kempinski, Bangalore

Ritz Paris he loved because of the allure of the city and about Waldorf Astoria he relates an interesting anecdote. "Once on an occasion to celebrate the success of the export business, I imported authentic Chicken Tikka Masala straight from Delhi and asked the attendants at the hotel to serve the freshly flown-in delicacy, which was a hit amongst our international guests," he remembers.

Of his countless leanings, the passion for environment ranks pretty high. Till date, Capt. Nair has personally planted over 200,000 trees across India. This passion is reflected in the green expanse surrounding each of his hotel property and the great lengths that he goes to procure rare species of plant life, like a lotus from the queen's garden in Thailand. The story goes like this; having seen this beautiful plant, Capt. Nair was so obsessed that he sent his assistant to get it. When the assistant's request was not paid heed to, Capt. Nair himself went to the people concerned and spent almost three days persuading them to give it to him. Today, from that one lotus, many lotuses adorn his various properties.

About his family, one question and one answer is sufficient. We ask him why the business is named after his wife and he replies with a glint in his eyes, "Leela is worth it."