The preface begins with the words, “Gujarat has much to be proud of”. Having lived in Ahmedabad, I know they have “a rare sense of enterprise, an uncanny, robust common sense and a pragmatic and immensely practical approach to life”. The stories of eleven such exemplary Gujaratis, biological and adopted, are told in this collection which, author Kamlendra Kanwar hopes, “will inspire all, especially the young who are often groping for role models”.

Kanwar has chosen well, and across the spectrum: India’s milkman Verghese Kurien; the woman who galvanised unorganised women, Ela Bhatt; IIM-A’s far-thinking Bakul Dholakia; heart man Dr Tejas Patel; socially-conscious entrepreneur Kantisen Shroff and his wife, Chanda Shroff, who gave Kutchi women-embroiderers an international profile; taxman and motivational speaker Mukesh Patel; architect B.V. Doshi; vintage car patron Pranlal Bhogilal; oncologist Dr Pankaj Shah; and educationist-lawyer Sudhir Nanavati.

Some of these remarkable individuals are more familiar than the others, but all are extremely well known in their respective fields. Kanwar’s overview of each one’s contribution to society is based on personal interviews and lightly buttressed by information about family and background. While it is to be expected that such a book of ‘diamonds’ would necessarily be eulogistic, it is to the author’s credit that he does not flinch from facing up to facts, in however small measure. Kanwar’s diamonds shine on their own, even if they have not been set to advantage and while the writing cannot claim to be felicitous, the details recounted are absorbing.

For instance, talking about piling-up milk powder, Verghese Kurien tells Kanwar: “There was a biscuit manufacturer in Bombay who I decided to call on… I had milk powder which he could use to make biscuits. He said give me a bottle. He tasted it, called his man and told him to buy my entire stock of five tonnes… Here was a man in dhoti and topi buying my entire stock. He told me: ‘I am not doing you a favour. I am doing myself a favour, my country a favour by not buying imported powder as I always did, but Indian powder.’ So I came back and told my idiotic boss whose only job was to come and have a cup of tea with me…” Inimitable Kurien, we are told and we have heard.

The voices of Kanwar’s subjects are individualistic and impactful, and come through as such despite the somewhat disjointed telling. They share points of view and strategies in the language of the layperson, mostly, and provide many examples of sound common sense. We are reminded of a time when, for instance, milk was scarce, or of a time when women working in the unorganised sector could not dream of opening bank accounts, let alone take loans, and of the kind of difference successful planning and implementation can make. The subjects speak of influences, circumstances, chances taken, choices made, and these glimpses into experience and practice provide profound learning moments.

Perhaps the most significant is the realisation of the importance of time management: How is it that the busiest people always seem to have the most time? What makes, for instance, a madly busy tax consultant like Mukesh Patel tick? His hobby, he informs Kanwar, his photography. “My pursuits in photography have greatly contributed to inculcating within me the virtues of patience, innovation, and creativity,” he tells Kanwar and here hangs a hint for those willing to see: open up your mind, do things not dream them all day long, don’t be a one-horse band.

The chapter on architect B.V. Doshi touched a special chord because it reminded me of the good old days of living in Navrangpura in Ahmedabad, across from the School of Architecture, sharing rooms with two students and hearing the name of Doshi being mentioned at least once every day. Kanwar writes: “About his basic philosophy about architecture, Doshi says if people are happy living or working in a building, that he regards as good architecture… his definition of architecture is not what it looks like but what one experiences inside and outside. Can you adapt it to your situation? Does it become your friend? Does it have a dialogue with you? Can you say that it is yours?” These were the questions my roomies were grappling with and staying up nights to bring into their projects.

Undoubtedly, then, in this book we meet real people who continue to have a real and lasting influence on young people. It draws attention equally to enterprise and social commitment, wealth and equitable sharing. But does it paint a bigger picture? That’s debatable.

I do have some quarrels: the writing could have been better, there appears to have been little or no editorial intervention, and the design and production leave a lot to be desired. The photographs are either of poor quality or are badly printed and, inexcusably, at least one photo caption misses identifying artist M.F. Husain (and others too, I am sure). Besides, there are diamonds for the asking in every other part of India as well.

Still, and perhaps most importantly, this book is a reminder of the existence of another Gujarat.

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