The title of this book has a very interesting backstory, one where a 20-something R. K. Somany is driving through a hot summer, and weary, he looks up to witness a magical rainbow, one that washes all his tiredness away. Ever since that day, he has been asking himself one question before taking up any task – “Am I bringing a rainbow to this work?”
The leading industrialist, in his autobiography, which is part memoir and part business guide, highlights the important role his family played in shaping him to be the man he is today. He tells us how he got into business – following Independence, many leading Marwari traders relocated to Kolkata with their families, one of which was the Somany family. When the Somanys decided to build India’s first vitreous ceramic sanitaryware plant in Punjab, R. K was put in-charge of overseeing the construction and running the company. Hindware may very well be a household name today, but the struggles R K had to face to finally have HSIL emerge as a market leader is a heroic story.
Apart from the many personal struggles in his path, there were the professional struggles too that held him back- the socialist era was not to kind to enterprisers; the Emergency led to a lot of harassment; lots of Hindware products were sold in the black market; many dealers selling the products above the maximum retail price. Somany successfully waded through all these wars, but there were more lined up for him on the political front. He was up against I.K Gujaral, former Prime Minister of India and Bansi Lal, former Chief Minister of Haryana – both battles that he eventually won. He even had to endure a personal fight where he stood against two of his own brothers.
Bringing The Rainbow is an inspiring account of how a determined young man built an empire from scratch, filled with experiences to share.
Overall Rating: 4/5
You may buy the book here: 
The title of this book has a very interesting backstory, one where a 20-something R. K. Somany is driving through a hot summer, and weary, he looks up to witness a magical rainbow, one that washes all his tiredness away. Ever since that day, he has been asking himself one question before taking up any task – “Am I bringing a rainbow to this work?”
The leading industrialist, in his autobiography, which is part memoir and part business guide, highlights the important role his family played in shaping him to be the man he is today. He tells us how he got into business – following Independence, many leading Marwari traders relocated to Kolkata with their families, one of which was the Somany family. When the Somanys decided to build India’s first vitreous ceramic sanitaryware plant in Punjab, R. K was put in-charge of overseeing the construction and running the company. Hindware may very well be a household name today, but the struggles R K had to face to finally have HSIL emerge as a market leader is a heroic story.
Apart from the many personal struggles in his path, there were the professional struggles too that held him back- the socialist era was not to kind to enterprisers; the Emergency led to a lot of harassment; lots of Hindware products were sold in the black market; many dealers selling the products above the maximum retail price. Somany successfully waded through all these wars, but there were more lined up for him on the political front. He was up against I.K Gujaral, former Prime Minister of India and Bansi Lal, former Chief Minister of Haryana – both battles that he eventually won. He even had to endure a personal fight where he stood against two of his own brothers.
Bringing The Rainbow is an inspiring account of how a determined young man built an empire from scratch, filled with experiences to share.
Overall Rating: 4/5
You may buy the book here:
