S P Godrej

(1912 – 2000)

I knew S.P. Godrej, or Spji as he was sometimes called with honour, as some one who was interested in mountains and mountaineers. It was rather easy to talk to him, almost like a friend even though he was much elder to me and a leading industrialist of India.

Once we had a gathering with Sir Chris Bonington and some of the leading mountaineers of the world. Mr. Godrej gave a party on the roof-top garden of his office building. He was wearing a black patch on his left sleeve. When I asked him about it, he said proudly: “This is my protest against corruption in India, so that people like you ask and become aware.”

Then, without elaborating further, he turned to Bonington and continued talking about the Alps and his Himalayan climbs. On another occasion, seeing
me casting a glance at the black patch on his right sleeve, he remarked:

“This is for the failure of our Family Planning programme.” His commitment to causes was legendary.

When Stephen Venables was injured on Panch Chuli (in 1992) , Mr. Godrej had made it a point to visit him during one of his trips to the U.K. Even later he enquired about him. When I met him to inform him about our Indian-British Kinnaur expedition 1994, he listened carefully to all I had to say about our climbs. “Well done. Most importantly, you’ve all come back safely and happily.”

But to me what appealed most was his great sense of humour. He was true Parsi at core who are known for their humour. SPji can narrate a story with great aplomb. I could not help narrating an experience with him even at a sombre meeting organised to pay tributes to him.

The party was over, S.P. Godrej was about to depart from my house. Near the door he bent down to read the make of the lock.
‘It is made by Godrej’, my wife Geeta said. Godrej Industries makes the best locks in India and Spji is the Chairman of the Godrej companies in India.
‘Good, it won’t open then’, SPji said and burst out laughing. ‘What to do? I have formed this habit, wherever I go I look at the brand name on the locks. Once, decades ago, I went to the Russian Embassy for a visa. Waiting alone in a room I started checking the locks. I couldn’t resist peeping through the key-hole to the other room. To my utter surprise from the other side, the Russian Ambassador was peeping back at me!’

It will be worthwhile to remember that whenever anyone pollutes environment, cuts a tree or kills a tiger, this great man will be peeping through a hole from above and will wave a black flag.

Harish Kapadia

Till he died in May, 2000, Sohrab P. Godrej’s humour and vitality remained intact. He was the doyen of all activities related to nature. A member of the Himalayan Club since 1978, President Emeritus of the World Wide Fund for Nature, India, he was associated with the Bombay Natural History Society
and many other organisations. He worked actively for “The Indian Heritage Society” which fought against the destruction of many old heritage buildings
in Mumbai. He did the same for other causes close to his heart. If a forest was cut at Matheran hill station near Mumbai, he would be up in arms, in
courts of law. His commitment to the causes he took up was legendary.

Mr. Godrej was deeply conscious of the social responsibilities of business. The Godrej Industrial Garden Township at Pirojshanagar in Mumbai bears
testimony to the various causes the Godrej’s have been promoting in the fields of Housing, Education, Health and Family Welfare, and Environment. He
was particularly proud that a large expanse of mangrove forest, perhaps the best on the west coast, adjoins the township which is being maintained and
protected from poachers by the Soonabai Godrej Trust.

He believed as staunchly in fair business practices as he did in the social responsibilities of business. The trusteeship of wealth was a living concept
with him wealth earned to become wealth shared for the common good.

Mr. Godrej lived by the values imbibed by him from his pioneering uncle Ardeshir and father Pirojsha who were driven by the motto of Self-respect
through Self-reliance, reinforced by plain living and high thinking making Quality the watchword of their products instead of a mere catchword. Keeping
customers satisfied and delighted, and workers contented. Putting money to its proper and most effective use. He always stressed the importance of
abiding by these values for the Company’s future.

Mr. Godrej believed that the best philosophy is to do the best one can. According to him, there were several components to this philosophy. The
first is noblesse oblige, which holds that those who are better off in life owe an obligation to those less fortunate than themselves. Another component
is to live and let live, acquire tolerance and understanding of other people. Still another is to bid good-bye, firmly and finally, to the deplorable chalta hai, chalne do (let it pass) attitude and develop a rational ethos, cultivating the scientific temper.

Humility and graciousness were exemplified by him in all his dealings. As the President of India, Mr. K.R. Narayanan, put it in his Condolence Message: “For me, personally, his departure means the loss of an intimate and long-standing friend who was a wonderful human being whose head and heart functioned in fine balance.”

Mr. Godrej was actively associated with various other bodies committed to the preservation of nature, wildlife and environment, linked with population
control, such as 1001: A Nature Trust, the Family Planning Association of India, the Population Foundation of India, and so on.

International recognition of Godrej’s contribution to the conservation of nature and natural resources was the conferment of the WWF 25th Anniversary
Benefactor ‘White Pelican Award’ on him by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

National honours included the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar for 1991, the Indian Merchants’ Chamber Award for his outstanding contribution in
enhancing the image of the business community by personal service, the Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award by the Indian Science Congress
Association, and the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.

A keen lover of art and culture, Mr. Godrej was on the Governing Board of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. He was Past-President of the
Alliance Francaise of Mumbai. Mr. Godrej travelled extensively, having visited over a hundred and sixty countries and all the seven continents
(that is, including Antarctica).

Mr. Godrej was a devoted environmentalist, and in a sense a true Indian. It was more like a love affair with the environment, not merely a science. In
his contribution to the Himalayan Club publication Environmental Protection of the Himalaya, he defined the importance of our environment: “Above all,
for unity and racial harmony, we should adopt worship of the all-embracing Mother Nature. The Indian ethos is not complete without the inclusion of the
sanctity of the Himalaya in all respects.”

Naturally, he titled his contribution “The Sanctity of the Himalaya,” as mountaineering, actively or passively, had given him spiritual satisfaction.
He had trekked in Kashmir and Nepal. He had indulged in some climbing in the Swiss Alps, in the Andes, Rockies and had walked up to the summit of
Kilmanjaro.

In the evening of his life, he coined the slogan: “Help Bring Our India Up, Quickly!” It has been said that all men cast shadows, but the rare
among them shed light. Sohrab Godrej belongs to the latter category. The light he shed will illumine the path of duty for all of us for generations
to come.

Rishad Naoroji