Monday July 16, 03:48 AM
Mood Indigo stretch
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Companies that encourage shareholders to speak up at Annual General Meetings must be wondering if this is such a great idea after all. At the AGM of Tata Motors recently, a lady shareholder concluded that this was just the perfect forum to express her admiration of group chairman Ratan Tata. Undaunted by the glare of cameras and the presence of media, she let loose a string of pop shayari. A sample: "Aap ko dekh kar aisa lagta hai jaise chand zameen par utar aaya hai" (A glance at you makes me feel that the moon has landed on earth). Tata, a picture of composure under the most stressful of corporate situations, found himself staring hard-in any possible direction, save hers. But this only angered the shareholder. "Why aren't you looking at me?" she demanded-at which, he took a glance in her direction and managed a feeble smile. A moment he probably thought would stretch forever, a la Indigo LX. M&A plus Again, at the AGM, one shareholder complained about the lack of equity bonuses from Tata Motors. But he was not done. The shareholder, obviously keen to see his company go places, also asked whether Tata Motors was planning to acquire a global company along the lines of the Corus buyout by group company Tata Steel. With that whiff of an M&A thrown in the air, everyone waited. When it was time for the management to respond, Ratan Tata took the mike and said: "If we're to acquire a huge company overseas, you would not get a bonus for a long time to come." Everyone in the hall burst out laughing.
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