Adityanama, a book which covers the life of Aditya Puri was published on 24th February by Anita Puri, Aditya’s wife. It is the emotional journey that these two individuals shared that inspired Anita to unveil the person behind the persona of the banker.
Anita (Smiley) Puri is known to have pursued a diploma in Travel & Tourism, after which she went on to work for Japan Airlines and Kuwait Airways.
It is a delightful read taking the reader on an extraordinary journey.
The ace banker, Aditya Puri is no new name in the field of banking and it is because of his wife Anita Smiley Puri the novel Adityanama: The Man Behind the Banker Unveiled from Jaico Publishing House.
While he initially rose in Citibank, he is well known for having built the private bank, HDFC Bank from scratch.
He has served as the former CEO and MD of the country’s second-largest bank – HDFC Bank and has had a remarkable career spanning over four decades in India and other countries. (the longest-serving head of any private bank in the country). He is also well known for having been the CEO of Citibank, Malaysia.
However, another facet of Aditya’s personality is revealed in this novel. The down-to-earth entrepreneur, the family-oriented man, a nurturing and protective man, an institution builder and a role model. Being an Air Force kid, Aditya had grown up in almost every part of the country with a string of new schools, and new friends. As a young entrepreneur serving as CEO of Citibank in Malaysia, Aditya always made time for outings with his wife and entertainment with his friends.
However, before his major carousel of a journey in banking began, he married in a quiet ceremony in Mumbai at the Arya Samaj Mandir.
The book which has been divided into five different sections covers Aditya’s life before marriage while he was dating and yet a young bachelor to how he started to build a life with Anita Puri in various parts of the world where their homes were, his extraordinary journey and rise as a banker to their final return to Mumbai – their home.
Aditya is known to be a complete man in every sense and Mukesh Ambani (chairman, Reliance Industries Ltd.), Anand Mahindra (chairman of Mahindra Group), Sunil Mittal (founder and chairperson, Mittal Group), Mallika Srinivasan (CMD, Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd.), Narayanan Murthy (founder and chairman emeritus, Infosys), Uday Kotak (Founder and CMD, Kotak Mahindra Bank), Nandan Nilekani (co-founder and non-executive chairman, Infosys), K V Kamath (former chairman ICICI Bank), N Chandrasekaran (Chairman Tata Sons) and Sanjiv Mehta (CMD, Hindustan Unilever) have all shared their opinions about the type of banker Aditya is.
The book is an entertaining and jovial read and while at times requires intense concentration, it has to be kept in mind that the events were real and did take place!
1 Comment
Interesting! Thanks for this. As a Banker myself, I didn't know about this book and I will definitely want to read it. Thank you!