A minor ripple coursed through Chennai's corporate circles last fortnight when M.V. Subbiah abruptly announced that he was stepping down as a Director on the Murugappa Corporate Board. Not just that. He has also relinquished office from all the other group company boards, including that of the flagship EID Parry. Reason? In January, Subbiah turned 65, which is the age of superannuation for group executives, and in keeping with the group's high standards of corporate governance that he himself has set over the last five years, he hung his boots. For long, Subbiah has been the public face to the low-key group and led it as its Chairman between 1996 and 2001. Then, in a bid to distance ownership from management, he handed over the post of Group Chairman to a non-family member. But don't expect the straight-talking Subbiah to simply walk away into the sunset. He's already talking of going to Northwestern University's J.L. Kellogg Business School to study!

Surprise Co-pilot

Look at it whichever way you want, getting Ronojoy Dutta as an advisor is a big coup for Sahara Airlines. Until two years ago, Dutta used to be the President of United Airlines, the world's second-largest airline. The airline he's now chosen to mentor, has a fleet of 19 and is No. 3 in an industry that has only three nationwide operators. But it's easy to see why Dutta, who quit United in 2002, has been roped in. Private airlines in India have been allowed to fly regional international routes and Dutta, with his vast experience and contacts in the industry, may just be the co-pilot Sahara supremo Subrata Roy needs.

Time To Shine

Readers of a certain pink daily would have in the recent past seen P.N. Vijay staring out of a biggish ad, saying, a la Lord Kitchener, that he wants, no, not you, but your money. For portfolio management, that is. Vijay, a former Citibanker who now runs an eponymous advisory firm, says that it's high time he stepped up his own marketing. The timing couldn't have been better. Vijay, who's also a BJP ideologue and the Convener of its Economic Cell, is the man who does the due diligence of important economic issues for his political bosses. And considering that ''shining'' is the new buzzword with them, it's hardly surprising that Vijay has chosen to do some image-polishing of his own.

Family Historian

For R. Gopalakrishnan, it's all about pedigree. Be it a blue-blooded corporate career or tracing the family genealogy. The 58-year-old Executive Director of Tata Sons is putting together a book on his family history, starting from 1836 when his ancestors first settled in Vilakudi, a sleepy village in Nagapatnam, Tamil Nadu. "Inspiration first struck when I visited my ancestral village way back in 1984," says Gopalakrishnan. The progress has been slow. In all those years, Gopal-who was earlier the Vice Chairman of Hindustan Lever-has managed to pen only 10 chapters of the book, titled Comma In A Sentence. But the man perseveres, "nourished by anecdotal tales from father, second cousin and fifth uncle". As the Chinese say, a tree may grow a thousand feet tall, but its leaves will return to its roots.

Sibling Rivalry

There's nothing sweeter than beating your big brother at his own game. Just ask Vinod and Pramod Mittal (left) of Ispat Industries. Last fortnight, the duo outbid elder brother and London-based steel czar L.N. Mittal of Ispat International for the Philippines' National Steel Corporation. While big brother bid $160 million, the younger ones are reported to have quoted a staggering $300 million. It's no secret that ever since group patriarch Mohan Lal Mittal carved up the businesses among his three sons in 1994, giving the eldest all of the group's international-and now, vastly bigger-operations, the other two have been scrambling to match up. Nothing wrong, except that at least in this case, upping the ante on a brother may not be the smartest of moves.

-Contributed by R. Sridharan, Sahad P.V., and Abir Pal