A page-turning career - Ajit Jain

He was barely 26, but David Davidar was fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time.

It was 1985 and Davidar was completing his diploma in publishing at Harvard University when he encountered the chairman of the Penguin Group.

"He said to me, 'Would you like to go back to India and set up Penguin India?' " Davidar, now president and publisher of Penguin Books Canada, told me. "It was kind of a gift from God. You can either make something of it or throw it away."

He grabbed the opportunity. There was hardly any general publishing done in India at that time.

"Now, of course, publishing is one of the most flourishing industries in India. I am talking of more than 22 years ago when there was nothing." [for more click on the heading]