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Taking the High Road
Ram Buxani narrates the engrossing story of his own life in Taking the High Road. He starts with the carefree days of his childhood in Hyderabad, Sind and Baroda, his meteoric rise as an employee with ITL in Dubai, his growth to success by sheer perseverance, and his fulfilment of many roles as a son, husband, father and grandfather. First published in 2003 and translated into several languages, this new edition offers fresh philosophical musings on life and its many changing faces.
382 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 19, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 1, 2024
I picked this book up because I wanted to feel more sindhi. The benefit of having many identities is that i have multiple sports that i can watch where my country is good, jk each country is only good at one: cricket (India), track and field (jamaica) and badminton (Indonesia). However, the drawback is that i feel connected to some more than others. I have always put my Indian identity last, especially my sindhi roots because even though it was the one most prevalent in my home, it was the least bit in my immediate external surroundings.
Ram Buxani is my friends grandfather, so I skipped over the family bits because it felt weird. But his story were both of my grandfathers stories, of which I only have an oral memory. I wish we had more sindhi writers because Sindh does not exist anymore. It is a land that was on the Pakistani side of the current Indian border and thus all the Sindhis fled during partition.
We were traders, and still are. After partition, a lot of Sindhis emigrated to other commonwealth countries, answering the main question of why are there so many Sindhis in jamaica, HK, Singapore etc. Mr buxani moved to Dubai, my grandpa to jamaica and my dada to Indonesia (not British but close enough to Singapore). Then the strategy was to implement their trader experience to become middle men in these new found countries, trading textiles, electronics, jewelries, etc. sounds familiar fellow Sindhis?
What made us successful is also why many legacy Sindhis are struggling to replicate their forefathers success. Generally we have family businesses now and are expected to take it over. But who really goes to jamaica to buy jewelry anymore? The world’s a lot more competitive and so we need to be more innovative, which is why I believe a lot of Sindhis are going to college and pursuing careers outside of their forefathers business. Out of my Sindhi friends group from ocho rios of 20+ friends, only 2 remain.
I also really liked his analogy of how Dubai grew as a trading hub.
Ram Buxani is my friends grandfather, so I skipped over the family bits because it felt weird. But his story were both of my grandfathers stories, of which I only have an oral memory. I wish we had more sindhi writers because Sindh does not exist anymore. It is a land that was on the Pakistani side of the current Indian border and thus all the Sindhis fled during partition.
We were traders, and still are. After partition, a lot of Sindhis emigrated to other commonwealth countries, answering the main question of why are there so many Sindhis in jamaica, HK, Singapore etc. Mr buxani moved to Dubai, my grandpa to jamaica and my dada to Indonesia (not British but close enough to Singapore). Then the strategy was to implement their trader experience to become middle men in these new found countries, trading textiles, electronics, jewelries, etc. sounds familiar fellow Sindhis?
What made us successful is also why many legacy Sindhis are struggling to replicate their forefathers success. Generally we have family businesses now and are expected to take it over. But who really goes to jamaica to buy jewelry anymore? The world’s a lot more competitive and so we need to be more innovative, which is why I believe a lot of Sindhis are going to college and pursuing careers outside of their forefathers business. Out of my Sindhi friends group from ocho rios of 20+ friends, only 2 remain.
I also really liked his analogy of how Dubai grew as a trading hub.
January 4, 2017
‘Taking the High Road’ - Ram Buxani
Biographies always fascinate me. I like to know what these successful people did to reach where they are. I finished reading a biography of Mr. Ram Buxani, an Indian businessman in United Arab Emirates. He came to Dubai at very early age. Today his is one of the key player in the market.
Mr. Buxani belongs to Sindhi community, which has their strong presence in Dubai. While writing the book, he explained Sindhi culture and family values. This biography is not written in a traditional way, where you read about childhood of the person, his growing years and then his success story. However, this book has taken a different path. It starts with explaining how Dubai developed over the years, from pearl diving to oil and then a strong trading destination. He also focused on why people came to this part of the world? What is the dilemma they face when they choose to leave their families?
Mr. Buxani’s journey unfolds along with the development of Dubai. He is the witness of how Dubai developed in last 50 years. What UAE has achieved in last four decades few economies may take centuries to achieve.
This book does not throw management terms at you. It is not a story of one young Indian building fortune in foreign land, however this is also the journey of how Dubai became strong economic hub worldwide. While reading the book, I could imagine Mr Buxani narrating his story, sitting across.
If you are interested to know more about the ‘Journey’ of Mr. Buxani and Dubai then please do come to the 9th edition of Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in March 2017. Visit www.emirateslitfest.com to know more.
www.prachititg.com
Biographies always fascinate me. I like to know what these successful people did to reach where they are. I finished reading a biography of Mr. Ram Buxani, an Indian businessman in United Arab Emirates. He came to Dubai at very early age. Today his is one of the key player in the market.
Mr. Buxani belongs to Sindhi community, which has their strong presence in Dubai. While writing the book, he explained Sindhi culture and family values. This biography is not written in a traditional way, where you read about childhood of the person, his growing years and then his success story. However, this book has taken a different path. It starts with explaining how Dubai developed over the years, from pearl diving to oil and then a strong trading destination. He also focused on why people came to this part of the world? What is the dilemma they face when they choose to leave their families?
Mr. Buxani’s journey unfolds along with the development of Dubai. He is the witness of how Dubai developed in last 50 years. What UAE has achieved in last four decades few economies may take centuries to achieve.
This book does not throw management terms at you. It is not a story of one young Indian building fortune in foreign land, however this is also the journey of how Dubai became strong economic hub worldwide. While reading the book, I could imagine Mr Buxani narrating his story, sitting across.
If you are interested to know more about the ‘Journey’ of Mr. Buxani and Dubai then please do come to the 9th edition of Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in March 2017. Visit www.emirateslitfest.com to know more.
www.prachititg.com
July 28, 2014
good book to read about Dubai and business in UAe from a prospective of an Indian successful expat.
the book is overpriced due to personal photos of Mr. Buxami there
the book is overpriced due to personal photos of Mr. Buxami there
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews