By A doyen of the Indian Travel & Tourism industry, Padma Shri (Late) Inder Sharma’s autobiography ‘All Doors Opened’ was released in the presence of Shri Anil Baijal, LG Delhi, Dr Karan Singh, former member of Rajya Sabha and in the august gathering of former bureaucrats & who’s who of the travel industry.
Shri Inder Sharma was the former owner and Chairman of SITA World Travel and Chairman of Select CITYWALK, Delhi’s landmark lifestyle shopping centre.
“All Doors Opened” is hard to slot into any one particular genre of writing because of its varied flavors offering glimpses into the life journey of the visionary Late Mr. Inder Sharma.
Commemorating Late Inder Sharma, Shri Anil Baijal, Lt. Governor of Delhi, said, “Shri Inder Sharma was a “man with a golden heart and dogged spirits” whose views were always respected by one and all. Recollecting the years when both were members in the Board of Air India, Baijal said that as a stalwart of the travel & tourism industry, Sharma’s viewpoints always commanded respected in the Board.
He further added, “Although Sharma ventured into commercial real estate hesitantly, he was able to establish one of the best commercial malls in the country by setting high standards and bringing the best of the global brands into the space. Shri Baijal also remembered how he came forward to shoulder the responsibility of maintaining a community park in front of Select City Walk in Delhi when government looked for a private partner after a laborious restoration effort of the place.”
Remembering Sharma as a “man full of ideas”, former Tourism Minister and eminent Parliamentarian, Dr Karan Singh said that the idea of PPP (Public-Private Partnership) that people are talking about today was put forward by Inder Sharma 50 years ago.
“Inder Sharma always liked travel and parties, and was not meant to be “running shops.” Despite his mercurial rise in business, Sharma never “lost his roots” and was compassionate to the poor and needy.” Dr Singh said.
“The manuscript first weighed heavy. I was a total stranger and yet, the first outside Chairman Sharma’s own family to be reading his untold stories. He was a formidable business tycoon. Would I understand his world at all? I opened the first page that evening and – never stood up, till the last. I was inspired by his daring, stilled by his humility and ready to build empires myself. It was my privilege and honour to edit All Doors Opened. The author’s spunk, humor, grace and dignity makes it a textbook of an exemplary life.” says Padma Rao Sundarji, Editor, “All Doors Opened”
Laced with gentle, self-depreciating humor and suffused with deep love for his family and friends, ‘All Doors Opened’ offers the best instruction to young people embarking on their careers; in any profession and anywhere in the world.
Speaking about the book, Balbir Punj, well known columnist and former Member of Rajya Sabha expressed, “The book makes an honest effort to recapture many faceted life of Inder uncle and the times he lived in. Reading the book is like living those years with him, for the description of events and personalities, all feel so vivid and alive.”
It is Inder Sharma’s ode to hard work, family values, harmless mischief, acts of kindness and good times. But it’s also a paean to life that will inspire and move readers to live it to the hilt, just like the author did.
“150 rupees a month to multi-millionaire, a fantastic journey of hard work, learning, and serving by Inder Sharma. This book is a must reading for all those young men looking to do big and be on their own in life and career. Inder worked hard and honestly in an era marred by Communist style economy and restrictive Government policies – yet he achieved the goal”, Prem Prakash, Chairman, ANI Media, shared.
The Select Group was formed in 2002 under the guidance of late Chairman Mr. Inder Sharma, a leading figure in the Indian Travel & Tourism industry and the man behind India’s largest and most successful travel venture SITA World Travel from the 1950 to the year 2000 (that disinvested to KuoniResien, Switzerland in 2000). Today, Select Group has ventured into several diverse business verticals including hospitality, retail (Select Hotels & Select CITYWALK), travel, private equity and organic farming.
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