You Cannot Miss This Flight: Essays on Emerging India

by G.R. Gopinath

Captain G.R. Gopinath is an unusual industry leader. Whether it was setting up Air Deccan to get train travellers in the air or jumping into the fray of Indian politics, Gopinath does not merely put his money where his mouth is - he takes his mouth to the scene of action.Unsurprisingly then, he has been an active and provocative columnist down the years. Nothing is off the table for him, not business rivals, nor political bosses. He meditates on yoga and farming, on caste and religion, he tears down the flaws in Indian aviation policy and he snipes at politicians who play Indians for their votes. He is honest about corruption, he is angry at the system and he is a believer in the power of entrepreneurship.Gopinath's is a brave and important voice in Indian business and media. You Cannot Miss This Flight is a selection of his writings in the past decade and a bit. As thought-provoking as they are delightful, these essays capture the breadth of Captain Gopinath's interests and the depth of his commitment.

275 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 15, 2017

About the author

Captain Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar Gopinath is an Indian entrepreneur, the founder of Air Deccan, a retired Captain of the Indian Army, an author, and a politician.

After school, he earned a commission in the Indian Army, earning the rank of Captain.

The army life seemed to somehow tie him down. He took early retirement from Indian Army, at the age of 28. Upon retirement from the armed forces, he established an ecologically sustainable sericulture farm; his innovative methods earned him the Rolex Laureate Award in 1996. Next, he started the Malnad Mobikes (Enfield dealership) and opened a hotel in Hassan.

In 1997 he co-founded Deccan Aviation, a charter helicopter service. In 2003, Gopinath founded Air Deccan, a low cost airline; Air Deccan merged with Kingfisher Airlines in 2007. In 2009 he founded Deccan 360, a freight flight business. In July 2013, Deccan 360 was ordered to wind up by the Karnataka High Court order based on petitions filed by Dubai-based United Aviation Services (UAS) and another by M/s Patel Integrated Logistics (PIL) Pvt. Ltd. — seeking recovery of amounts due to them by winding up the company.

In May 2006, he was knighted with "Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur" the civilian award conferred by the French Government. He has received many awards for Air Deccan.

In 2009, Gopinath contested as an independent candidate in Bangalore South constituency at the Lok Sabha elections but was defeated. In 2014, he unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha elections on the ticket of the Aam Aadmi Party.

The 2020 Amazon Prime Video Tamil film Soorarai Pottru was partly inspired by events from the life of G. R. Gopinath.

Reviews

[Vinayak Hegde · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of essays / articles mostly published in newspapers. It is divided into various sections. Some of the articles are perceptive, some historical (as I was reading some articles after 5+ years of publication) and others merely filler. The best ones had some important formative stories from his life. The most boring ones were the ones on politics especially on right-wing politics of Modi. Average read though the book has it's moments.