In the story of real estate mogul Niranjan Hiranandani, 71, one can find the essence of Mumbai. Traces of the city's history, and its evolution is evident in the journey of Niranjan Hiranandani, son of Mumbai’s well-known ENT surgeon Dr Lakhumal Hiranand Hiranandani, as he went on to build a real estate business in Mumbai.

Early on, the ace industrialist knew he was “not cut to be a doctor” like his father. So, he got himself a degree in chartered accountancy. Later, he dabbled in teaching and ran a garment processing facility, before choosing real estate. The decision to switch to real estate was “made easy” because of a labour union strike that rendered the business unviable, he says.
Over the decades, as Mumbai became one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world, the Hiranandani Group has emerged as a prominent stakeholder in that success story.

In a free-wheeling interview with AKADialog, Dr Niranjan Hirananadani, now ranked by Forbes among the 100 richest Indians, shares his entrepreneurial journey, leadership mantra, and love for the city of Mumbai.

Q. What was growing up like for you?

Learning is a process that goes on for a lifetime. So ‘growing up’ would also be an on-going process. Ideally, the ‘inner child’ in all of us should never grow up. Fascination about all things new should be a part of living.
It is not that one can stop time or the process of ageing, but ‘coming of age’ and ‘being of the right age to deal with challenges’ are two very different aspects of life. So, adulthood for me is where childhood ends – and we can tweak teenage to adjust into both categories.

Life is full of crossroads, we have to choose which path to take. But if I have to recall a crunch situation, it was when I had to take a decision on whether I should continue with the garment business, or get full-time into real estate development. It was no longer both, but either – that, to my mind is an apt example of ‘having to grow up’.