Arun Alagappan

The Lawrence School in Lovedale is one of the most prestigious boarding schools in India. It counts Booker Prize winner Suzanna Arundhati Roy, Actor Akshay Khanna and Industrialist Anand Mahindra amongst its alumni. At the age of eight, in the Orwellian summer of 1984, little Arun Alagappan (let’s call him ‘AA’ after his initials) checked into this venerable institution to spend his formative days. “The next nine years was the best period of my life as it helped me grow in a strict environment hemmed by the age-old armyleanings of the School.” This experience taught young lad the virtues of discipline and teamwork.

Arun Alagappan would bring in these qualities to the workplace 15 years later. Shouldn’t kids be brought up by their natural parents rather than by teacherguardians? Aren’t mothers being less than responsible by outsourcing the parenting job? Will the relationship between a father and a son end up transactional? A frown crosses Arun’s face as he replies, “it depends on how you look at it. Growing up in a boarding school does a lot to your character. You are put in an ocean, and you learn to swim. You live with friends day in and day out, and so bond for life.” He then proceeds to deliver the cul-de-sac’: that when the time comes, his son too will go to Lovedale!

It was in the idyllic surroundings of the Nilgiris that Arun Alagappan picked up his first business lesson.

He had fallen in love with the army: lock, stock, and barrel. The association between the school and the military is rooted in history. His alma mater is named after Major General Sir Henry Lawrence who lost his life in the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. A General visiting the school once said, “In the army, you cannot choose your team. You are given a set of soldiers, and you have to win the war with them.” It was an object lesson in teamwork that came handy many years later when Arun worked in the family’s pocket borough, Tube Investments of India, first as vice president and then as president.

At school, Arun Alagappan took a deep liking to equestrian sports, although he did not get to compete for much except the occasional rounds of polo back home during his holidays. His passion saw him bloom in later years to be certified as an international course designer for show jumping. The Madras boy graduated in CBSE in 1993. That was two years after India divorced Fabian socialism to marry market economy. For the Murugappas, the opening up was a God-sent opportunity.

To date, Arun stays wedded to Lovedale! He stepped on its board in 2017, thus emulating both Papa M A Alagappan and Grandpa A M M Arunachalam.