A book to read, highlight, ponder over and then reread and then some more. Capt Gopinath shares his story in great detail. He takes quite a bit of time to get to the Deccan story and even when he gets there, its a fraction of the book. But the path to starting Deccan is described in great detail - the path of becoming an entrepreneur who would start Deccan.
Highly recommended. Nov 05, Jayanth rated it really liked it. Wonderful book which makes you think about how much there is in the world to do! The best part of the book is when he talks about his farm and how he managed to get things done single-handedly inspite of all the odds in his village! Overall, an inspirational book and a must read for every aspiring entrepreneur. Oct 28, Dinesh Gopal rated it it was amazing.
Gopinath Captain is on par with any of the top entrepreneurs of the world and he captures the same with his brilliant writing. Feb 11, Vinoth Kanna M E rated it it was amazing. An inspirational biography!
I enjoyed reading it. Somebody should make a movie out of this book. All those books and movies have one thing in common. The ending will be a happy and colorful one. This book has the most tragic end of all.
Captain Gopinath is a guy who wants to experience everything. He was a military man; then became a farmer; after that, he had his gigs in Politics; then finally a businessman.
I started readi 4. I started reading this book after watching a Tamil movie named Soorarai Potru. It was adapted from this book. I wanted to read this book first and then planned on watching the movie but, it didn't happen. I watched the movie first and didn't like it.
So, I lost interest in reading this book. As I wanted to try out an Autographical novel in Tamil for the first time, I gave this book another chance.
And it was the best decision I took in a while. The one thing I didn't like about this book was the lag I felt in the middle. To be honest, I didn't like the chapters that showcased his experiences as a Politician. It's purely my own personal opinion.
Some may like that but I didn't like it. And finally, the one thing that defined this book is a poem written by Rudyard Kipling. Nov 08, Ajay Bhat rated it liked it. I distinctly remember being sent ahead by my family to 'reserve' seats on a Cochin- Bangalore Air Deccan flight.
They didn't allocate seats before hand as is common now. This was way back in when air travel wasn't as ubiquitous as it is now and India was starting to get up on her feet as a developing economy.
In this transformation process, Captain Gopinath is credited as someone who gave 'wings' to the aspirations of the common man and the modern, liberalised Indian nation. He is some I distinctly remember being sent ahead by my family to 'reserve' seats on a Cochin- Bangalore Air Deccan flight. He is someone who has donned various hats in his life. There is agriculture, action, adventure, finance, business, aviation and importantly emotion. It is no short of a movie infact an upcoming Tamil movie starring Surya is based on his life.
This book has even been adopted in the curriculum of some management schools. However, the author clarifies in the preface that it is is not a 'How to.. The overall story is interesting though not that captivating. The first half covers his childhood, military days, organic farming and sericulture experience and subsequent success and his initial business ventures.
There a lot of digressions in this half. The second half where he sets up India's first charter helicopter service and later the first Indian LCC which he later sells to Kingfisher is fast paced and more than compensates for the first part.
The book doesn't give a comprehensive picture of the author's life as we see it only from his perspective. He isn't able to reflect on his failures.
The book doesn't fully explore why Deccan actually failed. The author makes only a cursory mention of Deccan's issue prior to its sale. As the book was published in , the rise and fall of his cargo business, the closure of Kingfisher and his not so successfull second stint with commercial air travel under the UDAN program are not covered in the book.
To conclude, I think that it is not the best of autobiographies but is a decent read nonetheless. If you are on the lookout for an inspiring Indian entrepreneural adventure or are interested in the Indian aviation sector, you can give it a try.
Nov 22, Razeen Muhammed rafi rated it it was amazing. This is one of most inspiring book which I read recently. He was born as son of school teacher and later passed NDA exam and started his service in Indian Army.
After retirement he started his This is one of most inspiring book which I read recently. After retirement he started his entrepreneur journey as a farmer. During his marriage he had to struggle a lot and his wife was there to support him. Later he planned to start a helicopter charter business and had to face many bureaucratic hurdles. His struggle to start his business are portrayed in this book.
Nov 26, Sumit Sabnis rated it it was amazing. Simply fly , a simply fabulous autobiography of a very industrious man , a very well read man a risk taker , an inventor , a farmer, an army man an Enfield bullet bike dealer, an udupi restaurant hotel owner , a stockbroker a political aspirant and most importantly and adventurer. This book is very special to me because the decade of Indian aviation that Mr Gopinath spearheaded , I was a pilot in Kf and many of the names mentioned in the book became my colleagues and it was fun to to correlate t Simply fly , a simply fabulous autobiography of a very industrious man , a very well read man a risk taker , an inventor , a farmer, an army man an Enfield bullet bike dealer, an udupi restaurant hotel owner , a stockbroker a political aspirant and most importantly and adventurer.
This book is very special to me because the decade of Indian aviation that Mr Gopinath spearheaded , I was a pilot in Kf and many of the names mentioned in the book became my colleagues and it was fun to to correlate the happenings at the top end , behind the scenes decisions while we employees enjoyed a period of great opportunity and stability.
It was great to read about the deals between Vijay Mallya and Gopinath and where they stand today. The book is very candid and an easy read , a bit long , as it digs deeply into each and every entrepreneural venture. Easily best alternative to an MBA it has tons of great advice for anyone who wants to Simply Fly and soar higher! Oct 01, Monesh Thiyagu rated it it was amazing.
Dec 04, Rubi Sindhika rated it it was amazing Shelves: non-fiction. Simply fly - I have heard about this book already but convinced to read it after watching the movie 'soorarai potru' inspired from this book.
I was sure the book would be better as the movie had the same hero villain template and the dramatic hero effect. This book will give you adrenaline rush. The ventures capt. Gopinath had gone through in setting up the enterprise is full of surprises and thrills. The narration was crisp and on point without any unnecessary descriptions. Some of his insights Simply fly - I have heard about this book already but convinced to read it after watching the movie 'soorarai potru' inspired from this book.
Some of his insights were vague and i can't make an understanding out of it. Maybe they were complex for my brain to handle. This book needs little extra effort because it contains lot of exotic ideas and concepts for a normal fiction reader. But if you can go through, the experience is seriously rewarding. It will help you witness how a entrepreneurial mind thinks and works with an Indian touch.
Go for it. Aug 29, Siddhartha Sharma rated it it was amazing. I had picked up this book out of sheer curiosity while walking around in a book store in South Delhi. Little did I know that it will introduce me to a man who has been honest and fearless in all his ventures so far.
Without going into too much detail, I would recommend every budding entrepreneur or business leader to go ahead and grab a copy or maybe borrow it. His teacher's protest letter makes the authorities conduct another exam in Kannada! Almost immediately he is deployed in the Bangladesh liberation war. He quits the army with no savings and returns to his village, only to find his family's meager lands submerged by a new dam across river Hemavathy.
Gopi consolidates the barren lands granted as compensation to his extended family in a far away village. Gopi marries Bhargavi. He experiments with sustainable farming, sericulture, dairy farming and poultry among others.
Gopi wins an award for innovation in sericulture! They shift to Hassan, a district town. There, Gopi sets up a successful chain of 'Malnad Mobikes' a dealership in motorbikes; establishes and runs a Udupi restaurant; dabbles briefly as a share broker; sets up an agency for drip irrigation systems and a successful consultancy for landscaping, farming, irrigation etc. Gopi gets involved in public affairs, and persuaded by the then emerging BJP in Karnataka, becomes its District in-charge and contests assembly elections!
Gopi eventually shifts to Bangaluru to be with his two daughters in school. He touches base with his army buddies, particularly Capt.
Sam, an ex-helicopter pilot. As a civilian, Sam is forced to take up a job as an administrator and security in-charge. Gopi hits upon the idea of setting up Deccan Aviation, a private helicopter service to help businessmen and tourists travel quickly to smaller towns with poor connectivity. He discovers that the dream to fly is present even amongst common people, if only the pricing is appropriate. That insight creates a passion in Gopi to translate the Udupi hotel idea to air travel!
Air Deccan is thus born with the catchy slogan 'Simply Fly' and R. Laxman's Common Man as the mascot. He cuts out sales agents and offers a no frills air-service at half the prevalent price. Air Deccan creates an entirely new class of air-travelers and set of destinations to soon become the market leader. He faces a dilemma: He can grow either steadily at the risk of being slowly strangled by its bigger competitors; or grow aggressively with the risk of facing a financial liquidity crunch.
He chooses the latter with innovative financing plans for purchase of aircrafts and flight coupons. But he is forced into seeking external equity finance from Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher. Mallya's value systems and strategies are the very antithesis of 'Simply Fly' and 'Common Man'! Gopi gives up passenger planes and helicopters- but now he is busy setting up a Udupi hotel equivalent in logistics through his Deccan , with its nerve centre at Nagpur.
Best of luck Gopi! What are possible takeaways for the reader? Gopi's quitting the army teaches one not to hang around in a job if our heart is not in it. Gopi, as a farmer and businessman at Hassan, gives us several lessons: it is only the ecologically sustainable farming methods that are economically viable in the long run; if you are doing good work you will find timely help and advice from well-wishers. One should move on in life without resting on past laurels by l using one's time, talent and contacts in the best possible way.
This self-growth gives space for others to grow. A good idea and passion for timely execution can overcome the constraint of resources. H Patel were all helpful in cutting through bureaucratic red tape. This book is all about and is dedicated to a little handicapped boy who was confined to his wheelchair his whole life.
The little boys grandmother brought him in to my little store to introduce him to me. The little boy could not talk. He communicated by flapping his hands. Sometimes the best fly is a simple one. Whether you're a beginner looking to get started with tying or an expert looking to get back to the basics, these simple wet flies, nymphs, dry flies, and streamers will often catch fish as well as--if not better than--more complex patterns.
From a longtime fly fisherman and guide, this book is a collection of experiences, common to most of us, that love the sport.
Plenty of humor is spread across the pages, as the reader is introduced to the many and varied locations that the author has had the pleasure to. Discover a world where words have untold power in this thrilling fantasy adventure from award-winning author Frances Hardinge Everybody knew that books were dangerous. Read the wrong book, it was said, and the words crawled around your brain on black legs and drove you mad, wicked mad.
In theory, bumblebees should not be able to fly, but they do. Because they have to. But people, no matter how smart or how skilled they might be, do not always get off the ground.
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