Like daddy, like son! For AGM, Mahindra ditches suit & tie for Jodhpuri suit, says his father, too, was a fan of ‘bandh-gala’

It is not an everyday affair to see an India Inc honcho crowdsource the boardroom look. Anand Mahindra just did that for the 74th Mahindra & Mahindra Annual General Meeting (AGM). Staying true to his ‘delegatory style of management’, the top boss had asked his Twitter followers to help him choose his look.

Twitterati didn’t shy away from giving their honest opinion and with an overwhelming majority, chose the Jodhpuri suit as the top boss’s next boardroom look, beating worthy competitors like the Suit and Tie, ‘Jacket and Open-Necked Shirt’, and ‘Shirt and Bandi Jacket’.

And even as the group's consolidated net profit plunged 97 per cent year-on-year to Rs 68 crore for the quarter ended June 2020, the top boss was prepared to grin and bear it. The top boss didn’t disappoint his Twitter followers and obliged them by agreeing to don a Jodhpuri suit.


"Your verdict was overwhelmingly in favour of a Jodhpuri suit for today’s Annual Shareholder Meeting," wrote Mahindra in his tweet.

However, the chairman of the Mahindra group had some reservations and felt that given the weather, the suit will be a little ‘stuffy’ and ‘uncomfortable’, ‘especially if the meeting stretches on!’.

Nevertheless, the 65-year-old went ahead with the outcome of the poll. In fact, he also shared a throwback picture of his father, the late industrialist Harish Mahindra, who too was a fan of the dress.

Mahindra said that his father, who gave up wearing suit and tie early in his career, would have been pleased with the outcome of the poll. “His office/formal wear was always what he referred to as a ‘Bandh-Gala’,” said the top boss.


Twitterati couldn’t help but appreciate Mahindra for listening to his followers. This netizen advised Mahindra to accessorise the Jodhpuri suit with a gold/silver brooch.
Others were happy that Mahindra chose a traditional Indian attire.
Some Twitter users felt that wearing a tie is just ‘aping the British’ and seemed to agree with the wardrobe choice of the top boss.