?I am very tough and never give up?

The Gandhis dot the walls of the second floor of The Lalit hotel in New Delhi. While Rajiv Gandhi stands tall in a larger than life portrait, Indira Gandhi with her pointed nose is inquisitive. While Maneka Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi share the same wall, caricatures of all prime ministers of India are hard to miss as one walks into the office of Jyotsna Suri, chairman and managing director of Bharat Hotels. ?I have no clue about politics,? she quips. After the sudden death of her husband in 2006, the then chairman of Bharat Hotels and MP Lalit Suri, the links with politics were severed, but not the close connections.

?I have an extremely cordial relationship with the Gandhis. But it is not in the garb of a politician. I have carried forward every bit of Lalit?s legacy except for politics. I am not cut out for it,? she says. Jyotsna adds that Robert and Priyanka Vadra come and stay at The Lalit sometimes and ?that?s about it?. Adds the 57-year-old Jyotsna,?I have too much on my plate already. My priority is to carry the hospitality business forward.?

The group has seven operational properties and another 10 are under development. All are in the five-star segment. Jyotsna is now chalking out an action plan to foray into budget hotels with 25 properties across India.

For her, the transition from Lalit Suri?s wife to the CMD of the company was sudden. ?When I came to know that 3,000 families were dependent on Bharat Hotels, I realised that I had no time to breathe,? she reminisces. Despite the fact that Jyotsna slipped into Lalit?s shoes in every aspect, his chair still remains vacant and office, intact.

?When I overhear people like Priyanka Vadra or Vinod Khanna in my lobby saying that they are in The Lalit or when the industry talks about my hotels addressing them as The Lalit, I feel he is all around and his legacy continues,? she says. Jyotsna carried out a massive exercise in November 2008, rebranding all the hotels as The Lalit. Jyotsna considers it as a big feat which has worked well despite the initial opposition. ?It is the first time in the history of hospitality that a 20-year-old brand name has been dropped. It takes courage to do something like that,? she thumps.

But this is not the first time Jyotsna has had a brush with resistance. When Lalit passed away in 2006, the rumour mill was rife that the group was on the block. ?I took over within 10 days of his passing away. Stepping into his shoes was not difficult as I was involved with the group for 20 years,? she says. Jyotsna was the joint managing director of the company and was involved in the project and the interior aspects of the hotels and slowly got into everything. ?Every painting that is hanging in each of my hotels has been put up there by me,? she quips.

However, there was one aspect which was completely Lalit?s forte ? finance. ?I used to take it for granted, as I had only spent money in my mind. Suddenly, I realised that I am the giver and the taker. When you become the man and the woman, it becomes very challenging,? she recalls. But she learnt how to handle money?on the job?like all other aspects of the business. ?Today, when I am across a table, negotiating a deal, people tell me that Lalit was not a patch on me. It is heartening?.

Born in New Delhi, in 1952, Jyotsna?s parents hail from what is now Pakistan. They had moved to this side of the border after partition. Her father shifted to Gujarat and Jyotsna spent her early years in a boarding school, in Shimla, away from the everyday struggles of her family. She calls her school days, the foundation stone of her life. ?I became very tough and learnt to adjust to any environment and never give up,? she says.

It is this spirit that kept her going through thick and thin. Though handling the business and family at the same time was taxing, she worked her way around it . ?I walk into the hotel as the CMD and not as a woman,? she says. Jyotsna carries out all the other chores like meeting bureaucrats and other industry captains with the same demeanour.

But, she says, the world still can?t fully accept a successful entrepreneurial woman. ?The world can accept a heroine or a doctor, but when it comes to a successful businesswoman, there is a big question mark. A woman is perceived as either a pretty face or someone who is very aggressive,? she opines. However, when it comes to steering the group ahead, she faces no issues at all within the hotel. In fact, her being a woman has helped her.

?There is a certain softness that comes along with a lot of interpersonal skills, especially if you are working in a setting like ours,? she says thoughtfully. Jyotsna makes sure nobody uses foul language in the hotel and deals with people at all levels of the hierarchy with equal respect. Jyotsna calls her communication skills her biggest strength.

It is this skill which she is now imparting to her only son,Keshav, who is being trained to take over the reigns of the hotels. Jyotsna has three daughters who are also involved at various levels of the business. While the eldest Divya, who studied law from King?s College, London, handles the legal affairs of both the company and the family?s auto parts business, Subros Ltd. Shradha a major in International Management from Leads College is the managing director of Subros Ltd. The youngest daughter Deeksha, a pass out from the London School of Economics (LSE), is in charge of all the HR functions of the group.

?Very soon, my children will be inducted onto the board of the company,? she informs. Keshav, 23, who went to Warwick University and later to the King?s College has the task to shadow the CMD presently. In a personal capacity, he is involved with the food and beverage department. ?I am trying to induct him into all aspects of running a hospitality business. The day I feel Keshav is ready, he will be given a bigger responsibility. But I am not hanging up my boots so soon,? she smiles.

Jyotsna plans to continue as the chairman of the hotel, while Keshav will take over as the managing director in due course of time. ?I can?t handle free time. I have never longed for solitude or to sleep 10 hours a day. I am a very hyperactive person. So, I have no plans for retiring,? she says.

After a hard day at work, spending time with family especially her grandchildren rejuvenates Suri. She likes to read at times and is an avid fan of Dan Brown. Da Vinci Code and The Digital Fortress are her favourites.

?When I was young, I used to enjoy driving. In those days, there was no road rage in Delhi,? she recalls. Jyotsna also participated in woman?s car rallies, way back in the late 70s and won. ?In fact, I was the only girl who had a car parked outside Miranda House, from where I did my honours in English,? she reminisces.

And how did she meet Lalit? Well, Bollywood blockbuster Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge seems to be inspired by her story. ?After college, my father sent me on a two-month trip to Europe with a whole gang of girls. Lalit saw me while I was leaving for the trip, as he was dating an Air India hostess at that time and had come to see her off. As luck would have it, while I was coming back, I was on the same flight as his girlfriend. Lalit came to pick her up. He landed up with a marriage proposal. Lalit?s elder brother and my father were very good friends, so it worked out well. It was just meant to be,? she fondly remembers. Jyotsna Nanda became Jyotsna Suri and the rest as they say is history.