Hard Target

Jim Corbetts record of shooting the largest leopard at Rudra Prayag is now part of both literature and folklore. In July this year, Ashish Dasgupta, former managing director and owner of shock absorber manufacturer Sirmour Sudburg, broke that record.

His kill, made in the hill district of Pauri Garwhal in UP, measured seven feet and eleven inches, an inch longer than Corbetts leopard. It had killed around 40 people, says Dasgupta, who is also a government-licensed hunter. A shoot can take a very long time, he says. It is not always successful, but this time we were lucky. Dasgupta shot the leopard at dawn, in Pauri town, from a distance of around 100 yards.

He hasnt been so fortunate on other fronts, though. Last month, the industrialist was embroiled in a bitter dispute with his German partner, Mannesmann AG. The tie up, which resulted in the multinational acquiring a 51 per cent stake in Sirmour Sudburg, had come under a lot of strain recently.

The end result: Dasgupta found himself eased out from the position of managing director.

He is not willing to give up without a fight, though. I built that company from scratch, and turned it around at a time when no one was willing to touch it, he says. Its not easy to back away all that easily.

Knowing Dasgupta track record, theres a long fight ahead, what with the hunter looking to tot up yet another notch on his barrel.