Recipe for growth: Don't bet everything you have, says Lemon Tree's Keswani

The fast-talking Keswani tells Pavan Lall what he learnt from former boss Russi Mody, how he was let down by a private equity investor and why he launched an upscale hotel in Udaipur

Walk into Patanjali “Patu” Keswani’s house in Delhi’s Vasant Vihar and you’ll be greeted by a very big five-year old yellow Labrador with a bark to match. He’s called... what else... Lemo and despite the bark, I’m told, he’s harmless. 

Inside, I’m led into an entertainment room of sorts that features an outsize library, flat panel TVs and a recliner where I wait for my host. Around 10 minutes later, Keswani, dressed in a Polo T-shirt and blue jeans, bounds across to see me. Now 60-years-old and sans his trademark pony-tail, the one-time GM of Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace Hotel,