Brands
‘Cultivate stillness’: Anand Mahindra links Samudra Manthan to leadership on Maha Shivratri
Mahindra urges leaders to endure turbulence until value finally emerges in X post
MUMBAI: On Maha Shivratri, Mahindra group chairman Anand Mahindra reflected on leadership and resilience, using the Samudra Manthan as a metaphor for navigating turbulence in business and society, in an X post.
In a post on X, Mahindra invoked the Samudra Manthan: the churning of the cosmic ocean, to describe what happens when societies, organisations or individuals are pushed into deep transformation. Intense churn, he suggested, rarely yields immediate reward. What surfaces first is often toxicity.
The lesson, Mahindra wrote, is not about avoiding turbulence but about how leaders respond to it. Strength, he argued, does not come from amplifying disorder or reacting in anger. It comes from the capacity to absorb disruption without passing it on.
To underline the point, Mahindra drew a parallel with Lord Shiva, who consumed poison that emerged from the ocean to protect the universe. Shiva’s act, he noted, was not impulsive or destructive. It was controlled, contained and deliberate. The amrit, the nectar of immortality, arrived only later.
The metaphor resonates in a period marked by economic uncertainty, geopolitical strain and institutional churn. In such moments, Mahindra’s message runs counter to the prevailing instinct to react loudly and quickly. Containment, stillness and patience, he implied, are not signs of weakness but strategic virtues.
Leadership, in this framing, is less about signalling outrage or urgency and more about endurance. Turbulence is inevitable; spreading its poison is not. Transformation, whether in business or society, requires the courage to sit with discomfort until value emerges.
Mahindra concluded his message by extending Maha Shivratri greetings, urging readers to cultivate resilience, inner stillness and the resolve to transform adversity into long-term strength.
Brands
Godrej clarifies ‘GI’ identifier after logo similarity debate
Says GI is not a logo, will not replace Godrej signature across products.
MUMBAI: In a branding storm where shapes did the talking, Godrej is now spelling things out. Godrej Industries Group (GIG) has issued a clarification on its newly introduced ‘GI’ identifier, addressing questions around its purpose and design following a wave of online criticism. At the centre of the debate were two concerns: whether the new mark replaces the long-standing Godrej logo, and whether its geometric design mirrors other corporate identities.
The company has drawn a clear line. The Godrej signature logo, it said, remains unchanged and continues to be the sole logo across all consumer-facing products and services. The ‘GI’ mark, by contrast, is not a logo but a corporate group identifier intended for use alongside the Godrej signature or company name, and aimed at stakeholders such as investors, media and talent rather than consumers.
The need for such a distinction stems from the 2024 restructuring of the broader Godrej Group into two separate business entities. With both continuing to operate under the same Godrej name and signature, the identifier is positioned as a way to differentiate the Godrej Industries Group at a corporate level.
The rollout, however, triggered a broader conversation on design originality. Critics pointed to similarities between the GI mark’s geometric composition and logos used by companies globally, raising questions about distinctiveness.
Responding to this, GIG said its intellectual property and legal review found that such overlaps are common in minimalist, geometry-led design systems. Basic forms such as circles and rectangles appear across dozens of brand identities worldwide, the company noted.
It added that the identifier emerged from an extensive design process and was chosen for its simplicity, allowing it to sit alongside the Godrej signature without competing visually. While acknowledging that elemental shapes may appear less distinctive in isolation, the group emphasised that the mark is part of a broader identity system that includes a custom typeface, sonic branding and other proprietary elements.
Following legal and ethical assessments, the company said it found no impediment to using the identifier, reiterating that the GI mark is a corporate tool not a consumer-facing symbol.
In short, the logo isn’t changing but the conversation around it certainly has.
