The early ‘80s. The South as a business centre is not on anyone’s radar. Bombay and, to a lesser extent, Delhi, dominate the business world. Calcutta still retains a modicum of power, though it is in rapid decline. Madras is an overgrown village and Bangalore a pensioner’s paradise. Fast-forward to 2016. Kolkata is not on the business radar at all. Mumbai and Delhi continue to remain powerhouses. In the South, Bangalore is on top of everyone’s list, and even Hyderabad is seen as a dynamic centre of growth. A little-known fact though, is that Chennai is the base for more industries than either of those two cities. Tamil Nadu’s industrial growth has to be one of India’s best-kept secrets. For various reasons — Tamil Nadu’s distance from Delhi, the centre’s lack of interest because of the dominance of regional parties, the companies not rushing to the stock market unlike their Western and Northern counterparts — Tamil Nadu is not perceived as an industrially-advanced state. Surge seeks to undo that misconception. Examining both old-economy and new economy industries, profiling scions of well-established families as well as young upstarts, homegrown talent and those who came in from outside the state, this book fills an important niche in the story of Indian industrialization. An incisive account by veteran business journalist Sushila Ravindranath, this is a must-read for students of business, corporate executives and indeed, anyone interested in the dynamic world of business and finance.