Why The Heck Not? DLF’s KP Singh Book Sharing His Blueprint For Success

 

By Namrata Kohli

“Before KP took over an almost dormant DLF at the behest of his wife Indira and sister-in-law Prem, he knew nothing about real estate – zero!” This may sound unbelievable but that’s the absolute truth about a man who is credited with turnaround of Gurugram and setting the gold standard for luxury real estate in India. K.P. Singh’s book “Why the heck not?” is an interesting account of his life’s journey where co-author Aparna Jain variously describes him as “a forever learner”, a “one man army”. His blueprint for success? Shares KP Singh- "I believe every opportunity is like a train standing on a platform. The train’s door opens for a short while, either you get in or when the door closes the train leaves. Opportunity comes to every human being, it is your smartness how to quickly find out yes or no and then grab it before somebody else grabs it. Every person should know when opportunity comes. Therefore I say, why the heck not?"

Co-author Aparna Jain extolls certain virtues of KP Singh which set him apart from the ordinary and make him 'extra'ordinary – his “tremendous patience”, “ability to connect” with everyone from a farmer, politician, government official to global business leaders, colleagues, friends, family and his enormous energy and drive. A testament to this is what he did for 20 years while building brand DLF, his daily routine, what a day in the life of the young KP Singh looked like  – “For every evening, after a full day at work, KP would don a kurta and pyjama with his black army beret to visit farmers in Gurgaon, to build relationships and to discuss plans for their land. A believer in working hard and playing equally hard, he would then often dance the night away with his wife Indira at the most happening nightclub in town Tabela at The Oberoi. And then he would be driven about five and a half hours to the outskirts of Chandigarh, while he slept in the car, to reach by about 5:30 am. He would freshen up and head out to meet politicians, starting at 6:30 am in an attempt to advocate for policy changes to archaic urban development laws. He would return to Delhi by the afternoon and then head to meet government officials.” 

As KP built DLF, obstacles arose. In 1976, the government brought in the ULCRA (Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act) to promote low-income housing and set limits in urban vacant land ownership. The law required any entity with more than 500 yards of vacant land to be given to the government. KP calls it a "draconian law" and lobbied with the government and fought to secure exemptions for DLF allottees from ULCRA. “We would always use persuasion, never coercion,” he says. 

In his personal life, his wife was the greatest influence. There are many anecdotes that reveal KP's devotion to his wife Indira and how he cared for her throughout their married life, but esp. after she was detected with a rare kind of cancer. When she died, that night itself he sat and penned down a 22-page letter to his children and grandchildren describing Indira, the person, what she meant to him and what her contributions were to raising the family and business. Singh says- “I would have been normally dead in a year or so. Loneliness kills. At that time, I decided it myself. To hell with the taboos in the world. I will make my life again which I have done. Why the heck not?” He found love in his nineties and today he stays with his partner Sheena in London. They have an active social life, even go dancing and night clubbing in London and South of France.

What is the advice that you would give them on the back of your own experiences? Singh shares – “One, which I practice, whatever you do in the country must be 100% compliant with the regulations and laws, however idiotic laws they may be. Number two is that you have to be very optimistic, and frankly, in my view, the way forward is that you have to assemble a team of people with you.  A team of the people, I call them those who can get along with each other, and have an abundance of common sense, which is very uncommon by the way.” 

A firm believer in keeping himself physically active via sport, KP plays golf thrice a week. He says “See, the day you cease to be active, then old age catches you.” His mantra is to laugh loud, live ethically and lightly.