It was at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show when a chance encounter with Osamu Suzuki happened.
The Suzuki boss had wrapped up a press meet and was sporting enough to spend a little time with a couple of us journalists. Keeping him company was a colleague who doubled up as interpreter during the brief Q&A.
At that point in time, Suzuki Motor had just parted ways with the TVS Group in its Indian two-wheeler venture.
Asked about the road ahead, Osamu Suzuki listened carefully to his interpreter and quickly replied that alternative plans were on hand, which could possibly involve setting up an all-new facility.
Of course, the answers were in Japanese which were rapidly translated into English though there was a sneaking suspicion.
The Suzuki Chairman was indulgent enough to pose for pictures before ambling away. Though a brief interaction, it was awesome to spend time with someone who had spearheaded the Maruti small car revolution in India from the mid-1980s.
It was also obvious that here was a man in complete control of a situation.
People who interacted with Suzuki said he was tough and knew precisely what he wanted.
His company may not have been as large as other Japanese automakers like Toyota or Honda but that did not stop a General Motors or Volkswagen from reaching out to him as a partner.
In fact, there were talks doing the rounds in 2001 that Suzuki would rope in GM as partner when Maruti was privatised. However, the script changed once the American company acquired Daewoo and forged a new path.
Perhaps, Osamu Suzuki’s biggest challenge was during the VW partnership when things went awry, but a divorce just seemed too late in coming.
When it finally did, he was quite vocal in making known what a huge relief it was and said this difficult period was akin to a small bone stuck in his throat.
Now that it was cleared, he felt truly liberated.
India, though, occupied a special place in his heart and it must have been particularly satisfying to see Maruti surge ahead as the market leader.
This was despite its share of hiccups, especially during the face-off with the Centre, in the late-1990s.
Last year, Osamu Suzuki was the chief guest at an automotive convention in Delhi where he reminded suppliers that they needed to focus solely on their business and not get distracted by other avenues like hotels, etc. He constantly drove home the point that there was no substitute to quality and got a standing ovation when he was done with his speech.
To that extent, it seemed sad and ironical that his company was involved in the recent mileage scandal which prompted the octogenarian to step down as CEO.
One wonders how devastated he must have felt with his beloved Suzuki Motor in the eye of a storm.
For a man who relentlessly pursued top quality systems in manufacturing, this must have been a huge blow.
Yet, it is not as if Osamu Suzuki is likely to hang up his boots overnight. He may no longer be CEO and will pave the way for his son, Toshihiro, to take over eventually.
In the interim, he will keep a close eye on operations to ensure that an encore of the mileage scam does not recur.
Osamu Suzuki would rather have this unpleasant chapter obliterated from public memory quickly.