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of this period Lever Bros., was forced to reverse its strategy.

The progress of World War II gave a boost to the demand for vanaspati which

in turn resulted in a rise in price. Vanaspati, therefore, became a gold mine and
Kotogem, too, became very popular. By this time Modis had started using cotton

seed oil for the manufacture of vanaspati.

Tatas too implicated Modis into a copyright suit concerning the use of the brand

name of Kotogern and threatened to spend huge amounts of money to pursue
the case. When they did not succeed in the lower court, they went up to the High

Court, but there too they could not substantiate the charge of the infringement
of copyright and had to pay the costs under a High Court decree. In 1940 Mr.

Modi established a washing soap factory by utilising the waste sludge resulting
from the processing of vanaspati.

After his initial success with the washing soap project, Mr. Modi decided to go in

for a toilet soap factory. This was no easy task, for no soap manufacturer in the
organised sector was willing to reveal the details of his manufacturing process.

He visited Varanasi and saw some small-scale factories but this did not satisfy
him. Thereafter, he went to Calcutta and sought the help of his friend Mr. Bajoria,

but here, too, he did not succeed. He was disappointed, but he refused to accept
defeat. Suddenly one day he thought of a clever plan. He made his way to a big

soap-making factory in an ordinary dress on the excuse of getting some drink-
ing water. He secured entry into the factory premises and was able to talk to one

Bengali gentle man, Mr. Das Gupta, who he learnt later, was the chemical engi-
neer of the factory. Mr. Modi approached him as an ordinary, innocent person

and enquired, “What do you manu facture here, Sir ?”

“Toilet soap”, was the reply.

“Really? Can toilet soap be manufactured m India?” Mr.

Modi asked in amazement.

“Why not”, replied the chemical engineer, and in order to reassure the unfamil-
iar visitor, he offered to show him round the factory. This provided Mr. Modi the

much-needed opportunity to study the soap-making process. It was here that

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