Sri Lanka, Feb. 9 -- The tension in the Shaw Wallace & Hedges boardroom was palpable that day in the mid-1970s. Around the polished mahogany table sat the board of directors of a multinational conglomerate with over a century of unbroken dominance in Tea Industry and Ceylon's markets. The writer, who had joined as a school leaver and served the firm for sixteen years, witnessed the confrontation that would become legendary. At the head sat Eric Shattock, the European director overseeing the Asian region and former local chairman, a man accustomed to deference from local businessmen.

Upali Wijewardene the business tycoon who had transformed from a confectionery maker into Sri Lanka's first multinational business magnate is pictured here i...