Thirty-six hours after CCD founder VG Siddhartha went missing near the Netravati river in Mangalore, his body was found on Wednesday morning. His alleged suicide came as a huge shock, as he was not just a successful business tycoon who had established the largest cafe chain in India, but also a compassionate human being who "cherished middle-class values".
That is what people have been reminiscing about on Twitter after news of his death broke. Nandita Iyer, a renowned author, shared a screenshot of her tweet from 10 years ago that narrated a heart-warming experience with CCD.
In 2010, she was looking for milk for her toddler son at the Mumbai airport, where there weren't any stores selling milk. So she approached the CCD in the airport, asking them to fill a bottle of milk and charge for it. They refused to charge her, despite her insistence.
Interestingly, her tweet turned into a nostalgic thread where people started sharing anecdotes of their experience in CCD or personal encounters with VG Siddhartha.
Initially, people from across the country shared experiences similar to Nandita's -- ones who were travelling with toddlers, when CCD staff provided timely help expecting nothing in return.
And then there is Sumeet Gill, who recalls being served coffee outside the operation theatre in a Fortis hospital when his wife was undergoing surgery.
One person who had met VG Siddhartha before he became famous as the Coffee King tweeted about how the man was very humble despite his rich background and had "middle-class values we all cherish".
Many commoners in India did not know the face behind CCD until his disappearance on Monday. Yet, he succeeded in touching many lives in one way or another and left them worried about the future of his coffee chain.