More than 70 years ago, it was a town reeling under drought. Today, Sivakasi is called Mini Japan. (Legend has it that Jawaharlal Nehru bestowed this Tamil Nadu town the handle.) It’s a long story, the story of Sivakasi—the pyrotechnical capital of the world. In 1940, two natives—Ayya Nadar and Shanmugam Nadar—learnt matchmaking (of the fiery kind) from Calcutta. They returned home to set up a match factory. They were the first Boom Barons of Sivakasi, later diversifying into fireworks and printing.
Today, the world’s fireworks capital is home to a Rs 3,000-crore business, with around 8,000 factories that account for 90 per cent of the total pyrotechnics market in India. The rest are scattered across Kolkata, Gwalior and Nagpur. The festive products of Sivakasi are also exported worldwide.
Of the 600 fireworks units registered in Sivakasi, and of the 20 big pyrotechnic players, Standard Fireworks is the biggest with units even in China. The story of Standard Fireworks began in 1942, when four enthusiastic locals—Rajaratnam, Chelladurai, Sankaralingam and Arunachalam—decided to walk the fiery path. From a modest matches manufacturing shed, Standard has grown to India’s biggest pyrotechnics giant with over 8,000 employees and a turnover of `1,500 crore. Standard occupies 35 percentage market share of India’s fireworks industry. It exports fireworks all over the world and has won several international competitions; this year, Standard won the Intercontinental Musical Fireworks
Competition held in France, defeating Italy and Japan.
“The factors giving Standard the edge over other players are better technology, safety and social responsibility,” says Rajasingh Chelladurai, Director, Technical, Standard Fireworks. “We have 32 units in Virudhunagar and Tirunelveli, and own licensed warehouses across the country. Round the year, our products are stored in them to meet Diwali requirements and of other festivals.”
What the first generation of entrepreneurs built, the second has expanded. Sivakasi’s pyrotechnic industry is seeing the latest in technology. In the initial years, the margin of profit was around 20 per cent, which has now come down to 5 per cent, says A M S G Ashokan of We Two fireworks. But new technologies are boosting turnover. We Two, that sells mainly in southern Tamil Nadu and the coastal belt, began life as Arasan Fireworks in 1962, started by Arasan A M S Ganesan and his brother A M S Gurusamy. They run seven fireworks units in Sivakasi currently.
Changing times usher in changes in demand. Nayagi Fireworks, a relatively new company—it was set up in 1991—owned by K R T A Varadaraj, is a study in innovation. Agriculturist Varadaraj wanted his sons V Kesavan and V Raghavan to enter the fireworks industry. He established an unit in Sayalpatti and put Kesavan, an avid book collector, in charge. Ragavan joined the company in 1996. Realising that they had to think out-of-the-box if they were to gain a foothold in an industry dominated by big established players, Ragavan travelled to China in 1997 to learn the latest in pyrotechnics. They signed up with Zang Zang Pyrotechnics, Luoyang City, as Nayagi’s technical partner. “We introduced 60 varieties of fancy crackers,” Ragavan says. “With our reputation growing, the demand increased and we opened five units of our own and leased another three.”
By adapting Chinese and German technologies, Nayagi was the first to introduce Fireworks Display Shells. They exhibited their products in exclusive fireworks showrooms, a trend quickly followed by others. “We started our first showroom in 2003. Now, there are over 600 showrooms in Sivakasi. We are planning to launch many more, in
Madurai and Coimbatore next year,” says Ragavan.
Sivakasi is about camaraderie. The three important fireworks clans, Standard, Pioneer and Bell Group, co-exist as families, not competitors. “Working as a joint family gives us the strength to take care of our multiple businesses,” says Rajasingh. All pyrocompanies in Sivakasi have mutually inclusive businesses: We Too also runs Arasan Aluminum Powder Factory, because aluminum is the key ingredient of fireworks. Printing is a staple support industry because the products have to be packaged with attractive labels. For instance, Nayagi started the Nayagi Tube Manufacturing unit and Natchiar Packtech Industry as auxiliaries. Sivakasi makes 80 per cent of India’s total safety matches and 60 per cent of India’s total offset printing solutions; it has the world’s second largest number of offset printing presses. Rajasingh says the family’s new generation is computer-savvy and most are educated abroad. “Currently, our youngsters are handling printing and other industries while we take care of fireworks,” adds Rajasingh.
Along with fireworks, most companies are into printing, granite, textiles, safety matches, hotels and educational institutions. “We feel education institutions as our corporate social responsibility,” says Ragavan. Workers’ children are given scholarships. For instance, Sivakasi Hindu Nadar Victoria Higher Secondary School has around 12,000 students who are being educated free. The amity between owner and worker is reflected in the work culture of the town; there are no labour unions. The employees get three bonuses in one year. “Even during the worst of recession, the town buzzed with activity,” says Rajasingh. “We do not default on banks, because we realise the significant role played by them in the industry.”
It’s not just at work that they bond; the families even take vacations together. Leisure is scarce, hence holidays are prized. Courtalam, a small hill town in the Western Ghats famous for its waterfalls, is a favourite destination with pyrotycoons. “Water is a scarce commodity in Sivakasi, so we have a special attraction to the Courtalam falls,” Rajasingh jokes. Sundays are sacrosanct, and strictly family time. For Raghavan and Kesavan, Kodaikanal and Ooty are favourite holiday spots. Of course, weddings are occasions for both socialising and travelling; with dealers all across the country, and weddings happening in different states, family interactions have variety. “We go to North India for wedding functions of our dealers’ families. They come down for our functions, which provides rich cultural exposure all around,” says Rajasingh. His hobbies are varied but his tastes remain predominantly Indian. Rajasingh is an avid gardener, who also breeds goats and cows. He also loves to cook. The pyrobaron has introduced a dish of his own creation to the menu of family-owned hotel chain, the Bel Hotels in Sivakasi, Madurai and Palayamkottai— the Dosa Burger (in place of bread is crisp dosa). His is a family of avid collectors: the children collect Chinese flower vases and his brothers collect bells made of metal, ceramic and other materials.
However, old timers like Ashokan feel the new generation is too westernised, spending time with their families only at their convenience, and preferring to travel and visit entertainment destinations, while their elders work hard. Now, with third generation entrepreneurs entering the industry, management styles are changing. “Our youngsters with their MBA degrees try scientific management methods ,” says Ashokan. Like Rajasingh, he is also an amateur horticulturist and owns a 500-acre farm, growing medicinal plants. Ashokan’s wife’s hobby is fruit-carving.
All the wealth and exposure have changed Sivakasi into a booming, modern town with palatial homes. Since they live as joint families, the houses of the pyrobarons are big but not flashy; the conservative strain evident in traditional Tamil architecture. Sivakasi has many imported cars that include Ferraris—third generation toys—but families like the owners of Standard prefer Indian makes. Little Japan revels in lighting up India, as well as the world.
