Fifteen days ago, I received a message from Siddhartha — polite and respectful as was his wont — “Sir pl call when u r free”. When I spoke to him, he mentioned that he was in Mumbai and that a friend wanted help with an engineering college admission. On learning that I was in the US, he enquired about the family, apologised for the intrusion and said that we would “meet on my return”. Alas, tragic last words from a life so cruelly snuffed out.
My association with VG Siddhartha dates back to 25 years. I observed his transformation through various phases of his life as a coffee grower, securities expert, founder of technology parks, intrepid entrepreneur with diversified businesses. Although shy and self-effacing, VGS had come to be widely recognised as the exemplar of the ‘Make In India’ model enunciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On this path, he set up from scratch India’s truly home-grown brand, the most prominent retail chain — Cafe Coffee Day. His powerful idea in doing so was to popularise coffee and the first Internet Cafe in Bangalore (1995) came up on Brigade Road. CCD today, with its international presence, has proved to be a challenge even for the formidable Starbucks. The entrepreneur that he was, VGS ventured into other sectors such logistics, leisure and recreation, creating the well-known ‘Serai’ brand of resorts.
With CCD going public and having a substantial asset base, VGS was hailed as a corporate icon. When individuals undergo such a dizzy transformation, it is par for the course that they acquire a persona of hauteur, flamboyant style and high spending. VGS was the complete exception to this ‘norm’. He never lost the common touch or his humble ways. He remained rooted to the soil and his beloved Chikkamagalur. He was devoted to family and friends. Austere in personal life and habits, his mein was unostentatious. The man was real at all times.
To me, what marked VGS as a noble individual was a profound belief that wealth must be utilised, not for personal aggrandisement, but for the welfare of society. Almost the entire workforce of CCD has come from the portals of the Vocational Training College (VTC) in Chikkamagalur, which he funded. Next to the VTC is the renowned Amber Valley Residential School (AVRS) which VGS promoted and funded through his trust. The AVRS offers cost-effective high-quality school education serving Karnataka. Even before ‘Skill India’ was envisioned, VGS realised that equipping rural youth with practical skills was the surest way of emancipating them. The VTC and AVRS will remain his legacies.
VGS’s most ambitious social venture yet is a hospital in Chikkamagalur, construction of which started in 2017. His dream was that treatment would be absolutely free, served by the best medical talent available. VGS had indicated that he would earmark a substantial portion of his annual earnings to provide resources for this venture.
It is hard to think of VGS in the past tense. It is my belief that corporate titans, contrary to popular perception, are lonely even in crowds. Sometimes, they are consumed by the impossible high standards they set for themselves. It is moot that VGS could have discharged his debts by the sale of some assets alone and contested the I-T claims all the way to the Supreme Court. But he was a “Maryada Purusha” who believed in ‘Maana’ and ‘Gourava’.
K Jairaj
Retired Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, and a friend of late VG Siddhartha