When VG Siddharth founder of Cafe Coffee Day (CCD), designed this tag line - A LOT CAN HAPPEN OVER A CUP OF COFFEE, perhaps nobody has envisaged that this (his tragic death) could also happen.
When N T RamaRao died in the year 1996, Deccan Chronicle a daily from Hyderabad wrote an editorial on his death which was not so natural. There, the editor had mentioned a quote from - F Scott Fitzgerald, an American fiction writer. His quote was - Show me an hero, I will write a tragedy for him. This quote of Fitzgerald perhaps applies in case of VG Siddharth's death too.
Siddharth was a quiet, unassuming and self-effacing entrepreneur who shunned limelight and publicity. Many don't know the size of the business empire he has built. Only after his death that the world is aware of the scale and size of his operations.
His main grouse in his death note is against the Income Tax authorities. He says in that that IT authorities have harassed him and the raids on his business has caused him enormous damage to his business prospects from which he could not resuscitate himself and finally gave in to the stress in the form of his suicide. There may be other reasons too which at this stage cannot be deciphered. Only thorough investigation can throw some light on the entire episode. It is said that the simultaneous raids on his premises across twenty two locations has sent the share prices plummeting to new lows thus causing large scale erosion of his asset value. Ever since he was missing and found dead in Nethravathi river there was a hue and cry over the high handedness of IT authorities and many termed it as Tax terrorism unleashed by the ruling dispensation. Also the IT authorities have clarified that they have proceeded as per law. This difference in perception of the issue between IT and rest of world is always debatable, but the fact remains that it has caused irreparable loss to the business, reputational as well as monetary.
This particular charge against IT brings to the surface another most important damage. The raids spree by IT authorities will be a serious jolt to the spirit of entrepreneurship in general. This negative sentiment will make the prospective entrepreneurs not to stick their neck out, there by people not only lose the existing jobs but also creation of new jobs becomes almost impossible because no Entrepreneur/Industrialist will ever come forward to venture into any new business. A negative business sentiment will pervade all through the capitalists who would otherwise have invested. Modi's favorite slogan of - ease of doing business will remain a mere slogan.
Siddharth, despite whatever may be the challenges, difficulties and obstacles should not have resorted to this kind of act. Because according to his own averment, the value of his assets is much more than the loans owed to the creditors. He could have been tenacious and persistent for some more time for the liquidity crunch to get over. He has failed to face the adversity with aplomb. This is most probably due to the fact that he all along kept these things to himself without discussing / sharing atleast with his friends and well wishers who could have given some guidance or shown the way. Life is too precious to be frittered away in the way he did.
The successful person therefore is not the one who is successful but the one who faces adversities, challenge the challenges and still hold his head high when chips are down and hope is distant.
That's why there is a pressing need for all of us to discuss our failures essentially with our kids so that they should be mentally prepared to accept failures in their lives someday in future if they come across them. We should not make the mistake of always talking about success stories. Because success and failures are the two sides of our lives.
I pray God to give strength to the family of the bereaved and thousands of his staff to bear the loss. May his soul rest in peace.
