Once an Aloysian, Always an Aloysian! Remembering an Aloysian & My College-mate V G Siddhartha (Founder of Cafe Coffee Day) at St Aloysius College, Mangaluru during the 1980s, on his First Death Anniversary, whose body was found on 31 July 2019, three days after he had committed suicide by jumping into the river from Nethravati Bridge, Mangaluru
Mangaluru: As the saying goes for all of us who studied at the prestigious institution in Mangaluru-St Aloysius College, ‘Once an Aloysian, Always an Aloysian” remains true, for the fact, we Aloysians no matter which part of the world we are, always remember and keep the bond of our good old college days at St Aloysius Institution. And remembering my college-mate, V G Siddhartha, on his first death I say-“Siddhartha, your memory is our keepsake with which we’ll never part. God has with you in his keeping, but we’ll always have you in our hearts and in our memories”. Last year on this day, when I heard the news about the tragic death of V G Siddhartha, the czar of Cafe Coffee Day enterprise and many other businesses, the blow was hard, the shock was severe. Many did not know that death would come to him in such a way, but it was His will and wish that he decided to end his life, which has left nearly 50,000 of his employees in sadness, and also many of his admirers, relatives, friends and well-wishers.
St Aloysius College BA 1980 Batch- Siddhartha is seen seated at the far right end in the front row (Pic courtesy: Ravishankar Rao)
And I very well remember that day, while I was posting the news/articles on the Students’ Life Wall Magazine board, it was Siddhartha who came to me and said that he would like to take me with him to Chikamagaluru, where I could capture some good photos of nature, coffee plantation, greenery etc- and without any hesitation, I agreed- and one fine weekend I along with a bunch of other students joined Siddhartha in an open JEEP, and took a trip to Chikkamagaluru, and I captured a bunch of photos on my camera, (which would take only black and white photos), and that camera belonged to Fr Denzil Lobo SJ, the former Rector of St Aloysius Institutions- and also that he was in-charge of Photography Club.
During the St Aloysius Institution Centenary celebration in 1980, was the time that Siddhartha and myself were much closer due to the various projects and arrangements that had to be done, and he was part of the Centenary Student Committee, and I represented from the B Sc department- but other than that we never got associated, since he had his own classmates, one of them being Balraj Shetty, but unfortunately during the death of Siddhartha, he was in the USA on a visit. And during those college days, Siddhartha who hailed from a well to do family rode to college on his motorbike, and mingled only with selected friends of his choice, also from the Kudla rich families- therefore we students from middle-class families used to admire their lifestyle.
MLA U T Khader & Crowd gathered at Govt Wenlock Hospital Mortuary on 31 July 2019
Yet another classmate of Siddhartha happens to be Ravishanker Rao-Associate Professor in the Postgraduate Department of English Studies at Mangalore University, and this is what he has to say- “Siddhartha was my classmate, always upright and soft-spoken, and positive in his thoughts. He was a dreamer and sometimes he had a faraway look in his eyes. But I lost touch with him after college. He’s been a dreamer and an achiever, where he did so much to make India proud. He was never in our Whatsapp group, or we could perhaps have shared some of his woes-God willed it otherwise. Siddhartha has now gone into the rainbow, beyond sorrow and pain”.
“It is one year since our dear classmate Siddhartha jumped into the swirling waters of the Nethravathi River. Much water has flowed down the river since then…but sad memories remain. It is heartening to note that his wife has taken up the mantle. Siddhartha may be no more, but he will always be remembered as the visionary behind a caring chain that made the nation proud…I hope his soul is happy now, sipping coffee in the rainbow world, far away from the pain” adds Ravishanker.
“SIDD MY FRIEND”–Tribute message from Balraj Shetty, a classmate of Siddhartha, who later associated in latter’s business:
1978- 1st-year degree, we joined, we met, became friends during our college days (1977-80), so it started our last bench friendship lasting for 41 years only to be separated by your shocking untimely tragic death. My only true friend who stood like a rock in all our ups and downs in the journey of life. Cannot forget our journeys where we enjoyed golibaje, buns, fish curry rice and your favourite Kane fry in roadside shops and hotels.
Siddhartha during house warming function of his close chum Balraj Shetty in 2006
Never ever shared your pains in life but only gave happiness, wisdom, good encouraging words to everyone who touched your life. A humble, gentle, kindhearted human being without a shade of selfishness, head weight, anger, a true follower of Swami Vivekananda’s principles, never in the limelight of media or publicity, helping thousands of downtrodden people to come up in life.
Your love for Mangaluru wanted you to do something in Mangalore. You forced me to associate with you and so we started with a share trading business in a small way which then extended to the opening of cafe day branches in the district and property in Jeppu, Mangaluru where a software technology park was established. Then came the resort project in Ullal which got blocked by your untimely death. I MISS YOU VERY DEARLY, MY FRIEND!
This message was posted on Aloysians Batch of 1965-75 by D’Souza, where he says, “Siddhartha was a very humble, soft-spoken and decent man. Was rich even before venturing into building the 6th largest Coffee chain business in the world. Such people need the support of the system which should not be bestowed only upon a selected few. He was humble – was known to accompany his friends to the elevator after a meeting with them. He was focused – shied away from interviews and spent time ‘doing’ rather than ’showing’. Some are blaming the business environment, some the tax authorities and others have their own theories. However, what cannot be ignored is that this seemingly massively successful man had a storm stirring behind his calm demeanour. If you are a person, please be a good one. Even after a year of Siddhartha’s departure from this earth, people are coming together to talk, not about his business or wealth or success, but about how good of a person he was and how he made them feel. Sir, You made us all proud”.
Ryan D’Souza in Mumbai, the son of late Konkani Singer Jerome D’Souza speaking over the phone said, “A year went by so fast since the sad death of Siddhartha, whom I knew during my school days at Mountain View School in Chikkamagaluru. Since my dad used to own a business in Chikkamagaluru, I did my schooling there, and I had spent lots of time with Siddhartha, who was quiet, humble and simple. He mixed with everyone at school, and we shared fun and frolic during our childhood days. His early death was a big loss to the coffee dynasty he built- death shouldn’t have come in such a way for a business tycoon like him. He will always remain in my heart forever”
People who knew Siddhartha personally describe him as an entrepreneur who loved to take risks. His chain popularised coffee even in tea-drinking regions and provided a lot of employment. However, after his death, “the brand was definitely hit”, said a source in the company. “His demise left the company with a liquidity crunch. COVID-19 and the lockdown hurt business. Until then, we were coping,” the source said. Sources reveal that Cafe Coffee Day (CCD), the made-in-India café chain, could soon get a new lease of life as the company’s board of directors is in talks with some well-known investors to infuse cash and rebuild the brand, under the leadership of Siddhartha’s wife, Mrs Malavika Hegde.
A few days ago, Siddhartha’s wife wrote a letter addressing all employees about how they had managed to bring the company’s debt down to Rs 3,200 crore from Rs 7,200 crore in the last year. “We think that we can bring that to a more manageable level with our plans to sell a few more of our investments shortly,” Hegde said. Thanking employees for standing by her during this tough time, she called Cafe Coffee Day a “story worth preserving”. “Knowing him (VGS) for the last 32 years, I can tell you that his company was his world and his employees were his family. I am grateful that despite a deadly pandemic-enforced lockdown, we have been able to sustain businesses and jobs in the last few months. Coffee Day is a genuine Indian consumer story worth preserving,” she wrote.
Now, sources in CCD say a few prominent Indian companies have shown interest in investing in and repositioning the brand, to bring it at par with the competition. Three or four very well-heeled investors have shown interest, and we are confident that at least one of the deals will fructify soon. The investors will not kill the brand as Cafe Coffee Day has a huge market value. They will try and capitalise on the brand itself. In simple terms, we need money to make money, and the investors will help us with that,” a senior CCD official said on the condition of anonymity to the media.
Brand guru Harish Bijoor, who had been associated with the conceptualisation of Cafe Coffee Day in its early days, has told the media that since Siddhartha’s death, the company has exhibited a degree of passiveness. At a time when PM Narendra Modi is speaking of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and being ‘vocal for local’, Café Coffee Day reinventing itself is a good thing, said Bijoor. “Every product today is talking about being ‘vocal for local’; Siddhartha had this vision 20 years ago. Cafe Coffee Day was way ahead of its time, and this is the time for it as its direct competition is not of Indian origin. It is a 100 percent desi brand,” Bijoor said.
K. Ganesh, founder and serial entrepreneur at GrowthStory, concurred that CCD has very good locations, brand recognition and nationwide distribution. However, he said the real valuation of the company is a challenge. “Due to the pandemic, they may have to shut down half their outlets. But there is no doubt that as a brand, Cafe Coffee Day is still something to be reckoned with,” said Ganesh. In Mangaluru, presently only one Cafe Day outlet exists, out of the six Cafe Day outlets.
In conclusion, to say about Siddhartha, he had a special way that warmed the hearts of everyone who knew him, and the qualities that made him the wonderful person he was, have left everyone with many beautiful memories. No doubt he did touch the hearts of many, including his thousands of employees through his politeness, graciousness and friendliness. It is learnt that he respected everyone with dignity and pride, and was very courteous, friendly and kind to all. He never acted proud of his Post/Founder status of CCD, instead led a very simple designation. Even though it’s been a year now, since Siddhartha departed, his love is still with many whom he associated with. Finally, to my college-mate, here’s my message-“Siddhartha, your memory is our keepsake with which we’ll never part. God has with you in his keeping, but we’ll always have you in our hearts and in our memories! “.
