Last week, anybody throughout Karnataka, or maybe throughout India, turned into glued to the tv to find out the destiny of 1 man — VG Siddhartha.
For many, he changed into largely an unknown face. The few who knew him were aware only of his identification as the proprietor of Café Coffee Day (CCD) — a chain he had built for the reason that 1996.
That became till July 30 while the information of Siddhartha having gone missing changed into splashed throughout television channels and front pages of most important news guides. After 36 hours of him going missing on July 29 night, his frame turned into discovered at the morning of July 31 within the Netravati River close to Mangaluru from wherein he had allegedly drowned.
Those 36 hours noticed a multitude of motives floor from folks who barely knew him to become experts on topics associated Siddhartha.
There had been discussions and top time debates on Siddhartha’s enterprise, debt profile and the way mounting debts and connection with politicians ought to have driven him to the extreme.
Suddenly, all his agencies from espresso to actual estate had been scrutinized. Analysts started out placing quite a number on debt ranging anywhere among Rs three,500 crore and Rs 8,000 crore.
All primarily based on a single letter, whose veracity is but to be confirmed, purportedly written using Siddhartha on July 27.
But who became Siddhartha? According to his pals, Siddhartha becomes humble, unassuming and brave. That is why, for people who knew him and grew up with him, the sudden disappearance and information of his loss of life that followed changed into so uncharacteristic of him.
One of the espresso day board contributors instructed CNN News18 that he/she too was greatly surprised through what had transpired. Siddhartha, they’d recognized become nothing of that sort. He was a lot greater than that.
Vinay Madhav, Siddhartha’s neighbor from Chikkamagaluru and a close pal, stated, “I even have recognized Siddhartha from formative years. He actually had solutions for the whole lot. You might continually see him smile even on the face of adversity.”
For this become no longer the first time he had faced public scrutiny. Madhav mentioned a scenario while his father-in-law SM Krishna was Karnataka’s, Chief Minister.
Siddhartha needed to address the accusation of cash laundering during that time. “There changed into tons exposure round it that time. When I met him he simply confirmed me few files and stated that he knew that someday he could be affected and had proof that could supply him a clean chit,” Madhav stated.
“But he did no longer need to do so except there may be a want. That become the sort of guy Siddhartha was,” he stated.
Even as talks approximately the debt keep, Madhav stated, Siddhartha had a penchant for info.
Siddhartha changed into more of a palms-on man or woman. He cared about every detail of his commercial enterprise entering into the nitty-gritty.
It turned into this attention to detail that helped Siddhartha flip around Sivan Securities, the first organization he sold with Rs 30,000 well worth shares in 1992 and construct an empire that now includes real estate, cement at one point and wealth control aside from his espresso enterprise.
Madhav mentioned that Siddhartha became a visionary. “If you see how he began CCD, it become began as a cyber cafe in Brigade Road, first of its kind in 1996.”
“It become new and Siddhartha had a protracted-term vision. Today, it’s miles present in 250 towns across the world,” he brought.
Siddhartha’s massive debt and his surprising loss of life, if whatever, have burdened them and raised greater questions and not using a surety of having solutions.
The query now’s — what’s going to manifest to the groups? The letter, allegedly written by way of Siddhartha, states his property outweighs his liabilities.
True enough. His belongings are well worth Rs 18,000 crore as opposed to the Rs 4,000-eight,000 crore debt being pronounced.
The espresso day employer board now has a big venture in advance to deleverage the assets, resume talks with ability traders for selling part of the commercial enterprise to dilute debt.
How could a element-orientated Siddhartha have sunk is a lot debt? Are there more to this than meets the attention?
Somewhere among 1992 and 2015 when espresso day became listed because of debt, he had faltered. Coming days may or may not deliver answers at the whys and hows.
With Siddhartha no more, one would possibly never realize.
