Goodbye, India's 'Coffee King'

'A lot can happen over coffee' and since 1996, when the first Café Coffee Day outlet came up on Bengaluru's Brigade Road, a lot sure did. V G Siddhartha's company revolutionised coffee-drinking, café culture, and socialising. This week, as I watched the tragic news of Siddhartha having committed suicide, Facebook helpfully threw up a memory from over a decade ago. My two besties and I were at the erstwhile newly-opened 'Lake CCD' in Kolkata; younger and more restless then than today, we were meeting for a much-needed chatting session at the hip and happening café.

While I've never been a big fan of the coffee itself, there's no denying that 'CCD', as it was popularly called, played a pivotal role in many of our lives. From dates to break-ups, pitstops during shopping sprees, 'addas' and hang-outs, to work meetings and brainstorming sessions…a lot happened over coffee.

To think that an iconic Indian entrepreneur felt so terribly trapped that he chose to end his life, is deeply unnerving. Siddhartha's woes are purportedly connected to the IL&FS crisis but did he have no other options at hand? No friends to bail him out? Could he not have liquidated other assets? Could he not have availed of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to wriggle out of the financial conundrum? Siddhartha's sudden and untimely death has spooked India Inc. His parting letter speaks of pressure exerted from the tax department and a private equity investor as probable reasons for taking the extreme step. If loans are taken, then they must be repaid. And debtors will come collecting, investors will demand an exit. Therefore, it may not be completely correct to vilify any particular investor community or even the tax department for doing its job.

However, it is shocking that while a sincere, humble businessman like Siddhartha couldn't handle what he termed his 'failure', there are defaulters who have simply fled the country. Their businesses have been wiped out, banks that lent to them have been hoodwinked of thousands of crores, hundreds of employees rendered jobless, and their own reputation maligned…and yet some of these once-upon-a-time braggarts are enjoying idyllic lives in exotic locations while the Indian authorities labour for their extradition! It's pathetic that an entrepreneur who was considered straightforward by most who have known him, and who wanted to make his business work, found no options but to kill himself. Why didn't the other defaulters feel equally harassed by tax authorities? Didn't the lenders chase these defaulters enough? Or does Siddhartha subtly hint at targeted witch-hunting by taxmen? Of course, it takes a certain special kind of thick-skinned person to flee the country like a criminal. But no, that would never be Siddhartha's way.

The incident has cast a dark shadow on the upbeat entrepreneurial picture that's being painted in India. Is the business ecosystem truly as robust as we are meant to believe? It increasingly looks like an oligarchy that favours a few, encouraging their meteoric growth while the rest firefight complicated GST compliances, greater tax demands, dried up funding routes and lack of liquidity. For example, the government's decision to impose long-term capital gains tax (LTCG) that would nudge investors to turn to real estate investment rather than in startups and other businesses, is equally inscrutable.

The economic indices also spell grave news for the Indian economy. The auto sector has clocked its worst July sales in twenty years; a dip of 40 per cent! Consumer economy is also fumbling and purse-strings have been further tightened. External factors may be easing but India is decidedly staring at a domestic slowdown. Say hello to more job-cuts, lesser liquidity in the markets, and a muted festive season. We are yet to hear from the government if it has a plan to stabilise the situation.

An occurrence like Siddhartha's suicide also shakes the pillars of society. While we speak of success and growth, we don't devote enough attention to failure. Failing is considered taboo. We must force ourselves to relook at the meanings that define us because success is not the only reality of life; in actuality, we fall more than we soar.

(The writer is an author and media entrepreneur. The views expressed are strictly personal)