(In Tamil 'P' is mostly pronounced as 'B' and 'K' as 'G'. For instance, 'Poori' becomes 'Boori' & 'Kulfi' becomes 'Gulfi'. So forth.)
It was an early morning breeze of a never-ending summer. I was standing on the verandah sipping coffee while looking at passersby. "Nalla kaatha varad! Enna Deebug? Ooty madri irukku illa?!". (Nice breeze. What do you say Deepak? Doesn't it feel like Ooty?) Here comes the most exaggerated comment from him - my ex House owner.
I hated Madras for its heat & humidity (I can talk about it some other time). Somehow for my House owner, it was his pleasant world, his ‘territory’. He also had a strong belief that Software engineers are born to be looted and hence his tenants should always be from an IT background. That's where I fit in.
The Knack
The daily news was his bible. Initially, I was amazed at his updates about the developments going in and around Velachery & Adambakkam. Within a few months I realized it was only to increase his brand value periodically (I mean hike in rentals). Otherwise, he genuinely followed news that potentially could help him make new business. I was curious to know more about him as his earnings were more than three times mine.
Initially, he started off working as a lorry driver. Soon he tried his luck making & selling local rasna during 1990s in the vicinity. He was also known as ‘Rasna Uncle’ among present local youngsters. The new millennium brought a trend of packaged drinking water. This guy started making/selling distilled water. Many around the house commented it was not fit for drinking. To his bad luck the government banned all unhygienic cans & made stringent regulations that were out of his reach. He settled in finance business where he had finally struck gold. He used to take the ration card & gas book as one of document proofs. As LPG prices shot up during mid 2000s this guy started issuing cylinders on their behalf & black marketing them. Coincidentally, the govt issued orders that almost stopped new connections. It came as a blessing in disguise for him. Slowly he developed ties with small time goondas in the area just to get a required muscle power.
The biggest achievement in his life was building a house with 7 portions. One storey each decade. The land was a slum originally distributed to the underprivileged by the then govt (obviously for votes). Somewhere the government again helped him make fortune as a land in a metro like Madras means owning a golden goose.
His fixed income through rent was close to INR 20K. Finance & black marketing brought another 30K. Tax to govt was unknown to him. He certainly had a knack to earn more money whether it was hard earned or not. Greed also brought wrong attitude.
I reduced standing on the verandah to escape long hearings about his wealth, new petty business ideas & government policies.
Nothing lasts forever
The govt had actually criss-crossed with his fortune in a long run. His only drawback was not knowing any other language than the native - Tamil. Since independence the ruling govt always discouraged use of non-tamil languages (even english). Consequently, the entire generation stuck to the same for decades in the name of protecting culture & heritage. Some who broke the shackles happened to get into better jobs & the likes. Expanding my houseowner's business also warranted for interacting with non-locals. He couldn't succeed & stagnated for a while.
Jahaan jaaye na gaadi, wahaan jaaye Marwadi
Meanwhile, (as with any other metro, town or village in India) the Marwadis invaded businesses in Velachery & Adambakkam too. Initially, they were only confined to North Madras. As time passed, I myself noticed every street mushrooming with pawn brokers, provisions stores & what not.
Their strategy was simple:
- Spend as much time at the shop: Buy/lease/rent a house adjacent to any main street. Make the front room their shop, second room as godown. Last room, a bed room. An extra room would again be an extended godown. If otherwise used, means a wealthier Marwadi.
- Involve family in business: In addition to the household work & studies, the women & children also help running business.
- Acquire customer base by business acumen & behavior.
- Capability to interact with Customers in more than two languages.
- Strong network: Huge list of contacts/consultants within their own community for strategic decision & support. Know-how of sources of material & info.
My house owner lacked both strategy & attitude. For him, traveling outside the state was like being a fish out of water. He didn’t like outsiders. He started hating them more. I was also an outsider to him. Notwithstanding his brooding, I stopped spending time on the verandah.
In spite of the diaspora, the Marwadis maintain their own tradition & culture wherever they live, not getting too involved with localites. Ghagra-choli & Kurta is loved the same way my house owner loves his lungi. They too believe in marrying their daughters within the same community.
The entrepreneur in him took a back seat. Neither did he groom his next generation to face the competition. He ensured to marry off his daughter to his own brother-in-law just to make sure the property is contained within the family. He must be hoping his son to literally bring ‘lakshmi’ to home & add to stagnating wealth.
Story continues…
House owner: Waiting for the govt to take new measures that could help people like him.
Marwadis: Where would they go? The place they live is their motherland. Entrepreneurship is within them to stay forever, generations after generations.
Govt: Busy with ‘their’ own business. The best business in the world. Here & there, they continue to woo people who favor them. Otherwise, they know their fate.
Finally me: The house rent was hiked so much that I had to run away with my belongings. I'll remember my ex-house owner as an ambitious entrepreneur who lost site of his ambition.
The Point (not confined to Tamil Nadu alone)
Is talent gifted to a specific community? Can’t a competition be taken as a challenge? Do the state governments ever take any step to protect/encourage non-locals? Do we really need to form new states in the interest of a specific region? Do we become ‘outsiders’ by being a non-local? Should we consider language as a means of communication or a means of discrimination? Don’t others settle in our native in pursuit of their career or life? Don’t we marry off our sisters within same community who actually live outside our native? Don’t non-locals contribute to development of the town/metro/state/country they live in? Is it possible for us to leave everything at once & go back to where our ancestors belong?
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