You’re not a failure, Sir! - An Ekalaivan’s Rebuttal
A lot can happen over a cup of coffee, but we never knew what was brewing behind it. You built a business from scratch, created an international brand, accumulated wealth and gained fame in an honest manner that every Indian entrepreneur aspired for.
You aren’t a failure; you chose death over being labeled as a fugitive.
You aren’t a failure; you stayed rooted among those who amassed millions of rupees and run out of this country without even paying a single rupee.
You aren’t a failure; in a system where the real things are always outnumbered by the artificial.
You aren’t a failure; in a country where every politician seeks another term to keep their promise.
You aren’t a failure; in a bureaucratic system that never delivered.
You aren’t a failure, in a time where even municipal councilors behave like VIP’s; you stood in the queue and paid the bills at your very own stores.
You aren’t a failure; you offered the best coffee at airports at the rate of the parking charges.
You aren’t a failure; you gave wings to some 50,000 youths by offering jobs including the differently-able, which even the governments failed to do.
You aren’t a failure; offered free milk at your cafes for infants, instead of selling a banana for Rs.450.
You aren’t a failure; offered us not only the best in class products & services, but safe and clean restrooms for every woman who entered your highway cafes.
For the past two days a lot have been spoken about your attitude & desire to achieve. But very few know that on March 2019, you sold your IT arm Mindtree for Rs.3,200 crores. Rs.3,000 Crores was paid as a full settlement for a loan with Axis Bank, Rs.154 crores as fee towards sale proceedings and the balance Rs.46 crores as advance tax and returned home without even taking a single penny from it.
It’s not you sir, but this system & our country with crony capitalism & tax terrorism which failed to recognise your business acumen, ethics, philanthropy and more than anything else, your adorable soul. In the words of Oprah Winfrey, “It’s not a failure, if you enjoyed the process”. And we know how much you enjoyed yours. Rest in peace, Sir.
