Memoirs.....Musings of a sales guy at heart.....

Episode (9-B)

 Salem is well known for its small eateries. My stay was at the center of the city. Just 5 minutes walk from Salem Town station and it had few wonderful food joints around. Krishna Bhavan, with authentic Udupi cuisine, Siva sakthi Vinayaka Kantha (what a name) a pure local veg joint, Vilwadri Bhavan (authentic brahmin cuisine), Modern Vysya hotel, Malabar cafe (the best ghee roast I have ever eaten in my life) and above all the road side eateries-its known as 'kai yendhi bhavan'-one has to stand and eat here...hold the plate on hand and you would be served and hence this name) in Sevvapet. Great non veg food. The rep community and the traders would visit this place after finishing their work ie after 10pm...this place would be buzzing till early hours. Movies were another major attractions those days but for us, night shows only. In theaters where the Hollywood movies were shown-outside on the wall-there would be a synopsis of the movie-written in Tamil for those who watch the movies only for its 'stuff'. Also Salem theater guys were known for their quirky translation of the hollywood movies titles in Tamil...for example Its hot in Paradise was translated as 'சொர்கத்தில் சூடான சுந்தரிகள்' means hot women in heaven....Dirty harry was translated 'அழுக்கு ஹரிஹரன்' ....

The best thing to happen to me in Salem was the kind of guys I got acquainted with and many who became my friends. I met Raman first time in Salem in 81. We are friends for the past 40 years. Raman used to be based at Chennai and his territory included Salem..he was with Blue Star, looking after their Nikhita gas stoves Jana from Voltas-great guy-we are still in touch, Jairam from Elder pharma, Ramesh of Biological E, Ramesh of Colgate, PRC of German Schering, Ramani from Micro labs, Srinivasan, Mushtaq hassan, Murthy of Canara bank, my roommate Soori (lost touch with him...if anyone knows pl let me know), Chandrasekar of Hindustan Lever-still in touch, Sundaresan of Popular Tyres, Selvaraj and Raghu from Godrej...(What a great guy he was...gone at a very young age), Kalyan of Alembic and Ramanathan(anna to all of us) of RCI....Raghu moved to Salem from Chennai and initially it was all alien for him. He was in Godrej office furniture division. Very smart and a cricketer too. Never used to touch alcohol but Devaprakash changed him. His family members became very close to me too. When I was in Chennai between 83-86, most of my Sundays would be at his home in Anna Nagar. Lovely family. One incident I have to quote here...on one of the lovely Sundays, after lunch in his home, we were chatting and the phone rang (only land line and no mobile those days)..As i was sitting closer to the phone, I took it and said "this is Varadha's residence'....everyone burst in to a huge laughter...that was the time Nayakan was released and Kamal Hassan played the role of Varadha, the don. Raghus fathers name-Varadhachary.....

The typical evening in our lodge would be assembling in Ramesh's room around 6 for our rummy session. This was almost every day. Strangely at the entrance of the lodge a guy would park himself  and his bicycle at the side-selling booze, all brought in from Pondy. He was our liquor supplier (I mentioned to you that liquor was only for permit holders in supermarkets). It was knockout games always with decent stakes. But lots of fun, free flow of alcohol and great food. Week ends the sessions would go on till wee hours.

The pharma guys way of working was different. They have certain norms in terms of no of doctors visit per day. Unlike the FMCG guys, pharma guys never bothered about competition-dont know why and hence they would combine their market/doctor's visit by hiring a cab and making 40 to 50 calls in two days time and the rest of the week would Work From Room (WFR instead of WFH now). The cost of travel is shared and hence its not out of pocket for them. Also the pharma MNCs were known for fat paypacks. But for the Sales reps things were not that good. One has to really slog it out as there were daily targets to achieve and also activities, distributors stock and sales report, spot selling et al. And it is very difficult to combine few markets also as the the universe is larger than pharma. Another factor is the pharma guys need not visit the chemists as that would be, in most cases, taken care by the wholesalers. 

I used to visit Vellore twice a month. Take Kovai express at Salem at around 4 and reach Katpadi at 8 and to Vellore. I met RD Mani of Raptakos in Vellore along with Balachandar of IDPL. Raman during his Vellore visits used to stay with these guys in their room. My stay was in Venus Annex. Vellore was not a good place for food due to lesser choice of eateries. The only decent place was Palace hotel for its world famous Idli n Sambhar. Otherwise some mess but hardly anything to write home about. Lost touch with Mani and if someone who is reading this, knows Mani's whereabouts, pl share his contact details.

Salem was total fun with the lodge mates. We had an unwritten rule. Anyone gets married, should provide  one room for card session along with booze. Most of the times we would get stuck in the room either with the cards sessions or completely tanked and miss the wedding Muhurat...no one bothered as the objective was to have fun together....When I got married in 86, I booked a cottage in Woodlands for my Salem gang for the card session. We also had another rule which is called the 'kitty' money. After every knockout, the winner would contribute around 10% of his gains to the kitty. Once the kitty becomes decent the entire gang would travel to some nice destinations, stay there and play cards. I remember our trip to Yercaud....lovely time we had. It was lots of work and lots of fun but my system got completely jacked. Salem had given me lots of amebiasis...thanks to the food from the road side restaurants..

I bought my first two wheeler when I was in Salem. Yezdi Road King. In those days the waiting for any bike except Rajdoot and Lambretta scooter, used to be a few months or even a year and that too after paying the full amount as advance. So, I have to use some influence to get my bike cutting down on the waiting period. I approached the HL distributor in Pondy-Dharmaraj, a very influential guy-who got me introduced to MOF, the dealer for Yezdi in Pondy. I got my bike in 3 months time. Self and Mushtaq took a bus from Salem to Pondy, got the bike registered and Mushtaq rode it with me as pavillion to Salem as I have never ever rode a bike till I got one...My Yezdi was maroon in color and very sexy looking. I removed the muffler in the exhaust to get that vibrating sound and also never ever attached a carrier to make the bike look lean and mean....Once I familiarised and got the confidence, I stopped taking the bus and covered nook and corner of the markets with my Yezdi..I could, not only reduce the travel time, but also cover more outlets in a shorter span. 

My brother used to live in Bangalore and a visit once a month was mandatory. And Blr stay was always enjoyable with lots of booze and great food. Peacock and Topkapi were most popular joints in Blr those days with dance floor and wonderful crowd. My journey used to be by bus to Blr and go reach home with a couple of bottles of booze.  And Kalyan was there. Anand, Jaisree's (my sis in law) cousin was doing his masters at TIS in Blr would come down to Ravi's home during my stay and it was total fun...Anand migrated to US long back and is in teaching profession. I can write pages on my Blr days...

Kalyan whom I had mentioned in my earlier post, got a job in my brothers company and was based at Blr but that job was just a stop gap for him.

Once I got Kalyan interviewed in HL by RSR but RSR rejected him. When I asked RSR the reason,he told me that he would lose his job if he recruited Kalyan. But I knew well that Kalyan would do a great job and waited for the right moment. Right moment came when RSR was asked to resign in end 82...i managed to get another interview for Kalyan and this time it was Abraham who interviewed him and Kalyan could charm Abraham and got the job but to be based at Hubli/Dharwad. 

An incident both Jana (of Voltas) and myself can never forget was when Kalyan came as my guest to Salem and stayed with me in my room. Soori had gone on tour and hence Kalyan could occupy his cot. One evening we started drinking, self, Jana and Kalyan and after a few pegs he got completely tanked and we kept him in the room, locked the room from outside and when we returned with food packed for him-hold your breath-the room was covered with cotton and Kalyan gave us a deadly look and in a fit of rage that he was locked down, he tore off the pillows and the cotton with in got spread across the room. Also once we opened the room he barged out and started running on the corridor...oops...it was tough getting him in and making him to sleep...in the morning when he got up, with such innocence he asked 'Rajah what happened? why the room is in such a bad shape?' He got a mouthful from me and Jana...what an experience. This and many more on Kalyan...but he was one in a million....such a great friend...more on him as the rest of the story unfolds... I had mentioned that Jana used to work for Voltas consumer division. They had all and sundry in their portfolio but never seen Jana stressed at all. He and his room mate along with Chandru formed a gang as they speak fluent Hindi. We used to get maha irritated as none of us could speak a word in Hindi those days but always first day first show of any Hindi movies and also listen to Hindi songs.

One Xmas day, myself and Chandru of HLL, polished off a full bottle of Old Monk and with the plum cake as the side dish (!). We started around noon and went on till evening....

Salem also had lots of other attractions too...

Another very good friend and colleague also from Salem was Panneerselvam...he was headquartered at Madurai when I was in Salem and used to frequent Salem as it was his native. A charmer, well dressed but addicted to alcohol. Great fun to be with. His father taught me Yoga but I didnt take it seriously those days. Lots and lots of friends Salem had given me.

Also two regional conferences when i was HQd at Salem. The first one was at Hotel Banjara in Hyderabad. Our TN team went by train from Chennai. HL pioneered in conferences and it was all about training n development with focus on 'themes' for the annual conference. The train journeys used to be full of fun with our team. One incident during the trip...this is for Kandaswamy...RSR travelled with us and we were all in AC second class. Fast asleep after a couple of drinks and good food. Suddenly RSR wakes us up around 4 in the morning and starts reading a letter which was written by Kanda to his wife...Kanda was in tears and begged RSR not to proceed further. Kanda was just married...RSR didnt obviously get sleep and hence opened Kandas kit and saw this letter on top...such a bad behaviour by RSR... And it was the first time we were introduced to buffet. And like someone who had not seen food for days, many of us used to fill our plates with huge quantities and Ashraf told Kanda: " Kanda just lower your plate pl....cant see your face(!)"....that trip our dear Kanda was at the receiving end. SS Gandhi was the CEO of HL and known for his short fuse. I have seen him tear apart people in public...if one gets in to his bad books, it would be next to impossible to come out of it. But he knew the business well and with a towering personality could command respect (out of fear than out of love). 

I also met some very interesting personalities in Salem during my stint. 

When we were in Srirangam, our first migration from Village, we used to stay in the first floor of an independent house and the owners at the ground level. I became, within no time, part of that family. The owner lady had 3 sons and 4 daughters. All of them that time were married off and living in different places but used to come to Srirangam often. They adopted me as their brother. One of the sister used to live in Salem and again, shamelessly, I used to visit her often for home made food...and she was always receiving with a big smile. All the sisters, Babu, Vasantha, Radha and Vatsala treat me even today like a brother. I am in touch with all of them.

I think I did a decent job in Salem and slowly the alcohol business in TN was gaining momentum. TN announced opening of retail shops on license basis and also gave license for WS in most of the cities and bottling plants in TN. 

Tomy got transferred to Kerala and Abraham took over TN and RSR had left. HL promoted V Shankaran from AP and appointed him as FSO based at Chennai. 

His first visit to Salem...very nice guy...after two days of market visit, in the evening we sit in his room for a drink. After a few he quietly tells me it's time to move....I was a bit shocked as i was enjoying Salem and somehow thought of it as my second home. But he convinced me that I am required to be in Madurai and should move asap. There is no question of one handover et al. As a bachelor just a suitcase- that is what to carry....So one last session with my wonderful Devaprakash guys and a goodbye to Salem....

Plenty of learnings as stated in my earlier post, professionally. Grown also in stature in terms of understanding the business and market dynamics and to be creative. And gained fabulous friends forever....yes...

Bye bye Salem....Madurai calling....

 Memoirs.....Musings of a sales guy at heart.....

Episode (9-A)

Salem Days....

True to its culture, I go to Salem on my own and asked to just find my own way. Salem HQ was carved out of Coimbatore region and I was given Salem, Erode and North Arcot districts.

A friend of mine introduced Soori to me who was working for Vikrant tyres as their TSE based at Salem and he immediately offered me to be his room mate. So I move in with Soori at Devaprakash lodge, a bachelor's den-rather Sales/Medical reps favourite. This place is ground + 2 floors and Sorri was in the second floor right side middle room. Very spacious room with two cots and attached bath. There are 6 rooms in each floor. We had a guy, Sundaram, who was everyone's man Friday. A very elderly person Nair, was the security and there was a manger. Come evening the fun starts in Devaprakash. ( I will come to this part later). The TN government relaxed a bit with the permit rules and also allowed select cooperative supermarkets to open a liquor retail in their premises.

In Salem there was Ponni Supermarket, Swarnapuri Supermarket and in Erode, Chinthamani Supermarket and in Vellore also a couple of them. Number of outlets were restricted but the business was decent. The permits were given only on health grounds (god knows what actually that meant!) but within few days the super markets started managing the permits by applying huge lots of them on their own and selling alcohol to non permit holders at a premium. The consumers demand was for mostly Mohan Meakin brands viz Black Knight, Diplomat Deluxe, Triple Crown brandy, Doctors Reserve and of course, Old Monk Rum. And McD brandy was also quite popular. Shaw Wallace brands were also on demand but HLs were not at all popular and hence I had to look at ways of promoting our brands. 

The first thing I did was to get VMR on my side and made him to understand the importance of 'push' strategy for HL brands and with some kind of offers to the super markets. He, being a very shrewd businessman, understood and gave me a carte blanche. I chose him as I didnt know anyone that much in Prince & Co and they were also not very HL friendly. It's all about deals and how effectively you establish rapport with the key guys and also timely supplies and settlements. The deals have to be very clearly explained, understood and executed. As HL brands were not that popular and I also wanted to push some High Society Gin and Royal Treasure Rum, I devised a quantity based offers to the super markets and ensured they placed orders based on that. While my distributor was okay to supply to Ponni and Chinthamani he was very hesitant to supply to smaller players like Swarnapuri. I took the responsibility of collecting the payments and also linked the discounts/deals to the payments. As I was based at Salem and living a great bachelors life, contacting me and coming over to me was never a problem for my customers and I could soon become their favourite. I put across these points to RSR my FSO..though he was not happy about VMR but agreed as I shown him how we can garner business...1) VMR inplace of Prince&Co and the rationale was customer preference. 2) Specified quantities of trade giveaways to manage the CSM and also for consumer promotions. 3) Absolutely no interference from office as I should be given free hand. I made it clear that my time would be 75% on alcohol and only 25% on Dipys and he should not insist on 25 calls per day and also travel to Chennai every 15 days to ensure orders executed on time. He was confident of me and hence agreed to my requests. 

I secured HL space in the super markets across all the 3 markets and one thing I realised during this time, which is a key learning, was to introduce HL to the Dipys trading partners, as a liquor company having some food brands than as Dipys company. As most of them were very naive about liquor brands as alcohol was only bootlegged till then, were so excited to know and deal with someone who is connected with liquor. So first few minutes of my calls, it's all about Bagpiper and Honey bee than Dipys and others. I also got them introduced to the key sales guys in the Supermarkets to get the access. I used the giveaways of alcohol to entice key retailers to stock and sell Dipys. 1980 was still very early days in places like Salem, Rasipuram, Namakkal, Erode et al for jams and sauces. Squash was better off but only in summer. Vellore had some decent demand due to probably CMC and so many big bakeries on Officers lane. Also HL did something stupid then by taking distribution of Freedom Sanitary napkins which became added to our nightmares (HL was quite popular for these kind kind of stupidities), competing with pioneers J&J (Carefree) and Helen Curtis(Comfit). Dipys itself was a big task in these markets and added to that were Freedom and Viva Toothbrush (!). 

It became a serious nightmare for me to sell both these Freedom and Viva toothbrush. The problem with Freedom was the size of the shipper carton. It was huge and my distributor had space problems and was reluctant to stock it. Also in 1980 the awareness of sanitary napkins was at its very nascent stage. I should complement J&J for creating that awareness.

First couple of months I really struggled hard to get placements and even in shops it was placed the movement was almost nothing as those who ask for it, either ask discreetly or thru chits. So my good friends at the retail could not use their skills to push Freedom. It was heading nowhere as it was the first year of distribution there was also huge pressure from HO and the principle. 

My neighbor in the lodge-Raghavan from J&J and one day over a drink I probed a lot about his volume and how he manages business. He was non committal and could not get much out of him. 

Once I went to congratulate a friend of mine whose wife delivered a baby at a nursing home in Salem. While sitting with them I saw a big carton of Carefree coming in to the hospital. I dug deeper and figured out they use the sanitary napkins a lot during and after delivery. Eureka!!! 

So through a contact of mine, met up with the chief of the hospital, a lady gynic and using all my charm and also some nice BP Ice Buckets and trays (more than my charm-people always fall for these giveaways is what I had noticed), got an entry order from her. But with a condition that if it doesn't move she would return it to my distributor...so, I have to ensure Freedom is given preference over Carefree. So, our Malayalee sisters came for rescue...again some nice key chains and glasses did the trick. They started pushing Freedom even from their pharmacy and my first cartoon was sold off in just 2 days. Got a big order from this customer immediately and I made it direct with an overriding commission to my distributor. This made Freedom commercially more attractive to the hospital. I identified few hospitals across my markets and this strategy worked well. I also supplied few stocks to CMC (!). So Dipys and Freedom were set...Viva Toothbrush (?)...haha...another strategy...I convinced VMR to buy 250 dozen of Viva Toothbrush in one go and I offered it as an in pack on every bottle of BP and Honeybee in the smaller supermarkets. In Swarnapuri it became a huge hit and I was so happy that I could get all sorted out. Guys these didnt happen overnight...I have to struggle every bit to make it happen in every step. Convincing the supermarkets and my distributors was very tough. But what worked in my favour was my constant follow ups and the support I got from my distributors. All these things between 10 o'clock and 5 only. Initially I used to spend the evenings in the supermarkets and help the salesmen and in the process push HL brands. Once I set the deals, things started moving better. Still collection was an issue but somehow managed it. 

Business was regular and not much of interference from office or RSR. Once RSR called me to Coimbatore and introduced me to the distributors and also to some key liquor guys there. I had established a very good rapport with him. HL wasted lots of time with these distribution brands in consumer division and because of these distractions lost a lot on alcohol business too, initially.

My strategies really worked well in the market especially with the alcohol business with the super markets and also for Freedom. I ensured that the supplies were continuous and stocks were also moved out of the shelves. My rapport with the purchase guys and the CSM really worked well and also focus on the smaller cooperative stores yielded great results. The big example was Swarnapuri Supermarket for alcohol where HL garnered maximum in terms of market share. I ensured every single market was covered and gave lots of importance for visibility and spot sales for liquor and major 'push' strategy for Dipys in select outlets and for Freedom in the hospitals. 

to be contd......

  Memoirs.....Musings of a sales guy at heart.....

Episode 5

The action starts.....

It was sometime in Sept 79. I was with DIL and in Trichy. I used to stay in Everest Lodge next to Hotel Jayanthi on Salai Road, Trichy. This Everest Lodge was salesmen paradise. Almost 90% of the residents were either Medical or Sales reps. In fact, my brother Ravi used to stay there during his Avery days before shifting to Srirangam. Paras, who is the eldest son of Amar Jewellery in Trichy became my friend when I was in Everest. On the ground level of Everest, just outside the gate, there was on General Merchant, (Gnanam Stores-my stockist, one dry cleaner and some other shops)....Paras used to visit the GM to have a cigarette. His house was on the 1st cross of Thillai nagar and his smoking was kept a secret then and used to come to my room or inside the Everest to have his quota of cigarettes...We were contemporaries and very first meeting itself we started jellying well. He used to look like Vinod Khanna of those days...such a handsome guy...I attended his wedding too and we continue our great friendship. Trichy days were excellent....And I have a special place for Trichy...

One day, I get a call at Gnanam stores (no phone at Everest and no mobiles those days), and it was from my sister in law. Gnanam stores, was at the ground level of Everest lodge and also my distributor for Regal. She called to inform me of my interview with Herbertsons. I was quite surprised as I didnt apply for the job. I spoke to my brother then and he told me his ex colleague and good friend Abraham has joined HL as Asst Regional manager and he has requested him to look at me...Didn't know nothing about Herbertsons...but as DIL was a struggle, decided to just attend the interview.

So I figured out from my brother, that Abraham is his good friend and when he mentioned to him that they are recruiting, my brother had sent my CV to him and hence the call from them.

Herbertsons was on Edward Elliots Road (Dr. Radhakrishnan Road now) opposite to President hotel on the ground floor of DMK ex minister Vezha Vendhan. Interview was conducted by KP Tomy and Abraham (really a very handsome guy) and I was asked to sell a pen to them. Think I did a good job but wasn't sure whether I would get the job...I left and it took almost for a month for them to revert with the offer letter. With a consolidated salary of 550 per month and daily allowances of 15 and 25 or something like that. I was given Madras as my HQ. So resigned from DIL-Khan was not very happy but convinced him with some stories and they relieved me. Had a great send off by Paras, Vasu (he was Paras's neighbor), Gandhi, Madan Makhija, Shekar and a couple of them. Party those days were sans alcohol and a card session in the room and dinner at Kavitha or Ananda or Padma Cafe. Padma Cafe WB Road in Trichy was iconic for its coffee. Balu of Padma cafe was my good friend. Trichy had some simple but very special places to go to. One of them was Michael Ice Cream parlour, where an ice cream was sold at some 50 paise or something. Padma Cafe, the road side eateries opp to Chella Stores and opp to Janakiramans, Aristo restaurant if you are a Non Veg, Kavitha, Ananda to name a few. Also the cabbage vada served at Plaza theatre (mostly English movies) during interval-no match to this divine stuff. The best theatres were Aruna, Padmamani and Gaiety (only Hindi movies). Yaadon ki Baraat was released at Gaiety and Bobby was at Aruna simultaneously and both ran for 175 days in Trichy(!). So bye bye to Trichy and to Everest Lodge. Oh, forgot to mention. Its at Jayanthi hotel I met Manoghar, my dear friend, who became my younger sister's husband later. Again cards united us. Once we all assembled in my room-self, Paras, Vasu, Sehkar, and Radha Krishnan, the adopted son, of Mahadevan, the owner of Hotel Jayanthi'. Shri Mahadevan was also a popular musician and used to play a tough instrument called Morsing, in concerts as an accompaniment to main performers. It's a very difficult instrument to play and it could cut or scratch the tongue if not properly handled. Coming back to cards-we decided to move from rummy to 3 cards and big gang in my room. The game was going well and for me it was a decent evening. The stakes could not be high as we all decided to just enjoy and not make it as a money making thing. But one game changed everything. I got a Q triplet on deal. I went gang ho...Many scooted and it was finally between me and Radha. Radha also went no holds barred and Paras who was sitting next to me also thought my cards were unbeatable. The stakes went up to some 1000 bucks (it was really a lot that time) and finally someone intervened and asked us to go for open show...,I was so ecstatic and I opened my cards with a twinkle in my eyes....Radha saw that and with his poker face....heart break...it was K Trippiee....I went in a dizzy....all my excitement got punctured but Paras started laughing adding salt to the wound....Didn't know what to do as I was so dumbstruck-I told Radha, I would settle it next day. He was kind enough to agree but with a parting word 'Rajah do not run off'. 

So myself and Paras got in to a serious discussions after burning out a pack of Wills Filter, and finally I told Paras that I have no option but to seek this guys pardon. Didn't want to delay it till next morning (it was around 2 in the night)...so go to his room in Hotel Jayanthi, knock at his doors and fortunately he was still awake. I was very open and told him that I had absolutely no money and have hardly 50 bucks and that's for my ticket to Chennai. He listened patiently and asked me whether I have any gold chain...I said no and told him I have nothing. He asked me what would be my reaction if situation was reversed...Like a fool I told him if you had lost to me I would have taken the money from you as you are a rich guy and owner of this hotel. He started laughing extended his hands, gave me a hug and said ' dont bother-all the best'. He offered a coffee to both of us and what a relief it turned up to be, finally....my farewell turned out to be so eventful!! 

I just can't forget this episode as it is very rare to see such kind of people. Sadly I never met him at a later stage as I wanted to return his generosity with some thing in kind. I started crying and thanked him profusely and came out and hugged Paras...we blew off few more cigarettes and with this episode behind me, I left for Chennai. Paras keeps pulling my legs quoting this whenever we meet....he once asked me, what I would have done had Radha didnt agree--I told him that I would have made him to pledge his gold ring(!)...after that he stopped asking me this...

Lesson...Gambling is not good but gambling without money in your pocket is worse. You dont get people like Radha often.

I reach Chennai and go straight to my brothers home at KB Nagar, Adyar Chennai where my brother with his wife, my younger sister Sumathy, my dad and my brother's first baby boy Viju were living on the first floor of an independent house, with the owner lady staying at the ground level. The house had just one bedroom, a living area, kitchen, balcony in the front and a nice terrace at the back with a bathroom and toilet.

Next day morning I take off to HL office, 1st of November, and to my utter disappointment it was closed due to ' Eid ul adha '. no one there to enquire and return the next day 2nd of November 1979....My life as a real sales guy started this day...and what a journey it was...From Sales Rep to Field Sales Officer to Area Manager to Branch Manager to Regional Manager to Sales Controller. 14 years in total. Some great bosses and some great colleagues turned life time friends. What an experience it was. Whatever I am today, the foundation was laid in Herbertsons. The organisation had its own flaws but it was an exhilarating experience....

Okie....There was Tomy as RM, Abraham as ARM and RS Rajendran as FSO...this guy RSR was one typical character...Tomy-difficult to read his mind and Abraham was friendly but not well grounded with the nuances of FMCG...he came from Avery's. So on my first day, RSR gives me a brief about my territory, the area I would cover and sent me to my distributor. Met Dattatreyan aka Datta, Sheigar Kanniah, LT Murthy-three of them managing different functions in the office. Datta was the head constable there with a penchant for quitely sliding it in....so first day, I was asked to work with V Parameswaran aka VP....he takes me around Chennai market in his lambretta and lunch at Ashoka-Egmore...very sweet and wonderful guy....not much about products but more of introducing to customers. VP was in HL for some time but left to join Mohan brothers and later JIL and from JIL to Shiva where he spent almost his entire career...We became good friends and always kept in touch. Very nice guy and I came down from DxB to attend his daughter's wedding. But we lost him recently...Just a day of induction and next day was pushed to the market on my own. First call is the distributors office in Mandaveli and later I came to know the distributor was Tomy's Brother in law (compliance???)...again no product briefing...nothing...so the tricycle was loaded and i was asked to cover the Arcot Road area starting from Kodambakkam. Dipys was the umbrella brand and we had, squashes, syrups, jams, ready to cook soup, exotic sauces like Worcestershire and 8 to 8 apart from Tomato sauce and ketchup. I load the tricycle to its brim as i didnt have any idea of what would sell and hence even a case of 4 kg jam was loaded. I asked this distributor guy about sweet corn soup and he told me you have to just heat it up and drink it....product knowledge...so the journey of a true salesman with FMCG started...I take a bicycle and travel along with the tricycle guy....reach Kodambakkam and the first call itself was a big grocery shop. General introduction and the owner ask me for a case of W sauce but sadly we didnt carry that...so i booked my first order for HL with that stores...but when asked about our squashes the response was it would sell only in Summer...what about jams? No sir, Dipy's doesn't sell here....oh...on the way we bumped in to Gurucharan, Kissan Sales rep...he was so cool with just an order book on hand and a cigarette. He looks at me and the cart with disbelief....you are carrying 4 kg jam to sell in this area? You cant even sell the normal pack...your bosses didnt brief you? went on and on...i realised that it's going to be tough selling Dipy's...the other competing brands apart from Kissan were Noga (Maharashtra) and Rex....Rex was always premium but more in to squashes and syrups and not in to jams...Noga and Kissan in to Jams and Squashes...So we go up to Vadapalani Bus stand and the sale was hardly anything....and I met Vijayaraghavan an ex HL and working for Balsara...another cool guy...he used to always wear a smile....he looks at me and tell my tricycle guy to wait there...give some money to have tea and snacks, ask me to be his pillion and takes me to his home which was close by....First meeting and we became friends....tea and snacks at his place and he straight away took me to a shop, introduced and forced that guy to buy something...so 1 case of MF jam...thanks to Vijayaraghavan and told me to call him in case of any help required...(only thru landline)...So I come back wondering what and where I got in to. On the way back, I stopped at a Malayali restaurant to have tea and casually introduced myself and asked them whether they use jam and sauce...to my surprise that guy said yes to jam but no to sauce as they use cheaper version of sauces made from pumpkin with a small portion of tomato added. Okie...opportunity now....I converted that opportunity by selling him that one case of 4KG I carried with me and also collected full amount...,big sales!!!!

Felt so good not because that i could sell a case of 4kg jam but because I proved the Kissan guy wrong....hahaha

Life went on like that in Chennai for some time....selling was tough but I have to find new ways to push Dipy's....have to figure out friendly outlets and sell...In T Nagar, Bombay Stores Harish became my good friend and could push some stocks....some restaurants where I could push some 4 kg jams....some quantities of exotic sauces but the problem was with squashes and Tomato sauce. The problem with squashes, especially with Lemon, Lemon barley and orange, the shelf life. After 6 months the top portion of the squash turns darker and consumers would not touch it..Kissan and Rex didnt have that problem may be due to the consumers preference but we had lots of issues. The company never had a replacement policy. We were all given something called a 'recommendation voucher'-(RV). So we need to fill that with details on unsalable stocks and destroy those unsaleables by draining them in a bucket found at the shop or at the drainage. When you open those bottles the smell comes out of that would be horrible...and when you submit the RV to Rajendran he would take the shit out of us...he would normally say, we dont have any business to provide RVs....then how do you replace as the customers can't sell those which means no more business from that outlet...the answer would be 'that's why company employed you...you have to manage that! How, from my 550 salary i have to pay? No answers...I still remember once in an outlet opposite to Meenambakkam old airport, when i visited first time, another Malayali shop-he almost kicked me in my but....as he had lots of expired stocks of squashes....it was around 120 bottles...I patiently emptied all these in a drain next to his shop issued RV took his new order and submitted the RV to my FSO Rajendran for his approval. He took it, gave a glance, and tore it off....I just could not believe it....what do I do? 

HL also had brands like Bagpiper, Honey bee, Royal Treasure Rum, RT Beer, Herbertsons Beer et al but we were never given any brief on that and also were never taken to the distributors. Once RSR took me to V M Raghavulu Naidu and Sons, one of our distributors in Chennai for alcoholic beverages and was introduced to Dr. Madan Mohan Reddy the owner....he had so much of issues with HL and started arguing with RSR....I had no clue on what kind of business was that and how to go about it....but made a note of everything....Prince & Co was another distributor and he had cream of HL brands that included Bagpiper, though Bagpiper was not popular that time. Though VMR also had Bagpiper and Honey Bee he was not considered as the distributor for these brands. There were few more distributors in Chennai to cater to the select outlets. But the retail was restricted to service against permits only. There were very limited bars serving alcohol and these were primarily 5 and 4 stars. The liquor business was not huge in TN in 79 as it was very restricted but overall for HL the money made from the small volumes of alcohol was much more than whatever brand Dipys was churning out. And the process of getting the stocks in to TN for the distributors was also very cumbersome. Lots of procedures. Relationship with these limited distributors played a huge role.  Didn't know why only Tomy and RSR were involved and not others in the team. To some extent VP had a role but he left and joined JIL and after that it was all KPT and RSR....but that's not possible when I am around, right?

So one day I go to Mahabalipuram, 50 KM from Chennai, a tourist place on a market work. It was mid of December. Mahabalipuram is a good place to sell some premium brands of Dipy's portfolio and the business is from all the resorts and hotels there. Temple Bay by ITDC and TTDC were two big outlets. So first I visit TTDC and got some volumes for Dipy's and my next call was ITDC. Meeting with the purchase guy and once Dipys was through, I asked him whether it is possible to get some order for our IMFL, with out knowing any abcd of what I am supposed to sell and where from? he asked me what brands of beer I have on stocks...The meeting with VMR was fresh in my memory and I grabbed the opportunity and pitched for Royal Treasure beer. But he was all for UB and Kalyani or Golden Eagle as these were the most popular. But I gave some BS stories to him on RT Beer and believe me guys, I got a 100 cases order. I could not believe I got this huge order and didnt even know how to react...it took some time for me to come to normalcy... It was on HL order book. First order and that too from one of the biggest customers an unbelievable quantity too (10 cs was the maximum one could get for this product, is what I came to know later) and for a product which was not well known and tough to sell. Overjoyed and I wanted to enjoy the moment and straight away hit a restaurant for my lunch...pl do not run your imagination wild...for the kind of allowances I used to get, only the budget restaurants were possible. Enter this place to have the full meal, pay cash and buy the token, settle down on a table...the restaurant was almost empty and suddenly lots of noise and I see a swarm of girls and boys descending on the restaurant...chatting in a different language...later I came to know it was Kannada...They were all from Mysore University on a trip to TN...Few of them shared the same table and one girl in that crowd, attracted my attention..They all boarded the same bus to Chennai and the bus was fully crowded. This girl was standing next to me, very beautiful but shy....I wanted to introduce myself and talk to her but as she was surrounded with her own clan, though she was standing close to me, I could not gather the guts to start the conversation. But before the bus pulled down at Adyar, I gave my card to her and asked her name and she promptly responded with a beautiful smile...made a note of and got down and when I looked back she was still looking at me with a smile....as usual love at first sight...My excitement was more on the first order and rushed straight to Nungambakkam to VMR and to meet Dr.Reddy. 

I meet Dr. Reddy and hand over the order. As he opened it, his eyes became wide with utter disbelief...I have to do a lot of convincing that the order was real. The moment he realised it, after making a phone call to the purchase manager of Temple Bay, he realised I have pulled off some unbelievable stuff. He immediately called his brother and said something in Telugu and within 15 minutes I got some special sweets from his home and also something to munch. You must know that Dr.Reddy was very rich guy and it's difficult to get up close and personal with him. But with this one stroke of luck, I got in to his good books. And believe me guys that no one tutored me on this and to be very frank it was an opportunity which I converted in to a possibility. But Dr Reddy was so frank he told me that no one could get such huge orders for RTB from its launch. That smiling face of Dr Reddy is still etched in my memory.

I go to the office next day morning (in today's context, this news one could have flashed in the WhatsApp group but I had to wait till next day to share this with RSR) to inform my boss but to my bad luck he had come to know of this from Dr Reddy's brother previous night itself and was seething with anger that I didnt tell him before handing over the order to Dr. I realised my mistake and profusely apologised to him. He cooled down immediately and to my surprise, he took me out for lunch to Woodlands....wah!!!! We had a long conversation in Woodlands where he told me that I should start visiting these hotels and restaurants and start looking at other range of products too. He made it clear to me that I should support Prince & Co than VMR.....for whatever reason...didnt ask him as my focus was on eating and also the girl I met in the bus....RSR used to speak fluent Telugu and both VMR and Prince & Co also Telugu speaking people....

So my image/rating in the office and company went up and KPT and Abraham acknowledged this great feat. 

One evening Dr Reddy called me, I think it was before Xmas that year, and gave me a bottle of Herberts Gin...those days it was like a lottery as getting a bottle was only for the privileged. I gleefully accepted it and took it home. 

We opened the bottle that evening and that was the first time my dad tasted alcohol in his life...initially there was some kind of hesitancy but later that disappeared. At our place alcohol was never a taboo...My dad knew all my friends, colleagues and almost with most of them had a drink. Even my uncle Nagu. But Nagu stopped drinking few years back but my dad continued till his death. So I have the pride of introducing alcohol to my dad, thanks to Dr. Reddy. 

Just before new year, during my visit to the office one evening, our dear Sheigar, comes to me with a sheepish smile and hands over to me a greeting card....new year greeting and signed as 'guess who'.....for few minutes I could not decipher it and then looked at the stamp to figure out where it was posted...I saw 'Madurai' then realised it is from that girl whom I met in the bus on my return from Mahabalipuram...I overheard their tour plan and one of the place of visit was Madurai....So we started corresponding....another story.

My HL days I would split it as Chennai days (5 months), Salem days (2 years), Madurai days (2 years) Chennai days (3 years) Hyd days (2 years) Chennai days (2 years) Mumbai days (2 years) and again Chennai days (1 year).

Let me work this out and share the gist of it.

So I started working out on how to get the business ticking in my territory and focussed on the 20:80 principle...20% of the outlets provide 80% of the business. I was incharge of South Madras and the big retailers were Ambika Appalam Depots, Nilgiris, Bombay Stores, McRennett, Some Malayalee Restaurants in Adyar, Samco in Alwarpet, 5 star hotels et al. 

When I got the first RTB order, RSR called Datta, who was the 'all in all' guy in our office and totally trusted by Tomy and RSR, and asked him to provide some giveaways for free distribution to ITDC and other clients. Datta was the in charge of the giveaways and nothing could move without his consent. We have to give a requisition slip, get it authorised by RSR or Tomy and then Datta would provide the same. And getting those items, key chains, trays, openers et al, was not an easy one. So I decided to use them very judiciously and kept something for managing key outlets of not only alcohol but also Dipys. Park this aside now.

Datta was excellent with his typing and shorthand skills. He was also great with the command of English language. So there was so much of dependency on Datta by Tomy and RSR...

Once I was about to start my market work...just a few days in HL...it started raining heavily...I call up the office and Datta picks up the phone...'Datta its raining heavily...what do I do?'...Datta quipped immediately 'in Herbertsons whether it rains or shines, you have to work'....I still remember this and keep telling Datta how he used to bully us those days....But guys, people like Datta are organisations strength...full of energy, passion and doer. Later on Datta.

Ambika Appalam Depot was a great story. They had stores in Adyar, Mylapore and T Nagar. Visits to these places yielded nothing. All the managers were Malayalees only...even now...to get in to their good books is quite tough as most of them respond in monosyllables only. And sadly I didnt know Malayalam. After a few visits, I somehow manage to strike some kind of friendship with one of the managers and persuaded him to give me some leads to get placements for Dipys. (guys, HL was not new in Chennai--they were there for quite some time-and KPT was a hard core Malayalee but still they could not get an entry)...So after so much hesitation, he calls me aside and tells me to make an attempt with the owner of the chain...and he tells me that he normally doesn't entertain any business visits at home but if I go around 7 in the morning, I will be able to get his audition. So, one morning I reach his home in T Nagar, Dr Nair Road (coincidence-name) and he was sitting outside reading some Malayalam news paper. He looks at me and asked me 'Entha'....tough nut to crack...somehow I managed to get his attention for 10 minutes and told him about our brands and also quietly slip in the Malayali connect of my distributor. That worked, I think. He smiled....but he wanted to consult his shops before placing an order....which I was very skeptical though. As our brands were not 'pull' based. I tried my level best for the initial order but he didnt budge and he told me to come next day at 1000. So that's a positive sign. Same day I visited all his outlets, gave each manager a BP Key chain (the metal key chain of Bagpiper those days, people would give anything to possess it) and requested them to give some positive response. I also told my 'informer' in that outlet to put in a word to all his managers. Next day, I reach at 0955 but with some key chains of Bagpiper and one big jackfruit which I got it from Mylapore market the previous night. I carried all these in an auto and the owner was quite surprised. The Jackfruit thing was told by my 'informer'. So he accepted them gleefully and when I gave the key chains he was all inquisitive about Bagpiper...he came to know Bagpiper and Honey bee are also our company, he realised that he is dealing with a big company and not some small Dipys guy...(this is a big learning for me too which I started exploiting totally)

I got an initial order of 10 cases of jam assorted, 25 cases of squashes, 5 cases of Sweet Corn and 20 cases of Tomato ketchup....This is a fantastic breakthrough and my distributor could not even believe it...

I presented this story in the next regional conference which SS Gandhi presided and got a pat from SSG (more about SSG later).

So Chennai started liking me and one day RSR calls me and tells me that I need to be shifted and to Salem...When I asked him the rationale he told me that its a kind of jump for me as I would be handling independently all these markets and also the liquor outlets as TN started slowly opening up the alcohol with permission to sell to the cooperative stores. Didn't know how to react as I was just settling down in my job. This happened in March 80. But I had no issues of shifting my base and said immediately YES to him....

I had hardly met anyone else, in those 5 months I was in Chennai, apart from VP, Fernandes and Thomas (they all left HL sooner). KS Raghavan, Ashraf and E Kanthasamy-met them later.

So the first transfer....keep counting....bye bye Chennai and hallo Salem!!!

 Memoirs.....Musings of a sales guy at heart.....

Village life....contd....

Part 4.

There are few things which I felt were left out in my earlier posts on my village life....

There is our village deity Vathulai Amman temple (at the entrance of our village) and also across the river, Draupadi Amman temple...

Our villagers, every year, between April-June, this is across TN though, celebrate the summer festival, mostly the Ellai Amman (Devi). Every house contributes to the kitty and its done on a grand scale. The temple would be totally decked up and there would be Abhishekam and Aradhana every day and on the day of culmination, the Amman beautifully dressed (alankaram), kept on a chariot and taken around the village stopping almost outside everyone's home. This starts around 8ish and the chariot would return to the temple only in the morning. The village committee would bring some star performer of traditional 'karakattam', a kind of folk dance, and this troupe would obviously have some nice looking girls too. The music is very peppy and the lyrics are very topical and flavoured with a good amount of vulgarity too....as most of the local folks would be under the influence of illicit alcohol (it was prohibition time and hence), it would be total fun. My paternal uncle who used to work with NLC would come down for this festival every year and enjoy himself totally with the local brew. We would stop the buses, get in and collect money for the festival. This is quite a happening thing those days and the driver/conductor and passengers wont say a thing. 

Another festival is the Draupadi Amman festival where it would be dance dramas staged by artists from nearby places. The show would start around 9 in the evening and close at 5 in the morning. Mostly the plays would be of Mahabharat and Ramayan. The characters of male and female characters would be donned by men with good voice along with accompaniments on Harmonium and Tabla/dholak/mridangam with an assistant to sing along. The play would be full of songs and lesser of dialogs. We go there with food packed for the night and also with a mat on hand. These plays are made for village audience with lots of slapstick humor to keep the crowd cheering through out. The Mahabharata play would go for few days so as Ramayana. 

On the last day of the festival the men would perform 'fire walking' as a kind of surrender to the Goddess. I have done this once.

During the summer time, we would also sleep on the river bed as there would be no water. It used to be a different experience as when you get up in the morning the whole bed sheet/mat would be moisturized which means there is some hidden water under the sand(!).

Need to also mention about our village Nadaswaram (equivalent to Shenoy but tougher instrument) vidwan family who were very close to me and learnt from them a bit of thavil. Once when the guy who normally plays Tavil fell sick, they took me with them to as substitute and somehow I managed but for the next two days I suffered some major cramps on my shoulder joints. 

The village vendors were so simple. In our village one of the big families were Ramu Konar's-contemporary of my grand father and his sons managed the agriculture lands of the brahmins in the village on lease (its called 'kuthagai' in Tamil). Ayodhi one amongst them, used to run a grocery stores and Narayanan was the government employee-the postmaster. Ayodhi still runs a small grocery stores in our village. The Tea shops in the village were very popular and always with a minimum of 5 to 10 villagers anytime of the day hanging out there....that's their time pass...we also had a Malayali running a Tea shop in our village...his snacks were out of the world...This guy, Nair, also administers some kind of herbal medicines for snake and scorpion bites. I was bitten once by a scorpion while trying to steal some coins from my grandma's cash box (the scorpion was around that box probably guarding it from people like me!), and he treated me for it successfully. Another tea shop owned by a guy called Chinna Thambi...this guy was known for his quirky and quick wits...once an outsider who came to visit our temple, went to his shop and asked him what's available and this Chinnathambi guy, spontaneously quipped...'We have idli, chutney, sambhar and Thayanayagi's Sandu (sandu is piss...Thaiyalnayagi is his wife)...the consumer ran off from the shop. Another shop was run by a guy called Karuapplakattai...god knows why he got the name. Any shop you go, the idli and dosa were just divine...and not at all expensive and tea...they used to make the tea using the boiler and filters made of cloth. 

In our home, we have encountered poisonous snakes and scorpions. I just can't forget this incident..once I was about to enter the kitchen to get a glass of water and my grandma was busy cooking and as I was about to enter, I heard a 'hissssss' noise...startled I looked around and believe me, there was a snake settled well in my tiffin box (which I used to carry to my school) with its head fully open and tongue coming out making the 'hissssss'.  I ran inside the kitchen, got hold of my grandma, quietly came out of the kitchen, ran out again of the house and got the snake catcher...that guy, went thru the back door with a huge stick and a sharpnel tied in one end, and in one shot, got the snake in its neck....oooopppp sssss....we donated the tiffin box to him...

In most of the village homes, there would be a swing at the center of the living room and we had a beautiful one too. My grandma, after lunch would lie down and rest...she never used pillows but a wooden piece to rest her head. 

The village Ganapathi temple was built by our forefathers and the 'Utsava moorthy' was made by them...Ganapathi in standing position...once some robbery took place in this temple and when they were about to escape with the Moorthy, villagers caught them and the next day, they told my dad to keep the Moorthy in our home only and from that day onwards, he is with us...Our family is blessed by him. The temple is still there and it is on the bank of a beautiful pond.

I mentioned about my maternal side uncle and aunt (mother's sister) and I have to mention here my paternal side uncles too. My dad was the 1st in the family, and after him, was Jagatham, Nagu and Cheenu...All of us used to call them by their names only...never called them chithappa (uncle)....dont know how it happened. Jagadam used to work with NLC and even for a two day holidays he used to visit our village to spend time with us. He normally reach around midnight and in the morning he would be in the midst of us cuddling..he used to smoke beedi and that smell would wake us up...and we would not leave him at all...such a fun loving person. An incident has to be narrated here...My grandma left for her heavenly abode and her last journey to the crematorium started from our home. She died at the age of around 80 and the whole village was there...the 5th house from ours where another elderly but rich lady used to live...Kannamma mami...she came down to the street and started yelling 'Ayyo--you are leaving me and going!' She was all in tears but my uncle Jagadam immediately quipped 'why dont you also join her if you are going to miss her so much' and we all burst into laughter...forgetting it was our grandmas funeral...such a quick witted person. His son lives in Chennai.

Another person is Nagarajan aka Nagu....another great chithappa for us. He was employed in Tata Nagar and was single. He used to visit us once a year and spend few days and go back. He was the one who took care of my grandma sending her money every month. He used to send her INR 50 and probably it was enough for her. When I went to my village to pursue my school, he increased it to 80 and later when all the three of us settled there, he increased it to 100. The Money Order used to come around 5th of the month without fail. The moment it comes my grandma would just sign the acknowledgement and give us all INR 1 as pocket money and the rest would be handed over to my dad. He is 90 now and lives with my brother. Many of my Chennai friends know him well. Another fun loving person. 

Cheenu is the youngest of the brothers and was working in Simpson in Chennai....Cheenus daughters are all well settled and live in Chennai.

All the brothers did their schooling in our village and Ayyampet...

My father's side is full of fun irrespective of their financial status.

And they mix easily with the younger generations so well....

One more incident which is worth sharing here. After my college stint in Trichy, I came down to my village and my sisters also joined. Some fight happened between me and the rest (Grandma was always on my side) and in a fit of anger, I left home with a small bag and hardly any money, in the night, without telling anyone. I went straight to Kalyan who was studying in the Madras Film Institute, Tharamani. It was early morning and he received me with open arms. I stayed in his room which was already over crowded. He was pursuing acting course there. I realised later that Kalyan was struggling to make the ends meet. So I started looking for a job and one day, walked in at the Taj Coromandel, Chennai...it was brand new then. And got a job in housekeeping. Didnt know what it was. The interviewer asked me, before offering me the job, whether am okay to do cleaning of the floors et al. As I desperately wanted a job, I said yes, without realising what was in store for me. I was given the job to clean one entire function hall all by myself. As I was not used to that, it became a very painful affair. They provided good food in the night and I decided to sleep in the dorm as it was very late to go to Kalyans hostel. Next day morning when I got up, realised someone had stolen my footwear....I left the job immediately...got another job at Woodlands Adyar, as supervisor. This restaurant was premium one compared to others and a well laid out place. My job was to attend to the tables and speak to the customers for feedbacks...it was going well. The food was great and money was not much but manageable. But I left it as the manager of the place created some problem for me....so job less again. Once I had not a penny with me and asked Kalyan to provide some to me and as usual he was running on negatives....and he was leaving for Dalmia...so he gave me a letter to be given to his friend in Mannady and told me his friend would give me some money to manage till he comes back. So I took the bus to Mannady and goes to this friends place...a long walk...but his house was locked...I had hardly some 25 or 50 paise with me...so got in to a bus and was dropped near Gandhi Statue on Marina. I walked from there to Taramani and by the time I reached, I was completely famished....no paisa and was hungry...behind the hostel, we used to frequent on tea shop and I rushed there..went to the owner, and requested him to provide me some biscuits and tea and banana and money would be paid once Kalyan is back...that guy, didnt even hesitate for a minute...he provided whatever I asked for..(probably hunger was written all over my body)....We have such helping angels across...

So nothing was happening in Chennai and Kalyan's financial mess continued...so I decided to go to Tata Nagar to be with my Chithappa and look for a job there...So one day, with the same bag which I carried from my village, boarded Tata Nagar express at Madras Central and occupied a seat in the unreserved compartment. The train was empty...i dozed off...sometime in the night, i think it was Vizag, passengers swarmed the compartment...Till the train reached Tata Nagar, it was unmanageable...i remember drinking the tea en route, served in mud pots...an experience. I proceeded straight to my uncles office in Telco and when my uncle saw me it was shock of his life....But I enjoyed the month long stay there and my uncle informed my dad about my arrival but he was not keen on me settling down there...so after some time, he packed me off....and the day I returned to my village, I still remember, my house was filled with smoke emanating from the havan which was being done to perform the 'srardham' of my grandfather. My grandma, the moment she saw me, started crying....She was the one who missed me the most...it took some time for my sisters and dad to be okay with me....but guys it was my fault and rush of blood...but my stupidity gave sleepless nights to my sisters, my dad, my brother and grandma, till they got the letter from my uncle....I profusely apologised to them...

My village life...from birth to LKG...back only during holidays...from 8th to 11th in school...later back from Trichy....my grandma's death put an end to our village life and we migrated to Srirangam....

I make it a point to visit our village once a year minimum. When I stand in front of the barren land where once our home was, I get these flashbacks...the best of times and the toughest of them....

But we all love our village. 

My father especially used to love his trips. Fortunately before his death, we could make a trip to our village and he was overjoyed....

Till next,

Stay safe and enjoy this beautiful life....

Yours lovingly

 Memoirs......Musings of a Sales Guy at Heart!!

Training and development....

My first job was a door to door selling job for a floor cleaning disinfectant liquid product and people used to call this phenol. I was looking out for a job and just knocked the door of this company near the Town Rly station in Trichy. My friend whom I used to hang day in and day out, Murthy was also with me that day. The name of the company was Nabora, we go in, meet the boss and ask him for a job...to our surprise he told us that we could start immediately and gave a quick brief on the product, price and just go and sell....So we decided to knock on the doors of all the known people first and hired two bicycles and went around...I think we sold few bottles that day and in the following days and one day we sold a dozen bottle to a known retailer too....the boss was very happy and one incident was unforgettable. We went to my relatives house and we did a complete sales call. The lady asked us whether this can be mixed in the water to bath the baby....Murthy didnt hesitate for a minute...he nodded his head and that lady bought a bottle...we came out and laughed our heart out...when I asked him why he bullshitted, pat came the reply-"it would kill all the germs on the body of the child as the child was looking dirty". Oh, forgot, i got a job for my father in that company as accounts manager...

Anyway I moved on and joined Win Pharma a local pharmaceutical company with their manufacturing facility in Thillai Nagar, Trichy. I got this job, thanks to my brothers friend Krishnan who was with Himalaya Drugs as their Medical rep. The owner of Win Pharma Sethuraman a B.Pharm graduate but settled in Trichy. He gave me some product briefing and told me that I would be based at Tirunelveli and cover Tirunelveli, Ramnad, Kanyakumari districts....So, Murthy came to see me off in Trichy. Murthy was a bodybuilder and very conscious about his diet and a non smoker. I used to smoke those days. While boarding the bus, I handed over my cigarette to Murthy to hold it as I wanted to keep the bag in the bus and come down...oh, when I returned, I was surprised to see my friend puffing to glory....I gave up smoking as soon as I got engaged, thanks to my wife but my friend still smokes...fate, as we call it. I have to mention Murthy, Shekar, Meenakshi Sundaram, Ganesh and Ravi....all from Trichy....we built such a bonding...Murthy is one guy whom the girls would fall far as he had a slight resemblance of Kamal. We are all still in touch...Murthy well settled in Hyderabad, Meenakshi in Delhi, Ganesh and Kaduks in Trichy and Ravi in Chennai....Love these guys from the bottom of my heart....A lot more about Murthy later....

Okay, coming back to the main story....

So, I reach Tirunelveli, take a room at Nellai lodge (INR 5 per day) and dont know what, completely broke down...didnt know anything or anyone and the fear of what I would do in a place which I felt was very alien...but that lodge was full of medical reps and with in the next few days, got in to my groove and settled well. Win Pharma was just making some basic stuff like B complex and iron tonics and cough syrup...competing with biggies...I realised that it's impossible to convince Doctors about my product and hence started making deal with the chemists which clicked massively as those days, (even today) the Chemists played a major role in promoting a product OTC. I built a very strong relationship with many Doctors and chemists in smaller towns and could achieve my targets. My salary was just 125 per month and daily allowances of 8 for HQ and 12 for upcountry...but believe me guys I could live a good life with that money. The beauty was that my company never sent my salary. My boss told me to take my monthly salary from the collections and send the balance(!)....Life was such fun...the bachelor accommodations  were called mansions and so popular and I lived in some nice mansions in Tirunelveli...once a month a visit to the office in Trichy and a day with my family (my brother was with Avery's based at Trichy) and go back. My friend Murthy still was without a job and every time, he used to be with me to see me off but before that dinner at either Kavitha or Ananda's....

A friend of mine who used to be with Chemo Pharma, set up an interview with his boss as he thought I should not waste my time with Win Pharma but I failed very miserably in the interview as my product knowledge was Zilch....i was only selling thru deal making...so where is the question of gaining knowledge!!!

Travelled extensively in these three districts...the best market was Kanyakumari district where every small town used had poly clinics those days and am sure those would have turned in to big hospitals now. Marthandam and Nagercoil had some wonderful poly clinics and again I struck some deals for regular business....

The tough part was travelling in Ramnad district especially the coastal....used to stay in Karaikudi and travel to places like Kamudhi, Thondi, Ramnad et al by the local buses...

This has taught me how to look at business differently. Had I been a typical Medical Rep, I might have gained good knowledge about pharmacology but failed as a sales guy...

One day a guy from Micro Labs bumps bumped in to me in some place, looks at me and tells me that am wasting my time with Win Pharma and arranges an interview with Narayanan of Selco Marketing Pvt Ltd, the Jackpot bonus stamps guy....After the success of Reman bonus stamps, Jackpot was introduced and I was given a job there with Trichy as my HQ....What an experience it was...it was all about selling a concept....the concept is to identify shops in every area in each category, show the big picture to them on how the bonus stamp would increase the foot fall in to their shops, collect some advance and sell them the stamps. They would in turn give the stamps free on every Rs 5 purchased at their outlet. For example you take a bazaar where there are 10 groceries, 10 textile shops, 5 utensils stores, 10 jewelleries and 10 chemist. We select one in each category and advertise these shops giving free bonus stamps....with our boards, leaflets, promoter girls et al. We give a small booklet for the consumers to stick the stamps if they want to go for continuous numbers or use the options of redemption of stamps for gifts. For the customers it provides increase in foot fall and for the consumers additional gifts. But the catch was on collectables. The consumer has to collect 1 to 100 in terms of number. As the stamp is a peel off one, the consumers mostly would get duplication of same numbers and they strike deals and exchange stamps with fellow consumers. But the company had the final laugh as they would hold few numbers with them and wont release it in the general pack. So they strike a deal with some biggies and quietly release those elusive numbers. My salary was around 250 p.m with some kind of incentives. But I remember that getting the incentive from the owner was a task.

So it was actually 'concept selling' which was not only unique but also unchartered territory for the traders...loved it....Narayanan recruited only women to manage the showroom and the spot canvassing in the shops. It was really fun working with so many of them under one roof.

I need to talk about Narayanan here. Its very difficult to see a person/boss like Narayanan. Such a cool and composed guy he was. My brother got transferred to Chennai and shifted the base and I have to manage myself. And Narayanan accommodated me. He used to stay at Mayavaram Lodge in a small room. He occupied the cot and I slept on the floor using a mat. He used to feed me literally. Such a great soul. I pulled Murthy and another dear friend, Shekar aka 'kaduks' also in to that company and we really had a ball. The relationship I built with Narayanan is just unforgettable...A great boss with a big heart. And the girls loved him. We launched the product in smaller towns and also in Pondicherry and that gave me lots of exposure  and proximity to booze in Pondy. Sadly the owners of the company were not great professionals and fortunately for me, got an offer from Detergents India retaining Trichy as my base.

From pharma, to bonus stamps to selling Regal detergent cakes. The market in TN was of washing bars made with vegetable fats-called in village 'savukkaram' with 501 from Tatas and Sunlight ruling the market. Hindustan Lever changed the game with the launch of the first detergent cake, with Rin closely followed by Det, from Promar (a division of Sarabhai).This changed the market dynamics as the washing became easier due to the chemicals used in the detergents. Bala Iyer the CEO of DIL launched Regal. The launch price was INR 1 per cake which induced so much of trials. I was based at Trichy and was incharge of Trichy and Tanjore districts. We gave tough fight to the biggies initially but they had deeper pockets and hence the going became very tough despite decent advertisements budget from our company. But we could not crack the wholesale as the biggies had full control on them. I need to elaborate on the WS market here...in many places in TN and across the country, the WS play a huge role in feeding the small retailers. The WS helps the retailers in two ways. 1) They get most of their stuff under one roof and 2) Even on smaller quantities they get lower prices than what the companies offer, as the WS game was volume based and they would undercut and sell. The WS make smaller margin on fast moving items and build good margins on their 'push' brands and average it out. As DIL was a one brand company, we struggled to break through with the WS but still managed to pull off the targets somehow. Spot selling was the order of the day. My selling activity used to start at 9 in the morning with a visit to the distributors place, fill up the tricycle with stocks and with their salesman and invoice book, the journey starts. We used to make around 25 to 30 calls a day. Certain areas we used to go on van sales for better coverage. Tough and challenging but enjoyed every bit of it.

Learning from DIL carried me further as it gave me the roots and understanding of how to sell 'non-popular' products. More of 'push' brands than 'pull' brands. Managing distributors with small turnover was another task. Reconciliation every day after the route sitting with their salesman and the distributors manager and closing the account. Tea and cigarettes....DIL came out with brilliant TVC those days for Regal. it used to start with a caption 'if you have a kid like Tinku, you need to have Regal at home" Tinku was depicted as playful who comes back home with dirty clothes after playing with other children and the mother would give one look at the cloths and with a smile take a Regal cake on her hand and say 'if you have kid like Tinku, you need to have Regal detergent cake at home'. As we could not afford TVCs at Doordarshan those days, the commercials were run mostly at the cinema halls....those days we had agencies running the commercials at the theaters. Blaze was one of them. And there would be minimum 20 to 30 commercials before the movie. I remember, using my relationship with the Blaze guy in Kumbakonam ran the commercial just before the start of the movie....that left lasting impressions with the consumers. The fundamentals of consumer product selling for me was sowed and well grained during my DIL days though it was just for 2 years. DIL didnt do well due to lack of money power. I think finally they sold the brand to someone and it just vanished. 

Guys, if any one knows the whereabouts of Narayanan ( he was married to the sister of Kaviyoor Ponnamma husband), pl share his number. I want to go and meet him and touch his feet. My love for him is unconditional.

In DIL I had a boss called Khan who used to live in KK Nagar, Chennai..no idea where he is...another great fun loving guy. Those days when the boss comes it is market visits only....no laptops, no WhatsApps and no other way of communication.....Evening after the market work go for a movie and dinner. Work is over by 5 as the no one would entertain you after 5. 

After DIl the big breakthrough for me professionally, when I look back....

Till next blog.....

Yours lovingly

 Memoirs.....Musings of a sales guy at heart.....

Village Life and what it teaches you....

Guys, I had touched up on this in my earlier blog but want delve more in to this...

I was born in Perumal Koil a small village with probably a population of around 500 at the time of my birth. This village is around 7 KMs from Thiruvaiyaru on the way to Kumbakonam.

This village also boasts of Sri Jegathrakashaga Perumal Koil, where Thirumangai Azhwar visit is recorded and he had penned a poem in praise of the presiding deity. This temple is one amongst the 108 abodes of Lord Vishnu in India....And I was born in my ancestral home which is facing the temple wall.

The front side of our home is the temple and back side river Cauvery flows...can't ask for a better place, right?

I studied my LKG and 1st std at my village primary school and shifted to Dalmiapuram where all 4 of us did our schooling at Dalmia Higher Secondary School. I was there till my 7th std. We were raised by our maternal uncle who was working with Dalmia Cements in their distribution division. Few things about this place which are still enshrined in my heart. This place was built for all those who were employees of Dalmia Cements. It was a residential colony of sort. And the factory was also with in the colony. The Colony had different types of homes....for lower level employees, middle level managers, factory workers and the senior executives. The GM had a huge bungalow. The senior level had some sort of independent villas with shared compound walls.  The middle level had apartments. My uncle was given a home which had thatched roof. Decent space with a bathroom and a toilet. The walls were not fully covered and one can climb the wall and peep in to the neighbors...You can hear whatever is spoken in others house...so no privacy at all (but still my uncle produced 3 kids in that environment!!)....this has led to great bonding with fellow residents. In our uncles home (thatched) we were around 8 in total. Four of us school going. Just 5 minutes of walk...come back home for lunch and then return around 4.30...we never starved for food but the food was limited as the family had to be run with the income of my uncle...8 to be fed....And my uncle was a character...very handsome and with a short fuse temperament...had this huge craze for radios...those days it was valve based radios...and used to come in big sizes too...there was no FM...you have to keep toying with the knob till you get your favourite stations..and it was limited too. Trichy Akashwani and Radio Ceylon...and Radio Ceylon was the choice of almost all the Tamils...he used to change the Radios at will. And he had a very big weakness for cards-gambling. Used to travel to Trichy only to gamble at the City Club and if it was his day he would come home with a big smile and bag full of sweets from the Lala shop - their dhood pedas was just out of the world...during my Trichy days in DIL I used to frequent this shop and enjoy the pedas...but my uncle was also very partial...he was in total unconditional love mode with my elder brother and elder sister...more than the love he showered on his children...but there were days when he returned losing all his money at the club, gambling....and it used to be awful at home with screaming and shouting...and I became his punching bag....dont know why but probably he wanted to take out his anger on someone and I was his choice.

In Dalmiapuram, the school was a great place. The school was not only great for academics but also for cultural events. R.Jambunathan, our neighbor, (he became my brother's father in law later) staged Sri Shankaram, the story of Adi Shankara, and it was still etched in my memory. My brother did the role of Sahasrawani (Saraswathi) in that and my uncle acted as Kabali....both did very well...My uncle stole the show. Also Jambu mama formed a light music band called 'Sweet Seven' with my brother as their lead guitarist and his son Muthu Kumar as the drummer. My sister fell in love with Muthukumar and my brother to Muthukumar's sister despite huge protests from our grandmother (Maternal). This band was a huge success...My uncle was a great guy at heart but the gambling was his undoing. The management of Dalmia decided to do away with the 'thatched roof' houses and built apartments called 'Silver Jubilee Colony' and moved all those who were in the 'thatched roof'. My uncle and all of us moved to this new place and it was just awesome those days. We were given corner flat on the second floor with two rooms, kitchen, bathroom and toilet. And my uncle by then had 3 kids of his own with the boy as the eldest followed by two lovely baby girls. Still myself and my younger sister continued there for another two years. 

Meanwhile, the PT master, was given the task of staging a play in the school and he picked me up along with my classmate Ganapathi Raman aka Dorai brother of Kalyan...I had a very good role and dont know why, my uncle completely against my acting. I remember, when I had to go for the rehearsal he bashed me up and stopped me going...dont remember finally what happened but I acted in the play and did a good job. 

In Dalmia the faculty were great. I remember, one teacher, Nataraja Iyer, who used to teach us Social science, used us to go to his home and get his coffee and snacks...Couple of occasions I drank some portion of the coffee and filled it with water and with a straight face handed over the flask to him. Probably after a couple of days he would have realised the foul play and stopped sending me...fortunately didnt get caught.

There was one Ambi's cafe in Dalmiapuram and adjacent to that is Solai's shop selling cigarettes, tobacco, toffees, bananas (in TN every single petty shop used to sell banana) et al. My uncle used to send me to this cafe to get doas to be delivered to him in his office. Ambi's Dosa was yummy and divine...but I never got to taste it as there was no 'paise' with me...and the hotel guys used to roll the Dosa in a plantain leaf, and cover it with news paper and put in a plastic bag to carry. I would take out the roll, open the top portion, peel of some dosa and happily eat that and fold it back and hand over to my uncle...again fortunately it was never noticed by my uncle.

My uncle used to fast on Saturdays and my grandma, his mother, used to make special kheer made from moong dal and jaggery and just for him. We children used to keep looking at our uncle enjoying that with a smile and chatting with our grandma and eagerly hoping some small portion would be left for us to taste...yes, there were days we used to get some portion of that and wah, it used to taste like Amrit....my maternal grandma was also a great cook. Strangely my uncle used to address her by her name and not as Amma....and he always held her responsible for his sister-my mother's death....my uncle was so fond of my mother and not so much of his another sister...and losing his beloved sister made him to vent his ire on people like me and his mother. As my elder sister and brother resembled our mother, my uncle was so attached to them and would not say a word against them.

Diwali was a great festival in Dalmia. As money was always tight, just a day before Diwali we used to get our new clothes but the preparation of sweets and savouries would start a couple of days before in every home in the colony...the whole colony would be engulfed with the aroma of ghee, sugar, oil, what not..even in our home...my aunt and grandma, would be at it and whatever comes out of the kitchen-no comparison. In Dalmia there was a company canteen and a company run stores too....and in the canteen they had a chef who would come home during Diwali to make this particular sweet called 'Jhangri'....another delicacy of Dalmia. 

On the day of Diwali, we visit all the elders at their homes looking forward to their home delicacies and along with that some paisa as 'Ashirward' by the elders. It would be around 10 to 25 paise... enough to buy some local stuff....and would last for few days and probably one dosa at Ambi's cafe...And all the kids joined by the seniors boys go on a yatra to the main road near Raja Talkies bursting crackers....Diwali was never the same after Dalmia....

As kids, myself and my classmate Dorai would always be sent by our folks to buy some stuff from the grocery shop. And outside the colony there were few shops selling groceries n veggies and every family had a running account there. Some time we would be given cash to get some veggies too...one occasion - etched in memory....Dorai and self wanted to see the movie running in Ambal talkies and didnt have the money for the tickets and we decided to do some naughty stuff...we went to this Raja stores and gave our list...Dorai had the big bag and he kept the bag open and I pushed some potato in to that without the knowledge of the store keeper (shoplifting)...the idea was that we would split the income from the potato later. But unfortunately someone in the shop noticed - after getting a mouth full and some 'ear pull' we were let go...but it was so embarrassing as it happened in the presence of some known guys...but nothing major happened.

During my 6th standard, a new GM took charge of Dalmia Cements and his daughter, Mahalakshmi, joined my class....it was my first love...love at first sight....such a sweet looking face...but I left Dalmia after my 7th as my uncle was unable to manage with so many of us...left Dalmia with my younger sister to pursue our studies from our village. Mahalakshmi, are you on FB?

My brother did a 'katha kalakshepam' with his dear friend Venkatesan in one of the cultural events there. People still remember that for its humor spiked with film songs.

Dalmia's gift to our family is my sister and brother in laws....such sweet souls and also lots of friends. My brother, since he studied till his school final there and also worked in Dalmias in their ceramic division after his graduation from St. Joseph's acquainted lots of excellent friends and some of them he is still in touch. My take from Dalmia is one very dear friend Kalyan...Though he was senior to me in school, he became a close friend to me at a later stage. His second younger brother Dorai was my classmate. 

I can write huge volumes on Kalyan but later. Like Sriram said to Guhan in Ramayana, Kalyan became the 5th sibling to us. He was part of our family....its difficult to find such souls...

Kalyans family was huge. His dad, probably, was getting similar income like my uncle and he has to manage a huge number at home...but Kalyan's mom, wah....ever smiling and full of love...

The learning from Dalmia, when I look back, is all about relationships, openness and sharing....great attitude....It was like the proverbial 'Vasudeva Kudumbam'. Some of the faculty members of the school were like family members...

I am still unable to figure out why the name of Dalmiapuram station was forcefully changed to Kallakudi Palanganatham? Dalmia, the owner of the cement factory provided jobs to 1000s....of course he got the work done from them and also made money but not every businessman was so generous. If someone had lived that life, they would vouch for the kindness of this great soul Dalmia!!!

Earlier we used to visit our village only during summer holidays and have a gala of a time, playing with all the friends there and eating the summer fruits...Jackfruit was our favourite and the one from our temple was the one we used to look forward to....Summer holidays used to fly off in no time. Like us there were other kids used to come to village to their grandparents/relatives home. There was this guy Sridhar who was studying in Pandanallur and his sister Malathy. From another family, Jegath and his sisters from Chennai used to come there for holidays. The Chennai guys were different and well protected but we were typical villagers....the break fast used to be 'Pazhaya Sadam-previous nights rice soaked in water-fermented and mixed with butter milk with some pickle)....this is very filling...go out play around come back, have a bath with the water from the well at home and have lunch...again go out and play....we used to play 'gilli danda' and it used to be such fierce battle with the elders being part of the play...my dad and his age group used to be part of the teams....wah, what game it used to be....another game was volleyball and at home 'pallanguzi' -mancala-bean hole-very popular in villages...We used to get some small rolls of movie films and run it by projecting thru some glasses and sunlight-lots of singing and dancing....we left our village and shifted to Trichy around 72-73 and till then our home had no electrical connection...it was manged with kerosene lamps only. But we had a huge house...

But life became different when we went back to the village to pursue our studies....I got the admission in Government Secondary School, Ayyampet. From my village there were two routes to go to the school. From January to June the rivers would be devoid of water and we used to cross the river and take that route....through the fields...slightly shorter. The other route is via Ganapathy Agraharam, probably a KM longer but a proper bus route but we never had busses to Ayyampet those days and some used to go by cycle and people like us walk it up and down. It was around 5 KMs one way to the school and return also. 10kms of walking every day. But we never felt it. We would be around 10 from our village and as we keep moving from each village en route, few would join the walkathon to the school. By the time we reach the school we would be roughly around 50 to 60. The school was co-ed but both the boys and girls used to feel shy developing any kind of conversations with the other. I was special there as I had the pedigree of coming from slightly superior school (Dalmia)...So when we come back from school it would be around 530 in the evening. Wash, pray and finish all the homework, eat and sleep. No time to play...and we had a lovely lady as our neighbor in the village. Kamalam Mami, who was blind but lived all alone. She would come to our place, sit on the 'thinnai' - steps leading to our home, we would surround her and she would start telling us stories from all the epics. We grew up listening to the stories of Mahabharat and Ramayan from this fine elderly blind lady. She was of my grandmother's contemporary. I have already written about the tough time we had in the village and am not going to repeat it but share some other stories.

This neighbor lady had a son and few daughters but all of them lived away in different places..married and settled...her son used to live with her but left her to live with his daughter who was working as a nurse in another village. the son was not a great guy and some fight between them and she decided to manage herself. She used to get the support from her daughters and managed her life quite well. All by herself. Salutes...but we as kids didnt understand and many a times played pranks with her but come evening we would surround her and listen to her lovely stories. And around 730 she would say good night and leave for her home. Never realised those days how her life would be all by herself being completely blind...

In my village Pongal was the festival we always looked forward to...1) The schools would be closed almost for a week so no walking to and fro and 2) our favourite black sugar cane which is available only during this time, would be available in abundance...all our family members were crazy on sugarcane....can keep munching on it whole day....

In our street, which used to be the only agraharam from one end to the other end, during my time, cut down to half the size as many had left the village for greener pastures. So the street starts with our house, followed by Kamalam Mami's, Bhagavatam Mami's, Dhadi Iyengar's (he had beard and was the 'baricharahar' - cook- in our temple and hence the prefix-dhadi means beard), Kannamma Mami's (richest in our village), Saraswathi mami's (all alone with both her daughters in different places) then a small road leading to the river, and the house of our village Munsif Santhanam Ayyangar and the last house being that of Kannan...(this guy lost all his money fighting court cases against the Munsif). Only these many families. 

The otherside, parallel road was the main road for the buses to ply and we had around 25 houses on that side.

Kannamma mami used to live all by herself but she had good income from her agriculture lands. The village Munsifs family was a huge one with around a dozen children of him....

Kamalam Mami was all alone, Bhagavatam Mami sold their house to a guy from the neighbouring village who kept his concubine, in that house ( first time an outsider in to the Agraharam!!), Dhadi Ayyangar and his wife as their children were settled in nearby villages, Kannamma Mami, all alone and Saraswathi Mami also all alone. Munsif house was like a mini school with more than dozen members and Kannan's lived with his mom. Kannan's mom was a very enterprising woman and used to grow vegetables in their backyards and sell it at a very low price to people like us. This Kannan was probably in his 30s when we were kids, but we used to address him by his pet name Kanni. Once he took us to the river for our bath and the river was not in full flow...it had only small pool of water but stagnant. We selected one such pool, myself and my two sisters, and suddenly I started getting drowned---just shouted his name and he somehow grabbed my hand and pulled me out...once I came out, he game a big slap on my face and more than us he was the one who was perplexed-god knows why?

He is such a great soul...once my grandma was all alone and went to the river for her morning bath. Again it was the time when the river had only small pool of water bodies and after her dip when she came back home she realised one of Diamond ear stud was missing. As none of us were available, she caught hold of Kannan and this guy immediately rushed to the river with one fisherman and his fishing net, and managed to retrieve the Diamond stud....My grandma's only prized possession... Am saying this here as during that period Kannan was just managing his living without any regular income...The diamond studs were finally given to her four sons, who in return sold it and shared the spoils....sad... 

My family were the trustees of the temple. One of the job of our home is to hand over tokens to 'Yatris' who come from other places for darshan at the temple. The token would entitle them for a 'undakatti' means curd rice. Our temple chef Dhadi Ayyangar, was a great cook. The 'undakatti' made by him was nothing but steamed rice with the starch fully present mixed with probably a small cut of curd, cooked with the rice together. The moment this is made, he would make few 'undakatties' and keep it ready for distribution. On top of that he would make a small impression and pour some, chilli powder, made specially by him. Guys it should be eaten hot and when one does, he would go crazy as the taste of this simple food is mind blowing. Also during the Margazhi month, there would be morning special pujas. They would offer 'pongal' to the lord and that also is a Dhadi Ayyangar special. We used to get up early during this period, just brush the teeth and run to the temple to get this prasad....oh, it was just divine...on special occasions, Dhadi ayyangar also made 'puliyodharai' (tamarind rice). All Ayyangar specials at the temple...he was lean with a hunched back, but when it came to cooking, he was all energy and best in his class!! The 'madapalli' (kitchen) in the temple is a full fledged one but no gas stoves, no mixer grinder et al. Just the traditional way of making batter and fire wood for cooking. The water is always from the temple well. Dhaadi for making the prasad and Bhattacharyar for doing the puja at the sanctum sanctorum. The two of them are inseparable....twice a year the temple used to conduct their annual festivals with concerts in the evening and three time free food for all the devotees. I also remember 'kumbabishekam' conducted in the temple which was a major festival for not only our village but the entire surroundings...our village was, to my knowledge, very crowded with devotees from all over and it was fun for kids like us. Dhadi's grandson Raghu became my very close friend but he used to come only during festivals and holidays...But lost touch with many of them.

My gang consisted of around 4 to 5 guys of which Udhay kumar used to come only during holidays to our village as he was studying in another town.

Myself, Murugesh, Sundar aka soosai (dont know why he was called in that name) and Gokka aka Govardhan....I still keep in touch with these guys and especially Muruganandam...We were so close those days and they literally used to feed me. Kumar was a sprinter...every family used to be known by their profession in the village. 

Our local saloon is where all political news used to be discussed. I have taken lots of interest in politics from a very young age. Our postmaster Narayanan used to buy tamil weekly Kumudam and our saloon owner Govindan, used to get tamil news paper, Kalkandu, Dina Malar and Ananda Vikatan weeklies. I would visit the saloon every day to read the newspaper and weeklies. But can't be open about this to my grandma as she would not allow us to enter home without a bath.

During my school days I was a strong supporter of Kamaraj Congress and also Shivaji and Shivaji was a staunch Kamaraj supporter and star campaigner for Kamaraj Congress-but my village was full of DMK and MGR...Not a single friend of mine was a Shivaji fan...oh, I had very tough times with these guys fighting who was superior but that fight never became personal, unlike these days. When I was doing my 10th or 11th, I was in the forefront, campaigning for Kamaraj Congress.

Those days, when you enter 10th standard, you have to choose electives. One of the electives was  diversified engineering and that division was managed by 3 lovely teachers...Ilangovan who owned a theater also in the nearby town, Gopalakrishnan who owned a lathe factory and Rao. They came to our class, and hand picked students as many would not opt for this course due to its manual work involving carpentry and machines.  Ilangovan spotted me, Arivumani, Jaffer Ali and Malik and told us that we should join this course. And it turned out to be excellent for all of us as this department was in a separate block opposite to the main building. We were given special treatment by these three...Also I joined the NCC not for the love of it but to get the Poori bhaji which used to get served on the days of NCC training. 

I was also part of the boys scout---once we were taken to the Thiruvaiyaru Thyagaraja Aradhana, a  festival to celebrate Saint Thyagaraja's anniversary where carnatic musicians from all over, would congregate and perform, lasting for 3 to 4 days. Samadhanam sir was our PT teacher and he was the incharge of this trip. First day we manned the pandal and that night few of us, without informing our teacher, went for a movie..An MGR movie (thedi vandha mappillai)--me despite being a Shivaji fan-and were caught red handed on return...we pleaded..prostrated at his feet but he packed us off...we were all part of this scout and were looking for the excellent food which is normally reserved for the day of the Aradhana, especially the 'payasam' (kheer), and felt so bad that we were thrown out...another lesson.... 

We never used to get new movies in the near by theaters but have to travel either to Tanjore or Kumbakonam for the same.

 

We had some gem of characters in our village. Postmaster Narayanan and the temple priest (bhattacharya) Ranganathan.

Ranganathan was a very young guy and though he was the Priest at the temple, once his daily rituals at the temple get over, he would come out with us to roam around and also for movies to the neighboring town.

once our neighbor Kamalam Mami fell ill and I was on the other side of the road hanging out with my friends and the moment I heard this news, borrowed the dhoti from my friend, draped it, got some money from the postmaster, and boarded the bus to bring her daughter in law from her place of residence, which was around 20 kms from our village. I had never been to that place earlier...but somehow managed to reach that place and brought her to our village and by the time we reached it was almost 10pm but the old lady was still awake and the moment she realised her daughter in law had arrived she got her life back.

Sbe blessed me so much for bringing her DIL and with in a couple of days she left with her DIL to her sons place.

I finished my 11th in Ayyampet school...during my 10th and 11th two guys, Ramakrishnan and Sundarraman, joined our school from the nearby town Thiruvaiyaru...we became very close....I also remember few teachers...one our own Engineering class as mentioned earlier and the others are Narayanan (English), BR (Maths) and Aranganathan (Tamil). This Tamil teacher was so good in his subject and we used to enjoy his class. And he was made incharge of one cultural event in our school and he picked me to perform. I acted as Ashoka and did a kathakalakshepam with a guy called Kaka, this is the same thing my brother had done in Dalmia and I justed cut and pasted it fto suit Ayyampet. Also when I did the Ashoka role, my classmate, who was a special child that time, did the role of a woman whose character made Ashoka to convert to Buddhism. He also did a great job...In our school, almost 30 to 40% were Muslim students and they were allowed to come in their lungis. Once there was a elocution competition conducted by a cooperative bank in Kumbakonam and I was sent by my Head Master to represent our school. I asked my dad to give me some meat on the subject and my dad obliged and wrote down a two page speech...I went to Kumbakonam by bus from our village and with a relative went to the auditorium. I was the last one to speak and after a couple of minutes I forgot what I byhearted. I took a deep breath and started spinning on something....but the speech was well received. I didnt get any prizes but one member of the jury, called me separately and asked me whether I follow politics and when I said yes, he patted me and gave me a beautiful pen. Next day in the school assembly my HM called me and appreciated my efforts, took out the pen and with pride showed it to the entire assembly. Proud moment. Also I stood first in the final exam of SSLC in our division scoring 501/600. So Ayyampet was good to me.

So after my 11th I left my village to pursue my PUC in Trichy but came back to my village later and went to Ayyampet again to do my Typewriting and shorthand course. I appeared for Typewriting higher cutting short the lower grade exam and passed too. By did not pursue my shorthand. 

Till next time....

Yours forever lovingly