Siddhartha's death: The river that washed away dreams of Malenadu

V.G. Siddhartha's body was recovered from the Netravati at Hoyge Bazar

Search teams look for any trace of Siddhartha in the Netravati river | Bhanu Prakash Chandra Search teams look for any trace of Siddhartha in the Netravati river | Bhanu Prakash Chandra

Misty clouds and small streams of Malenadu (land of the hills) give birth to many major rivers in Karnataka. The river Netravati also originates from Chikkamagaluru’s Mudigere taluk which is covered in the expanse of the Western Ghats. Mudigere is also home to some of the finest coffees grown in the limitless estates with perennial streams. V.G. Siddhartha, an icon for many people living in this area, owns a family estate here. Siddhartha, who hails from a Malenadu Vokkaliga family, has a history of owning coffee plantations which dates back to the British era. 

Until early 1990s, coffee was sold only in a regulated market through Coffee Board of India. When the coffee market was liberalised, many coffee planters in the Malenadu area made fortunes. The boom also created an atmosphere for many aspiring planters to expand their business. The Cafe Coffee Day was born out of one such aspirations. Siddhartha, the man behind the CCD, opened his first coffee shop in 1996 at Brigade Road in Bengaluru, heralding a trend that lasts even today. He  made coffee drinking a trend and cafes a fashion, and brought cappuccino and latte to the taste buds of Indians who were otherwise drinking traditional filter coffees. He made coffee a statement, and cafe a place where office-less entrepreneurs held meetings, and lovers made secret rendezvous. And out of these, the catchphrase “A lot can happen over a cup of coffee” was born. 

Many of those who had met Siddhartha personally praise his natural humility. If not in his usual office suits, he could be mistaken for a commoner. Despite having born with a silver spoon in his mouth and making fortunes out of his business ideas, he maintained a simple life. Sometimes you would even mistake him for a coffee plantation worker. 

A file photo of V.G. Siddharatha | AFP A file photo of V.G. Siddharatha | AFP

For the working class people of Chikkamagaluru, coffee plantations were their livelihood. Siddhartha created an alternative job market for people of Malenadu region as he provided them jobs as coffee brewers and managers in his cafes. You could find at least one man from Malenadu working in Cafe Coffee Day outlets even in New Delhi. 

Unlike other coastal regions and plains of Karnataka, Malenadu produces less of entrepreneurs, but more of intellectuals. Siddhartha's extended family members have excelled as great writers, thinkers and artists. Great Kannada writer Kuvempu, his son and writer Poornachandra Tejaswi, and award winning wildlife film maker Senani Hegde were all from his family.

Siddartha, however, took a path which only a few in his family did. He chose to be a businessman, trying his luck with many businesses. With Amalgamated Bean Coffee Limited (ABCL) he sold coffee to the world. With Way2Wealth, he assisted people to trade in the stock markets. With SICAL Logistics, he ferried parcels and with MindTree, he contributed to India's IT service sector.  

His body was found at the end of the river Netravati which originates from his backyard. The small streams which originate in Malenadu develop into gushing waters as they progress, taking away his dreams to the infinite ocean. 

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