MV Sudheer in Memoriam, 1960 – 2012

In 1959 I was 10 years old. Three of us – Baba, Amma and self stayed in a house in Shankarpuram. My grandparents stayed close by in an adjacent locality – Gavipuram. Prior to shifting to Shankarpuram, my parents had stayed in Gavipuram for a long duration in a joint family. At one point of time, our family decided to move to an independent house and the three of us shifted to Shankarpuram in 1956.

One fine day in early 1960, my mother along with me shifted to Gavipuram. My father continued to stay at home. After some time I realized that my mother had shifted, to be close to her mother – she was pregnant.

While waiting for my mother to deliver, I had a ball in my grandparents’ place and elsewhere. The degree of supervision was generally low and the fort was not guarded well. As long as I did not attract the attention of my grandfather, all was well. Unknown to all the members of the family, I used to sneak out and learn swimming in a lake and a well. http://samundarbaba.blogspot.in/2010/06/bengaluru-days-1a-tribute-to-mr.html.

I was once lowered into a huge unused drain near the house by my GF, as I was pestering my mother to permit me to go to Nandi Hills with my elderly cousin and his friends.

While all this was happening, my mother was admitted to ‘Jai Hind Nursing Home’ in Vishveshpuram and she delivered a chubby boy under the supervision of Captain Dr. Sharada Devi INA 0n 03 apr 1960. Her husband was also a doctor and part of INA. Their only child Late Subash Chandra was my classmate in MSS. A few days later the boy was named ‘Sudheer’.

Why this gap of 11 years between me and my brother, I never understood, nor did it occur to ask my parents, as to why they waited so long, it may have been some unplanned event or a planned strategy – these were thoughts that crossed my mind as I grew older. Due to this rather large gap in age we grew up differently in almost all aspects of life. There was almost a generation gap between us .We had different friends, tastes, professions, likes and dislikes. Even to this day I have a touch of regret for not being sufficiently close to my brother – all due to disparity in age.   

When Sudheer was seven years old, I left home to join the NDA. Thereafter I visited Bangalore once a year during annual leave. Under these circumstances I did not watch my brother grow up. My memories are restricted to very few events that happened during my stay in Bangalore. If I were to add all my memories about him in one bag – the recollections would be…...

1970 - Sudheer at 11

Sudheer was a very healthy child and grew up to be a tall, strong boy. His physical attributes came from our maternal side. He played club cricket as a reasonably good ‘Medium Pace’ bowler. To maintain a good physique, he developed a more than ordinary interest in good food – which was in plenty and my mother ensured that all his cravings were met – she pampered him a lot – she also loved cooking and excelled in it. All this resulted in a number of gastronomical binges. Like my parents, he was a pure vegetarian. For some odd reason, he did not take up to curd - the food of the Gods - for all South Indian Brahmins. I remember concocting a story when his daughter ‘Chitty’ was four years old – I told her that when Sudheer was a baby he fell into a cauldron of curd – similar to ‘Obelix’. Our neighbor’s son ‘Ramu’ – though in the same age group, was very thin and looked pretty undernourished for his age. Once, their family doctor told Ramu’s mother to feed him exactly what was being given to Sudheer. Over the years he developed a penchant for good food and was very particular in what he ate, how it was prepared, ingredients and so on. He was fond of cooking too.

Sudheer 2nd from left with his childhood friends on a Guava tree - Shankarpuram - 1973

During his school and college days, he took active interest in the theatre. Under ‘Kappanna’s tutelage, he acted in plays such as ’Kakana Kote’ and 'Tughlaq'. He travelled to many cities with the troupe. I vividly remember attending the shows and later on hosting a dinner for all his friends in Delhi and Mumbai.

Nandi Hills - 1978 with Father, Aunt and cousins

His friends’ circle was small, but it was a very tight knit circle. Even after all these years they remained close and met regularly. Like him, all his friends were also non smokers, teetotalers and vegetarians, to boot. All his friends became my friends too and would visit me where ever I was posted. Even to this day when I meet them, we slide down memory lane and vividly recall the wonderful times we have had. I remember asking Sudheer and Tatappa to be the ‘Barmen’ for a ‘Scavenger Hunt’ in Wellington, during my Staff College days. During the course of the party, Carol, wife of my colleague, Cdr Rick Pharoah Royal Navy, breaking out into terrible rashes. Later, it came to light, that Tatappa was diluting dark rum with ‘Sikkim White Rum’ thinking it to be plain Aqua and dishing it out to Carol.

Close friends in Srinagar - 1986

My course mate Vijay Shankar landed up in our house one fine morning in Shankarpuram from his ‘Ganga Yatra’ way back in 1971. Sudheer and our cousin Madhu, both, all of eleven, were alone at home. Not knowing which hospitality route to take, they closeted themselves in the dining room for some time and came out and offered him ‘Rum’ at 9.00 in the morning!

Soon after his final B’com results were declared in April 1980, our cousin’s husband Mr Hemmady asked Sudheer to help him out in their new restaurant ‘Shanti Sagar’ in the Majestic area. This was the first of the Sagars in Bangalore. Sudhi took up the job with great enthusiasm and plunged himself into the work. Soon thereafter, he joined ‘Tata Tea’ and remained with them till 1986.Later on he joined‘Titan Industries Limited’.

He was very caring, reserved and simple in his ways. Barring his culinary fetish, he very rarely demanded anything else. He found a partner in Vishala, who would share his style of life and be a source of company and strength to him. She complemented him in many ways and filled up the little gaps that he may have had. They were married on 19 Feb 1988 .The apple of their eyes, Nivedita, was born on 14 may 1990. He doted on her. ‘Chitty’ as she was nicknamed, in return lived up to all his expectations and more. He was a caring husband and a dear father. As a brother, he admired me for the kind of person I was and loved me unconditionally. Though we had little in common, the strong bond of brotherhood we shared would last till the very end.

During their honeymoon in Kodai - 1988

Chitti with her doll - 1992

His commitment to his work was total. As the saying goes ‘Work is Worship’ – he practiced this form of religion to the very end. He had no vices – no distractions and his entire focus and attention were directed towards his work. Even whilst standing outside the sphere of his work, I could feel the intense loyalty he had towards ‘TITAN’. At work, he was a Titan, a larger than life figure, who would go out of his way to fight other’s battles be it someone’s well deserved promotion or someone else’s troubles and whose voice would resound all over the office when he got upset about delays that cost the firm. Above all, his strongest quality was integrity, which I am very sure was singularly responsible for his rise in Titan  He had a great future ahead of him in Titan.

With CMD TITAN Mr Bhaskar Bhat after receiving the award

He was extremely helpful to others. He went out of the way to help deserving people secure jobs, give advice, bailout people from difficult situations and so on. There are a number of people who have benefited from his benevolence. He brought in a very high standard of honesty in all his dealings in and out of his work place. He promoted fair play with zeal. In return he gained a very large measure of good will, which was amply evident when he was not well. A surge of volunteers to donate blood whenever it was needed, endless offers of help to the family, calls from places as far as China to find out his condition, constant support from the office, where some of the expressions of gratitude to him.   

    

During his period of sickness and after his demise 'Titan' has been a pillar of strength.The entire staff of Titan rallied around his family to provide support and solace.Sympathy and understanding shown by Titan has been exemplary.Titan is undoubtedly "A company with a soul".

Happy family- At Balehonnur - Apr 2006

      

Somewhere along the way God had made other plans for him. The last one year was extremely critical and he went through a series of medical complications. He fought bravely and was very keen to get back to work. Destiny had its say and he passed away very peacefully at 1515h on 06 Oct 2012.

His entire adult life has been summed up in a memoriam written by Mr Harish Bhat , former COO of Titan.

M.V. Sudheer - In Memoriam

Sudheer’s tragic demise yesterday, at such a young age, is a very big loss for all of us.  Titan ran in his blood, and was in his foremost thoughts at all times.  As his daughter Nivedita tells us, he was thinking of Titan all the time, even when he was seriously ill during the past few months.  Even his last evening alive was spent in a meeting with Lokesh, his deputy.  No wonder we admired him, even though, I admit, we sometimes took his presence for granted. 

Sudheer spared no efforts for the Company, and gave himself no quarter for slack, either.  During the many years I have worked with him, I do not ever recall him saying “No” or “This is not possible”.  He always said “Yes, Sir” or “I will make this happen”, and in virtually all cases, he delivered without fail.  He put in significant personal effort in making things happen in the procurement & materials area that he led, directly taking up challenging matters of price and delivery with hundreds of vendors across the world. 

His forceful negotiating skills – sometimes addressing vendors frankly on our cost challenges, at other times browbeating them into agreement – were complemented by his ability to reach out to them, and help build their businesses to viable and prosperous levels.  He was fiercely engaged with them, and the several superb vendor meets he organized over the past few years, which I had the privilege of participating in, were tribute to these high levels of engagement.  I am told that, throughout his long drives to Hosur and back, he was always on the phone, resolving one matter or another.

Not once during the years I worked with him did he ever represent to me a personal cause.  Not once did he dwell on his promotion, or remuneration, or some facility that he was not entirely happy with.  On the other hand, every conversation and discussion he had with me was about work, about addressing a specific issue, or expanding the vendor base, ideas for new sourcing or getting costs down.  That is rare, and I salute him for his unconditional commitment to Titan.

Of course, when he did get promoted to General Manager two years ago, he was over the Moon in joy.  HGR mentioned to me the next day that Sudheer received his promotion letter with tears in his eyes, and that his spontaneous reaction was – “Sir, I will do anything for Titan.”  That was always his philosophy.

HGR, as the Head of ISCM in those days, had absolute trust and complete reliance on him.  So did the heads of brands and businesses, who silently but surely relied on his capability to get things done.  Despite the tsunami that struck Japan two years ago, disrupting completely the production of Honda and Toyota cars in India, Sudheer ensured that he got us critical Japanese components, including batteries and movements, with little or no disruption in supplies.   

At Hosur, you could hear his loud, booming voice from a mile away; often shouting at some stubborn vendor who had incurred his wrath, sometimes calling his teammates into energetic action, at other times even singing a song or two with them.  His love of life and food was well known, including getting tasty home-cooked fare for his colleagues.  For our materials and procurement team, he was leader and friend, captain and colleague.  For all of us, he was the Materials Department of the Watches business.  We should be proud of all that he achieved, even as we mourn his untimely loss. 

Our thoughts go out to his family – in particular, his wife and daughter – whom he doted on.  We will remember him forever, as a totally committed professional, a man of impeccable integrity, a role model in his workplace, and a person whom all of us genuinely liked very much.  We pray to God to give his family the strength to cope with this impossible loss.  May His Soul rest in peace

Epitaph

"It's Not How Long You Live; It's How You Live" - Anon