Tributes poured in for coffee baron V.G. Siddhartha, whose demise has come at a time when the sector has been beset by falling prices, soaring production cost and a host of labour issues.
Coffee farmers from Chikkamagaluru, Hassan and Kodagu districts are mourning the death of an icon who has been instrumental in increasing the domestic consumption of coffee while building significant international brand equity for the commodity.
Anil Kumar Bhandari, president, India Coffee Trust, said, “He was very focussed right from his young age. Whatever he did, he did it so diligently with complete sincerity. Indian coffee has lost its pillar and there is no replacement.
“He left at a time when we were preparing for the World Coffee Conference scheduled to take place in Bengaluru in December,’’ he said.
Upasi Coffee Committee chairman Jeffry Rebello said Mr. Siddhartha exited the scene at a time when the morale of the sector was at its lowest, ever.
“It is not easy to find a businessman who is not selfish and who has worked for everyone around him. He was so compassionate and greeted everyone with a smile,’’ remembered Mr. Rebello.
According to Ramesh Rajah, president, Coffee Exporters’ Association, the industry has no one else who can fill the vacuum.
“He was truly a people’s person. He touched the lives of some 50,000 coffee farmers in the Malnad region.
“He always looked for a social angle in everything that he did. He was in the process of setting up a 500-bed cashless super specialty hospital in Chikkamagaluru,’’ said Dr. Amshumanth, a coffee grower and a social worker based in Chikkamagaluru.
Rohith Halase Rajagopal, a coffee farmer from Mudigere, Mr. Siddhartha’s home town, fondly calls the coffee icon anna (elder brother).
“Anna left with a belief that he was a failure; but, for the coffee world, he is an ace. He’s an achiever, a dreamer, a pioneer and a man of substance.’’
Mr. Siddhartha would always be remembered as a great contributor towards making coffee a pan-India beverage, said M.B. Ganapathy, chairman, Karnataka Planters’ Association
Jairam Ramesh, MP and a friend of Mr. Siddhartha said, “I had known Siddhartha for some 20 years. He was really an icon for Indian entrepreneurs. He was a very genial and self-effacing human being whose modesty was natural in spite of what he had achieved.
“The news of his passing away is truly shocking and shattering. He was a businessman with a deep social conscience and he was able to touch the lives of a large number of people.’’
