Masculinity: A Poisoned Chalice?
Corporate India was first perturbed when news came in that Café Coffee Day owner VG Siddhartha’s was reported missing and search operations were on to locate him. Within a day his body was found in the Nethravati river near Mangaluru and everyone’s worst fears were confirmed. It was another case of suicide since he had written a note to his associates sharing his multiple financial woes and pressures. Men are known to commit suicide when faced with financial ruin. V G Siddhartha made news in the late nineties when he started the Café Coffee Day chain of cafes. More than a decade ago I was pleasantly surprised to see that the home-grown CCD had gone global when I saw the familiar logo jostling for space with other coffee houses in Vienna. Siddhartha not only converted the family business of growing coffee on plantations to exporting beans and more, but also created a trendy coffee house culture for the youth in India. Today CCD is not just a hang-out zone, but as I have frequently