Centenarian VR Sivaraman Wheels India

The FIRST non-family Managing Director of a TVS Group Firm 

Sundaram Finance and Wheels India Founder TS Santhanam looked up to his Sethupathi High School classmate to manage Madras Auto Service in the 1940s and later on to drive the growth of Auto Components Firm Wheels India Ltd

World War II had arrived and was taking its toll. With TS Santhanam planning to move to Madurai, he was looking for someone to take care of Madras Auto Service (MAS), the subsidiary of TVS Group. And he went up to his Sethupathi High School classmate of the 1920s and asked him to take up an important accounting role at his Madras Trading firm. The 28year old could not refuse his childhood friend’s offer. The year 1942 marked the beginning of Valliyur Ramakrishnan Sivaraman’s long and fruitful association with the TVS Group. Decades later, Sivaraman’s elder son, a banker, was ‘asked’ to quit his bank job and join the TVS Group, an instruction that he quietly followed!!! 

This writer met Sivaraman (known to friends and colleagues as VRS) at his Parthasarathy Street residence shortly after he turned 100 in March 2014. It had been a long and glorious journey. In the year leading up to his Centenary, his health condition had dipped a bit and he had become a little immobile but his memory, that he was so renowned for during his hey days, still remained razor sharp. He was able to easily recount in a flash events from his childhood days and the pleasant memories of competing with Santhanam at Sethupathi High School in Madurai. 

Santhanam and Sivaraman lived in the same street in Madurai and were close friends. Interestingly, Santhanam’s mother (Lakshmi Ammal) and Sivaraman’s mother were neighbours in Nagercoil until the untimely death of Sivaraman’s mother when he was just nine years old. It was Lakshmi Ammal who provided motherly care to Sivaraman during those pressing times. 

The Numbers Man - Gold Medalist in Maths 

He was a gold medalist in Maths at College (he graduated from the American College, Madurai) and always has had a special liking for numbers. His family does not remember a single occasion when he used a calculator in his life (though one of his life’s regrets is of not doing medicine). Till well into his 90s, he spent time going through Balance Sheet of several of the Madras based companies and would immediately call the CFO with interesting insights. 

In the days of saving phone numbers on the mobile, VRS remembered almost till the very end phone numbers of all his friends and relatives (he never saved the numbers on the mobile!!). 

He moved to Madras in the mid 1930s taking up an accounting and audit role with Indian Postal Audit. During World War II, he shifted briefly to Coimbatore when there was large scale evacuation in Madras. Shortly after his stint in Coimbatore came the call from Santhanam. 

Forging strong relationship with global manufacturers 

Between 1942 and 47, it was Sivaraman who managed Madras Auto Service along with Govindachari and Panchapakesan while Santhanam was away in Madurai (Santhanam would only make fortnightly/monthly trips to Madras to oversee operations). VRS was assigned the important task of ‘cost control’ and managing profitability. 

After Govindachari’s retirement, Sivaraman took over as the GM of Madras Auto Service (Vice President and President in the Indian Corporate world is a very recent phenomenon. For decades after independence GM was the most coveted position - next only to the MD). While Santhanam continued as the MD of the company, Sivaraman independently handled Madras Auto Service during the 1950s when it was a major importer of spare parts from Germany, UK and the US. His stint at MAS helped him forge strong relationships with major component manufacturers. 

Glorious Years at Wheels India 

Later that decade, TVS Group decided to set up a plant to manufacture wheels for Commercial Vehicles (Production commenced in 1962). Wheels India became the first manufacturing company of the TVS Group and marked the move of the group from trading to manufacturing. (Subsequently, TVS Group firms set up several manufacturing plants in the Padi area) 

Sivaraman was the first one to be nominated from the Trading Company of the TVS Group to the manufacturing firm. Santhanam, who had roped him into MAS just under two decades ago, now asked him to join Wheels India to help drive growth in the initial phase. 

S Ram, son of TS Santhanam and the current Chairman of Wheels India Ltd., took over as the MD from Sivaraman in October 1975 reminisces the entry of VRS into Wheels India and his role in that first decade and a half  “Sivaraman had already spent close to two decades at Madras Auto Service and was an integral part of the management team. He had gathered a huge deal of experience in the auto sector during this period. My father called him one day and asked him to move to the new company that was being set up in Padi.'

‘I will find another replacement for you at MAS. You are needed at Wheels India’ Santhanam told VRS.

And thus Sivaraman moved from General Patters Road (his base at MAS) to the Western part of the city to the Padi headquarters of Wheels India. During the first 10years of Wheels India, Sivaraman, as the GM, anchored the acquisition of and building relationship with key customers. 

Ram tracks the growth in customer base during those initial years to Sivarman’s strong customer relationship management ‘It was a very competitive phase. We were new entrants in the area of truck wheels. While we were one of the multiple suppliers to Telco and competing with other big players including European manufacturers, Sivaraman’s customer management skills helped us acquire a sizeable business from the truck major. Very quickly, we were able to improve our market share and Sivaraman had a significant role to play in that.’ 

     VRS seen with S Ram and Japanese Delegates

There was a general reluctance on the part of Germans to try new Indian manufacturers but VRS helped build confidence amongst customers that the company was in for the long haul and that, from our base in Madras, we could compete with the best in the world. ‘He also had good relationship with other component manufacturers from South and North alike. During that initial 15year period, it was VRS who drove Wheels India’s growth.’ 

1st non family MD 

Just over three decades after joining Santhanam at the TVS Group came the big moment of his corporate life. Just a few days short of his 60th birthday, Sivaraman was appointed as the Managing Director of Wheels India in February 1974, thus becoming the FIRST non family Managing Director of a TVS Group company. This was truly a significant achievement for a man who had by then established himself as an authority in the auto component sector. 

By the end of his stint as the MD of Wheels India a year and a half later, the company had clocked a turnover of over Rs. 10 crores and had established a strong long term customer base that include the biggest of names such as Telco, Mahindra, TAFE and Premier Automobiles, among others, and an employee strength of 250. During his association with the TVS Group, he travelled extensively around the world on business to almost all countries except China and Russia. He also served as the president of ACMA (Auto Component Manufacturers Association) and CII (Confederation of Indian Industry). 

He paid a lot of attention to physical and mental fitness. For three decades from the 1970s, Sivaraman walked an hour every day, many times up to Thanithurai Market (on RK Mutt Road) and walked back (with vegetables in hand) to his home on Parthasarathy Street, off Kasturi Rangan Road. 

Interest in IPL even in his 90s

His interest in cricket (he was a left hand opening batsman during his college days) did not recede one bit and he was avid follower of the IPL. He also served as the President of Madras Hockey Association. All his life, he had been a voracious reader with a special liking for fiction especially detective stories. He kept track of the global developments especially in the auto sector and would read six newspapers every morning!!! After his retirement from Wheels India, VRS was involved with a number of start ups in Madras in an advisory role helping them see through the tough initial phase of growth. And he went out of the way to help truly deserving candidates with employment in Madras based companies. 

It was on the strong foundation laid by Sivaraman in the 1960s and early 70s that Wheels India grew into one of the world’s leading steel wheel manufacturers and now finds itself topping revenues of Rs. 2000 crores with a global customer base and multiple plants across the country. 

(Sivaraman passed away in 2015 aged 101)

This story is a version of the Magazine story this writer had written on the occasion of VRS' Centenary in 2014

Santha Narayanan

Inspirational Woman

State Champion then in the 1960s, and Now the TATA Mumbai Marathon Champion at 67                

       

Five decades ago, this teenager brought sporting fame to Stella Maris College as she helped the college grab the Inter Collegiate Athletic Champioship trophy from MCC that had dominated all the events in previous years. This year, just prior to the lockdown, the 67 year old Doctor went all the way to Bombay to participate in the ‘Tata Mumbai Marathon’ and came up trumps leading from start to finish as she picked up the Champion’s Medal. Here’s the story.

The 1960s at St Ebbas School

The Physical Director at St. Ebbas School on Radha Krishnan Salai was a sports enthusiast and groomed and mentored young athletes. She spotted the talent in this young school girl, who was in early teens and focused her attention on her. Starting 1966, under the intense training of the PD, Santha picked up all the trophies on offer in the age group tournaments. And then she joined the Science Group in Stella Maris College for her PU. Dr. AL Mudaliar Inter College Annual Sports meet was an important event in the annual sports calendar and Stella Maris had lagged behind in previous years with MCC sweeping the medals tally. 

Glory to Stella Maris College

In August 1969, led by Santha, Stella Maris clinched the Championship giving the college a famous victory that they had not previously experienced. Santha won all the events she participated in – the 100 and 200 meters, Long and High Jump and the Relay and bagged the Sportsperson of the Year award. So impressed was the Chief Guest with her performance, that Dr. Sarathy, the Dean of the Madras Medical College announced the allocation of a seat for medical seat for her right after the awards ceremony. And her sporting success story continued into her medical college days as well. Santha broke all athletics records during her teenage years. She also captained the University to a national victory, achievements that secured her the prestigious University scholarship for four years.

And then for four decades, Dr. Santha Narayanan continued to RUN, not on the sporting track but behind the family. As with traditional families from the decades gone by, she focused her attention on her husband and her son, in addition to performing her role as a Pediatrician, giving her sporting ambitions a boot.

Back to Sports at 60

It was only in May 2014 that she made a comeback to competitive running, driven by her fitness freak sister, Radha Krishnaswamy, former Indian Women’s World Cup Team's Fitness Trainer and wife of Tamil Nadu Ranji Cricketer V Krishnaswamy (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/08/krishnaswamy-v.html). 

In February 2015, she did her first 10km marathon at Auroville. Since then she has participated in the leading Marathon events in Chennai. Last year, she was the runner up in the Airtel Marathon in Hyderabad and came third in the Chennai Marathon. 

Till the beginning of the lockdown, her daily morning routine starting at 5.15am over the last 5 years comprised of a run from Woodlands on RK Salai to the Madras University and back. To get her accustomed to uphill runs, she also runs up and down on the flyover.

Lockdown not a Dampener

For many, the lockdown has dampened the mood but not for Santha. For the last three months, the 67 year old has been going through a rigorous fitness schedule with a programme devised on ZOOM by her sister Radha. Every morning through the entire period of the lock down, she has been put through a one hour regime that comprises of warm up, high intensity on the spot running, skipping and squats, this with the objective of strengthening the muscles and core improvements. She has also been doing regular breathing exercises that she says will contribute to the expansion of the lungs. She has also been following a meditation and yoga programme. 

As a senior citizen, the body is vulnerable and the immunity tends to be low. She says that following this disciplined fitness programme, she has discovered a never before felt lightness in the body and mind.  Dr. Santha has also been holding medical camps in the remote town of Arasalur, near Thottiyam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2014/09/navaneetha-krishnan-temple-arasalur.html?m=0), for the last 15 years. She says that if she has to continue to serve the people in that town, she would have to first keep herself fit. And that this fitness regime helps her in that endeavour as well. Last year, she was presented with the Best Doctor Award for her service to the Rural community.

The Mumbai Marathon - One of her Biggest moments

Just a month prior to the lockdown, she enjoyed one of her biggest moments of her life. She won the renowned international standard Tata Marathon in Bombay beating the best of the runners in the country completing the 10 kms run in 74 minutes.

Dr Santha Narayanan runs for fun and not to win the medal. What has been most pleasing to her in recent years has been the fact that youngsters half her age have taken inspiration from her early morning running routine and have begun to practice alongside her. Also, the next gen feeling the stress of the corporate world have found positive energy doing the morning runs alongside her. Early morning, there are now followers on the Beach Road waiting for this Grandma to take the left turn from the RK Salai. Inspired by her, a police officer decided to run the entire Marathon alongside her at the Auroville Marathon.

At 67, Santha is eagerly looking forward to making her debut at the TCS Marathon in Bangalore and the Delhi Marathon once the lock down restrictions are lifted. Till then, she is all set to continue her on the spot running and skipping at home. Truly Inspiring stuff this!!!

Srivathsan Cricket to TVS CFO

After playing in the SS Rajan Trophy against KR Rajagopal and PK Dharmalingam, teenager Srivathsan packed off his cricketing kit under his parents' orders to focus on academics - a move that paid rich dividends for he ended up with a top national rank in the CA Final

The offie made three passionate 'comebacks' in cricket playing till the age of 57 remembering his favourite Erapalli Prasanna each time he came on to bowl

He was just into his teens and it was the time he heard commentary on the radio of the now legendary S Venkataraghavan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/04/venkataraghavan75.html) making his Test Debut. But what surprised him the most during the teenage phase was the fact that his home maker mother inspired and initiated him into cricket in Nagercoil. As with boys from remote towns, the cricketing passion was high even though the opportunities were limited. He played in SS Rajan trophy when he was 16 years old and dreamt of going up the ladder in cricket. But soon as was the case in middle class households in those times, his amma who created the cricketing interest in him and bought his first bat and ball asked him to pack off his cricketing kit and focus on academics. The boy went on to become the CFO of a TVS Group firm but his passion for cricket did not die and he went on to play amateur cricket till the time he was 57. Here is the story. 

Cricketing Debut in Nagercoil

S Srivathsan was introduced to cricket at the 40 acre Sethulakshmi Boys High School campus in Nagercoil that boasted of multiple grounds. There were no coaches and no correction to batting or bowling techniques. He made his cricketing debut in the Ratnavel Memorial Trophy playing for Kanniyakumari District. 

Becomes an Opening Bat in Tirunelveli

His father, an officer in the Income Tax Department met with transfer every 3 years and the school boy's next port of call was in Tirunelveli where he schooled at the Sankar Secondary School, one that promoted cricket in a big way even at the late 1960s. With the shortage of opening batsmen at that time (newcomers in early phase typically have a tendency to avoid the new ball), the physical director at the school asked him to register himself as an opening batsman. Characteristically, he was a patient boy and being thrown into the deep end as an opener suited his natural instincts for he displayed his patience and grit in full measure with his dogged defence. While Tamil Nadu’s Venkataraghavan’s was the first big name he heard in cricket, it was Karnataka’s two giants who were to become the young boy’s inspiration – for his off spin he looked up to EAS Prasanna and when it came to batting, GR Viswanath was and has always been his hero.

Bowling to KR Rajagopal in SS Rajan Trophy

Two of his biggest moments in the teenage life came in the early 1970s. While at the Tagore Arts College in Pondicherry (his father had been transferred yet another time), his captain handed him the new ball to bowl off spin (he has a hearty laugh looking back - the concept of off spinner Dipak Patel bowling with the new ball came only in the 1992 World Cup but this teenager had experimented it even in the 1970s). Srivathsan recorded one of his finest moments in cricket with the new ball for Pondicherry against Tirunelveli District in SS Rajan Trophy when he came up against the dashing and much feared KR Rajagopal and PK Dharmalingam. He was given the task of keeping Rajagopal quiet, mind boggling assignment. But much to his surprise, he kept him quiet for 8 overs with the new ball almost giving away nothing and he even received a few confidence boosting words of appreciation from Rajagopal. But soon Srivathsan got a taste of Rajagopal’s belligerence when he came back for his 2nd spell as he was smashed all over the ground conceding over 40 runs in his 2nd spell of 5 overs. The other big memory from that match was getting the wicket of PK Dharmalingam.

In that phase, Srivathsan was also the champion in the Single Wicket tournament organised in Pondicherry, a high point for him at that time to emerge as the top cricketer in the Union Territory. And his cricketing ambition seemed to be building up in those teenage years. 

Wheels India in the Thiruvallur League

There were plans to set up a University team at that time in Pondicherry and Srivathsan garnered hopes of playing University cricket as well. But his hopes were dashed when JIPMER pulled out of the plan 

(the medical college provide a large number of the cricketers in Pondicherry and without their presence, a team could not be formed). 

Meeting Legendary VV Kumar in Pondy

It was in that period at college that he came up against the legendary VV Kumar(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2007/07/cricket-tales-exclusive-with-vv-kumar.html). The Pondicherry association invited MCC to a match. When the team turned up at the ground on the morning of the match, Srivathsan was delighted to find VV Kumar and JC Patel. And for the first time, he saw the magician leggie at work. The batsmen tried to come down the pitch to meet the ball only to find it hanging in the air, dipping and then turning past them for the keeper to remove the bails. It was a delightful experience of facing the legend’s over that Srivathsan cannot forget almost 50 years later. VV Kumar vividly remembers staying in Ammu Nivasam in Pondicherry while they were there for that match. 

Playing at Chepauk

In a return gesture, the MCC invited Pondicherry cricket association to a match in Madras. And much to their surprise this match was played at Chepauk. For the first of the only two occasions in his life, Srivathsan had the privilege of walking out on to the field as a player at this great stadium and he remembers playing against the Haridas brothers in that match. 

From Cricketer to CA All India Rank Holder

That was the exciting part of his cricketing phase. But soon came a message from his parents, especially his mother that both saddened and angered him. They asked him pack off his cricket kit to a corner of their house in Mandaveli and to bid goodbye to his cricket kit and the whites as they directed him to focus on academics. He was graduating in commerce and his father asked him to take up both Cost Accountancy as well as CA “The message was clear and straight. Cricket will not feed you. There is no money in cricket. Focus on academics and settle down in a job”. It was disappointing and he felt dejected for a while but he respected his parents’ words and did not touch a cricket bat or a ball for a few years. 

Keeping cricketing thoughts aside, he focused on academics and shone. The parents’ advise paid rich dividends for secured the 11th rank nationally in his CA Final. As was the case in those days, big corporate offers came his way especially from the top companies in Bombay. And once again, his parents showcased the typical conservative middle class mindset and asked him to remain ‘local’ in Tamil Nadu and to take up whatever offer that came his way in the state. 

Pallipalayam - A 2nd coming in Cricket

He joined Seshasayee Paper Boards at their Pallipalayam plant near Erode in the mid 1970s where he remained for a decade. While he learnt the accounting processes and system at the firm, cricket came his way a second time. Salem Districts’ wicket keeper Chellamani was the Finance Head at the company. He had seen Srivathsan’s cricketing interest from the profile he had sent and asked him to join the team nets on just the second day of his stint at the company. They were impressed with his all round cricketing skills and became a regular in the company team for many years. When he started out in his teens, he was a dogged opener but with his favourite GRV making waves in the cricketing world especially after that magical knock of 97 Not Out at Chepauk against the West Indies, Srivathsan became a more ‘flamboyant’ batsman in his corporate days at Seshasayee and also remained for life a No. 4 batsman, a position in the batting order that the cricketing legend had made his own. Such was the impact GRV had on this passionate cricket fan that this amateur cricketer moved himself from an opener to a No. 4 batsman!!! 

Marker and Groundsman in the Popular Seshasayee Tourney

Cricket was active during the period of his tenure at Seshasayee and they even organised an annual 30 overs tournament bringing in teams such as the renowned SVPB from Udumalpet(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/06/svpb-udumalpet-soundararajan.html), Ramakrishna Steel and Friends XI, Coimbatore. During the days of this tournament, Srivathsan played the role of a marker and groundsman rolling the pitch, nailing the mat and drawing the creases. While he quit any hopes of development in cricket long ago, Srivathsan was delighted to play against the likes of Ranji Cricketer Peter Fernandez, NP Madhavan(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/05/np-madhavan.html) S Sukumar and PR Ramakrishnan in that tournament. Ramakrishnan remembers scoring a century against SVPB to secure the trophy for Ramakrishna Steels in 1979. SVPB opener Sukumar too has vivid memories of this popular tournament which the Udumalpet team won two years in a row. 

His association with cricket grew even bigger during his stint at Seshasayee. Seeking to increase this passionate association with cricket, he appeared for the umpiring exam and was interview by top notch Indian umpires, Mohd Ghouse and KB Ramaswamy and performed well. But just at that moment, life was to take a different turn for Srivathsan. With his daughters growing up Srivathsan felt the need for a move to Madras. 

TVS Directors' grill him

He had a rigorous interview at the TVS Group’s auto components firm Wheels India Ltd., at Padi being grilled for half hour by brothers and directors, S Ram (current Chairman) and S Viji (current Chairman of Sundaram Finance Ltd.,) and by the then Finance head SV Rajan, who was already touching 60 at that time. It was a tough interview but he did something right to get the nod from the directors. 

He had several lucrative offers coming his way but being in the finance profession, he felt it important to be part of a firm that was renowned for integrity and honesty in its business. And thus he joined Wheels India Ltd., in 1986 and continued with them till his retirement three decades later. 

CFO at 34

As life would have it, Rajan suddenly passed away just a year later. Soon after the board meeting on June 18, 1987, Director S Ram came to Srivathsan, who had a triple professional degree of Cost, CA and Company Secretary, to announce that founder TS Santhanam had nodded to his promotion as the Secretary and Finance Controller (CFO). He was only 34 years old and it was something that Srivathsan had not expected in his wildest dreams - to move up from Deputy Manager to CFO in under 18 months at Wheels India. 

A Third Comeback in Cricket

For almost close to two decades at Wheels India, given his position in the firm and with his children growing up, Srivathsan stayed away from cricket. It was only in 2004, when the TVS firms in Padi decided to play a tournament among the group companies that Srivats Ram, the then young MD of the company and a cricket enthusiast, informed Srivathsan that the company too would be playing in the tournament. It was a third time home coming for Srivathsan in cricket and he delightfully put together a corporate team along with a few other cricketing personnel in the firm. 

At Chepauk under Floodlights

For the second time in his life, he entered Chepauk this time to play the finals against Lucas TVS under the floodlights. He considers playing under the lights at Chepauk a delightful experience. Soon after, with MD Srivats leading the way, Wheels India became part of the Thiruvallur  Cricket League and very quickly the team was promoted to 1st division league after starting out in the 3rd division. Srivathsan continued to play for Wheels India in the Thiruvallur League till the time he was 57 rolling his arm over as he visualized himself as the (Erapalli) ‘Prasanna’ of Wheels India. 

Retires from cricket

Finally, just short of turning 60, he had to hang his cricketing boots for the final time when he received an email from his daughter in the US lovingly ordering him to stay away from the ‘Whites’ and to get away from the ‘teenaged cricketer’ feel that he was continuing to have. Four decades earlier, it was his mother who had put an end to his cricketing dreams and asked him to pack off his cricketing kit to focus on his education. And this time, the young 57 year Srivathsan was packed off from the biggest passion of his life by his elder daughter. 

Not to be undone, Srivathsan has had two memorable and unforgettable cricketing experiences since the time away as a ‘cricketer’. Just over a decade ago, he was sent by Wheels India on an official trip to Australia where he enjoyed the once in a life time opportunity of going around the MCG including making his way to the center wicket. And then a couple of years ago, soon after his retirement from Wheels India having served them for three decades, he made his way through the long room at Lords in the height of the English summer. 

As he came into the final phase of his corporate career, he moved back into Mylapore, a location that has been close to his heart for decades. Into his 60s, Srivathsan is now learning the Vedas. His one big regret in life has been of not being initiated into Sanskrit during the school days.

It has been a remarkable journey for this 67 year old former CFO of Wheels India. From nurturing cricketing ambitions to locking horns with VV Kumar and KR Rajagopal as a teenager, from rejecting lucrative job offers to donning the role of a marker and groundsman, from experiencing Chepauk as a cricketer to visiting the Home of Cricket, Srivathsan has had a passionate association with cricket. For the moment, he spends his lockdown days with a cricketing memorabilia, the Red Cherry from Lords that he picks up in his right hand relishing the memory from the early 1970s when the off spinner opened the bowling attack. With Srivathsan, one never knows. 

If he has Mohinder Amarnath as one of his favourites, one cannot discount him making a fourth comeback onto the cricket field. 

Sankapani Cricketer Turned Businessman

Cricket to Cement - After decades of uncertainty, the once famous opening partner of K Srikkanth is now making a ‘Dashing Comeback’ in his second innings                        Sanku has plans to foray into Cement Dealership as well as Ready Mix Concrete Business

Last month, this section featured a story on a first division cricketer from the 1990s, Promodh Sharma(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/05/promodh-sharma-cricketer-turned.html), who quit cricket at 20 and built an 80 million dollar business by the time he was 40. That story also briefly highlighted cricketers who continued in the first division well into their 20s only to end with financial challenges later in life. This story looks at one such cricketer who was a big local star and belonged to the latter category. 

Matching Cheeka shot for shot 

For a period in the 80s, VV Sankapani (Sanku in the cricketing circles) was spoken of in the same vein as Srikkanth for his dashing style of play. At the peak of his career, he had offers from leading organisations including MRF, Indian Bank, RBI and the Income Tax. However, he rejected each of those tempting offers preferring the partnership with his long time friend and Indian cricketing legend K Srikkanth and played for several years for TVS Alwarpet opening alongside Cheeka. Huge crowd gathered wherever Alwarpet played just to watch the two of them bat together with discussions centered on who would outshine the other that day. On many occasions, Sankapani won that battle. He scored 10 centuries for Alwarpet and an equal number of 90s. He always sported a smile and was a happy go lucky cricketer and one of the big entertainers in the city league cricket in the 80s. 

A Blistering Century at 40

Two decades later, I umpired a lower division league match at Vivekananda College where Sankapani scored a typically blistering century. After many years for Alwarpet in the shadow of Srikkanth, Sanku moved in the direction of many of the cricketers who belonged to the second category – he played through the early 20s hoping for the big break. He was on the verge of a Buchi Babu Tourney debut before losing that to Alwarpet teammate K Ravishankar. While he remained a crowd favourite, he could not break through to the state level (the grandmas of Mylapore did not like him though for he consistently broke the window panes of the apartments near the PS School ground with pulls and swipes that went well past the tall Western wall of the ground). !!! 

Delayed entry into the Corporate World 

By the time he realized that he would not be able to make it to the state team, he was already well into his 20s and past his prime. During his period of his success at Alwarpet as a professional cricketer, he received a great offer for the role of ‘Inspector’ at Income Tax but he continued his cricketing stint with Alwarpet (where he was paid a ‘cricketing fee’) choosing Srikkanth’s partnership as far more valuable than a Government posting. 

Later for a brief period, he looked like having settled down at Oriental Insurance but an office job did not seem to captured his imagination. Half a mind was on cricket and the other half questioned the need for financial security in life with a family behind him. And he quit the insurance firm to make a foray into the share market, with the hope of making it big but that decision did not go off well, financially. 

A Cricket Star in the Making

He had been one of the most consistent batsmen for South Zone in the inaugural edition of this inter Zonal U15 tourney in the late 1970s. In a rare move, he signed up with first division team Globe Trotters as his first league team before he was 15 years. The string of big scores that included a belligerent 73 against Central Zone helped him get into the National U19 summer camp. But as luck would have it the U19 tour of Sri Lanka was called off due to the ethnic problem. That was the closest Sanku came to National Selection. 

For a high quality cricketer from his teenage days, he spent a decade in financial insecurity. The IPL like it has done for many cricketers in the city provided him a ray of hope with a cricketing managerial opportunity that came his way. For a year, he was in a powerful post as the Operations Head of SRH (the Hyderabad team) coming into close contact with the biggest stars of World Cricket. But for an entertainer that he was, this engagement proved far too taxing for Sanku, both physically and mentally. And he chose not to take it up after the first year. 

When the TNPL was launched, he donned the role of the COO of Karaikudi Kaalai, a team owned by Chettinad Cements. He had known MAMR Muthiah for many years and he accepted this role. It seemed that he was once again in a top position before Chettinad decided to sell off the franchise leaving Sankapani almost jobless once again. During this period, he also took on the 'honorary' role of managing a lower division league team as the President of the club and he continues in that role to this day. Life after IPL and TNPL once again became a struggle as he lived on meager income. 

Into the Cements Business

And that’s when he got yet another fresh lease of life. MAMR Muthiah, his God Father now in the Cements business, offered him the cements agency business. In the last three years, he has once again been on the ground (not the cricket ground) understanding the nuances of the cement business and building a strong customer relationship. He has spent the time meeting hundreds of builders, contractors and masons and striking cement deals with them. He is now hoping to make a difference to the Small and Medium Builders and Contractors. He is personally involved in creating a Personalised Structured Plan for each one of them based on their requirement and cash flow, thereby creating value for them. That understanding of the customer is his biggest strength and that’s the value addition he has brought to the customer. As he moved into the cement agency business, two big groups straight away supported Sankapani signing up with his firm for the entire project. 

Just when things were looking up, Covid 19 hit his business hard. While April was really bad with the complete lockdown, there was a semblance of business coming back end of May. But this fortnight in June, he has something to really cheer about. Builders, contractors and masons, especially the small and medium ones, have all got back to work and this has reflected in the rise in enquiries for Sanku. While the enquiries are cheering him up, he feels it will be at least another quarter before he can be more confident about the way forward for his business. 

Big Business Plans 

Into the future, he is looking to take cement dealership as well as foraying into the Ready Mix Concrete business, both of which will be capital intensive. One of his big challenges has been the lack of funding from financial institutions. He is hopeful that they will begin to finance the working capital requirements of the sector that he believes will help kick start the business again in the post lock down scenario. 

Cricket to Cement

Like his batting at the top of the order, Sankapani has always flattered to deceive. Every now and then, he has given the hope of having found something to his liking but has pulled out just when one thought he had settled down. From a riveting teenage phase when he was a much feared opening batsman to losing out to his Alwarpet teammate in the Buchi Babu tourney, Sankapani experienced the highs and lows in cricket in the 1980s and early 90s. The decades after his cricketing phase has been a lot more challenging as Sankapani in the last two decades and more moved from a stable insurance job to the volatile share market, made his re-entry into cricket with IPL and TNPL and  has finally seemed to have found his place in the business world. 

With the three year experience in the Cement Sector, Sankapani now seems to be enjoying life more than ever before and is confident about his prospects. He has created a website for his firm and has even begun making power point presentations to his customers. For this great cricket entertainer from the 1980s, the cements business may yet become his biggest success story. One will have to wait and watch as to how things unfold over the next few years.

Peter Fernandez ICA Financial Assistance

Former TN Ranji Cricketer Peter Fernandez gets timely financial aid from the ICA   -Financial Stress due to closure of Spin Foundation in 2016

Peter is hopeful of the TNCA offering him a remunerative coaching assignment after the lockdown

(Story Update on June 13, 2020 : PR Ramakrishnan of Ramakrishna Steels and a stylish cricketer from the 1970s and 80s, pooled together Rs. 1.75 lakhs from city cricketers in support of Peter)

40 years after he made his Ranji Trophy debut, former top order batsman Peter Fernandes is seeing turbulent times, financially. He was one of the first to be roped in by SVPB (Sri Venkateswara Paper Boards) Udumalpet, whose founder Soundararajan was just beginning to promote cricket in a big way in the districts and was keen to build a strong team (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/06/svpb-udumalpet-soundararajan.html). He joined SVPB in 1976 and stayed there for almost 25 years. He took to batting only when he was in PUC but very soon played for the Universities and was part of the team that won the Rohinton Baria Cup under Bharath Reddy (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/11/bharath-reddy-players-man.html)

It was at the Forest College ground in Coimbatore that I first saw him bat. Against local strongholds LMW that consisted of former state fast bowler B Kalyanasundaram (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2011/08/kalli-b-kalyanasundaram.html) and Ramakrishna Steel, Peter unleashed himself. He really did not think that he would play for the state but his scores at the top of the order meant that he was inducted into the TN Ranji squad in 1980-81. He played 3 matches for Tamil Nadu that season and was never considered again. However, he captained SVPB with distinction and led them to many a victory in the Coimbatore league in the early 1980s. 

Almost three decades later, this writer had the privilege of captaining of Peter Fernandez in a TNCA league match and found that his attitude towards cricket hadn't changed one bit. He was still the quiet cricketer who rarely spoke on the field!!!

Winning SVPB Team at Forest College

Forging a strong partnership with NP Madhavan

TN State teammate of the time NP Madhavan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/05/np-madhavan.html) joined him a year or so later and the two of them forged many memorable partnerships that decade as SVPB claimed one trophy after another replacing LMW and Ramakrishna Steel as the top cricket team in Coimbatore. Both of them played in the Coimbatore first division league alongside S Sukumar, M Subramaniam (Idly Subba) and an upcoming UR Radhakrishanan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/03/ur-radhakrishnan.html), among others, and was an integral part of SVPB's golden decade in cricket. During the two and half of decades of his stint at SVPB, he had lucrative job offers coming his way from Madras but like Madhavan, he refused those, for Soundararajan always took good care of the cricketers.

Much like Madhavan, Peter too was always a silent man and went about his cricket quietly. A differentiating feature of the man in the cricketing circles in Coimbatore was that conversations were always in English when Peter was around, quite unique to cricket in the city!!!

In the 1990s, Peter was also a Ranji selector for three years under the chairmanship of VV Kumar. He has also been an U17 and U22 selector.  However, by the end of the 1990s, with the severe slowdown that hit the Indian industry in 1997-98, SVPB landed up in financial trouble. His cricket teammates for two decades NP Madhavan and Sukumar moved to SVPB’s sister concern GVG Paper Mills and they continue to work there two decades later. 

Robin gets him into Spin Foundation

It was at this time that Peter Fernandez spoke to Robin Singh who had played for SVPB in the Coimbatore league in the mid 1980s after coming from the West Indies. Robin offered him a coaching role at the MAC Spin Foundation. Peter had wanted to spend 15 days in Udumalpet and the rest of the month at the spin foundation but Robin was keen that Peter join full time. He left his young family behind in Udumalpet and came to Madras to take the coaching role at the spin foundation and coached there for 15 years till January 2016 when the foundation shutdown. Unlike the MRF Pace Foundation(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2013/08/ta-sekar-architect-behind-worlds-best.html), the MAC Spin Foundation did not take off in a big way.

PETER FERNANDEZ

During the 15 year period, he came into close contact with legendary spinner EAS Prasanna, Aussie off spinner from the 1970s Ashley Mallet, Lankan legend Muralidharan and Shane Warne’s coach Terry Jenner that turned out to be an enriching experience. He also graduated to an BCCI Level 3 coach during the period. At the spin foundation, he was also involved in the preparation of the pitch and later on in managing the accounts. 

His son Rohan Fernandez is a Level 1 coach and was under Robin Singh at the academy in Dubai for a while but serious health issues laid him low and he had to return home. 

Spin Foundation shuts down - Serious Financial Challenges

Since January 2016, when the Spin Foundation shut down, Peter Fernandez has had a tough time financially with no cricketing work of any kind. Once in a while he has been involved in coaching/helping young kids in cricket but financially he has found it challenging with the health issues of his son adding to his worries. He had hoped for the spin foundation to re-open but internal family fights among the owners led to a permanent closure.

ICA's support to needy cricketers 

This month's initiative by the Indian Cricketers Association (ICA) to support financially challenged first class cricketers has come as a God sent gift to Peter Fernandez. The ICA which was formed end of last year is looking to promote the welfare and interests of its members consisting of former cricketers. This month, the ICA has pooled in financial resources from cricketers across the country to help former Ranji cricketers in need of financial help in the retired years of their lives. 

ICA is expected to handover Rs.80000 to Peter Fernandez this week. Peter says that this financial support will be of great help to him at this stage of his life. He says that he has also spoken to the TNCA to explore some sort of engagement in terms of a coaching role once the lock down is lifted and is hopeful that being a level 3 coach and with the experience he has had at the Spin Foundation he will be able to get an assignment this year with the TNCA that will help him tide over the financial challenges. 

For the moment, the funding from the ICA has been timely for this 'silent' TN Ranji Cricketer from the 1980s.

Promodh Sharma Cricketer turned Entrepreneur

Quit cricket at 20, Managed close to a 100 million dollar global business firm by his 40s

Cricket Politics, Discrimination, 'Forgotten' episodes led him to quit cricket early but the hard lessons from the cricketing arena drove him to build a global business that is recognised as one of the best in apparel sourcing in the world

Has remained simple, effervescent and chatty, no fanciful extravaganza for a man who has built a business empire - Murali Kartik, former schoolmate and India cricketer

First division cricketer from the early 1990s, Promodh Sharma is truly one of a kind person. Like most teenagers of the time, he too was one with high hopes of making it big when he made his entry into cricket just before he turned 15 and dreamt every day of donning the India cap – His mother always told him to aim for the sky ‘Even if he missed it, he would land on the treetop’!! Promodh was practical, though. While he thought he had a chance to progress to the state level, he was acutely aware of the challenges on hand. PSBB was known to be one of the stronger school teams in the city in the late 1980s. However, Promodh belonged to a branch – PSBB KK Nagar- that was not seen as strong in cricket and for most part looked down by the more ‘popular’ players from PSBB Nungambakkam. This really meant that he was never going to have the same chances as those coming out of schools like Santhome, St Bede’s or Don Bosco which had ‘stronger lobbies’. It was this phase in his life that taught Promodh to swim against the tide, for he was always fighting with his back to the wall. 

Given this scenario that existed then in the 1980s, he promised to himself to quit serious cricket if he did not graduate to a certain level by the time he was completing his college. And Promodh did what no other budding cricketer of his time managed to do. While most of his compatriots went through the cricketing grind till they were 25 before they took a career call, Promodh quit serious cricket at 20 that had been his life and breath for over 5 years and set out to build a corporate career. In the next two decades, almost unnoticed, this middle class boy from T. Nagar built a global multi milion dollar apparel sourcing firm. Here’s the story. 

The Summer of 1987- YMCA TSR Club 

The first time I met Promodh Sharma was in the summer of 1987. He resided in the Alacrity apartments opposite the Somasundaram ground in T. Nagar. We cycled every morning that summer to the YMCA TSR club in Nandanam. Even as a teenager, I sensed the toughness in him. He would not bend down to anyone. He would give it back to those who tried to pull him down. Very few could tie him down on or off the field. He was always vocal. Challenging situations brought out the best in him. 

I saw the first glimpses of his cricketing prowess when we played together in a match for YMCA TSR against Gandhi Nagar Starlets team that included among others Sanjay Rajan, whose father (the late Rajan Bala) coached Promodh at school and whom he holds in high esteem even today. In the 30over a side match that day at the stadium ground in YMCA, Promodh scored a big match winning century. He went on to play crucial knocks over the next 5 years. 

Madras High Court Advocate TS Ramaswamy who ran the YMCA (TSR) club, a cricket academy that went on to produce many big cricketers including S Sriram, R Ashwin and S Badrinath, was impressed with his gutsy approach after watching Promodh scored another ton. It was after that century that TSR suggested his name to Swaraj Cricket Club and thus Promodh got into the TNCA league in 1987-88 when he was in Class X. In the first match he played for Swaraj, he got the MOM award with a match winning knock of 40. He played many a crucial knock that year and over the next few years took steady steps towards reaching the first division league in Madras.

His foundation lessons as a batsman came from MK Iqbal of Vadapalani Sports Club (his son- a left handed batsman- later played with us for YMCA TSR) who also was all about being principled and ethical. Iqbal imbibed great values in Promodh that stood the test of time and helped him face big challenges in life, later on. 

The Best Years of his cricket - Late 1980s

The best years of his cricket also coincided with his joining the YMCA TSR Club. It was this phase in his cricketing life where he learnt a lot in terms of mental strength and application, qualities that helped him enormously during the testing times in business life later on. TSR always liked the fighting spirit in Promodh and would continuously needle those instincts that was to bring out the best in him. While TSR did not know much of the nuances of the game, he knew a way to inspire and motivate young cricketers to perform, says Promodh who continues to draw lessons from those days at the TSR club in managing the challenges in his entrepreneurial life. It was TSR's motivational ways to get the best out of his players that helped YMCA TSR beat a much more fancied Brijesh Patel academy to win the tournament in Bangalore.

It was in the later half of the 1980s that Promodh played some of his best cricket at all levels. 

The underdogs PSBB KK Nagar won the APSC championship, an inter CBSE schools tournament beating their very strong Nungambakkam counterparts primarily on the back of Promodh's match winning knocks. 

YMCA TSR 1989

In the All India cricket tournament organised by Brijesh Patel in Bangalore, Promodh made crucial contributions once forging a big partnership with his dear coach's son (Nayaz- Iqbal's son- seen in the photo above) batting with a broken finger against a strong Karnataka side that included players  such as Fazal Khaleel, Rajesh Kamath, Yere Goud, Deepu and Sujit Somasundar, who soon went on to play for the state and on another occasion batting with (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/03/gokulakrishnan-j.html) J Gokulakrishnan (also seen in the photo above). Promodh also was a kind and continues to be one who does not stay quiet when bullied. 

When the Bangalore players repeatedly bullied him he gave it back to Brijesh Patel Cricket Clinic’s wicket keeper (aka Kiran More in 1992 World Cup), Promodh held up the game and remarked “You speak better than you keep” that shut the keeper up for the rest of the tournament. 

Introduction to Cricket Politics 

By then though, Promodh had already encountered the first mega drama of cricket politics that was to leave a bitter taste in him all his life. He was on the verge of selection in the city schools team. In the original squad that was selected, he was in the reserves i.e just outside the squad of 15 players. That’s when the renowned cricket writer of the time Rajan Bala, who was also the coach at PSBB, broke a story on the age scandal in TN cricket. And thus cricketers in the original squad had to be pulled out. 

Rajan Bala ( wiki)

                                     

The sequence of events that followed shocked Promodh no end and is vividly in memory to this day “A few of us from PSBB were in the reserves in the original squad. But when the new squad was announced, the ‘original reserves’ continued to be in the reserves of the new team as well. Clearly, we paid a price for our coach Rajan Bala pulling the strings on the TNCA.” 

As he looks back at those days from the mid 1980s, one of the happy memories was from being coached by Rajan Bala which he recalls as his greatest experience “He did wonders for your spirit and was a person who allowed us the opportunity of playing 2 day games even as youngsters. His presence had a big impact on my cricket and my outlook to life. ” 

His school coach ‘forgot’ his name!!!

That was only the beginning. A year or so later, Promodh had once again got into the TNCA city schools reserves but much to his shock he was dropped from his own school team as his coach, a former Bank Opener and who now runs one of the biggest academies in the city, told Promodh that he ‘forgot’ his name. A boy who was in the reserves of the city schools team was dropped from his own school team (we will keep the specifics of that for a later story!!!). As he did then and in many later episodes in his life, Promodh answered with his bat. In the next two years, he was the highest run getter in the tournament. Over 30 years after the episode, Promodh remembers getting the wicket of South Zone u15 cricketer LU Arun (touted as one of the big performing cricketers of the time) who almost scored a ton that day  in the final of the APSC tournament with his slinging action and following that up with a match winning knock with the bat. 

My association with him continued in the TNCA league as we play third division cricket together for Rakesh Kapoor's team (Ashish Kapoor's father) - MUC. On difficult bouncy pitches playe in MUC's home ground near Parrys, he scored runs in tough situations through the 1989-90 season.

By the time he was in college, he had moved up the ladder to play for Kunal Engineering (Rising Stars) in the first division league. However, in a rough season for him, his experience turned out to be bitter. Here too he bore the brunt of ‘discrimination’. It was a tough call for a teenager like him in those days. His father had been ill and in bed for a long period. For each of the practice sessions, he made a long trip from his college, MCC, in Tambaram to the Kunal nets in Ambattur. 

While the knocks against IOB stood out for him that he belonged to first division, it was the match against another top bank side that prompted his decision to put an en to his cricket career. The aged coach, who was a renowned and respected figure, sent him late in the order on most occasions that season but when the opposition had fiery fast bowlers and on green tops the coach sent him top of the order. The year with Kunal shook his confidence in fair play and he was disgruntled with the way the game was played here and the amount of politics that surrounded the game. He knew he was not as talented as many others but always had the self belief and saw himself as a very determined and fighting cricketer. It was after the match against SBI (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/04/iob-final-team-in-tnca-league-goes-down.html) that he decided to call it quits, a decision that came soon after his father passed away. 

Death knell for his cricket career 

He was sitting quietly in the dressing room thinking that he would go as usual as No. 7 but when 2 wickets fell for 2 runs against the fiery I Rajkumar, his coach asked him to pad up and rush in immediately. He battled long and hard that innings and came back unscathed but after the treatment meted out to him, he found that while he had the will power to fight a battle on the field, he did not have it in him to battle it out with the coach and the system day in day out. While he was saddened to quit cricket without fulfilling the little potential he had, he knew that without support it was always going to be an uphill battle. From a young age, he was brought up to walk proud and never be subservient to anyone and in those days perhaps it was not a character which was appreciated in the cricketing circles. 

Promodh has all his life been a fun loving person. At most times, he would not hesitate to go to the opposition to shake their hands after a milestone. Off the field, he was chums with most in the opposition. Unfortunately, for a cheerful personality as Promodh, the big take away from his final years in cricket was the amount of politics and favoritism that he encountered at every level of the game. That for him took away a lot of the fun from the game. 

Gives up his cricketing passion - enters the Corporate World at 20 

Soon after graduation, he joined Celebrity Fashions (then the parent company of India Terrain) at 20 at a salary of just Rs. 1800 and with a Lamberetta to ride around the city on work!!! Top first division cricketers his age were paid around Rs. 5000 by the big private clubs. While his father had passed away while he was still a teenager, his mother, a staffer at Alacrity Housing had always been a pillar of strength for Promodh throughout his childhood and his years as a budding cricketer. While the money in his first job was not big, he was lucky to be mentored by V Rajagopal who groomed him to be a leader. At work, he found someone that he had not in previous five years in cricket. He was not yet 25 when he had already begun travelling around the world marketing their products. Just as he had done in cricket over the previous 5 years or so, he slogged at work, an effort that did not go unnoticed. He had moved up to become the head of marketing and partnerships. 

Turns Enterpreneur at 30 

5 years of cricket and almost a decade of having 15 hour days at work including extensive global travel took a toll on him. And he decided to take a break. Just at the time he was turning 30, he quit his job at Celebrity Fashions and went on a holiday to Sri Lanka with his wife Nirupama. It was during the vacation in Lanka and after his chats with his wife, a psychiatrist by profession, that he realized his strengths in marketing and overseas client relationships. It was his cousin Sheila who pushed him into a start up. It was another big call to turn enterpreneur. With the blessings of his mentor Rajagopal, he launched Fifth Avenue, an apparel sourcing firm with an initial capital of Rs. 2Lakhs. 

He understood the overseas customers’ mindset and believed he could bridge the gap between global clients and Indian factories. He was confident that he would be able to create value for the global customers and good business for the Indian manufacturers and he built a business around this model. He delighted his first customer, a German firm ‘Trampolin’ who had previously had a bad experience with India and its manufacturers. He started small but in the very first year he provided such a delightful experience that Trampolin soon became a large client, at a time when the market itself was not great. 

Wife and the ‘Diesel’ Brand 

Soon he bagged a large deal to manage Diesel’s entire sourcing from India, an engagement that also saw the involvement of his wife Nirupama. In a period of just three years, Diesel’s sourcing from India went up from 1 million to 23 million. 

There was no looking back since. Like in cricket, Promodh faced many bouncers in business too but he ducked under or hooked it hard as he had during his hey days on the playing field. Soon, the biggest of global brands such as Benetton, Sixty and Calvin Klein Europe came on board. His sourcing firm’s products that included sports brands were found on the shelves of the most premium stores across the US, Europe and Asia. In the decade following the launch, Promodh had truly gone global. With the customers stationed overseas, he moved his headquarters to Hongkong and he now sits atop a posh two storied building where he meets top CEOs from the apparel sector to discuss their sourcing requirements from India, China and the Far East. 

The Lockdown and the opportunity for India 

Having been locked down in his apartments in Hongkong for the last two months, Promodh with his now three decades on the ground global experience both with the biggest of global apparel brands and the Top Indian manufacturers sees the issue of the Corona virus as having serious global ramifications. Promodh has worked with the who’s who of the apparel manufacturers in India and sees this as a great opportunity for them “China has been the factory of the world and there are few businesses which do not get material from China either fully manufactured or as specialised parts. Countries and Business houses which were China centric are now forced to look at risk mitigation and viable alternatives in the medium and long term. The world can be made to see India as a serious alternative."

If entrepreneurs, businesses and the Government work together and move forward decisively, he says India has a giant opportunity which can truly spur our growth. Having worked closely with the Indian market for close to three decades, Promodh says that India has the right Demographic, language advantage and the creativity, and that ‘with the right attitude we can put ourselves in an enviable position.’ 

Former India cricketer Murali Kartik has known Promodh from his school days and has been in touch with him over the last three decades. 

He is delighted that Promodh has not changed a wee bit as a person despite all his global success in business "He has built a huge business empire with customers in multiple geographies, worldwide. But when you interact with him, you do not get a feel of any change in him from the time you saw him in his teens. He is effervescent, simple and chatty. He invites you home and chats like the friend he was when he was at school. For a man with such success in business globally, there is nothing flashy about him. There is no fanciful extravaganza. Even in his attire, there is nothing indicative of his business success. You actually see him in chappal and a simple T. Shirt. You simply cannot make out that he is a multimillionaire businessman who talks everyday with global CEOs. It is rare to find such people who remain humble, after achieving global success. But Promodh is one exception."

Runs a lower division league team

Since quitting serious cricket in the early 1990s, Promodh made a re-entry albeit for fun after he became an entrepreneur managing a TNCA lower division league team in Madras just as a weekend relaxation and to stay in touch with a sport that he loved so much. In a match that I umpired at the St. Bedes ground, one where Promodh had once struck a match winning half century way back in the 1980s to take his school into the final, I found that he had lost none of his fiery touch on the pitch. During those two years of running the league team, he offered cricket opportunities to budding teenagers from remote towns in Tamil Nadu and played the role of a mentor. Promodh now continues his association in Hongkong where he is involved with the Discovery Bay Cricket Club working with youngsters and building a team. 

Cricket to almost a 100 million dollar business 

At 20, most cricketers his age took the call to stretch their cricket career by a few years in their effort to don the State colours, but for many that proved elusive. A few managed to play Ranji, but most fell by the way side in cricket having spent the 5 additional years that delayed their entry into the corporate world. As I looked back at my cycling years with him, Promodh Sharma has always been someone who wanted to be the best in what he did. In cricket, which he was very passionate about from childhood, he definitely did not want to be an also ran. And quit cricket at 20 a bold call for someone who had lived and breathed cricket through his previous five years to move into the corporate arena just as he came out of his teens. 

Given what he had experienced on and off the field over the five years of his short career, he has always held the decision to give up cricket as the most sensible decision of his life even though it was heart breaking at that time. He also saw it that many deserving cricketers simply did not recover from their inability to match their own expectations and that of their family. The lack of mental strength meant that they ended giving up not just cricket but also took the cricketing defeat to heart and lost out on life. 

Promodh Sharma has clearly proved to be an exception as he drove the hard lessons he learnt in 5 + years of cricket something that no University or MBA would have taught and overcame the disappointments in cricket and turned around the 2nd phase of his life into a mega corporate success story. He has consistently over the last two decades used the cricketing lessons from his days with Rajan Bala, MK Iqbal and TS Ramaswamy and the fighting spirit that they all taught in his every day work life focusing just as hard in the corporate set up as he did in cricket. 

The result - he had built a multimillion dollar business with global operations by the he was in his 40s, one that has been recognized globally as a leading Sourcing Management Company in Apparel. He now anchors the Fifth Avenue Group as the Executive Chairman of the business he founded in 2000 that is now close to a 100 million dollars and one that ships over five million units out of the Indian and Chinese shores including from the apparel manufacturing hub in Tiruppur!! 

Personally, it is a delightful moment to write about one with whom I went along in our cycles across the cricketing grounds in the city, one with a never say die attitude to life and who has shown to the world that with dedication, commitment and self belief, it is possible to rise to the top despite having been pushed aside and sidelined in an early phase of one’s life.