Dae Muruga? Vaadaa! Vaadaa!! When did you come here? OK. Go to that hotel and take tiffin, falling on deaf ear to what Murugan did say, he forcibly pushed ten rupees in Murugan’s hand with profuseness. Aren’t you Karuppan? Vaa! Vaa!! How are you? Well. Let us go to the hotel and take meals first and then speak our home matters…These were the scenes I usually witnessed there when he had held a business in the Pondy Bazaar a decade ago. The lads coming there thus would be their weeks together, sometime months together yearning with his venture. He would never ask them when they would return back home nor did he wait till they ask money for their meals expenses. Whenever I happened to cross across his spot, I could see one or two new faces definitely on any day. His altruistic behaviour of lending the helps deserve to be praised. Over 25 years have passed since he came to Chennai…still there is no dearth of encouragement and hospitality in his words and acts.
He is the valiant hero of this passage but you still can’t make your mind whether he is a whole sale dealer or a small merchant, either possesses a big permanent stall or platform vendor or otherwise a strongest, tallest and boldest stalwart. Our hero is also well known for his uncompromising and exacting ways. If you look at him in person, you can conclude why we stellify him to this much. Do read it and let us know if our hero has become yours’ too!
Every parent dreams of a child that will one day grow to look like an Adonis or a Venus. Each milestone that the baby crosses is moments that linger in the proud mother’s memory pool forever. By birth, he was the most amiable baby even. And how! He was most vibrant and abuzz. When he was at the age of seven, he suffered poliomyelitis and thus both legs got crippled (see the last page being displayed him in full view).
Hardly literate and hailing from a poor family of a hamlet Patti alies Ramachandrapuram in Srivilliputtur taluk, our hero Gurumoorthy had been doing the yarn-spinning, an access of handloom weaving now-and-then amid going to school sustaining the poverty in his family. He had climbed many times 3000 and odd feet atop Holy Saduragiri Mountain, abode of Lord Sundramahalingam near Watrap of Srivilliputtur taluk on the Western Gate. These were the days before he met polio attack. When a condition threatened him that he could not stand and survive there, he boarded a train without a ticket and alighted at Chennai.
He served for not less than 10 years as coolie in fruits vending at Pondy Bazaar. He was eking out his livelihood by doing this. He did not have wherewithal to start his own. After saving a nominal sum, he started his venture as an independent fruit vendor and bought a cart. This work of fruits vending came as a ray of hope. His vehement endeavour and submissive behaviour paid off fruits and got married and stayed in a rented tiny shanty. His first 15 long years of service expended in banana selling alone. There were more than 60 banana vendors alone in and around Pondy Bazaar. Sometime, some vendors would have halted their carts haphazardly disturbing the flows of traffic though there were earmarked in the stretch of the road. The Police and the Corporation Staffer would shoo them and sometime would seize their carts and berth them elsewhere. Sometime, he might have to meet such problem unfortunately. His co-vendors would go to the station and remit the fine and get back the cart on his behalf. He might not have the sagacity and prosperity, but had sincerity and humility a lot. He enthralled the customers with his witty talk. He would be humorously talking with them and would pay obeisance. He did not believe in talent but believed in honesty and hard work. Sincerity was the one and only hallmark of his success. Sometime, the bargaining of customer might rankle him, but he would not wrangle at any one. He would not express his anguish to others. His enthusiasm, verve, passion, method of purchasing the fruits, networking in dealing with customers and the type of collecting money were mind-boggling.
The experience at Pondy Bazaar and some money he already preserved put him in a piquant situation that time when Koyambedu market was all set to be opened. Not bogged down to any competition, this gritty man applied for a shop and got it at the aegis of some well wishers and came to this stand by his hectic efforts. No body derided him at any time for his legs that could hardly foot on the ground. He bought a Honda Activa scooter and modified to a three-wheeler for his comfort. It was difficult to discern how he could commute 40 km daily in the congested city traffic. Sometime he had fallen the pinch in his purse. At that time, the wholesale merchants had enduringly accepted his inability and delivered the goods to him. To bankroll his business, he never moved to any Finance Institute or moneylender. He proved his mettle.
Later, he constructed a self-contained house with water, electricity, sanitary facility and lives happily now. He has three beautiful sons going to school. He is the sole breadwinner in his family. Many people of his home village are builders in Chennai and they render support if he seeks them. He does not fail to express his gratitude to them.
Long ago, one Rama krishnan had been one of the key people behind his upliftment. He is dealing with season-wise fruits in the range of apple, mango, banana, orange, and jackfruit. Though he floundered to many times losses, he has bounced back by working hard with full brunt. Success will not come to any one on a platter. It will take him years to savour the taste of success. This Samaritan doesn’t know to hoodwink the people. Asked about if he thought of returning back home while he suffered earlier and met losses, he said that he never thought so and he wanted to pursue the same vendor business in the same city.
He may be inferior in physical strength but is superior in mental health. Physical strength is not one of the most important attributes. In God’s creation, all are equal but all are not equally endowed. The actual reason is beyond one’s perception. The mind is friend and enemy of a man according to how it is trained. You are the master of your mind. Many lazy fellows would be spinning their wheels by simply blaming the time and their fate. The unscrupulous and rapacious elements should understand how one should behave. Wrongdoers please adjure your mischievous acts and learn lesson from him. For those who are diffident in their life and whose speeches reflect pessimism, his adventure is a lesson.
Our hero has never met any battlefield but then, is conferred as a warrior since he has conquered the heart of everybody. The government and NGO should recognize and appraise this kind of warrior in a fitting manner. This is the demand of everyone and the voice of the heart. Shop No. C/3, Anna Fruit Market, Koyambedu, Ch-92. Phone: 24771045.
Canara Bank, one of the premier Nationalised Banks in India is celeberating it’s centenary this year. To provide better ambience and convenience to its clientele, The Anna Nagar East branch located at roundtana has renovated its premises on 23.06.2006. The Honourable Minister for electricity and Rural Industries, Government of Tamil Nadu, Shri Arcot N. Veeraswamy, cut the ribbon and declared the premises open. Sri G K Bhat ,(AG) GM, Chennai circle presided over the function. AGM Sri Srivasthsan welcomed the August gathering of VIPs and customers, Sri V. Rajagopalan, Senior Manager proposed the vote of thanks.
