KP Vasudevan Pillai : An Entrepreneur

Article written by R Balagopal, HOSD 2015, Christ University

My grandpa KP Vasudevan Pillai was born to Parameshwaran Nair and Janaki amma at the village of vettyar in allapey, Kerala on April 1936. He was the eldest of the 3 sons and a daughter. Records of birth and deaths were rarely kept those days and hence the exact day is unknown.

His father was a farmer like many others those days. Being the eldest among his siblings he always had an air of maturity around him and was very good at handling responsibilities. Even though the financial condition at home was not very good, his parents ensured all their children received good education. He however had to help his father in the fields during free times.

Grandpa recalls how he had to walk 12 km daily to school since buses were scarce those days. But his determination to study and achieve something in life motivated him to continue his studies. He was always rather mysterious about his parents and never spoke much about them even to his children. He did say about the evil caste system that prevailed in the society and how he had to watch the ill-treatments meted upon the lower caste people. He never agreed to the concepts of his parents and the caste system and this was one of the main reasons that motivated him to move to the city of Ernakulum. From young age he was determined to be an entrepreneur. To learn the art of business, he joined a well-established spice broking firm in Jew Town, Kochi. The proximity to the kochi port and the booming spice business provided the perfect scenario for a new establishment in that area. Armed with knowledge from the firm and knowing the growing scope in that area, grandpa along with his friend Kareem started the spice trading firm KV Traders. Grandpa worked day and night for the development of the firm and over the years KV Traders grew to be one of the leading spice traders in Kochi. Shortly after starting KV Traders grandpa married my grandma Meenakshi amma.

Most of my grandpa’s young age was spent developing the firm and the business. He never had time for family matters or for his personal self. Grandma always said how he sometimes even forgot to come home for lunch and grandma had to send someone to the office to call him home. My dad and uncle were sent to the best schools in the locality since grandpa was adamant that they received the best education they could afford. Grandpa was a strict father and used to penalize his kids for the smallest of their mistakes. He had an intimidating character on the outside but those who knew him well understood that he was kind at heart. He never let anyone who came to his office or home seeking alms leave hungry nor did he leave anyone who came to him seeking financial help empty handed. He provided employment to the lower caste and downtrodden people in the society and saved many of them from debt traps and even starvation. He was determined to help the needy in the society financially and contributed to charity generously and even today continues to do so. After few years, grandpa had to split the partnership with Kareem due to certain personal reasons and started his own spice trading firm Nima Spices. Grandpa still runs the firm with help of his 2 children and even at the age of 80 he still comes to the office and deals with the business matters.

Grandpa had never given a choice to his children to choose their career since the business was thriving those days and he needed their help to look after it. But later on he understood how children should be given the choice to choose their career and always told us to follow our passion and choose the career we liked. He however always said that money was not everything and that wherever we are we should never forget our past and help the ones who can’t help themselves.

Being born to an orthodox Hindu family, grandpa still follows his rituals daily without fail. He wakes up at 4 every morning and does his meditation. He visits the temple every evening without fail. He uses the least amount of transportation and prefers to walk however long the distance is even at the age of 80. He is the healthiest person in the family and even the doctors are flummoxed at how he manages to keep his health parameters at stable levels even at this age. He never breaks his routine and doesn’t allow any engagements to do so. He ensures he is home for his evening prayers every day at 7 PM. He is a pure vegetarian and follows one of the healthiest diets in the family. He encourages us to follow his routine patters which was close to impossible for us of course!.

When I asked him whether he considered himself successful in his life, he said that as a businessman maybe but not as a father or a husband. He said that his only wish now was to see at least one of his grandchildren achieve something prestigious in their life and as a dutiful grandchild I consider it my duty to fulfill his desire. He is a person from whom there’s a lot to be learned and even though it may impossible to adopt his complete lifestyle at this modern era, we should always learn to preserve our culture and values that people like my grandpa teach and pass it on to our future generations.