Mr. Rama was a staunch vegetarian and he always propagated vegetarian diet to me and all others he met. I am sure anyone and everyone who knows him and who is reading this blog will agree with me that he must have at least once in his conversation asked them to be a vegetarian. He used to share with me a fact that it is not healthy to eat animals because most of the farmed animals have been fed with antibiotics which are bad for human consumption. He said that if I eat excessive meat than I will be ingesting excessive amounts of cholesterol, making me dangerously susceptible to heart attacks. He said many of the world's massive environmental problems could be solved by the reduction or elimination of meat-eating, including global warming, loss of topsoil, and loss of rainforests and species extinction. He said there will be less starving people if people stopped eating meat and the reason is because livestock pasture needs cut drastically into land which could otherwise be used to grow food and also because vast quantities of food which could feed humans is fed to livestock raised to produce meat. He had a logical reason for everything he said. He ensured that he has messages about vegetarian food all over his restaurants. He supported vegetarian movements and he only sold vegetarian food in the restaurant.
A great supporter of animal rights and animal liberation movements, Mr. Rama was an animal lover. One can see his face glowing when talked about the animal friends he has at home. He goes round the island and picks up stray dogs or cats and put them in a rented terrance house for which he spends almost $2000 a month and he even hired a caretaker to take care of the 100 over cats he had picked up! A few years ago, he was very concerned about the pet tiger and Malayan sun bear that went missing in the Sixth Avenue area. He gave his personal money of $4000 to the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society which launched a search operation for the two
Each time, I spoke to Mr. Rama, I learnt something new for a lifetime. He had guided me on several occasions to gain my aspired objectives. He always knew how to do, what to do and why to do something. Since he was an experienced successful restaurateur, businessman and a community leader he had passed many obstacles in life and he taught me how not to go through those experiences so that I could work efficiently with fewer mistakes. He also taught me how to cover the mistakes I have made.
He helped me build confidence and belief when I failed in my first spice retail business. You see, I was blind with wanting to be successful in a business that was going nowhere. At the nick of the time, he questioned and analyzed my business and discouraged me from continuing. I was angry and upset that instead of saying encouraging words, he discouraged me. But today, when I think back, I am grateful to him. When I was depressed with financial burdens of business and when everyone around me were making fun of my venture that failed, he encouraged and incite me not to give up trying and to try the correct strategy when I venture into another business. Mr. Rama is always about “Perseverance is the most important aspect of a successful business and you must always try, try and try until you get it right, it may take years.” And he will cite examples of Milton Hershey, Simon Cowell, Mrs. Field, Colonel Sanders, Steve Jobs and many other successful people.
He told me that we should never stop trying something new. He was never a sweet talker and sometimes his words were harsh but he meant good. He was one of the most honest persons I ever came across in my life as he spoke the truth without icing it. Sometimes he hurt me with cruel words about my strong headiness. And we will have heated arguments but at the end of it all, he won because he meant well. Like I said, he was like my late father – he had a temper that was so short and yet a wonderful person. He once shared with me the importance of friendship to him. He has several friends and many of them were from the time he was a child. Friendship without humility is a waste of time to him as he believes that both parties must be willing to admit if they are wrong at the time of quarrel or conflict and that both parties must be willing to listen and accept advice from each other. He will occasionally point this out to me because he said he had learnt many things from me and from seeing from my angle of thoughts.
He always told me that he is running a successful business because he thinks and he made it mandatory that the customer is important. Loyal customers of his restaurant return for more and they spread the good word about his restaurant to their friends and family. I learnt from him that good customer care comes from a good customer care team and he ensured that the staffs of Ananda Bhavan were giving good service. He was there personally to supervise; sometimes he personally replies to complaints and he stops to listen to customers in his restaurant.
Every time I published a cookbook or every time something interesting happens in my life or every time there is an article about me in the newspapers or if I am featured on a TV program, I would get a texted message, a voice message or an email from Mr. Rama congratulating me. He was always there to give compliments when I deserved it. I think the compliments he gave enhanced the bond between us too as it created positive feelings in me to want to do even better the next time. The compliments enhanced a sense of self worth! He remembered to give me a compliment even when he was ill in bed and the last time I heard his voice was exactly two months before he passed away and at that time he told me, "don't work so hard and neglect your health. Health is very important and an illness may strike you anytime and illness does not look at whether you are rich or poor, fat or slim, whether you are a good person or a bad person."
Mr. Rama believed that good reputation is one of the keys for a successful business and to be able to close a particular deal or to be trusted by the community. He said “Good reputation means to be a straight forward person who will do what you say and who will carry yourself with a high level of dignity and who will also respect the professionals around you. If you conduct yourself with dignity and give others the same respect they deserve you will be treated in an equal manner and you can build a good relationship and reputation – whether you are rich, poor, educated or uneducated!”
Once I questioned him with regards to who is the woman behind his success and he quickly said “my wife Bhanu!” He said his wife’s choices, desires and needs are something he will never neglect or compromise for anything else. Mr. Rama said that her opinion matters to him and he ensures that he spends quality time with her and also take time to have holidays together often. He told me on several occasions, that he wants to ensure she will become an independent lady with lots of inner strength to make decisions on her own and to run a company. He believes that women are strong and that they can do multi tasking. He told me that he was grateful to God that he has a wonderful wife who gives him the strength to handle day to day matters!
Mr. Rama, my good friend and mentor passed away exactly one year ago and he lives in the memories of many and will certainly be in mine forever. Thank you Mr. Rama for all that you have done for me. I am grateful.
