The Power of One - Take 6

I dared to dream

This guy grew up under an oppressive regime that was dictating terms for his countrymen to live by and die.

He became a Lawyer and took the regime head-on whenever he could. Let us call him 'David'.

Locals started rallying around him and egged him onto start a firm with a nationalistic fervour and compete with a gigantic corporation in its own turf. Let us call this corporation as 'Goliath'.

David launched two products, Gallia and Lavo, built a fantastic service around these two products thereby challenging the monopoly of Goliath.

Goliath slashed his prices by half. David matched and outmatched him by slashing his prices to 1/4th.

His pride wounded, Goliath started offering his products / services for free but the rush he expected from consumers was not at all there! To his dismay he found out that they were still flocking onto David's products and services!!!

A furious Goliath pressed some invisible levers and got our David arrested on Charges of Sedition (David was active in politics...).

David was sentenced to 'double life' in prison (40 years) but got released after a few years on successive appeals, broken in spirit and physique...

He also learnt with great pain that his company went under and his competitor actually took over one of his products. Crestfallen, he quit from business as well politics, led a life in penury and died a pauper.

Goliath won for a change, in this story.

The Ships David launched, S.S. Galileo and S.S. Lavo (sounds like Guts and Loathing to me) still keep sailing in the Commercial Shipping history of India as reminders of the first ever Swadeshi Shipping enterprise.

5th September is his birth day. Sadly, people hardly remember  V.O.C anymore.

V.O. Chidambaram Pillai - One who dreamt BIG!