So far we have been seeing Capt. G. R. Gopinath growing in size and stature like the epic character Hanuman when told by Jambavantha of his strength and ability to fly to Lanka in one giant leap. Gopinath continued to grow as an entrepreneur with his Deccan Aviation of helicopter services and his low-cost airliner Air Deccan, suggestion for which had come once again from his old pal Capt. Samuel.
His Air Deccan, magnum opus of an enterprise, was something that sent shivers down the spine of major airlines of India, including Kingfisher which was underway for a launch. From helicopters to airplanes no doubt could be a natural progression, but the difference that Gopinath made was when he decided on Low Cost Carriers (LCC) that would compete with the major players. The way he went about this business in a nonchalant manner is a story by itself, as gripping as the one when he went about marketing his helicopter services of Deccan Aviation.
The major players soon realised the major challenge Gopinath posed to them with his concept of LCC, which was eating into the profits of the major players whose customers were switching over to the LCC, mainly for the reason that the tickets were much lower when compared to others. In fact Gopinath was swimming with the sharks without being eaten alive.
Before I delve into his LCC airlines business, I should mention here about the eerily mystic experience of John Gray, the famous author of the book “Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus”. It seems Gopinath, the clever salesman that he is, had successfully persuaded John Gray to keep his helicopter for 10 days, using it like a taxi, for a negotiated price. The smart Alec that Gopinath is, he convinced John Gray about the suggestion, telling him that it would be like his "personal limousine in the sky."
It appears among other places that John Gray wanted to visit was an unlikely place called Penukonda, to visit a relatively less known Swamiji called Swami Kaleshwar. Gopinath became inquisitive about John Gray’s interest in Swami Kaleshwar. Gopinath also found that Swami Kaleshwar was not the stereotyped one with a flowing beard, saffron robes etc. To baffle him further, the Swamiji was young.
Now let me quote Gopinath himself: "The Swamiji had asked John what he could do for him. Did he have a wish? If so, Swamiji would pray that the wish would be fulfilled. John Gray had a career wish. He wanted Oprah Winfrey to invite him to the Oprah Winfrey Book Club. Oprah Winfrey is the most celebrated talk show host in the world … we listen to John’s story with rapt attention … John continued, "I told Swamiji I wanted to be invited to Oprah’s Book Club." The Swamiji blessed him and said, "You will hear from Oprah."
As though the magic wand had been waved, the very next day John Gray got a call from Oprah, inviting him to her Book Club. John Gray went to the Book Club as agreed and instantly became a celebrated author in the US and also, his book became a best - seller.
The story does not end here. The unbelievable had happened this time with Gopinath as a witness. John Gray wanted to be invited to Oprah’s Book Club a second time. Therefore, he approached Swamiji once again this time with the request. Lo and behold! Swami Kaleshwar prayed for John once again and said, "This will be done."
Within 24 hours, John Gray got a call from Oprah Winfrey to discuss his book a second time. Naturally, John Gray was dazed and amazed at the power and glory of Swami Kaleshwar.
Interestingly, there is a reference to a girl called Kaavya from Kodagu who gave a jolly ride in Gopinath’s helicopter to her father on his 60th birthday. It appeared in newspapers and television channels. The father was Mittoo Chengappa, a Kodagu planter and a hotelier who is also a General Secretary of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).
From Deccan Aviation of helicopters to Air Deccan of low - cost airlines is just a hop, step and jump. It was an airline for the common man. This story is even more exciting for the reason that he could identify a number of air- strips used during the Second World War, but lying unused, for his LCC airlines intended to operate between places bustling with industries, trade and business and major metropolitan cities. A kind of cross-country flight to towns and cities not connected by airlines at a low airfare. Gopinath was simply a genius in his novel, innovative approach to problems. For example, the ticketing system that he revolutionised; the fare-determining software that he had conceived; the internet-based system of ticket booking and more. For the first time, he managed to circumvent the ticket booking system which was entrenched in the hands of travel agents and network service providers. Consider for example, his idea of early-bird tickets at one rupee. In short, he was indeed a high power sales executive. No wonder at the end he not only sold the air tickets well but the Air Deccan itself as eloquently shown in R. K. Laxman's cartoon produced here!
By the end of three years in operation, the Air Deccan website became a largest commercial one in India. There was an upsurge in his revenue. Two million dollars a day. Sadly, the growth of this kind brought with it problems too. The airline, which was the darling of the middle class, began to invite complaints about frequent delays and there was the problem of finding the right kind of human resource to run the airlines. The airline was accused of giving the passengers a raw deal. Naturally, for the media, bad news was good news. Air Deccan seemed to have grown too fast for its own good.
In the meanwhile, the emergence of new airlines like Spice jet, Kingfisher, GoAir, Paramount and Indigo threatened the growth profile of Air Deccan. It was Vijay Mallya of Kingfisher Airlines who saw a threat to his planned Kingfisher Airlines and as a shark in the business world, decided to meet Gopinath a few months before he launched Kingfisher Airlines.
After all every champion in his or her field will have failures. A skater has fallen over ice, a musician has sung a wrong note and a host of tennis players have served a double fault. But the next service of such a tennis player would be an “ace” after a double fault. Such was the predicament of Gopinath. But soon he came up on top with a deal which would make him his neighbours' envy. When he realised that it would be difficult to compete with the sharks in the field like Spice jet, Kingfisher, GoAir and Indigo, he made up his mind. The share value of his public limited company too was down. So, when he found the offer of Vijay Mallya of Kingfisher good enough, he closed the deal. Immediately share prices shot up, the Kingfisher magic, benefiting all the stakeholders of his company — the Angel Investor, institutional investors and retail investors. Indeed he has never been a pessimist. But he is more than an optimist — a Realist.
Though it might appear that Gopinath’s wings were clipped, in reality it is not so because he is still flying with his new transport company Deccan 360. [As an old Ad man, I guess its logo needs a second look. It does not lend itself for a clear, easily readable and identifiable representation on print or electronic (TV) media.] For sure, you cannot keep a good man down, no matter what the challenges are. He neither believed in burger techniques nor dipstick research to start his enterprise. He believed in his own inner strength and confidence; ability to plan and in hard work. There is no doubt Capt. G. R. Gopinath is one – of – a - kind who has energized an otherwise stale skyline of India.
If anyone asks me what is so special about the book, I would say: Plenty. Put together, the book is a collection of life’s lessons. This is the incredible journey of Capt. Gopinath so far. And the journey continues.
The book is well summed up by another great first generation entrepreneur N. R. Narayana Murthy of Infosys thus: "This book is an excellent study of entrepreneurship, bringing out the importance of innovation, dream, courage and sacrifices in success."
Concluded....
