Dubai - "My plan is to open one showroom in Dubai, and I will pick up from there," Ramachandran said.
Published: Thu 14 Jun 2018, 9:41 PM
Jail-released Indian businessman M.M. Ramachandran - popularly known as Atlas Ramachandran - is itching to start from scratch, yet again.
The owner of Atlas jewellery who had a chain of showrooms in the UAE, Gulf and India, had done it once in 1990 - when he lost everything and his business got wiped out during the Kuwait war.
Now, just days after securing his release from Dubai jail, where he served nearly three-years for loan default, the 75-year-old is planning to 'revive himself'.
Also read: Atlas Ramachandran out on bail, vows to rise like a phoenix bird
"I will come back, no doubt about it. My business will be revived. My plan is to open one showroom in Dubai, and I will pick up from there. Atlas will soon regain its old glory," Ramachandran told Khaleej Times in his first-ever interview to a newspaper after the release.
"I am a self-made man. I built up my business standing at the counter and serving customers myself when I opened my first showroom in Kuwait in the 80s and in Dubai after the invasion of Kuwait."
Sitting in the bedroom of his third-floor apartment, donning a distinctive Sherwani (Indian suit) and an undeviating friendly smile, Ramachandran could easily pass off as his good old self - the flamboyant businessman with a gold empire worth billions. He is hooked on to his laptop even as his phone line is incessantly ringing. He is fiddling with two or three of his old mobile phones. He has a list of visitors who want to meet him in the evening.
But the resemblance to the glorious past ends there. Much has changed in the last 33 months of his detention. All his 19 showrooms in the UAE are shut. Some of his assets were liquidated to pay off the financial obligations. His business friends and affiliates have abandoned him. He still has debts to repay. And age is catching up.
Repayment of debts
But Ramachandran is not willing to give up. He begins his battle by questioning the value of the debt itself. "The amount of the debt is highly exaggerated in some of the reports. I know better how much my debt is and I will pay it all back till the last dime," he said without divulging the exact figures.
He has a grouch that no one bothered to ask him. "I was in detention and my side of the story was never given voice.''
Atlas in crisis
So how did Atlas Ramachandran's business empire, which had an annual turnover of Dh3.5 billion, run into troubled waters. Where did he go wrong?
"I trusted people too much. I delegated to my managers things I should have attended myself. But good that I have learned that lesson, at least now," the businessman opened up to Khaleej Times in a free-wheeling conversation.
Reliving events that led to his jail sentence, Ramachandran said trouble started when a single payment to a leading bank in Dubai got delayed. "That was the first crack in an otherwise smooth running business. And that was the beginning of the problem.
"When I was asked to come to the Bur Dubai police station, I did not expect to stay behind bars for this long. I went in thinking I would walk out in a few hours. So, I was not prepared to face the ensuing legal and financial crisis. My wife Indu became a scapegoat."
Body in prison, soul outside
Ramachandran was sentenced to three years by a Dubai court in November 2015. "I survived 33 months by telling myself that only my body is in prison. My soul is still free and with the people," he said recounting the hardships and uncertainty.
"I had not given up hope. I knew I would rise from the ashes. one day. I used to call Indu many times a day from jail. She was my biggest strength. I used the time to reflect on life and I have penned down nearly 300 pages of my life story. But that is only one fifth of what I want to tell the world."
Who released him?
Ramachandran, who was himself the brand ambassador for Atlas' advertisements, was a household name for the Keralite community. So, it was natural that everyone wanted to see the businessman out of trouble.
Putting the over-worked rumour mills on rest, Ramachandran clarified that his release was made possible only after all the lending banks agreed to sign a standstill agreement to put on hold legal cases against him. "There were some private lenders who also had to agree. And there were some procedural delays as well in the last months before I could walk out free," he said.
Ramachandran said he thanked the 'Great Divine Power' and everyone who loved him for their prayers. "Mine was a financial case and it had to be settled with the lenders. Nothing less, nothing more. Lot of people supported me.
"I greatly value and appreciate the assistance rendered by Navdeep Singh Suri, the Indian Ambassador to the UAE; and Vipul, the Indian Consul-General in Dubai; as well as their staff in their missions. I would like to put on record that I have seen with my own eyes the excellent service extended by them to each and every Indian citizen in distress.''
anjana@khaleejtimes.com
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