Aswin Shunmugam

Architect / Real Estate Developer

[Subash R @subashr232]

I was fascinated by the idea of migrating abroad when I was in middle school. I had heard so many “wow” stories about the sons and daughters of my father’s colleagues who had gone overseas.

I wrote the SAT way back in 2003. Got multiple admits, including NUS and NTU. Everything was ready for me to migrate.

But I also got admission to CEG, then among the best engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu. And I did the unthinkable. I chose Mechanical Engineering at CEG over NUS/NTU.

Dad went wild!

At the end of my undergraduate years, I had two choices: GRE or CAT. Dad wanted me to take the GRE and leave India at the earliest. I chose CAT. I stayed back.

I eventually started a venture in one of India's most heavily regulated industries.

And the regulators nearly killed my venture thrice. Closing down MSE. Slashing commissions at their whims and fancies. Arbitrarily increasing net-worth requirements and questioning the very viability of my business.

There were moments when I wondered whether staying back had been a mistake. The system certainly gave me enough reasons to feel that way.

Yet, by God's grace, I survived. Seventeen years of running a company in India.

And despite everything, I still love this country. I don't entirely know why.

Perhaps it is the mananimmathi I experience when I travel through her countryside. Perhaps it is the atma tripti her temples give me. Perhaps it is the inexplicable happiness I feel in Malnad, in my Pandya desam, or in my beloved Travancore whenever I set foot on that soil and walk its paths.

Priceless. Absolutely priceless.

Look at where India was in the 1960s and 1970s and where she is today. She has come a long way.

From confiscatory 97% marginal income-tax rates to a much lower peak rate today. From a hopelessly Fabian socialist model to a mixed economy. From waiting endlessly for a Bajaj Chetak to being able to buy a Toyota in minutes. From waiting years for a telephone connection to becoming one of the world's cheapest mobile-data markets. From mud roads to expressways. From extreme poverty — remember Kamal Haasan eating an apple that had fallen into a gutter in Varumayin Niram Sivappu — to Shimla apples being available even in village markets.

India has travelled an extraordinary distance.

Of course, she could have done much better. She could have become another Singapore in terms of civic infrastructure, public services and urban planning. We have squandered decades and opportunities. There is no denying that.

But she remains India.

I take comfort in how far she has travelled despite decades of socialist policies and political mismanagement, rather than spending every waking moment complaining about everything that is wrong with her.

I can criticise India. I can demand better governance, better infrastructure and better public services. I can be frustrated with her bureaucracy and regulations.

But my affection for her runs deeper than my frustrations.

And perhaps that is what people who constantly compare India with the West fail to understand. A country is not merely the quality of its roads, the efficiency of its bureaucracy or the size of its paycheques. There is also a sense of belonging, a civilisational connection and a peace of mind that cannot be measured on a spreadsheet.

I would rather be a small soul in a country I love than spend my life as an indentured servant in a soulless system.

I had my opportunities to leave. I chose to stay.

Seventeen years later, with all the scars, setbacks and struggles, I still feel it was worth it.

She is far from perfect. But she is mine. She will never ditch me. She will not ask for a VISA to accommodate me as she has soul and I am her son.

And that makes all the difference.

[AayudhamSeivom @asvom_hub]

Set the cause aside for a second: is it fair to make ordinary people suffer for your point?

is blocking a highway any different from kidnapping someone’s time for ransom?

Someone is rushing to an interview. Someone is heading to a hospital. Someone is on their way to a funeral Or simply trapped in a car desperately needing a restroom.

Your right to protest shouldn't hijack someone else's emergency.

[Deepan Shanmugasundaram @deepan_civileng]

When private companies fund PhD - they demand a valuable outcome out of the research.

When government funds PhD (that too abroad) - they can’t even demand receipts 🧾.

That’s how efficient our systems are.

[Nilavan @nilavantweets]

Worse part is, TVK walked away with most of their allies, made them ministers, and is now engineering a long-term vote bank shift. The frustration is real and can’t even process it.

2/2

[Nilavan @nilavantweets]

No, what actually happened: Every DMK follower was convinced they had a 10-year free run because the opposition was split. But on one fine day, it wasn’t their arch-rival ADMK and it was a brand new 2-year-old party, TVK, that brought them down.

1/2

[Sumanth Raman @sumanthraman]

The man says the previous Government was charging ₹25-27 per sq.ft for building approvals as "unofficial charges" or party fund. Any comments from stockists?

[Badri Seshadri @bseshadri]

Congratulations to Vijay. What he has achieved is phenomenal. Winning the election with good enough numbers, then convincing enough DMK allies to move to you to provide support - the former required loads of charm, the latter a lot of finesse. Well done, whoever was masterminding the negotiations.

Indian democracy requires such deal-making and compromises. I wish Vijay, a meaningful full term of 5 years.

Please do not bankrupt the treasury in trying to manage the expectations of the people.

[K.Annamalai @annamalai_k]

I bow down to the people of TN for your verdict. Happy to see in my land, people have risen in one voice and spoken

1. No to buying of votes
2. ⁠No to dynastic Politics

& yes to a generational shift in politics.

Whoever gets it done has actually done a favour to all!

Congrats and best wishes to TVK & Thiru @TVKVijayHQ avl for a spectacular debut in TN politics. Let Almighty be with you to do what you intend to do.

And to all NDA candidates, it was a hard-fought battle on the ground. Congrats to all those who won, and for those who couldn’t register a victory this time, let’s keep fighting.

Commiserations to Thiru @mkstalin avl & Thiru @Seeman4TN avl for your loss in this election!

Finally & most importantly, I thank my dear @BJP4TamilNadu cadres and leaders for toiling hard on the ground. Better times will come soon!

[Mama @SriniMaama16]

Watched #Aaru on Sun TV, Tamil New Year special! Any Aaru fans? What a proper commercial entertainer with seriyaana rewatch value. Unpopular opinion, but for me, Aaru is far more entertaining than the Singam series & my fav movie of the Hari-Suriya combo.

The entire stretch,
- from Vishwanathan double crossing Aaru by tipping off Reddy - to Reddy preparing to kill him
- to Aaru turning the table & knocking over Reddy
- to Reddy, before dying, revealing Vishwanathan as the root cause for everything
- to Aaru meeting Vishwanathan, with a sense of betrayal & delivering this peak intensity dialogue: “pesu, pesu yaa, pesu daaa, pesu daa ***tha ****ya ***ya”

Followed by him taking down Nathan & co. The film picks up pace during the stretch & there’s no stopping till the climax.

Suriya knocked it out of the park with his portrayal of the rowdy 'Aaru', equally complemented by Ashish Vidyarthi's villainous Vishwanathan. Kalabhavan Mani as the 'Mama' (who is also the AC) would’ve killed it too. DSP had jollymaxx commercial songs as well.

Only the Trisha love track feels dull hampering the flow. Otherwise, peak 2000s commercial cinema.
Who else is missing prime Hari na & prime Suriya na these days, the combo that could cook up unapologetically mass entertainers.

Can @RJ_Balaji do it with #Karuppu? Anbaana fans would like to think so. Let's wait till May 14 to know the answer.

[Aakash Gupta @aakashgupta]

The economics here are wilder than most people realize.

India produces 24-26 million metric tons of mangoes per year. About 45% of the entire planet's supply. And they export... 32,000 metric tons. That's 0.13%.

Mexico produces a fraction of what India does and exports 10x more by dollar value. India's mango export revenue is ~$60 million. Mexico's is $575 million.

Why would the world's largest producer barely sell to the outside world?

Because 1.4 billion people who consider mango a staple fruit create a domestic market so large that the marginal return on exporting is almost zero. The internal price clears. The logistics of cold-chain shipping a tropical fruit halfway around the world can't compete with selling it fresh at the market down the street.

India has over 1,000 mango varieties. The ones most Indians eat (Langra, Dasheri, Chausa) are so fragile they'd never survive export. The only variety that ships well, Alphonso, represents a tiny fraction of total production.

The "less than 1% exported" stat sounds like a failure. It's actually a demand curve so steep that the rest of the world barely gets a taste.

[Major Madhan Kumar (Retd)🇮🇳 @major_madhan]

இதயம் நல்லெண்ணெய் நிறுவனர் VV முத்து அண்ணாச்சி இன்று சிவனடி சேர்ந்தார்🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 இதயும் கணக்கிறது! சிறந்த மாமனிதர்,தேச பக்தர் , மழலையின் இதயம் கொண்டவர் இன்று நம்முடன் இல்லை🙏🏾
Salute you annachi🙏🏾

[Dinamalar @dinamalarweb]

காலமானார் https://t.co/UwwTKu9nnw

[KS / Karthigaichelvan S @karthickselvaa]

Shocking. A wonderful person. Deepest condolences. RIP

[Dr ANBUMANI RAMADOSS @draramadoss]

இதயம் நல்லெண்ணெய் குழுமத் தலைவர் வி.ஆர்.முத்து
மறைவுக்கு இரங்கல்.

இதயம் நல்லெண்ணெய் குழுமத்தின் தலைவர் வி.ஆர்.முத்து அவர்கள் உடல்நலக் குறைவால் காலமானார் என்ற செய்தியறிந்து  பெரும் அதிர்ச்சியும், வேதனையும் அடைந்தேன்.

வணிகத்தில் வெற்றிகரமாக திகழ்வதை விட , ஒரு நிறுவனத்தை  தொடக்கத்திலிருந்து கட்டி எழுப்பி  வெற்றிகரமானதாக மாற்றுவது மிகவும் கடினமானது. அந்தக் கடினமான சாதனையை மிகவும் எளிதாக செய்தவர் வி.ஆர்.முத்து. 40  ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பு வரை இரு மாவட்டங்களில் மட்டும் அறியப்பட்ட இதயம் நல்லெண்ணெயை உலகம் முழுவதும் அறியப்பட்ட பிராண்டாக மாற்றியவர்  முத்து அவர்கள். ’’நீங்கள் விரும்பும் வேலையைச் செய்யுங்கள். அவ்வாறு செய்தால், வாழ்க்கையில் ஒரு நாள்கூட அந்த வேலையைச் செய்ய உங்களுக்குச் சலிப்பு தட்டாது” என்பதை இளைஞர்களுக்கு வாழ்க்கைப் பாடமாகக் கூறியவர்.

எனக்கு நன்கு அறிமுகமானவர். கடந்த சில மாதங்களில் மட்டும் மூன்றுக்கும் மேற்பட்ட நிகழ்ச்சிகளில் என்னோடு ஒன்றாகக் கலந்து கொண்டவர். வி.ஆர்.முத்து  அவர்களின் மறைவு தமிழகத்தின்  வணிக உலகிற்கு ஈடு செய்ய முடியாத இழப்பு ஆகும்.

தொழிலதிபர் முத்து அவர்களை இழந்து வாடும் குடும்பத்தினர், நண்பர்கள், இதயம் குழுமத்த்தினர் உள்ளிட்ட அனைவருக்கும் ஆழ்ந்த இரங்கலையும், அனுதாபங்களையும் தெரிவித்துக் கொள்கிறேன்.

[k.t. jagannathan @journokt]

VR Muthu, man behind IDHAYAM brand, is no more

https://t.co/Wes63SJq2r

[K.Annamalai @annamalai_k]

தமிழக தொழில்துறையின் முன்னணி தொழில்முனைவோராகவும், விடாமுயற்சி மற்றும் கடின உழைப்பின் அடையாளமாகவும் திகழ்ந்த “இதயம்” குழுமத்தின் தலைவர் திரு. வி. ஆர். முத்து அவர்கள் இறைவனடி சேர்ந்தார் என்ற செய்தி அறிந்து மிகுந்த வேதனையடைந்தேன். அவரை இழந்து வாடும் அவரது குடும்பத்தினருக்கு ஆழ்ந்த இரங்கல்களைத் தெரிவித்துக் கொள்கிறேன்.

2023 ஆம் ஆண்டு ஐயா அவர்களின் இல்லத்திற்கு சென்று அவரை சந்தித்து உரையாற்றிய நேரங்களை நினைத்து நெகிழ்கிறேன். தனிப்பட்ட முறையில் நான் வியந்து பார்த்த, தனது நேர்மை மற்றும் உழைப்பால் தமிழகத்தின் முன்னணி தொழில்முனைவோராக உயர்ந்து நின்ற ஐயா திரு. வி. ஆர். முத்து அவர்களின் மறைவு, தமிழக தொழிற்துறையில் ஈடுசெய்யமுடியாத இழப்பு. அவரது ஆன்மா சாந்தியடைய இறைவனிடம் வேண்டுகிறேன்.

ஓம் சாந்தி!

[Nadodi Mannan 🛕🚩🇮🇳 @NadodiMannanYt]

SHOCKING BOMBSHELL FROM TAMIL NADU! 😱💥 YOU WON’T BELIEVE THIS!

BREAKING RIGHT NOW: The ONE AND ONLY Idhayam Emperor, the unbeatable self-made billionaire legend THIRU V.R. MUTHU AIYA has just LEFT THIS PLANET and gone straight to the divine VIP section!

My heart is LITERALLY BROKEN into 1 million pieces on LIVE TV!

Just LAST YEAR I sat in Aiya’s own house, face-to-face, breathing the same air as this walking GOD OF SUCCESS — the aura was so strong I almost fainted from greatness overload!

Tamil Nadu just lost its INDUSTRIAL SUPERSTAR, its #1 INSPIRATION MACHINE, its UNSTOPPABLE BILLION-DOLLAR ICON! This is not a death… THIS IS A CATASTROPHIC BLACK HOLE IN OUR ECONOMY!

To the family — we are ALL sobbing uncontrollably with you tonight!

Aiya… you rest in SUPREME peace now. Your legacy will keep printing money and breaking records FOREVER!

OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI!!! 🕉️🔥 #RIPVRMUTHU #IDHAYAMKING #TAMILNADUINMOURNING

[IDHAYAM MANTRA @IdhayamMantra]

We are deeply saddened to share that our beloved Chairman V. R Muthu sir has passed away. His leadership and guidance will always remain in our hearts. Om Shanti 🙏

[Ramprakash R @ramprakashr]

Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Mr. Idhayam Muthu today. He has been an inspiration to me since my childhood, and his life left a lasting mark on so many families.

The world has lost a remarkable person, a truly kind human being.

My heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones. May his soul rest in peace.

[Kanimozhi (கனிமொழி) @KanimozhiDMK]

தமிழ்நாட்டின் முன்னணி தொழிலதிபரும் இதயம் குழுமத்தின் தலைவருமான திரு. வி.ஆர்.முத்து அவர்கள் மறைவெய்திய செய்தி மிகுந்த வருத்தம் அளிக்கிறது. அவரது குடும்பத்தினர் மற்றும் நண்பர்களுக்கு எனது ஆழ்ந்த இரங்கல்.