When Jayalalithaa floored the Royal Enfield team

It was a meeting that lasted barely 10 minutes, but left an indelible impression on RL Ravichandran.

The year was 2011 and the AIADMK had just won the Assembly elections. J Jayalalithaa was back with a bang as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. At that point in time, Ravichandran was Director of Royal Enfield which was all set to kick off its second phase of growth in motorcycles from a new plant near Chennai.

During that time, a call came from State government officials saying that the Chief Minister wanted to personally hand over the land allotment docket to Royal Enfield. It was the first company chosen from the list of proposals that she had gone through in exhaustive detail.

“We moved quickly and requested our group MD and CEO, Siddhartha Lal to come down and receive the document directly,” recalls Ravichandran, who was part of the leadership team scheduled to meet the Chief Minister. Even though it is a good five years since this took place, he remembers every detail of that memorable day right from the time the team entered the security gate of Fort St George. The next stop was the special entrance for invited guests with the elegant security protocol that followed. Finally, it was time to meet the lady in person.

“We entered the cabin to see the Chief Minister seated in front of a huge mahogany table. Her team of bureaucrats and ministry colleagues were standing to her left on the side of her table,” says Ravichandran.

Jayalalithaa looked up and noticed the Royal Enfield team entering the room. She quickly stood up and greeted them warmly while graciously accepting the bouquet presented to her. She then handed over the land allotment docket to Siddhartha Lal.

The Chief Minister asked her visitors to sit on the other side of the table and Ravichandran could not help but notice that here was someone who was in absolute control. “I still remember her red sari and friendly smile which presented an overall picture of authority and confidence,” he says.

The Royal Enfield team thanked her for the land allotment, while wishing her the very best for her tenure as Chief Minister. “We are not sure how much you know about Royal Enfield and the Bullet legacy,” the team continued and her reply had them stumped. “I would be damned if I didn't. Go ahead,” said Jayalalithaa.

Ravichandran remembers being speechless for a second and this was when it quickly dawned upon him that here was a person who read extensively and had a deep understanding of the subject on hand. The team quickly updated her on the motorcycle brand which had been operating out of its Tiruvottiyur plant near Chennai for decades.

As Jayalalithaa nodded, they went on to add that the management was keen onbuilding a museum for Royal Enfield in the new facility at Oragadam. “Sure, that sounds interesting,” agreed Jayalalithaa.

Ravichandran then told her how most Indian States had chosen the company’s motorcycles for their cavalry parades, police, traffic control and fire departments. Could Tamil Nadu also follow suit especially when it had been home to Royal Enfield for so long? “I appreciate your point and my government will do what it can, but on merit,” replied Jayalalithaa.

The meeting was over and Ravichandran left with his colleagues in a palpable sense of excitement. Memories came flooding back to 1965 when as a 15-year-old, he had accompanied his uncle to a movie theater in Thanjavur screening Aayirathil Oruvan . It was the “first day first show” and it looked as if everyone in the district was out to see this MGR, Jayalalithaa starrer.

From an ardent film buff and an unabashed admirer of Jayalalithaa for her films, dancing talent and mastery of languages, it had taken Ravichandran over 45 years to come face-to-face with his screen idol. She was, of course, in a different avatar as a politician, while he had moved on in the professional world to be part of leadership positions in TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto and Royal Enfield, where he took over as CEO and worked on its turnaround.

Fast forward to the present and Ravichandran admits he is devastated by the news of Jayalalithaa’s death. He was glued to television through this week and seeing the huge crowds at the funeral only reinforced his view that the departed Chief Minister was truly a leader who stood tall. “I just met her for 10 minutes, but still feel a deep sense of loss,” says Ravichandran.

The land that was allotted to the company five years ago is now home to a buzzing motorcycle plant which was commissioned in barely 18 months. Today, Royal Enfield rolls out 2,000 bikes a day and is clearly the leader in the space it occupies.

Yet, even this facility may not have come to pass had it not been for the intervention of a State government official. This was the time the company was clearly in need of new capacity especially with its older plant in Tiruvottiyur bursting at its seams.

“We looked hard in and around Chennai but just could not get the right spot for our needs. This prompted us to look outsideTamil Nadu,” recalls Ravichandran. A chance meeting with the official resulted in a visit to a site at Oragadam which looked perfect. Today, it is a landmark manufacturing hub for Royal Enfield.