What is the most endearing quality in a human being?
What does not pay you much in today’s India?
What helps you remain at peace with yourself?
“Integrity & honesty” is the answer to all three.

We see a lot of people who stand by their word but get brutally crushed by the system. Yet, they remain the same because they don’t know any other way to be. Then we also see a few who carry the same virtues but have great people skills and are genuinely interested in forging relationships. You’ll notice that they’ve learned to earn their successes without compromising on their identity and virtues. 

Kuppuswamy Prabhakharan belongs to that latter group of people – That group endowed with a sharp mind and enjoys swimming with the sharks. 

The early life of Kuppuswamy Prabhakharan

Raised by a single mother, Prabhakaran grew up with an elder and younger brother. As a teacher in the Kanchipuram district, his mother’s income from an elementary school was meager. But he fondly recalls that the school’s fraternity was like an extended family – They were supportive of Jayalakshmi’s teacher and her three sons all through their lives. Kuppuswamy Prabhakharan learned what it takes to cultivate relationships the easy way.  

But as a 6-year-old, Kuppuswamy Prabhakaran did not understand that his oratorical skills, Tamil prowess, and fearless public speaking abilities could pitch him against their friendly neighborhood (no, not Spiderman) leader, Thiru CN Annadurai or Arignar Anna. As neighbors, with houses bang opposite each other, Kuppuswamy Prabhakharan did embarrass Anna’s family when he spoke against him in a propaganda speech in favor of Thiru Natesa Mudaliar (a candidate from the Congress Party). It was in 1962. 

Subsequently, in 1967, Arignar Anna became the 5th Chief Minister of Madras State and 1st Chief Minister of the newly carved out Tamil Nadu in 1969. Kuppuswamy Prabhakharan’s early successes as a public speaker were more an idea from his mother’s school headmaster and peer teachers. He recalls that the victory or defeat of the candidate he was talking for did not matter to him as a child. It was just an opportunity to say something on an elevated podium.  

This natural inclination for reciting Tamil prose or poetry stemmed from his excellent memory and a flair for his native tongue. Kuppuswamy Prabhakharan’s choices of subjects at school and later during his higher secondary, pre-university, and UG were dictated by his natural flair for mathematics and his pragmatic approach to life. He wanted to help his mother in whatever way he could. He was his mama’s boy, and without batting an eyelid, he’d take up any tasks she asked him to do.

Whether it was running a few personal errands for her school headmaster over the weekend or running up to collect tuition arrears from his mother’s student, he always made sure he was there for his mother. His devotion to his mother motivated him to start earning and contributing to his family’s income as soon as he could. He shares that his mother’s advice, to “remain honest and be the best in whatever work you take up,” is a piece of advice he still follows. 

After 46 years of professional highs and lows, he says, “I did the same accounts, book-keeping, and Corporate and financial management at different levels and complexities – but with the same diligence and integrity, right from day one.”

Discipline, Integrity, and Hard work paid off

This discipline and integrity should’ve taken him places – And, yes, it did! He worked across a spectrum of Public Sector organizations, medium and large enterprises, and Government bodies like the Chennai Metro Rail Limited(CMRL).

To think that he started as an Accounts Assistant who was petrified to attend even a phone call at Madras Fertilizers who became the GM Finance of CMRL. He was now managing the entire financial hand-holding between the project leaders and their funding body, viz., JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) – He certainly did come a long way. 

He proudly adds, “It was a good feeling when I won our Japanese partner’s confidence and appreciation. JICA commended my work for its timely execution, ensuring the project was always on-track (no pun intended) after I signed up.” 

He shares that meeting solid leaders and mentors during his early years was the key to all his successes in his mid-career years. He recalls that anybody must be genuine in their connection with people. It does not matter whether you are a householder, a corporate head, or a political leader. It only matters that what you say must strike a chord in the listener, and you can shift their thought process to a more favorable gear – IF you are sincere.  

Kuppuswamy Prabhakharan – Samurai from the world of Finance

In that context, he shares, “I was about 17 and I traveled from my college at Cheyyar in North Arcot District to Ramavaram Gardens, Manappakkam in Chennai (then Madras) to meet the matinee idol, Thiru MG Ramachandran(MGR). Imagine a group of young small-town kids – We just got into a truck and traveled all the way to meet him. We came to attend a meeting that he was supposed to be addressing that evening.

We landed up in the morning and went to meet him. He was quite accessible and welcomed us with a warm smile. As the talkative representative of that group, I moved forward to ask him if he was in conflict with Thiru M.Karunanidhi (the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu), both holding sway over the DMK and its cadre. He very politely answered that both of them were Late Annadurai’s protégés; they just had different styles of carrying his message. And immediately he chided us for talking politics.

He advised us to make our country and hometowns proud by doing something more meaningful with our lives. His words struck a chord in me when he said, ‘You must make your home town proud like Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar (the singer). Look how his name is prefixed with the name of his home town. His singing prowess will put his home town on the world map. Every one of you is capable of doing that. Just focus on becoming good at your skills. Leave the politics to us.‘

The next day, in a public meeting, the Chief Minister expelled MGR from the DMK. MGR went on to create his own party, the AIADMK, and the rest, as they say, is history.”

This personal advice to focus and excel in one’s work did impact the young Prabhakharan. He strived hard to add more qualifications all his life. After many nights of burning the midnight oil (at times under the street light), Prabhakharan came to be respected as a reliable professional – A Cost Accountant and a Company Secretary. 

Life got a little easier as he climbed up the corporate ladder with various enterprises.  In a career spanning 4 decades, Prabhakharan was instrumental in reviving sick units as much as he streamlined financial operations for many a corporation. While he was known to be a stickler for perfection, he was also commended for taking the lead in bringing people-friendly initiatives and community-centric policies to fruition. 

Kuppuswamy Prabhakharan also has another facet to his personality – One that never apple-polishes authority.  He recalls an interesting incident when he was the financial controller of a leading hospital in Chennai. Apparently, the head of the hospital was waiting for his turn at the lift with a bunch of doctors chatting with him.

Kuppuswamy Prabhakharan happened to be heading to his room on the same floor. The head of the hospital called him the next day and asked why he did not wish him a “good morning,” the previous day while he was at the lift entrance. Kuppuswamy Prabhakharan’s response of, “You were busy with other doctors and I didn’t want to intrude,” met with the rude rebuke, “You must wish me whenever you see me.”

A shocked Kuppuswamy Prabhakharan apparently retorted, “I am not your security guard to salute you everywhere. I am your Finance head.”  And he decided to quit that position, that very day. He says, “I didn’t give a damn to his supposed package or my future with that enterprise. I was sure that I can always find another job with an organization that respects human capital.”  

In many ways, this self-respect, integrity, and honesty were his swords of honor for Kuppuswamy Prabhakharan. These were the very spokes that served him from his childhood to build and nurture relationships; These were also the swords that served him to cut-off those that weren’t worthy of his time and mind space. 

Prabhakharan’s life is in harmony with his soul and he believes that is because he is wedded to his first love from his childhood. Their son Dinesh Prabhakharan too is happily married to his lady love and they have a daughter. 

This joint family of Prabhakharans lives under the same roof, sharing their experiences with each other every day, over breakfast and dinner, enriching each other’s views of life with pragmatic wisdom.

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