It was in February 2008 when I had first met Karl Slym and his wife Sally at our wedding in Guruvayur, Kerala. Karl at that time had taken over as the managing director of General Motors India and my wife Deepa’s dad and Karl were colleagues.It was his first few months in India and he was really excited to experience the first Indian wedding. Karl looked stunning in his silver sherwani and after the wedding in Guruvayur, he travelled with us to my wife’s family house in Muvattupuzha and even insisted on staying in the same house that only had the basic comforts. Sally clad in a Kanchipuram sari did create a flutter in the small village when she lit up a cigarette and started smoking away to glory. Karl was so touched with the deep warmth and hospitality that he would say that Deepa’s uncle Rajan in Muvattupuzha was like his own brother. Karl later in his interview in economic times also mentioned that the ‘Vidai’ that they had witnessed during our wedding was so moving that it was like seeing Taj Mahal to him and Sally. A few months later when Karl was with Babu, the owner of Chevrolet dealerships in Cochin, he had a strange request telling Babu that he would like to go and meet his brother Rajan in Muvattupuzha, much to Babu’s astonishment. He then went to meet Rajan with gifts and returned back to Delhi with coconuts and jackfruit from Rajan’s farm.
For a man of his stature, Karl was very down to earth, except for rarely getting annoyed when I would use my cell phone to check my messages, while speaking to him. I would initially be very formal around him, Deepa and her brother Abhishek would talk about anything under the sun without any hesitation. They would tell him that he looked like Richard Gere and Russel Crowe and he would enjoy that kind of comparison.He was a person who would go to great lengths to get to know the other person well and made them very comfortable. Even when you send him a message on linkedin, he would reply back with a warm personal note.
Just after the wedding Sally had invited us to their house in Gurgaon. We chose to visit them on Valentine’s Day since we wanted to be around this great couple on our first valentine’s day. Sally bowled us over with her special valentine’s day ‘love’ menu and a dining table decorated with rose petals. As we talked, she would serve Greek cuisine with avocados and peaches and would open a menu specially typed on handmade paper and wrapped in a red ribbon.She would then calmly read out the menu, and the aphrodisiac properties of the food that she served us.She continued doing that at regular intervals through dinner and finally topped it with an exotic dessert complete with melted milk chocolates, strawberries and bananas. Karl then showed us his collection of Ganeshas, he had many of them in the form of paintings and idols. He had all kinds of toys including a full-fledged game room and a drums set. He even tapped my head with his cordless phone when I had asked him how much rent he was paying for his sprawling farm house.That evening was unforgettable and a great ‘valentine’s day’ for the newly weds.
We then moved to the US and returned back a year later for vacation. As we were flying back to the US , Sally and Karl had dropped in to visit Deepa. During that time my father had passed away and Sally sat with me for a long time hearing me out and consoling me over my loss. They were such emotional people that they wouldn’t even come to the car to see us off, fearing that they would break down and cry.
Deepa used to be in touch with both of them and we would see occasional photographs of Sally and Karl whenever they visited my in-laws for special occasions like the Onam festival. It was fun to see both of them in ‘Mundu’ and ‘ Settu Sari'(traditional Kerala attire).They even had a large collection of that.
We moved back to Chennai, a few months later and Deepa was expecting. Sally was the first one to send her baby clothes. It was during this time GM filed for bankruptcy and Karl was all over the newspapers with a slew of damage control initiatives, which later became sort of a folklore in the auto industry and established him as a turnaround specialist. That was also one of the main reasons for his induction to the top job at Tata Motors.
Our daughter Ishanah was born and I had called Sally and Karl who were very excited when they heard the news. Deepa’s dad was travelling to the US at that time and the news of the baby’s arrival was communicated to him first by Karl.Sally and Karl along with one of the their lady friends from Canada came to attend Ishanahs ’28th day’ ceremony(Namkaran).They were mighty excited to see the baby in a dhoti and gold jewellery and her name being whispered into her ears. Karl was a very expressive man and he had sent out a message later that evening thanking us for inviting them and about how much they enjoyed being there.
Karl was a big fan of Bollywood and enjoyed being part of film awards and events and he would tell Deepa interesting stories about his meeting with Shahrukh Khan and other celebrities. I recall him telling us that he had met Katrina Kaif at an award function and was annoyed that she would speak to him more due their ‘English ‘connection and didn’t recognize that he was the MD of a large company. He also told us about how they enjoyed their visit to the ‘Kingdom of dreams’ in Gurgaon and even offered to send us there during our next trip to Delhi.
Karl was a busy person hobnobbing with top CEOs and chief ministers and his calendar would be blocked for the entire year, including the weekends. When Ishanah was six months old, we had invited Karl and Sally for her ‘Choroonu'(Annaprashan).Inspite of his busy schedule, both Karl and Sally travelled to Chennai to attend the ceremony for a few hours and flew back to Delhi the same afternoon.At the Ayyappan temple he also made an ‘Annadhanam’ offering. Karl joked that they had attended all the important events in our family and they would both come for Ishanahs wedding as well. That was the last we met both of them. We spoke to them again before Karl was leaving on a transfer to China. A few months later we were happy and excited to learn that he was returning back to India as the new Tata Motors boss.
Our interaction later with both of them was limited except for the occasional SMS messages that Karl would send to Deepa, both being ardent cricket fans, particularly when there is an India -England match. After joining Tatas, he had messaged Deepa once when he was in Chennai, but we could not meet him, which we now deeply regret. He recently sent out a message to Deepa asking if she was geared up for the upcoming Australia-England match.
The news of his sudden demise has shocked all of us. He was so full of warmth and had a human touch and it is unbearable to think of the disturbing manner in which he has passed. The time we spent with him is fresh in our memories and as we see countless pictures of him in our albums, the web and the newspapers, it feels as if he is very much around. It’s rather hard to believe and disheartening to read about the reports of discord between one of the most loving couples we had ever met.Our prayers are with Sally and hope god gives her the courage to overcome this huge loss.
There is a saying that ‘God takes away good people early in life ‘ and that is what I truly feel about Karl.He was one charming Englishman with a golden heart and he had touched many lives. We will deeply miss you Karl. RIP.
sathishsperspectives 