Lord of the spoor of the tigress,
outside our town hyenas
and civet cats live
on the kills of leopards
and tigers
too weak to finish what’s begun.
Rajahs stand in photographs
over nine-foot silken tigresses
that sycophants have shot.
Sleeping under country fans – Prayers To Lord Murugan – A. K. Ramanujan
Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. – T.S. Eliot
FRANCE/INDIA. “Touch down Mother Land.”
They came, they roared, they conquered.
Wild Tiger ‘co-pilots’ Gautom Menon and Paul George Vedanayagam are back in India after one of the most remarkable and boldest CSR initiatives in travel retail history.
The Moodie Davitt Report followed the tireless, tigerish twosome’s every kilometre, from Kerala, India to the south of France and Cannes. Our ‘Roarport’ recorded their many highs and very occasional lows, and their meetings with travel retail associates and friends, until they reached their ultimate destination on the eve of last week’s TFWA World Exhibition.
Their mission was to publicise the endangered plight of Indian tigers with a prime focus on conservation. They did that with style, humour and passion. Perhaps we, or the association itself, should redefine the acronymn TFWA for a day in their honour as Tigers Forever, Well & Alive.
Wherever their trusty TRiger (a Tata Hexa) took them on their epic 64-day journey, Gautom and Paul jumped at every opportunity to outline the work of the Wild Tiger Foundation (WTF) and of the duty free industry. At the same time, their willingness to meet travel retail partners and associates – and the reciprocal welcomes and support they received – underlined the strength and comradeship of the international travel retail community.
Their arrival in Cannes was a suitably rum-bunctious one; featuring a great welcome from industry friends and associates at Ma Nolan’s pub – a party organised by The Moodie Davitt Roarport and Roarena Holland of Essential Communications.
Still sporting their stand-out yellow and black Wild Tiger outfits, Gautom and Paul were easy to spot during the TFWA Exhibition, always chatting, always smiling, always polite and always willing to share their story. TRiger attracted plenty of attention too as the pair took it for numerous spins around the Croisette and surrounding streets.
Comments from TFWA World Exhibition visitors were overwhelmingly positive, although as noted in Martin Moodie’s latest blog, Gautom felt that the city of Cannes could have done more to welcome them and to highlight their cause.
“It’s been over 90 hours since we arrived here and it’s been like a dream,” Gautom told The Moodie Davitt Roarport before the pair departed for home.
“So much appreciation and adulation, makes us feel flattered and humbled. What I am most touched is to hear fellow Indians telling us “You have done India proud, I am proud of you”.
“This really is too much and a lot for me to assimilate right now. We genuinely don’t feel like it’s some huge achievement; maybe it will sink in later or maybe it won’t. Our adrenaline has been so very high but even now that the journey is over, and initial celebrations done, it is slow to plummet.”
However, as Gautom points out, “tigers will always find a way to roar” and they made the most of their time in Cannes before, rather poignantly, heading to Marseille. There they bid farewell to TRiger, their trusty four-wheeled companion, which is being shipped back to India.
The Wild Tiger co-pilots then jumped on a train to Paris and a rendezvous with Air India, which had kindly laid on complimentary business class seats to honour the young men’s achievement. “Take me home,” Gautom said. “I’ve been away over 70 days and it’s been nothing short of sensational.”
His first stop was in Delhi and a warm, surprising and much-appreciated reception from Delhi Duty Free Services (DDFS). Gautom noted that all the DDFS team members were fully aware of the Wild Tiger mission and had followed the entire trip on The Moodie Davitt Roarport.
“A massive thanks to DDFS and the duty free industry for embracing us in unimaginable ways,” Gautom told The Moodie Davitt Roarport. “This is special; this is epic!”
Gautom spent one night in Bangalore before flying home to Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, earlier today. Touchingly, an inflight announcement paid recognition to the Wild Tigers. Gautom arrived back to a warm and emotional welcome from family, friends and associates which left him speechless. Well, almost. This is Gautom Menon, remember…
“And finally to the place I call home,” Gautom said, adding, “I am not sure if a much-needed rest is on the cards, but definitely much-needed laundry is!”
And so, the epic Roar Trip comes to an end. The spirit of Wild Tiger, literally and metaphorically, however, will run and run.
*Footnote: Want to pay tribute to Gautom and Paul? Simply add your comment via the Disqus platform below.