Month and Year: November 1985
November in Chennai is typically defined by the northeast monsoon, bringing heavy, relentless rains that flood the streets.
But inside, I was operating at peak efficiency.
My daily morning routine of jogging and martial arts training had transformed my physique.
The skinny, uncoordinated teenager I had inhabited a few months ago was gone.
Through Master Rajendran’s grueling Silambam drills, my shoulders had broadened, my core was rock solid, and my reflexes were razor-sharp.
I was mastering the footwork required to evade multiple attackers, and I was memorizing the anatomical pressure points taught in Varma Kalai.
Master Rajendran rarely praised anyone, but one morning, after I successfully disarmed a senior student during a sparring session using a precise wrist-lock, he nodded in approval.
“You have an old man’s patience inside a young man’s body, Vijay. You learn not just to fight, but to anticipate. That is rare.”
In college, my reputation was equally solid.
I maintained excellent grades without having to try, freeing up my mental bandwidth to analyze my classmates.
Loyola was filled with the sons of bureaucrats, police officers, and old-money industrialists.
During our breaks, when the professors left the room, I would often lead discussions on complex economic policies.
When the central government discussed the framework of the upcoming 7th Five Year Plan, my classmates were confused by the macroeconomic jargon.
I would break it down for them, explaining how the shift toward industrial modernization and the focus on energy sectors would impact local businesses.
I became the unofficial tutor for the smartest, most ambitious kids in the batch.
My daily schedule was punishing but perfectly compartmentalized.
4:00 AM to 7:00 AM: Jogging and Martial Arts (Varma kalai and Silambam),
8:30 AM to 1:30 PM: College classes.
2:30 PM to 5:30 PM: Working at the Ambattur office with Vikram, aggressively following up on our import licenses and establishing contact with international suppliers.
6:30 PM to 9:30 PM: My night accounting job at Rajesh’s shop, where I kept my finger on the pulse of the Sowcarpet money markets.
Despite this heavy load, I didn’t neglect my real estate side-hustle.
Selvam, my clerk contact, proved his worth again in mid-November.
The real estate market was slightly sluggish due to the heavy rains, creating opportunities for distressed buyers.
I closed two deals this month.
The first was a small residential plot in the developing area of Velachery.
A local government employee needed urgent cash for his daughter’s wedding.
I found a buyer—a professor from my college looking for an investment—and flipped the property contract in three days, netting a quick five thousand rupees in commission.
The second deal was a monster.
It was a massive commercial shed in the industrial area of Guindy.
The owner had defaulted on multiple private loans and was about to have his property seized by local loan sharks.
He needed a buyer who could pay a massive cash advance within forty-eight hours to clear his debts.
I knew Vikram’s old network at Citibank included high-net-worth clients.
I told Vikram to contact an old client he knew who was looking for warehousing space.
Vikram brought the client down. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
The property was severely undervalued at four lakhs (approximately thirty-two thousand USD) due to the urgency.
The client loved it and was willing to pay four lakh fifty thousand.
I structured the deal.
We secured the property from the desperate owner with a token advance provided directly by the buyer through our mediation.
For executing this massive, complex transaction in under forty-eight hours and saving the seller from the loan sharks, I charged a hefty premium.
Between the buyer’s broker fee and the margin we carved out of the seller’s side, this single transaction netted us a staggering twenty-five thousand rupees.
It was a massive win.
I gave Vikram a five thousand rupee bonus on the spot for bringing in the buyer, cementing his absolute loyalty to me.
November Transaction Summary:
Starting Liquid Capital: Twenty-one thousand rupees.
Velachery Real Estate Profit: Five thousand rupees.
Guindy Real Estate Profit: Twenty-five thousand rupees.
Less Vikram’s Bonus: Minus five thousand rupees.
Total Liquid Capital at month-end: Forty-six thousand rupees (approximately three thousand six hundred and eighty USD).
My working capital was replenished, the office was humming, and the licenses were in their final stages.
Now, I just had to wait for December.
I knew exactly what was coming.