George ‘Midas’ Ondaatjie
He stood on the virgin beach of Nilaweli in July 1971 and cast his eyes beyond the sun bathed emerald waters into the horizon. Mihindu Keerthiratne, the enterprising young architect, and a few of us including George’s father AP and wife Christobel was by his side. The foamy waters circled and caressed his feet. The soft waves receded, as if signaling a withdrawal. But forward looking as he always was, he waited for the next wave. That wave seemed to carry a ‘Message’. And then he quipped: “Mihindu, this is it. Let’s do Nilaweli Beach right here.”
George Ondaatjie
In an instant George asked his driver to fetch a mammoty, dug the ground and symbolically laid the foundation for what became the first beach hotel in that backwater fishing village. It was one of the many great business decisions that George made prompted by his gut sense rather than resort to cumbersome analytics.
At that time following the 1971 insurrection, investors were wary of putting precious rupees into brick and mortar, least of all in far-flung areas.
When you met George you saw in him a sense of purpose, an inquiring mind and a decisive, almost impetuous, urgency to get on with it. Carpe Diem!
George and Mihindu designed that first beach hotel with attention to detail to a fault; molded to catch breezes, use water pools to cool the interiors, direct vistas to contemplate and catch light and shades– all to suit the various moods of the day. The design was un-wasteful and minimal. He fought to preserve every tree, bush and branch and built the structures around them. Even to this day, Nature in Nilaweli would bow to him for his respect for the environment.
This experience spawned several other hotel ventures as George along with his dear friend Hubert Cooray co-conspired to make their many dreams real.
Whether it was Nilaweli or Tangerine or Royal Palms, or the surprise acquisition of the Grand in Nuwara Eliya, or getting into Apothecaries or investing in a tea-cum rubber estate, or forming Mercantile Fortunes, George believed in the dreams of the future than get entangled in the history of the past. Creativity and risk-taking was in his DNA. But then such are risk-taking genius’ created in the mold of Midas. The banks had a reverent respect for him and his credit rating in the Bank of Reputation was beyond Triple A!
When George asked leave of tycoon Cyril Gardiner to embark on his own used car sales business, Sir Cyril gave him an IOU. It read: “Come back if you need me”! George never looked back.
From simple beginnings he laid the foundation in Mercantile Investments. That with sheer hard work and focused strategy and corporate integrity Mercantile Investments lives to carry the flag as one of the premier finance houses in the country is the legacy George ‘Midas’ Ondaatjie leaves behind.
Yes, integrity mattered so much to him. I was with George in his office, as his friend and then personal tax-advisor, when in the mid ‘70s the Tax department had launched a raid on Mercantile Investments. George was alerted that a VIP was on line. It was none other than Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike. She was furious when she got to know about the raid. “How can they do this to you George, after you’ve done so much to build this company? What can I do?” she asked in her raspy voice.
Out of respect to the PM, George got up from his seat with telephone receiver in hand and smiled, and then pleaded, “Madam, I have nothing to hide, please let them carry out their investigation. You will see. Thank you Madam for your kindness!”
And as it turned out eventually, the Tax department was acting on a flimsy cooked-up complaint by a disgruntled employee. The Commissioner was gracious enough to call George a few weeks later following a thorough inquiry and tender an apology for the embarrassment caused.
In later years George was a willing mentor to countless people. He encouraged and freed up scores of those who worked for him to embark on their own ventures, recalling his own beginnings. The spring of his heart and the light of his vision made him the affable and approachable facilitator.
And yet, wealth and fame sat lightly on his shoulders. Always relaxed at home in his sarong and in his favourite hotels, he moved with guests, managers and workers with equanimity. He was generous to every worthy cause. He had a giving hand and a warm and generous heart. As he once told me, while we sipped coffee served by his smiling Amme, “what’s the point if I cannot make my loyal Amme smile and happy”.
M.V. Muhsin.