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High thinking turned plain living
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Joy Ittan from Ooramana was once a firebrand supporter of prohibition. Today, he is in the liquor business in the U. S. Suresh Kumar finds out how that happened
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CHEERS From Kolencherry to President Clinton's neighbourhood, Joy Ittan in front of his store
Fate sometimes leads people to unforeseen, uncharted courses in life. And Joy Ittan will vouch for this.
Two decades ago, Ittan was actively involved in the campaign for prohibition. This young, firebrand politician took part in the agitation in his native village of Ooramana, near Kolencherry.
With stalwarts like Prof. M. P. Manmadhan heading the agitation, he was part of a movement in getting two liquor shops in his village shut down. This teetotaller-politician was also tipped to make it big in politics after being elected as State general secretary of KSU (1983-87), Ernakulam district secretary of the Youth Congress and member of the KPCC.
It was then he migrated to the United States in 1990. Today, Ittan is a flourishing liquor businessman!
Ironically, the man who agitated for prohibition went on to make a living, selling liquor big time. Ittan's `Troiano Wines & Liquors,' in New York, has an annual turnover of two million dollars.
A new life
Ask Ittan about this turnaround and he has a strong defence. "Drinking is not taboo among women and children in the U. S. Wine is served during supper and dinner in every household. I'm an occasional drinker. Our drinking habits and those of Americans are very different. See, in America people may drink but they never go overboard. Drunken driving or creating a nuisance is a serious crime that can land one in jail," says Ittan.
The shop mostly sells Italian wine. Ittan did not change the shop's name `Troiano,' which is the former owner's family name. Ittan stocks all kinds of alcoholic beverages besides wine. "Hooch and diluted beverages are an unknown phenomenon in the U.S., in fact there are strict quality checks in every stage right from production to distribution," says Ittan.
Ittan, started off as an inventory officer in the government Correctional Facility (Jail/Prison department in the U.S.). After serving in the facility for 14 years, he is now on long leave and is involved in various businesses like liquor shop, petrol pump, real estate, shopping complexes etc.
Dabbled in politics
Ittan was actively involved in politics as a school student at the Government High School, Ooramana. Later, while studying at St. Peter's College, Kolencherry, he was elected the college union general secretary. Although he joined the LLB course at the Law Academy in Thiruvananthapuram, he quit in the third year. Ittan still remembers the agitation in Thiruvananthapuram, against the then government's decision to implement pre-degree board in 1986. He along with KSU activists went on an indefinite hunger strike (which lasted for seven days) against the move.
"I could withstand hunger for seven days. On the eighth day I was removed to the hospital, since my health worsened," he adds. "The Ooramana agitation during 1984-86 was against a toddy and an arrack shop, functioning in the proximity of a school, shrine and a housing colony. As part of the agitation, I gave speeches , picketed the liquor shops along with the prohibition stalwart Prof. M. P. Manmadhan," Ittan said.
"My father persuaded me to emigrate to the U. S. He didn't want me to be a politician. A government contractor, he wanted me to join the business. At that time, my brother and other relatives were already in the U.S. I migrated in 1990." He is an executive member of NORKA in the U. S.
Once in the U. S , he applied for the job of Inventory Officer in a correctional facility. He got the job at the `Sing Sing Correctional Facility' at Ossining, around 35 km from New York. While working there, Ittan began trying his hand at business.
He enjoyed his job at the facility. He was in charge of the inventory and accounting section at `Sing Sing'. The `maximum' jail at `Sing Sing' houses nearly 3,500 male inmates at a time. The jail houses hardcore culprits like murderers, rapists, drug peddlers, which is why the jail is categorised `maximum correctional facility.' The ultra modern jail is situated on the banks of the Hudson, on the other side is a mountain. And that is not all, the jail is surrounded by a 25-foot high wall, guarded with surveillance cameras. Which makes jailbreaks remote. Ittan had interesting experiences there, at Sing Sing. Once, Ittan bumped into a Malayali from Thiruvalla, imprisoned for murdering his wife. He is not the only Malayali working at the facility, there are two other Malayalis of the rank of sergeant, he says. Interestingly enough, although the jail lodges male culprits, there are women officers to guard them, says Ittan.
According to Ittan, prison inmates are not subjected to third degree punishment. But there are group rivalries among various inmates.
Planning ahead
Ittan now plans to resign from the government job, to get fully involved in business, as his long leave will finish soon. Celebrity neighbour
Ittan lives at Hawthorne, near Chappaqua, in Westchester County, where former U. S. President Bill Clinton lives. After completing his term, Clinton has been living here . Ittan is thrilled that he has met Clinton twice and spoken to him, during a morning walk. Apart from his liquor business, Joy runs three gas stations , a shopping complex and a real estate business in New York. "Real estate business has great scope and returns in the U. S. With the help of my colleagues, I am doing well," Ittan says . He says that for instance the value of land in his home county has doubled during the last two years.
Ittan came home to get Ayurveda treatment for his arthritis. "I have undergone allopathic treatment including physiotherapy in leading hospitals in the U. S., but found solace only in Ayurveda treatment at home," he says. "Ayurveda is fast gaining popularity in the West. But the duration of treatment, unavailability of raw medicines, adherence to strict vegetarian diet etc. are unfamiliar to westerners," he says.
And so, Ittan must feel funny when he crosses the place where he sat in satyagraha for prohibition to happen while he makes a living selling alcoholic beverages `across the seven seas'.
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