A recognition after 30 years

 

Amid many farewell get-togethers, I attended a meeting with a difference. It was organised by the First batch of students of the Post Graduate Diploma Course in Advertising conducted by the Advertising Club Madras that was launched during my year as the President of the club in 19994. Vijay Vasudeven the ever enthusiastic member of the group had managed to get 10 out of 19 participants in the course to attend the event to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the course and also to honour me for initiating the course which changed their lives for the better. While I feel delighted to get the recognition after 30 years, I think it would be appropriate for me to reproduce an extract from my autobiography which talks about my involvement with the Advertising club Madras and how the idea for the course was mooted and implemented .

"When K.A. Srinivasan, a veteran committee member became the President in 1992-93, he invited me to take over as the Convenor of the Club’s own building project. As a first step, I prepared a project report, clearly spelled out the objectives, outlined a structure and also worked out a budget. Armed with this document, I approached some of the leading lights in the agency business in Madras for their support.

Encouraged by the positive response I got, we started looking out for a suitable office space. Over the years, the club had saved about Rs. 5 lakhs. However, most of the premises on offer required more than Rs.10 lakhs. It was then that I came to know that my friend, Tabler Indu Chandhok had some office space available in Carex Centre, the building owned by his group company. Though the total value of the property was Rs. 9 lakhs and we were Rs.4 lakhs short, Indu, because of my personal relationship with him, agreed to sell the property to the Club, on condition that we pay the balance within a specific time. He was kind enough to allow us to take possession of the property and start work on the interiors. The property was registered towards the end of Srinivasan’s term as President. It was a proud moment for all of us when we performed the Pooja at our own premises on the second floor of Carex Centre, centrally located off Anna Salai.

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When I took over as President from Srinivasan in 1993, not only did I have to raise Rs. 4 lakhs to pay Indu Chandhok for the premises, but I also had to find the money for the interiors. R. Krishnamurthy of Eenadu, one of the pillars of Ad Club those days and I called on R.K. Swamy, N. Murali from the Hindu and others for help. Swamy straightaway committed Rs. 3 lakhs, N. Murali Rs. 2 lakhs and another Rs. 60,000/- came from Shanth Kumar of Deccan Herald. An appeal to the members to contribute to the Building Fund helped in donations coming in from several small and big agencies and also individual members.

Once sufficient funds were collected, Srini helped with the interiors which not only served as a classroom for 20 students and a library, but also had a corner where the administrative secretary and his assistant could be seated. I managed to bring in Janardhanan, who helped me run the Round Table India Secretariat, to help set up the Secretariat of the Ad Club Madras. It was a dream come true for all of us when on 24th February 1994, we inaugurated the ’Centre for Advertising’ at our own premises with Arun Nanda, the then President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) as the Chief Guest. In his speech, Mr. Nanda acknowledged that it was the first time ever that such a centre was established by any Ad club in India. He was also delighted to learn about the proposed PG diploma course in advertising that the club was planning and wished it all success!

The PG Diploma course was my solution to the perennial problem of man power shortage in the booming advertising industry at that time. A jewel in the crown of Ad Club Madras, as it was called those days, the project was planned as an integral part of the permanent secretariat, to ensure continuous activity in the club and also to provide a regular income. The course initially trained 20 students, the number limited by the capacity of the classroom.”

Though I started it, the credit for running the course successfully for more than 20years should go to Past President Jagannath Ramaswamy,as the Course Director. It is not often that a Past President of any club can sustain his interest in any activity for such a long time. I am happy that Vijay and his team also honoured Jagannath at the function.

It was appropriate that the current office bearers of the club under the dynamic leadership of Bala also participated in the event. It is heartening to note that the course, after a gap due to the pandemcic, has been relaunched, with new syllabi. While I congratulate Vijay for conceiving the idea of the alumni get together of the First batch I hope he will help in forming an alumni Association of all past students of the course. I wish him and the office bearers of the Adclub Madras all the best in their endeavours to take the club to greater heights