My journey as a writer

Though my reputation as a writer in English is only 12 years old, my interest in writing goes back to my school days when  I was a Tamil fanatic. My school in Bombay  had Tamil as a medium of instruction  until the 8th standard. .An active student member of Bombay Tamil Sangam, I was an avid reader of all the popular Tamil weeklies and books by well-known authors of the time. I was bursting with creative energy. I started channelizing the energy into writing in Tamil. I wrote short stories and plays in Tamil. Not only did I act in plays written by me but one of my plays was even  staged by students of another college. I was also actively involved with some friends in running a manuscript magazine called `Kalai ( ART). When the school management did not encourage extracurricular activities like plays I along with a few  friends started `Manavar Kalai Arangam ( Students Cultural association) with the motto `To encourage ourselves`. Those were heady days.

 All this was behind me when I took up the demanding advertising career and the next 43 years were spent in building a reputation as a Rural Marketing  specialist.  A city boy becoming a Rural Marketing Guru!. This gave me opportunities to write  about my profession and my experiences in helping clients build their brands in rural India in English. Many business magazines carried my articles. Simultaneously  I also got involved in contributing articles and editing the magazines of the several voluntary associations in which I was active. I edited `Tenor` the quarterly magazine of the Madras West Round Table No.10 for three years winning the `Krish Chitale trophy` for the Best Club magazine award from Round Table India one year. I was the editor of `Fellowship`, a quarterly magazine of the 41 Clubs of India which is the Association of ex-Tablers, for six terms. Another  challenging job was as the editor of `Rural Marketing Journal` the quarterly magazine of the Rural Marketing Association of India( RMAI) which I initiated as the Founder president of RMAI and  brought it  out for four consecutive years as its editor. Another toughest assignment I took on was to bring out the Golden Jubilee commemoration volume of the Advertising Club, Madras, as the Chairman of the Golden Jubilee celebrations committee. My good friend Krishna, a senior member of the club  helped me in my  hunt for historical materials and together we wrote most of the articles in the volume. Though I had the advantage of my creative and production executives helping me in producing the magazines I was totally responsible for the contents in every issue.  

 I wrote a lot during my long career as an adman and as an active member of several voluntary  organisations, honing my skills as a writer all the time. So, when I  decided to write my autobiography, a childhood dream, it was not difficult. It had to be in English as I had completely lost touch with writing in Tamil for over four decades, though I continued to read popular Tamil weeklies.

 I started writing my autobiography the day after I retired as the CMD of my own advertising agency at the age of 65- without any diary, notes or records - purely depending on my memory. I found that every time I sat down to write, the events and characters would float in front of me like a film. Going down memory lane was not only fun but also therapeutic.

The success of my autobiography in English published in 2009 paved the way for my taking up writing as a serious hobby post retirement. At this juncture I must record my sincere gratitude to late Mr.S.Muthiah, a veteran journalist for his role as a mentor, constantly encouraging me to write and guiding me all the time. Many of my articles on a variety of topics were published in the Eves Touch magazine and Madras Musings which were edited by Mr.Muthiah. .A few of my articles also started appearing in all the leading English dailies published from Chennai. One of my dreams of becoming a regular columnist became a reality when Adyar Times, a popular community weekly in Chennai started featuring my column `Rajan`s Random Reflections `once a fortnight. Later my good friend  (late) Charukesi , the veteran bilingual writer encouraged me to write fiction. I wrote short stories. I even wrote a novel which was published last year. Another veteran journalist and an old classmate of mine from my college days, S.R.Madhu has also been helping me to improve my writings with his candid comments. I quote from a letter he wrote about my writings.

 “I have read scores of Rajan's articles. He's no wordsmith, he sometimes needs editing, but he appeals to a wide spectrum of readers because of  four qualities  (a) a genuine interest in people. (b) a flair for  story-telling (c) a keen and observant eye (d)a simple and straight forward approach -- no frills, no pomp, no philosophy, no lecturing, no bla-bla”

 I am very conscious that I am neither a scholar nor an intellectual. My memory is poor. I cannot quote from our scriptures, mythology or literature. I am no good at long descriptions of places and things. My vocabulary is limited. Yet  if have managed to appeal  to my  readers, I believe it is  because of my simple language , spoken straight from the heart.

 In my long stint as a writer I always  wrote the first drafts by hand. Since I could not decipher my own handwriting, it was my ever efficient secretary Srividya, who would  type the drafts as she could decipher 90% of my writing correctly. I would then start correcting and revising the typed drafts until I was satisfied with the output. Even after I retired I continued to send the scanned copies of my manuscripts  to her which she would  transcribe and send me. It was a great help. In the last couple of years I have learnt  to key in my articles/stories directly on the computer.  Saving a lot of time.

 As a person who believes in the policy of `Early to Bed, early to rise` I find that I am at my creative best during the morning hours between 4.30 am and 6.00am, considered as the Brahmamuhurtham by our elders.

 Very early in my evolution as a writer /author I had decided that I will try to cover all genres of writing.. So far my published books cover six genres: autobiography, rural marketing (an industry), essays, history of an association, short stories and a novel.

 As the seventh genre of writing, I chose  a translation job because of my comfort level with both English and Tamil. Besides I also had the lessons I learnt from  Charukesi, who had translated my autobiography into Tamil. I am grateful to Dr.J.Bhaskaran, a practicing dermatologist and rising star in the world of Tamil literature, for giving me permission to translate selected short stories from his first collection `Thedal` which has been published with the title `The Search and other stories`

 Though the initial response to my translation job is encouraging, I am not sure I would like to continue with this genre of writing. I always like to challenge myself with new projects which keep my adrenalin flowing and make my life interesting. Poetry does not interest me and I am too far removed from plays to write one. What else? Any suggestions from my readers?

Another Bundle of Joy arrives!

Introducing Bhakthi Balaji, a bonny baby girl, born 24th Feb to my son Balaji & Tulse. Their second child and my sixth grand child ( my own resident grand daughter). Describing his dream family in the making for 12 long years, Balaji calls it as an exercise in Thavam ( penance ) and Bakthi ( faith). Unusual but lovely names for his children.

Arrival of a child is always a joyous occasion. Holding the bundle of joy in your hands is a pleasure beyond compare. I had that experience for the sixth time yesterday. My six grand children are aged between ( in ascending order) Bakthi ( 48 hours), Thavam ( 2 years and 10 months), Keshav ( 18 ), Nila (19), Uthara ( 20) and Arul ( 24). With each of my three children (Kavitha, Sowmya and Balaji) producing their own ideal families , I presume that my quota of grand children is over- unless Balaji/Tulse decide to spring a surprise later. Like Prabha & I did getting Balaji six years after Sowmya was born!

On this happy occasion I do miss Prabha, who could have been a great helping hand to Balaji & Tulse in providing support services. I am useless, as at my age, though my spirit is willing my flesh has become weak. Fortunately Tulse`s parents Naresh & Nandhini live close by and have been of great help to Tulse & Balaji. God Bless them with good health.

Please join me in wishing Bakthi all the best in her life and pray god that she continues to bring joy to the family in the years to come!

Cricket and I

As a young boy, I was very fond of cricket. Within the compound walls of the building (chawl) complex in Bombay, where I was staying, we played underhand cricket with tennis balls and stumps drawn on the walls of the building. There would be a lot of excitement when we played matches between teams. Invariably it got abandoned midway since some player would break the glass of a window of one of the houses while hitting a six and the householder would come running after us, cursing. Later on, we moved to the Matunga Gymkhana grounds opposite R.A. Podar College, which had a number of cricket pitches. where we began to play with a proper red cricket ball.. If a pitch was not available, we would fix the stumps in any open space available and start playing. But I had a problem. I started wearing glasses from the age of 11. When I broke the first pair within six months of getting them, my father warned me that he could not afford to buy new glasses every time I broke a pair. To ensure safety he got me an old fashioned frame, the type that Mahatma Gandhi wore, which went round the ears and protruded below the ears. When my friends started teasing me and calling me `Budda`, I stopped wearing the glasses until it became difficult for me to see the ball clearly or read what was written on the blackboard in class.. Because of the ‘spectacle’ issue and my fear of losing or breaking it on the cricket ground, I was relegated to the position of the second wicket keeper, standing way behind the wicket keeper to stop the ball when he failed to collect them in his gloved hands. Over the weekends, there were matches played on the pitches between popular teams. On Sundays alone, there would be so many matches, so many fielders and so many balls that it was difficult for onlookers to know who hit which ball where! It was all great fun! Later on, when I was doing my B.Com. in Podar College, I had the pleasure of rubbing shoulders with the likes of Farokh Engineer, Indian wicket keeper (who was my classmate) and other popular local cricketers whose names I have forgotten.. Farokh was a very handsome `Bawaji`, always surrounded by pretty girls. I used to envy him. ( The bloated Farokh today continues to look handsome!. I wonder if the girls still chase him?) In the absence of television, running commentary on the radio was very popular among cricket lovers in those days. Vijay Merchant, Vizzy (Maharaja of Vijayanagaram), Sarbadhikari, Balu Alaganan, Anand Rao were very popular commentators who brought the cricket field to life, with their commentary. In spite of India losing most of the matches, the interest in the game was as high then as it is today. Even if the Indian team drew a match with another team, it was considered an achievement. If a batsman stayed on at the crease for a long time, even without scoring, he was considered a great batsman. If a bowler bowled several maiden overs without taking even a single wicket, he was considered a great bowler. Indian Cricket has surely come a long way since then. Throughout my student days, I longed to watch a test match at the Brabourne Stadium of the Cricket Club of India (CCI), but could not do as I could not afford it. Today even when I am offered a pass for the Pavilion enclosure in the MCC in Chennai, I don`t accept it because my interest in cricket has waned. I only watch a few IPL matches when my favourite team CSK is playing and that too when they are batting. What a comedown for a cricket crazy guy who used to maintain a scrap book containing Press Cuttings of all the famous cricketers of the time! That is life! Extracted from my autobiography titled `Courage My Companion`.

Making of Professor Rajan

It was in 1996 that S.R. Ayer, popularly known as “Mani” Ayer, after retiring from Ogilvy & Mather, became the mastermind behind the Advertising Management Course offered by MICA (Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad). He laid the solid foundation that later made the Institute a premier one in Advertising Management in the country. Immediately after he settled down in Chennai in 1994, as the (then) President of the Advertising Club Madras, I requested him to be the Chairman of the All India Advertising Conference of the Ad Club in 1994. He not only masterminded a good programme but also introduced a few interesting ideas to ensure top quality of the sessions without overlapping speakers! The conference brought me close to Mr. Ayer. I became his ardent admirer and started looking upto him for his guidance in my hours of crisis, professionally. He was well known for his legendary leadership qualities and his innate good nature in dealing with people. He became one of my best well wishers. Two years after MICA was started Mr.Ayer invited me to be a guest lecturer at MICA to handle a couple of sessions in Rural Marketing. I put together a presentation of three lectures based on what I had learnt about rural marketing over the years. It was my first presentation on the subject to an outside audience. Though I had been taking classes on general advertising for students at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kothari Academy, Advertising Club etc., it was my first attempt at addressing management students. I was frankly nervous as I expected the bright boys and girls to tear me apart with questions. But my fears were unfounded because the students found my lectures interesting and asked sensible questions which I could easily handle. Mr. Ayer told me later that I had got a rating of 4 out of 5 from the students. My first successful attempt at teaching Rural marketing resulted in my becoming a regular guest faculty in Rural marketing for the next fifteen years not only in Mica but also several other Management Institutes all over India. As the President of Rural Marketing Association of India I even master minded a full two credit Rural Marketing course for MICA and was responsible for implementing it with other specialists in RM. It was a role that I thoroughly enjoyed . The credit for converting me from a professional in rural marketing to Prof. R.V. Rajan in rural marketing must go to Mr. Ayer. He passed away in February, 2010 at the age of 74 leaving behind a big vacuum in the world of advertising. Extracted from my autobiography titled `Courage My Companion`

Every Thing Happens for the Good

 My colleague B in Clarion was a handsome Sardar, impeccably attired, who brooked no nonsense from

anybody. While I was known as ‘Crisis Rajan’, he was nick named ‘Urgent Singh’, since every job from his clients was urgent. An incident involving both of us  almost cost me my life but helped me learn a valuable lesson(!) in life from B.

After a couple of months in Clarion he quit to join MCM, the hottest new agency Bombay those days.,. As part of his salary package, B had got an advance from the company  to buy a second hand car. He promptly bought one without knowing how to drive. He rode a two wheeler those days.

 Within a week of his leaving Clarion, I got a call from B one evening, “Hey Rajan! Good news, I have bought a car and got possession of the same this afternoon. And you are going to drive that car back to

my home at Khar”. I was rattled. I had gone to a driving school to get my driving license but I  had no practice. Besides I had never driven a car in the night. My loud protests were dismissed and he landed at Clarion promptly at 6.00 pm requesting me to take to the wheel.

 “It is my car, I know I am taking a risk. So what is your problem?” I did not have the courage to tell him that he was risking both our lives! Anyway, I drove the car very slowly and reached his residence at Khar after 2½ hours — a distance a good driver could cover in one hour in normal traffic those days. I was relieved when I delivered B safely at his house, after a torturous journey. I thought the episode was behind me. It was not to be!

 Next morning, a Saturday, it was pouring cats and dogs. Around 9 am, I heard a knock on my door. I was shocked to find B standing with a sheepish grin.

“Rajan, you are going to teach me driving yaar!”

I screamed, “Are you mad? In this rain you want me to teach? I could do with some practice myself!” When I asked him “Where’s the car?” he said with a mischievous smile, “In front of your house. Simple

yaar! I know how to change gears because of my experience in riding the two-wheeler. So I managed to drive the car up to your house!”

He literally dragged me out, once again admonishing me for my lack of courage, so typical of a ‘Saala Madrasi’. With great reluctance, I decided to take the car in the pouring rain to Carter Road in Bandra, a road running parallel to the sea front with parapet walls. The road was fairly empty and when we reached one end of the road, B took the wheel and I began explaining to him the gear system and how to coordinate between the clutch and the accelerator. After the initial briefing, B started the car.

I kept giving him instructions, “Now change to second gear, now third and now fourth”. The car picked up speed and suddenly, in the pouring rain, it started skidding. As a novice myself, instead of asking him to slow down by changing gears, I shouted for him to apply the brakes, which he promptly did. The car took several spins and stopped after hitting the parapet wall. Due to the impact, my head hit the wind shield and I passed out! When I came back to senses,  I was staring  at the face of B. I found my head throbbing with pain with a bleeding gash on my forehead.

 When he told me, “Rajan, everything happens for the good, yaar”. I was livid! Here I was with a bleeding injury (while nothing had happened to the Sardar, thanks to his  pagdi (turban)  and he was telling me that something good had happened!

 He explained, “Imagine, if this accident had happened on Link Road, we could have knocked off a few other cars & people and we  would be in serious trouble.`

What logic! Though I was very upset, B taught me an important lesson in life. Don’t get bogged down by mishaps! Always look at the positive side  of every experience and you will find life interesting!

He was kind enough to put me in a taxi and send me home. B never again bothered me with crazy requests!

Excerpted from my autobiography titled `Courage My Companion`

Crisis Rajan!

 They were mad days in Clarion, Bombay, where I was working as an Account Executive. I used to work till late in the nights. Very often sleeping in the office and going home early in the morning to have a shower and change and come back to the office!  In the absence of a telephone at home or even in the whole building, there was no way I could inform my parents  that I would be late or that I would not come home for the night. I must have given my parents hell those days!

One day my mother lost her cool and screamed, “What kind of a job  is this? There are no fixed  timings and no time or the family! Your father never behaved like this in his whole life”.

Unfortunately, she did not realise that my father was not my role model in terms of my career! I wanted to succeed in a big way in the advertising world and I was willing to make any sacrifice to achieve my goal.

This period also coincided with my alienating my school/college friends. Every time any of them called me for a get together, my standard answer would be, “I am in the middle of a big crisis ,yaar. Sorry but I can’t make it.” Provoked by this my friend Ranga nicknamed me ’Crisis Varada’ (School and college friends used to call me Varadarajan or Varada for short). The reputation continued in the office circles when I started handling all troublesome clients. The management would not think twice before handing over a client to me to sort out a crisis created by the action or in-action of another executive on the account. I became ’Crisis Rajan`. I enjoyed facing problems and solving them. In fact, all these years my prayer to God has been  “God! Give me lots of problems and give me the courage to face them. Make my life interesting”. Even today, I am at my best in any crisis situation.

I continue to enjoy challenges which I try to face with courage as my companion.  But my prayer to god has undergone a change since my retirement from active professional life.. As I am on the last lap of my life journey I pray : `God,  don`t  make me a burden on my children but whenever you decide that my time is up, please take me with my shoes on.`

For the Gums and the Bums

Working on Geoffrey Manners account with Subroto Sengupta ( branch manager) and Arshad Farouqee ( group manager) as bosses was both interesting and rewarding. Geoffrey Manners was also the account where I honed my skills in making presentations. With three products and good budgets, we were busy throughout the year making presentations for some brand or the other.

The annual strategy presentation was always great fun. It always started with long briefings where the client would review the performance of the brands and give us clear directions on what they expected from us. I remember one meeting where the client was briefing us on Forhans Toothpaste. Forhans, which was the No. 2 toothpaste brand next to Colgate Dental Cream in those days, used to run a testimonial campaign. The company received unsolicited testimonials from thousands of satisfied customers from across the country. Every year, three letters would be selected and extracts with the name and addresses of the senders were featured in the ads. That particular year there was a letter from an engine driver, which I quote from memory:

“Dear Sir,

I am an engine driver and a regular user of Forhans Toothpaste. I drive on the Bombay-Calcutta sector. About three months ago, the driver who was to relieve me fell ill and I was asked to do extended duty for 24 hours. Sir, I am also a patient of piles. Because of the tension, I had a severe attack of the problem but unfortunately I had forgotten to carry the piles ointment which I usually do. In desperation, I applied Forhans toothpaste, hoping that it would help me. Lo and Behold! I was relieved from my pain within 10 minutes. Sir, I am sharing this experience to tell you that Forhans is not only a good toothpaste but is also good for providing relief from piles!”  

Osborne D’Souza (Ossie), the Copy Chief, who was sitting in the meeting responded thus: “Brilliant! Currently the pack carries the slogan ‘Forhans for the Gums’. Henceforth we can say, ‘Forhans for the Gums and the Bums ”. Everybody laughed. Hafeez Noorani, the Marketing Manager  explained that the driver was relieved of his pain  because one of the ingredient was an astringent which is good for sore or inflamed gums. And sore bums!

The Forhans account also got me my first modelling chance. TRIO films were shooting a series of films for Forhans, featuring models writing letters to Geoffrey Manners. On one such occasion, a male model did not turn up. The Director, Ghanekar, decided that I fitted the role and captured me on camera writing a letter. Later, after I shifted to Chennai, I modelled for a couple of ad films for JS films, a joint venture between Jayendra, who produced the famous `I love you Rasna` campaign` and the veteran Cinematographer P.C.Sriram. At the end of shooting one day, P.C.Sriram commended me for being a `one take artist`. It was a film for Shriram Chit Funds in which I  had a double role- I appeared both as father and grand father. The company used to telecast, several spots of the film every day in Sun TV during the Tamil New Year and Navarathri seasons when they opened New Chits for the public to subscribe. During those days people used  to recognize me whenever I went for shopping or attended any public events. I was quite thrilled to  feel like a mini celebrity those days… memorable days!

Landing a dream job in advertising

Right through my college days when  I was studying for a B.Com degree, I was clear that I wanted to take up advertising as a career, though advertising was not considered a career for a boy from lower middle class those days. .Luckily for me, by the time I had finished my four years in college, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan had started the first ever P.G.Diploma Course in advertising in Bombay, in which I promptly enrolled.

Apart from doing a day job and attending evening classes, I was also a part time tutor at the Podar College of Commerce, taking classes on ‘Salesmanship & Publicity’ for students of  the Diploma in Commerce course.  During this period, I got involved in organizing an exhibition on advertising for the  Commercial Museum.of the Podar College which gave me a legitimate excuse for visiting  leading advertising agencies like JWT, Lintas, Bomas, Clarion, etc., seeking materials, photographs and advertising clippings required for the exhibition. These trips also helped me see first hand the insides of ad agencies and meet some veterans of advertising, which only enhanced my interest in the subject.

 Around this time, Clarion Advertising which had just entered into a tie up with McCann, advertised for Management Trainees. After passing the first two rounds of interviews in Bombay I was selected for the final interview in Calcutta. Friends advised me that to get a job in an advertising agency, I must

be properly attired. Since I could not afford to buy a new suit, I  borrowed a black blazer from the nearby laundry on rent for a week. It was not a perfect fit,I probably looked more funny than smart, but I had a coat to wear for the interview.

I  landed in Calcutta on a Friday evening as  the interviews were scheduled on Saturday

and Sunday. Sitting in the reception of Clarion next morning  I felt nervous  looking at the other candidates. Most of them were sons and daughters of parents who belonged to the upper strata, as was

evident from the way they looked, dressed and talked!. It only added to my complex when I learnt that most of the other candidates had their college education in prestigious institutions  like St. Stephens, Delhi, or St. Xavier’s, Calcutta. I didn’t have to worry because  I was the only guy in the group who

was doing a PG Diploma in Advertising, which gave me a distinct edge over the others, as I found during the group discussions on the second day. I was thrilled when I learnt at the end of the day  that I had done well and that I can expect an appointment letter soon.

On my return to Bombay, I got busy putting  together the exhibition on advertising for which dates had already been fixed. With the help of some students, we had got all the display panels ready and I went around trying to identify a chief guest. I was lucky that the legendary Edward J. Fielden the then Chief of J. Walter Thompson (JWT), the biggest agency in India, agreed to be the Chief Guest and inaugurate the exhibition.

After the inaugural function, at the informal tea session, Mr. Fielden who was obviously impressed with me offered me a job in JWT as a Trainee. He said, “Well, normally boys pay money and get trained in JWT. But I will see that you get a stipend of Rs. 60/- per month”. I was on cloud nine since

I already had offers from the top two agencies of the country. I thanked Mr. Fielden profusely and told him that I would get back to him. The letter of appointment from Clarion, which arrived within a week,

helped me make up my mind in favour of Clarion which  offered me Rs. 250/- per month with a promise that I would be confirmed as Junior Account Executive and would get Rs. 550/- per month at the end of a

year’s training. I was delighted that I had landed my dream job in the second largest advertising agency, even before I had completed my advertising course. My tryst with the advertising profession had begun!

( Excerpted from my autobiography titled `Courage My Companion`)

My formula for success in life

I spent  four years pursuing a degree in Commerce from Bombay University.. During every summer vacation ,I used to take up temporary jobs to earn enough money to look after my college fees. My last summer job as Accounts Assistant at Dharamsi Morarjee Chemicals, which was otherwise routine, was memorable because of a meeting I had with Mr.Shukla,  the Sales Manager  on the last day of my stint at the company.

Watching him in action from my corner table  I  had  become his ardent fan. I am a pushy person by nature. On the last day of my job, I barged into his room and requested him to spare me a few minutes. Though he was initially annoyed at my insolence, when I told him who I was and the purpose for which I wanted to meet him., he  relaxed and asked me to take my seat.

After giving him a brief background about myself, I told him about my plans to become an adman and sought his advice in the matter. Much to my surprise, he was categorical that advertising might not suit me and explained why. He felt that advertising at that point of time was meant for people with social

standing. My lower middle class background would keep me down in the ad world, even if I found a job.

Though I did not follow his advice regarding a career in advertising, I took  two other pieces of advice that he gave me seriously which have helped me evolve as a compassionate and good human being, successful in every thing I have attempted to do  over the years.

Advice No. 1: Since you will be starting on a career in a couple of

years, you must introspect and prepare a balance sheet of your plus points

and minus points. Show this balance sheet to a few of your near and dear

ones to add or eliminate some points. Having got a final list, you must

make a sincere attempt to convert each one of the minus point to a plus

point. It will take you a whole lifetime to do this but the efforts will be

worthwhile.

Advice No. 2: Do not judge the success of a person based on how

he lives or the amount of money he makes. He may have all the money

in the world but in the process of accumulating that wealth and enjoying

the pleasures that such wealth can provide, he would have missed out on

important values in life — values pertaining to relationship with people.

To become a really successful person in life, start at being a good son, a good brother, a good friend, a good student, a good spouse, a good father, a good employee, a good boss and so on.  In other words, you must be successful in every role that you are called upon to play in life. He said that this would take you a whole life time to achieve. But the goodwill that you would have created will guarantee you

greater happiness than all the money in the world can buy. Money can help you buy pleasures but not happiness.

I have followed this advice throughout my life. It has not been easy but I know that I have tried my best. I am happy to say that at 78, I feel that I have led a far more fulfilling life than many so-called-successful people that I have come  across!

My bank of good will is always over flowing  because of which I am able to help any one seeking any kind of help from me. I have discovered, over the years,  that there is no other joy greater than the Joy of giving!

( Excerpted from my autobiography titled `Courage My Companion)

RVR Autobio- excerpts -V (Calcutta Days))

Calcutta Days
I reported to Mr. Subash Sen, one of the Directors and founders of Clarion who was in charge of training. I got an accommodation in Murugan Lodge near the Lake market, in South Calcutta, which I shared with four other bachelors, thanks to the help provided by Nath, one of the assistant executives in the company. I had my breakfast and dinner at the Murugan Restaurant nearby, run by the same management. Since Clarion was offering subsidized lunch for its staff I decided to have lunch in the office from then on.

On the first day at lunch, I ordered a plate of vegetable curry and rice. I was quite hungry and ready to attack the meal, when I found some¬thing fishy in the curry. When I questioned the bearer, he responded with a sheepish grin and a typical Bengali accent, “Sir, phish is bege¬tarian in Bengal”.

Another incident on the second day of my stint in Clarion, Calcutta almost cost me my job! Every morning, the staff, including the Directors must stand in a queue, waiting to sign the attendance register located at the reception desk. On the very first day, at my request, the Anglo Indian receptionist had taught me how to say ‘Good Morning’ in Bengali. So the next day, I wished Mr. S N Banerjee, the MD who was standing behind me “Aami Thomake Balo Bashi”. Instead of being happy I found his dark face turning red and he asked me “Who taught you Bengali?” Later I found out that instead of ‘Good Morning’ in Bengali, I was telling him “I Love You”. I could see through the corner of my eyes, the receptionist going under the table. Thanks to other Directors who realized that I had been taken for a ride, I was bailed out. After this episode a friend advised me to buy an English-Bengali self instructor, which I did and started learning important sentences in Bengali. For practice, I would take the tram and try to read all the shop signs on the way. Even today with some difficulty, I can read the headlines of Bengali newspapers.

In Clarion, it was important to know Bengali because, except the Managers, all others down the line replied to you in Bengali, even if you had asked them a question in English. This knowledge of a few essential Bengali sentences helps me strike a chord with Bengalis wherever I go.

RVR Autobio-III -School Days

When I was in the 9th standard, my school moved to its own premises in Wadala which was a 30 to 40 minute walk from my house in Matunga. A group of us from the neighbourhood took a walk every day which enlarged my circle of friends. It was at this stage that I became close to Jayaraman, a bright student who always came first in my class. I became a part of the group of bright students bursting with a lot of creative energy! It was a multitalented group that wanted to participate in extra curricular activities such as singing, staging plays etc. But we had a problem. The school was being run by a group of Palghat Brahmins with Mrs. Saraswathi as the Principal. She was a Malayalee spinster who ran the school like a dictator. I remember her telling the students “Don’t waste your time on cinemas and dramas. Education is the only thing which will give you a good career!” So she banned all extra curricular activities except the mandatory sports activities.

My group began to feel frustrated and helpless. Some of us joined the Bombay Tamil Sangam which was encouraging students with talent in writing, debating, acting etc. I think the seed of converting a challenge into an opportunity was sown in my mind at this time. I mooted the idea of starting a Students Cultural Association through which we could express our creative talents. Others immediately agreed. Thus was born the “Manavar Kalai Arangam” with the motto ‘To encourage ourselves’ and I became the Founder Secretary. We had JNS Murthy from a junior class as President. Though JNS, at that point did not have any creative interests, we made him the President because he came from a business family and he could help us in raising funds for our programmes. Another friend Raghavan, who had the physique of the famous Tamil comedian Nagesh was excellent in comedy roles. I always landed character roles – invariably the father of the hero in all the plays.

One of our earliest plays was a one act play titled ‘Pushpalatha’ written by Director K Balachander. At that time he had just got into directing plays. Raghavan and I went to Madras and got his permission to stage the play in Bombay. In another play, I donned the role of Munuswamy a thug with one Muniamma as my wife. For the role of Muniamma we had to get a female artist from Madras, as no Bombay girls agreed to act in our plays!

RVR Autobio Excerpts II -Life in a Chawl

Chawl life is unique to Bombay. A chawl consists of a 2 to 3 storey building with several single room tenements to a floor in which any¬where from 10 to 20 families live, sharing 2 or 3 common toilets and bathrooms. Each tenant will have a minimum of 5 occupants or more. Occupants could be lower class (factory workers), middle class with white collar jobs, small traders and businessmen.

A typical chawl is a potpourri of Indian diaspora as people from different religions, hailing from different parts of the country live to¬gether, unlike modern day flat system where people lead isolated lives and busy that they have no time for neighbours (of¬ten they won’t even know who the neighbour is). Interestingly, in a chawl people live like a joint family. Since the rooms are small (max. 250 sq.ft.) and placed next to each other, there was absolutely no privacy. Even ordinary conversations among family members will be heard by the neighbours.

Though the individual tenements are very small, when there are occasions to be celebrated by a family, the rooms of all the tenants are thrown open to the host for accommodating visiting relatives, providing space for serving meals to visitors or even providing room for the visitors to sleep for a night or two. In spite of living in cloistered surroundings, the hearts of the chawl members were big.

At the same time, it was not uncommon to witness serious fights among neighbours, often for trivial reasons. Most common fights were over disputes among children carried forth to the parents. Another common fight used to be over the mess that small kids make on the passageway to common toilets – the issue hotly debated as to whose child did the job and who should clean up the mess. These fights among two neighbours were often free entertainment for the other neighbours, from very personal attacks to general, using the most abu¬sive language. There will be Marathi abuses vs. Gujarati abuses, Punjabi vs. Bengali, Madrasi (anybody south of the Vind¬hyas is known as a Madrasi in Bombay be it a Tamilian, Kannadhiga, Andhraite or a Malayalee) vs. Hindi. Sometimes the verbal attack would lead to fisticuffs, forcing the other neighbours to intervene and separate the “fighters”. Very interestingly, the same neighbours who fought like cats and dogs one day, will be seen enjoying bonhomie like long lost friends on other happier occasions.

A chawl is one place where you can never get bored or depressed. For children of all ages, living in a chawl is fun. You are always surrounded by friends from the building who are playing with you, joking around or generally keeping you engagedn and that they had told him that he was a ‘God’s blessing’ to them. We got frightened that he might go back and check this out with his parents and land us all in trouble. So we had to pacify him and tell him that what his parents had told him must be true. It will be interesting to know that this is the same Ganesh who married very early (at the age of 23), and later gave us the true insights into married life. He also became a father and a grand father at a very early age

RVR Autobio Excerpts -1 Matunga Little Madras

We were living in a chawl (a building which housed 27 tenements with just two rooms in each tenement) in Matunga which was dominated by South Indian (Palghat) Brahmins and Gujarathis. Matunga! The lit¬tle Madras of Bombay like the Serangoon Road in Singapore. Twenty six years out of the twenty nine years in Bombay, I lived in this Cen¬tral suburb. Walking around the streets of Matunga, especially the main market area near Matunga Central Station (There is another Matunga Road Station in the Western suburbs), one felt like being in Madras with mamis(ladies) wearing 9 yard sarees and mamas (men) with folded dhotis walking around the market place doing shopping!

The chawl where my family was staying was the first building on the right, when one stepped out of the station. Those days a full fledged fruit market was operating on the footpath adjacent to the outer wall of our building, making it difficult for the commuters to enter or exit from the station. This fruit market was of course removed subsequently and relocated to a multi storied building which was put up by the Bombay Municipal Corporation nearby clearing the way for a parking lot for vehicles in front of the station.
Matunga was truly a place where you could get everything from ‘a pin to an elephant’, as they say. Step out of the station and bang op¬posite you had a choice of Gujarathi, Udipi and Iranian restaurants; a fruit and vegetable market, grocery shops, a silk saree shop, a jewellery shop etc. The vegetable market had all the items, including those that were unique to the South Indians like drumstick, small (sambar) onion etc. The flower bazaar with a row of shops next to the Matunga post office resembled the typical flower shop one finds outside temples in Tamilnadu. The smell of Jasmine and Rose would envelope you as you walk along. Suddenly if you get a whiff of fresh ground coffee it means you are close to Philips Coffee House, which sold fresh ground coffee powder to customers! Close to the flower bazaar were two temples – one Bajhana Samaj and another called Asthika Samaj where you would find the Sanctum-sanctorum filled with big, framed pictures of every popular deity you can think of. In the evenings, these temples would be crowded with both young and old `Madrasis` who came to listen to discourses by religious leaders of the time, narrating stories of Ramayana or Mahabaratha.

Gujarathi, Tamil and Marathi medium schools, a Commerce and Arts & Science College were not far away from the station. VJTI (Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute), an old and well knownEngineering College was about 20 minutes walk from the station. Aurora Cinema, in Kings Circle, close to Matunga was the only cinema theatre to screen popular Tamil movies on Sunday mornings! Later, when the Tamil population in Matunga grew in leaps and bounds, Aurora started featuring Tamil films during regu¬lar shows.

I keep going back to Matunga at least once a year on my way to the Bombay airport to buy my favourite Gujarathi Teplas, Dhoklas and Kand¬vis from Cheddha Stores opposite to the Matunga Railway Station.

R.V.Rajan Autobiography

COURAGE MY COMPANION
A Candid Autobiography

By R V Rajan,
Chairman, Anugrah Madison Advertising P Ltd.
(a Rural Division of Madison Communication)

From the chawls of Bombay to the demanding world of advertising and rural communication, Rajan’s life is a story of what industry, energy and audacity in pursuit of ones dreams, can achieve in life.

This book is about his personal life, his professional life and his parallel life concerning his work with voluntary organizations like Round Table India, Rotary International, Advertising Agencies Association of India, Public Relations Society of India, Advertising Club Madras, Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC), an NGO headquartered in Singapore, IFRA, an association devoted to Publishing Industry headquartered in Germany and Rural Marketing Association of India (RMAI) which conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award on him recently.

It is a candid racy fast moving book which makes for compelling and rewarding reading.

Published by
Productivity & Quality Publishing P Ltd., Chennai

195 pages paper back – Rs.295/-

Special offer!
Rs.250/- only till 1st August 2010.

Just pay Rs.250/- + Rs.30/- for courier charges per book
and the copy will be at your doorstep!

Cheques / DDs in favour of R V Rajan to be sent to
Anugrah Madison Advertising P Ltd., Jammi Building II Floor,
125 Royapettah High Road, Chennai 600 004.

For Direct Transfer to the A/c through NEFT –
Karur Vysya Bank, Whites Road Branch, Chennai 600 014
Current A/c. No. – 1219 135 459
IFSC – KVBL0001219

For more details write to:
rvrajan42@rediffmail.com or Mobile: 98403 92082




For an excerpt from the Businessline issue dated 3.12.2009, please click on the link below:
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/bline/catalyst/2009/12/03/stories/2009120350110300.htm


What they say

Sam Balsara, Chairman & Managing Director, Madison World
Autobiographies need not be written only by very famous people. There is a lot for us to learn from not so well-known people who are achievers nevertheless and whose life can provide inspiration to a lot of people. When reading Rajan’s book for some reason I thought I was going through R K Narayan novel. Rajan’s story is absorbing and fascinating because of its simple, one-to-one narrative style.

Prof. Mithileshwar Jha, IIM Bangalore, Co-Author of Asian Edition of Philip Kotler’s Book on Marketing
It was a privilege and delight going through the story of your evolution from “Matunga Rajan” to “Crisis Rajan” to “Value-based CEO Rajan” to “Rural Marketing Guru Rajan.” It is a delight because it very candidly, in a story telling mode, without malice to `anyone, narrates the journey of one of Lakshman’s common men to un-common achievements. In the story you have beautifully weaved-in very important learnings for a professional – on professional approach, leadership, risk taking, crises handling- all with a clear conscience , with a sense of daring and a deep sense of spirituality. At a very basic level one also learns a lot about functioning of professional advertising agency. All professionals will benefit from it, more so the budding, young ambitious students of management.

Mr. M Parameswaran, Executive Director & CEO, Draftfcb Ulka
The vivid recollection of the numerous incidents that have happened in your exciting life will make interesting reading for anyone interested in advertising and the legacies of our bygone era.

Mr. Raj Rangarajan, NRI, Freelance Journalist
Your book made great reading and very gripping in parts. You have done ample justice to personal aspects of your life with unqualified candor -- a trait not many writers have mastered. From Amsterdam to artichokes to "avani attam" you have covered it all in your uniquely humorous, chatty style. Whether its Advertising, Rural marketing or Round Table you have been splendidly fascinating.

Mr. Bobby Sista, Former CMD, Sistas Advertising
I have only one word to describe your book – AWESOME. While I thought I knew you, on reading your book I have discovered a totally new person and personality. Your achievements over the years and in a variety of assignments culminating in your ultimate career of Rural Communications are really very impressive.