Tribute to a Perfect Gentleman

There are very few people in this world who are perfect. There will invariably be some inadequacies in them. There are of course some exceptions. My good friend of 50 years N.Krishnan who passed away this morning, was one of the few exceptions. He was a perfect gentleman. After battling with Covid and related problems for ten days he died at the age of 84 at Apollo Hospital.

I first came to know Krishnan when I met him at the first ever Round Table India AGM which I attended at  Delhi in  1970. I was a rookie Tabler having joined the Bombay West Round Table no 6, just a year before. I never imagined that within a couple of years I would move to Chennai  and join Madras West Round Table No 10 in 1974, where Krishnan was a founder member and a Past chairman. He was also active  at the national  level becoming the President of Round Table India in 1978. From the word go we clicked as friends. He became my mentor in Round Table. He recognized my capabilities and pushed me to take up challenging projects in Round table. He was the man who explained to me the meaning of true fellowship and how around the Round Table (a youth movement)  every one is equal. I learnt the value of true friendship from him. Round table opened up a whole new world to me, helped  me get  legions of friends across the country over the years . I am sure Krishnan had a role to play in my being selected for a WOCO Travel Grant of Round Table India which  saw me going on my first ever travel abroad visiting five countries in five weeks in 1976 or my getting the coveted Distinguished Service Award from Round Table India in 1984.

Later when I decided  to quit my job and  start my own  ad agency Anugrah, he readily agreed to be one of the founder directors of the company. His sound advice and practical approach to any problem would help me run the company efficiently. He was always available to me whenever I needed any help whether it was a personal issue or official. Both he and Hema always showered their genuine affection on me and my wife Prabha. He was proud of my achievements as a professional and so when I invited him to attend the function of Rural Marketing Association of India  in November 2009, where my autobiography was launched, as a guest of honour , he readily agreed and felicitated me. I was delighted and felt privileged when he invited me as a speaker at the launch of his own autobiography a couple of years ago. Even after I retired from my company and he ceased to be a director of the company, our friendship continued through 41 Club no 7 ( ex- round tablers club) where both of us were members.

The last time I saw his face was at the zoom meeting of the Madras Book Club on 7^th April. We both greeted each other. I never imagined that within two weeks the dreaded Covid will take him away from us.

I will always remember Krishnan as a friendly, simple, methodical, meticulous person who left his foot prints on the sands of time of every organization he was associated with; be it Round Table, Rotary, or other professional bodies with which he was involved.

Personally it is an irreparable loss to me. I can imagine the sense of loss that his family must be feeling at the demise of a remarkable person  who was a good son, good brother, good husband , good father, good boss , good friend and of course a great human being!

 Though you have left us physically, you will always be in our hearts and mind. RIP Krishnan!