The Hindu Business Line : With courage as his companion

Mr R.V. Rajan, Chairman, Anugrah Madison Advertising Pvt Ltd and founder President of Rural MarketingAssociation of India (RMAI), being presented with the RMAI Lifetime Achievement Award by Mr N.Murali, Managing Director, The Hindu, in the presence of Mr Pradeep Kashyap (second from left),President, RMAI, and Mr Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World, at a function in Chennai on Friday. -Bijoy Ghosh

Our Bureau

Chennai, Nov. 27

Mr Pradeep Kashyap, President of the Rural Marketing Association of India and CEO of rural specialist agency MART, put it succinctly when he said it was a double whammy, without its negative connotations, for Mr R.V. Rajan, Chairman, Anugrah Madison Advertising Pvt Ltd and founder President, RMAI. For, Mr Rajan was being presented with the first-ever RMAI lifetime achievement award and also releasing his autobiography, Courage My Companion.

At an event suffused with nostalgia and anecdote, rich encomiums were paid to Mr Rajan by speaker after speaker on his long career in advertising and his establishment of Anugrah as a rural specialist agency when none were around. Commending Mr Rajan's humility, simplicity and complete transparency, Mr Kashyap said, “This must be the second most memorable day of your life after your wedding!” Mr Kashyap recalled that it was Mr Rajan who was the driving force for the founding of the RMAI, bringing in many members and also kicking off its quarterly Journal.

Mr N. Murali, Managing Director, The Hindu, who presented the award to Mr Rajan, prefaced his address with an anecdote on Mr Rajan. He recalled Mr Rajan's early years spent in a Mumbai chawl, till the age of 26, where over 50 people on a floor would have to share just a couple of toilets! “So, when he built his house in Chennai, he made sure that it had six toilets!” said Mr Murali, leaving the audience in splits.

Recalling their long association of over 25 years, Mr Murali said Mr Rajan's meticulous nature came to the fore when organising events for the Ad Club, such as advertising conventions or a diploma course in advertising for the Ad Club Madras or in running the affairs of Ifra India. “He can compartmentalise things well even as he straddles many worlds,” added Mr Murali.

A few years ago, Mr Rajan had sold a majority stake in Anugrah to Madison and it is now a division of Madison World. Mr Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World, who himself received a lifetime achievement award from the Advertising Agencies Association of India in Mumbai two days ago, releasing Mr Rajan's book, said, “Rajan has shown us that the path you follow is more important than the destination.” Mr Balsara said, “The biggest courage you've displayed is in writing this book,” adding that not many can put their memories in print.

In his acceptance speech, Mr Rajan said it was Anugrah's association with Madison and his association with the RMAI that got Anugrah national recognition. Recalling his early days and the tough times he had gone through, Mr Rajan said anyone can write their autobiography. It was Chennai's well-known historian, Mr S. Muthiah, whose speech had motivated him: that anyone could write their story as it could serve as a social commentary of the times. “At many times corporates were not walking the talk in rural marketing and I wondered whether I had made the right decision in being a rural specialist,” recalled Mr Rajan. However, later events, as corporates targeted rural markets, proved that he had made the right decision.

Mr Rajkumar Jha, Vice-President, RMAI, read the citation for the award and Mr Sanjay Kaul, Secretary RMAI, the vote of thanks. The master of ceremonies was Mr R. Seshadri, Managing Director, Anugrah Madison.

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