The Hindu Business Line : INS President

The young (by INS standards) Jacob Mathew (in picture) has taken over as President of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS). Mathew of Malayala Manorama has the unique distinction of being the third person from a family to hold the prestigious position of President, INS. His illustrious and respected father, K. M. Mathew, and his elder brother, Mammen Mathew, have both graced this chair earlier.

Jacob Mathew is known as much for his outspoken views as for his infectious laughter. Sources say he is well liked for his easy accessibility and his willingness to listen and help. The combination should hold him in good stead as he steers the print industry through the year ahead.

The President's men

The Deputy President of the INS this year is Gulab Kothari. One is told the globetrotting Kothari presides over the fortunes of the Rajasthan Patrika from a fortress-like office in Jaipur.

I.Venkat of Eenadu was elected as the Vice-President. The six-foot-plus bearded professional from Hyderabad is well known in the industry for the hyperactive role he plays in various industry bodies. One learns he is a stickler for detail and has made the Eenadu group a model as far as systems are concerned.

With the principal office bearers from Kottayam, Jaipur and Hyderabad representing Malayalam, Hindi and Telugu newspapers respectively, it looks like the INS is reflecting the true growth in newspaper reading habits in the country today.

Sailing with BT

"It was a unique experience partying on board a cruise liner."

"Where were the Ambanis, Birlas, Bachchans and the like who always come for the BT party?" So was the Bombay Times party a hit or not? Well, piecing together bits of information from those who were taken for a joy ride on the Star cruise liner Libra's inaugural run, the party was a little like Maggi sauce ... "different."

Let's see what our poll revealed in terms of views, opinions and scenes of what is normally a much-talked-about party. Firstly, people felt that Bhaskar Das had dealt an ace by choosing a ship as the venue for the party. Secondly, the ship itself appears to be like a middle-aged man (I refuse to call her a lady) tucking in his gut, glossing over his wrinkles, dyeing his silver moustache and trying to act young. One is told the initial stage show with Chinese acrobats had a fairly good audience, and the show at 2.30 a.m. was absolutely jam-packed with everyone sheepishly discussing how artistic the display of female anatomy was. But then, men will be men.

Who's who?

Apart from that, it seems the action was all on the top deck and in the casino. It seems Piyush Pandey hobbled through the party nursing a swollen ankle. Evidently, he twisted it badly trying to play rugby that morning. Yana Gupta was the toast of the crowd which was most disappointed when she pulled on a pair of jeans in place of the eye-popping outfit she had on till photographers made her uncomfortable. Bollywood was meagrely represented and the small screen stars were there in force. The advertising crowd was quite well represented with Sam Balsara (seen boogeying on the dance floor with Ramesh Sippy and his wife), Kalpana Rao, Prasoon Joshi, Prasoon Pandey, Ranjan Kapur, Madhukar Kamath and Colvyn Harris. It seems Milind Soman and Pooja Bedi were seen at 7 a.m. on the top deck dancing with gay abandon. Talk about a long night. Wonder where Mr Soman gets his energy from. You think it's because he doesn't drink?

Wonder where the next party fancy would be. On board a Jumbo jet? With all the new airlines flying in, and Air-India threatening to get its large fleet in place it doesn't seem a very far-fetched idea.

Auto index

Someone told us about the automobile index that determines the state-of-the-industry. Well, the advertising and media industry would seem to be doing rather well by that index. Pradeep Guha is seen in a new BMW, Ishan Raina had one much earlier. The Mercedes culture has swept the industry. Mike Khanna got one as a parting gift. Anil Kapoor, Prem Mehta, Piyush Pandey, Nirvik Singh, Shekhar Swamy, to name a few, all whisper along in Mercedes sedans. And if you thought we were only concentrating on agency heads, one is told FCB Ulka has just received a fleet of Mercedes for its executive directors. The next time you want to see how well the industry is doing, just see your favourite ad person off at his or her car. No, keep that to "his" if you want to see good cars.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Discovery's India

The soft sales pillow

Unwept. Unhonoured. Unsung

Bath and beyond

INS President

Retail: The next big thing?

Digjam's comeback bid

A lingo lifeboat to get your message across