Ex-Hindu V Kalidas looks back at his kaleidoscopic life in advertising & media

V Kalidas, popularly known as Kali to the advertising fraternity, spent 45 years in the Hindu Group. He started his career in Kolkata and later on moved to Mumbai, where he spent quite a number of years and was very well-known in the media industry. After a good many years in Mumbai, he finally moved to the HQ Chennai, from where he retired as the Vice President of Advertising.

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His long innings of over 45 years prompted Kali to share his experiences in the three cities, where he spent considerable time building the Hindu newspaper brand and making Hindu as one of the most preferred newspaper of choice for the advertisers in the South. Sharing all his experiences over the years, Kali has recently written his book, which is suitably titled as ‘Through the Kaleidoscope’.

In his book, Kali has very beautifully narrated his story from his heart and which covers a whole lot of interesting anecdotes – starting from the medley of nostalgia of football addas and mist-filled, mellow evenings spent in Kolkata; his love for Jazz and Carnatic music; and his extensive travels, which he has carefully jotted down in his travel diary.

He also touched upon his experience and life with the Anglo Indians in Chennai and not to forget his following as a great cricket fan and spectator when test matches were played at the Chepauk stadium.

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On the changes and new trends in the newspaper advertising, Kali points out that a lot has changed today, as digital is playing a major part and is an important catalyst. He notes that ads in the papers, too, have seen many innovations: gatefolds, cut-outs, scratch and sniff, talking ads, ads with an editorial wrap-around, skybuses that dominate the page below the masthead. In some newspapers, even the sacrosanct masthead is not spared! He further states that the newspaper’s service to an advertiser goes beyond a mere insertion today.

‘Through the Kaleidoscope’ features several photographs that bring to life memories of an era gone by and break the monotony of text. You can obtain the book at compuprint@gmail.com and very soon it will be made available through Amazon.