Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under R.N.I 53640/91
Vol. XXV No. 17, December 16-31, 2015
Its Bombay dream comes true
by V. Kalidas
Cometh the hour, cometh the newspaper! As did The Hindu, in 1878. And now, as has been envisioned by visionary Kasturi Srinivasan in the early 1950s, the idea of a Bombay edition has finally attained fruition, after many stumbling blocks. On November 28, 2015, The Hindu arrived in what is now Mumbai.
Flashback to the early 1950s, when Kasturi Srinivasan (KS) thought that it was time to expand the footprint of The Hindu to Bombay which was then not only the political hub of the country but also its commercial capital. Instructions were issued for the construction of the majestic Kasturi Buildings in Churchgate, the epicentre of all business activities in Bombay (then, much before the current shift of the axis to Parel and the northern periphery) and the most expensive piece of urban property per square foot in the country. With its unique Mala-tiled façade and a symmetric structure that bespoke a sense of stolidity, it soon became a landmark with millions of people passing by it morning and evening on J. Tata Road. It was only meet that it should one day become part of the local ethos through the copies of The Hindu delivered from its hallowed portals.
But it was not to be then; a top political leader from the Western Region called on KS and subtly requested him not to set up the Bombay edition as it would threaten the existence of a daily which his own son was starting shortly. Known for his magnanimity, KS suspended the operations and arranged for the completed units in the building to be let out on very low rent to his friends and business acquaintances, like the Tata group, Central Bank, Murugappa Group, Indian Bank, Forbes, Hoechst, etc. The huge courtyard in the centre, with specially piled foundation to withstand the pounding of a heavy duty press as well as a couple of pillars left incomplete in the southern wing, as well as a wide entry in the rear with a shuttered gate to roll in the reels of newsprint, bear ample testimony to this historical fact!
During the tenure of the undersigned at the Bombay Branch for nearly two decades from the early 1980s, the idea of a Bombay edition was tossed about oftentimes, especially when we reported on the feedback that we received from leaders in Business, Advertising and Marketing, on how badly, according to them, the city needed a newspaper of the stature of The Hindu – balanced, authentic, comprehensive, classic and yet contemporary.
Having obtained permission, after some dogged persuasion on our part, to re-open the subject, our task was to zero in on a suitable press which we did in a distant western suburb. It was suggested that apart from catering to The Hindu’s addictive readership in Bombay and Pune, parcels of early runs of the Bombay edition could be rushed by surface transport to the airport in the vicinity and despatched by air to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the other points in the Emirates as well as to the South Indian diaspora in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Muscat where The Hindu already had a network of news agencies. These agencies were consulted and evinced great interest in picking up the gauntlet. Some of them went a step further and added that a subsequent edition could be launched in Dubai too!
A couple of senior Directors visited the press and were quite impressed. Next followed the Circulation Head and, later, one of the Editors too. Unfortunately, when the final points were being thrashed out, the whole project had to be shelved because of other pressing problems which needed top priority.
What is the great attraction that the maximum city holds for The Hindu?
The credibility amongst those who matter in political circles, business and trade and the respect which The Hindu commands amongst the most creative and influential advertising agencies in Mumbai has to be experienced to be believed. Each segment has its own point of interest; senior citizens, relocated to Mumbai to be with their sons or daughters, contractors who visited The Hindu office every day to pick up tender notifications, parents seeking matrimonial alliances, prospective buyers of property in (Madras) Chennai, the religiously inclined who never missed the Religion column whether “I am in China or Timbuktoo, Sir” (said an old man to me at our office). To cite just two examples, Arvind Mafatlal, according to his P.A., Vaidyanathan, would clip the Religion Column every day and file it for his reference! Test Cricketer Dilip Sardesai visited the office daily to read the sports columns on Cricket as well as Racing! There is yet another goodly slice of the readership which swears by the pages of the Friday Review. Reviews of concerts, articles on temple architecture and the arts draw them to Kasturi Buildings even if they have to brave the hazards of travelling by heavily crowded trains despite the advice of their children. A couple of wizened persons winked and revealed, in confidence, the names of their sons who were holding very high positions but knew not that their old man was taking the Local to reach the office of The Hindu to get his daily fix!
Whenever The Hindu came in very late, following the cancellation of a flight, a couple of South Indian secretaries of some top Directors of companies would rush to our office and pick up copies for their bosses’ “urgent perusal”. On one occasion, the MD of an oil company opposite our building sent his Secretary as he needed to urgently see the day’s copy to corroborate a report on oil price announcements! Apparently he had greater faith in the authenticity of the report published in The Hindu!
Several decades later, the 1950s’ idea, which could never be kept under a bushel, has sprouted; Mumbai is expected to surely convert the quality of the readership of its edition of The Hindu into Quantity.
Recently, I happened to briefly run into the Editor and the Director, Ramesh Rangarajan, at a social function. On seeing me he exclaimed :”Hey, Kali, at last the MUMBAI Edition is a reality; our dreams have come true!”
