"A marketing man should be agile, aggressive, affectionate, and astute to clinch any business." When I finished my degree at St Joseph's College Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, in 1974, my ambition was to get only a job. Due to sudden ill health at the time of my pre degree schooling, I had to compromise on a science degree foregoing my ambitions I had in my mind. Since I had sufficiently scored in the pre degree exam I settled for a science degree with Chemistry Major - a branch of study which was in demand. All my friends had by then gone to Regional Engineering College- Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, IIT Chennai, Madras University or Medical Colleges at various places. During college days, there was a special course called "COSIP" meaning no gossip but as College Science Improvement Programme. During college time that helped me to get my certificate course in Photography. After finishing my college, I took up an agency for selling chemicals, washing powder, detergents and soap. I learnt the art of selling but then had not known anything about marketing. I did certain activities which might be called marketing activities but by then I had never known that to be an activity connected to marketing. It was during the month of April, which fell parallel to the Tamil month "Chithirai", I took up my sales activity for a detergent powder. I had four members in my team and in the crowded city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu; we had taken permission in front of a shop to put our products for sale. That assumed the name "Spot Sales" and many tried to copy that method further. We used to add some complement to the detergent packet and sell it at the price at which the product would be available in the stores. Being enticed by the complement offered by us, many people purchased from us and it was easy for us to approach the shops after a week or so since the product was already known amongst customers and many customers had contacted the shops particularly asking for the complement. We had good reception from the shop owners as there were enquiries about our products. Very casually I had done that never knowing that it was a marketing technique. Similarly most of the shops wanted a good name for the products and never wanted an ordinary packing but insisted for a nice packing which I did and was successful. That time I had chosen very attractive names for my detergents and cleaning powder and I could easily compete with giants in the industry. All such attempts, I learnt later, were marketing techniques only. Due to some difficulties, I had to leave that business. With photography course I had done at St Joseph's college, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, I joined as an industrial photographer as a non muster roll candidate in a public sector organization. I was first asked to join at a Factory in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu which was my native place; from there I was asked to go to Chennai (then Madras) and from Chennai I was taken to Maharashtra in a car by a gentle man whom later I came to know as Site- in- charge of a power plant. Thus, two days after leaving Tiruchirapalli I was landing in a remote Village in Maharashtra to work for that public sector organization which was working on a turnkey power project there. I had lots of fun as a photographer and gained good experience. I had to work on heights since the erections used to happen at the top of engineering structure for power project. Incidentally, I was a committee member of Canteen. One day we were having committee meeting in the night around 10 which lasted till 11 o'clock. Suddenly the telephone in the room rang and there was a call for me. A fire broke out damaging a rotor worth few crores. I had to take photographs of the place along with the rotor to claim insurance. I put forth all my efforts on that night and presented the accident spot with the rotor through photographs. Insurance company had fully compensated my organization at the earliest. (Good presentation is the basic criteria of marketing) After few days, I again received an S O S message asking me to report to site at an odd hour. A worker from Kerala had fallen from a height of 270 feet and was dead. I had to take the photographs of that event which sent jitters in my mind as I was also climbing tall structures to take photographs of erection of parts of turbo generator or chimney. I had decided to change my job. In the meanwhile, I had received a message from my native place informing me of an appointment with a Public Sector Bank. I approached my boss who reluctantly agreed to relieve me. AGM/HRM organized a meeting for my relieving and it was a great moment in my life. When I had doubted that whether I would be relieved or not, I was not only relieved without hassles but was given great commendations on the work I had done on the above mentioned crucial occasions. I joined bank and within four years I got the promotion opportunity but missed it because my confidential report to head office was not sent from my branch which was a formality at that time. Eventually, I did not get the promotion. By then, I had concentrated on more union activities. Having missed promotion, my life changed from that time onwards and I took to union activities too seriously. In almost all the cases I had represented, I could achieve grievance redressed for my members and I was respected by my colleagues. I was very friendly and could get on well with the executives. I was working in accounts section and was actively associated in union activities as a committee member for a long time. It was then that I had met a gentleman who identified my marketing skills and that in turn changed my profile. The meeting with him started with a heated argument between us. That gentleman was elevated as Asst General Manager and on that occasion he had called for a meeting. He wanted to enforce discipline and while addressing the department staff, he said that all should work for the organization and there was no use of bringing external force like Union or Association to get things done to their advantage. He was quoting a story of Lord Emadharmaraja (who controls death and his decision is final) and ended the meeting with a note that everyone should quietly work without demur. He gave opportunity for all staff to express their views and no one came forward but I decided to venture. I welcomed his suggestion stating that our bank was undergoing a difficult phase but insisted that any work should be extracted in a friendly and persuasive manner and not in autocratic style. I purposely quoted the story of Sathyavan and Savithri in which the lady fought and won over the same Emadharmaraja and took back the life of Sathyavan. Everyone was perplexed including me. I thought I had exceeded my brief but nevertheless I was emphatic in the sense that I had truly represented my employees. Later on that day evening my Executive called me and interacted with me. He was in all praise for me and said that he liked the way I had expressed myself. Initially I thought that he was mocking at me. But later I realized that he was a gentleman and throughout my career in the bank I had not seen such a Good Samaritan or gentleman in the executive cadre. He later left our bank and joined as a top level official in yet another bank.---
