Devarajan Babu

Devarajan Durai Babu: Again a 2000 acquaintance as I took employment with Percept Advertising. Babu was the branch manager of Hakkudu Percept and well ensconced; he became a one-man operation for them in Madras and within a year had expanded the business and the team to over 10 people; Durai Babu had that kind of competence and way with clients!!

He was in his early 40s and just back from Tirupathi after a head tonsure; his mother was ill and on her recovery shaved off the hair in gratitude. Despite the bald plate that was just started to bristle, he looked handsome; a Dravidian complexion, tall at 6 feet, lean face but puffed up sufficiently for that look of solidity. He dresses in formal full-hand shirts and when he spoke you at once realize that he is thoroughbred in corporate. He spoke with a smooth rhythm and added more sniggles along the way and was essentially a friendly person. He was never got personal in his dealings and still adept in keeping a distance; a fine art if one has to survive in this jungle.

As a manager, he was astounding and one of the best. He was like a benevolent monitor to his boys at school; he rarely pulled them up and when he did, it was a near slaughter. So the team members joked and laughed with him and they had complete freedom; if you were in need of a calculator and found that he had on his shirt pocket, you would intuitively reach out to it. I still recollect the time when we stood under the hot Chennai sky outside a restaurant for nearly an hour as he hosted a lunch in welcome a newly joined “Creative Director” as the office-boy had not reached the venue.

At Hakkudu Percept everyone had a bike and office boys would borrow the keys from the owners and go about their office chores. Such was the comraderie! Durai Babu would collect used envelopes from the numerous junk mails he received and reuse them as an eco-friendly measure.  

Durai Babu had been an advertising man throughout and he was competent to the extreme. To see him haggle rates with film producers was a treat; he could almost itemize the various components and assign a cost to them. So all the TVCs produced under his tutelage were the most cost-effective. There was a lot of savoir faire and elegance about the man; almost a languid grace as when went about the job. If you are trainee, you cannot learn better elsewhere than under him.

Durai Babu never talked much about his family or even where he resided. He had 4 children from 2 marriages. I have heard whispers that he met a Christian girl while working in MAA Bozell and the tied the knot the second time for an upheaval in the house. But things have smoothened out and he has still kept the first marriage alive and kicking.   

Slowly as he grew in stature in the Madras advertising circles, he started to lecture at various forums. I quite admired the way he mentored raw account executives and they were quite simply the best trained in the city.  

Percept, our company who he was to supervise from a distance, proved slothful. They never bothered to send our salaries or even pay for operating costs and it tested all our patience to no end. Durai Babu wrote a considered note to the CEO,” I was there to help your new recruits but I cannot allow Percept to draw more water than I can afford”. This terse note swung things into action and since then there were more receptive to our pleas. Babu’s English is extraordinary and has that class and even knew the meaning of “soliloquy”. A smart and classy man who knew the ropes of his trade and how to lay on the butter thick!!!!

Verdict: Rajas

Lesson to be learnt: Befriend such characters and learn from them; so miles ahead in smartness they provide an opportunity to tackle this mad society. But beware, don’t get personal!!!!