By Prof. Ujjwal Anu Chowdhury
His last LinkedIn profile notes him as ‘Professor of Practice, Student and Strategic Adviser.’ But the media fraternity and corporate houses of India knew him as a persistent marketeer and ideator who rose from a management trainee in 1980 to President, Response, in the Times of India group. And then, in the later part of his career, he became Group CEO with the Zee Group, Executive President with the Republic Media, and, if I am not wrong, at a similar leadership role in Dainik Bhaskar group. To the marketing professionals, he is also remembered as the longest running President of Ad Club of Mumbai and an avid organizer of premier advertising and marketing events of the city.
Such a colourful and accomplished person is known differently by different people, and seen differently by different people, depending upon the relation one had with him. Everyone will have their piece of story and perspective of interaction with him.
He was Dr Bhaskar Das to all.
To me he was Bhaskarda, a quintessential Bengali elder brother and mentor, and perhaps will always remain so in my mind. For me, he was one who on the Advisory Board of every media school in town that I had led, whether the Symbiosis media school, Whistling Woods School of Communication, ISBM, Pearl Media School, Amity University Mumbai, and Adamas University Media Faculty, and even the relatively smaller DGMC Media School. His one line of encouragement, “I love education, and you are doing an admirable work, and I shall be on every place you invite, if it adds value.”
Not just being on the advisory board, he meticulously went through long notes of syllabi of communication courses, made copious notes, and actively participated in the advisory body meetings. He had his unique positions on issues related to technological convergence with perspectives divergence, on how brands are alive and kicking and yet traditional branding is long dead, or on volatility coupled with stability of our times. He was respectful to minority views in every meeting, delightful with his quips and little nuggets of humour with the lady members in any meeting that I know of, and very punctual in his timings.
I am personally thankful that he found time to attend jury board meetings for selecting the best performing media schools on different counts, during Edutainment Awards jury meetings; or looking at the communication initiatives of corporate brands during PRSI Kolkata Awards jury meeting. He once said, “You learn the best when you judge the best out of many good and some not so good work. You learn what to do more and better, and what never to do again.”
Quintessentially a print media man from the last century, he rewired himself for the television first and the digital later. And agreed that this march ahead had challenged many of his insights and beliefs, and he was open to be proven wrong again and again to learn the next best thing in the evolving world of communication. Mentored originally by the legendary media marketing mastermind, Pradip Guha, Bhaskarda himself gradually became the mentor of dozens younger to him.
This quest for more, desire to learn the next best thing happening around, led him to take up successfully his first doctoral research from Pune University on media management, which he finished in 2009. In ten years he was restless for more structured learning that led him to his second PhD from the JIS University, of Kolkata, and this was on incorporating social listening into integrated marketing communication mix, which was an exploratory study, by 2020. And in five years, he found himself wanting in deep dive knowledge again with the digital scenario unfolding big time, and he started his third PhD from the GLS University of Gujarat, on the theme, information consumption and life choices, a study of Gen Z of India. These were not degrees for him, but excuses to pursue a sort of deep dive learning in one given area.
He also actively participated in the Mudra Institute (MICA) Governing Council meetings and contributed as a Professor of Practice there too, which the former MICA professor and acting Dean, Dr Arbind Sinha fondly remembers.
His one of the pet quests was to find the happiness quotient of the newer generation and their inspiration sources, and how these findings can be integrated in communication messaging. These searches he was integrating into his third doctoral thesis which would have been submitted this year. We can, hence, say that he remained a learner, a practitioner, and a strategist till the last date. In fact, though with a cancer attack for quite some time, he was neither silent nor inactive and continued with his research, consultation and voluntary support to various organizations even remotely.
I lost my senior from the Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University. I lost a Dada who guided and advised me on many counts specially with regards to communication education. I lost an inspiring professional who was in his third PhD in spite of being President of at least three of India’s top media organizations and mentor to many communication startups. One life, many avatars.
Rest in Peace, Bhaskarda!
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