Media Maestro DK Bose: A life unstoppable

I just couldn’t believe my ears. The caller on the other end was telling me that DK Bose, yes DK Bose, was no longer in our midst. He had escaped, earlier in the week to the cool clean climes of McLeodganj in Himachal Pradesh, away from all the constraints of pandemic-hit Mumbai for a few days of rest and recreation. The rest just became endless. Alas!

DK and I had spoken only last week. He wanted a bit of help and advice. His book Life Unstoppable was available as an e-book on Amazon. He wanted to publish it in physical form too. I connected him to a publisher friend. DK called back the next day to debrief me on his discussions with the publisher. I said the deal looked good to go. He said we should meet soon … right after his trip to the hills to discuss how to best promote the book. I said we would do lunch. Now that lunch will remain in arrears for all times.

I first met DK Bose 36 years ago when I joined HTA Delhi. To be honest, it took me a few weeks before I got to say hello to him. He was far far too senior … a Media Director those days was God. But once I got to know him a bit, the hierarchical distance just melted. He was just a very nice, mild-mannered, knowledgeable gentleman – a boss who was well-liked and well respected by his team, and a domain head who was always available for help, advice and ideation to those in creative or servicing. Media doyens Ambika Srivastava and Ranjana Singh worked under him; the likes of Abhijit Dutta Ray, Nitin Jain, Ajiti Gambhir and many others who began their careers at HTA Delhi, were all his disciples. DK was a benevolent teacher, a hardworking professional and a well-rounded advertising man.

My fondest memory of him is the Annual Horlicks presentation. He would drive us in servicing, and his own deputies in media to round-the-clock work weeks in advance … asking for retail data, prioritizing markets, changing weightages, getting into arguments with the client’s product team … non-stop work till D-Day would arrive. Then DK would play Zubin Mehta while Ambika & Co. would make a Perfect 10 presentation. And at the end of it all, DK would be beaming from ear-to-ear because not only was the client happy, but that his own team had put up a flawless presentation. That was DK – more a proud father, than a boss.

I got to know DK more closely when I was running Zee many years later. DK by then had moved onto O&M to run their Rural Outreach outfit. We were planning a rural TV channel at Zee. I turned to DK for advice. He was like an encyclopaedia.

It sounds clichéd but they really don’t make gentlemen like DK Bose any more. Professionals of his generation were texturally different. They valued their own professionalism; their commitment to the client’s brand was par excellence and they looked after their teams like family. DK was senior enough to have his own car by the time I met him at HTA. Half of the boys and girls headed to South Delhi would merrily hitch a ride every evening with DK from 35 Rani Jhansi Road. It was almost a come-one-come-all service. And poor DK, he would even wait till late to cart many of the ‘regulars’ home if they got stuck on some work!

I asked DK once why he moved out of media to this rural activation business. He simply said his heart was where the ‘real’ India lived. To someone who could have easily become the tallest media professional of his times, his heart dictated what he did, rather than his rational mind. And I am sure DK enjoyed his every day at work in the domains of his choice: building brands, inventing solutions, always finding a better way.

Goodbye DK!  You were the best in class. And the best you shall always remain.

DK Bose, Media Maestro. RIP.

Dr Sandeep Goyal worked with DK Bose at HTA Delhi many years ago. They were good friends.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com.