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People, who have known T. T. Vasu over the years, were reluctant to speak about him as a businessman. They felt that he had moved well beyond the genre of business and into a realm of public service and noble causes. But none would contest that in his lifetime, he had done his bit to a point of admiration, and a few times over — as a businessman, as a patron of art and culture, and as a socially concerned and responsible citizen. He was a Director of the TTK Group, Chairman of the ITC Park Sheraton Hotel and Towers, the Indo Japan Centre, and much more, in an illustrious lifespan of 76 years (April 24, 1929 to May 10, 2005).
Vasu, who started his life as a salesman in TTK, got into some misunderstanding with the General Manager at the time, and joined ‘The Indian Express’ in Delhi. After two years as a journalist, he came back and rejoined the family business. Later, he started a unit in Bangalore in 1956, where he was manufacturing Ponds products. The Bangalore unit of TTK now also makes, among other things, Prestige Cookers.
Vasu was actively involved in the group’s expansion for over three decades. During the 50s, 60s and 70s, he was well and truly, the face of TTK, say his family members. The London Rubber Company, which makes and markets the Kohinoor and Durex brands, was one such group venture that he was actively involved with. He is remembered for his involvement with brands like Ponds, Woodwards, Cadbury’s, Brylcreem, Westclocks, Waterman’s and Kiwi’s; and for being instrumental in the TTK group’s initiation to some of these brands. While the group started with distribution, the involvement evolved to production for many of these in due course.
Vasu’s role in the development of South India as a region too, is worth more than a mention. The first European carrier to fly into South India, British Airways, came into India in 1988, and his efforts for the same were no lesser than anyone else. He could visualise the potential in the hotel industry in Chennai, when he started building the Park Sheraton Hotel. The hotel moved to other owners soon, but he remained Chairman till the very end — states volumes about the goodwill he enjoyed. The plight of Indians stranded outside the American Consulate moved him to creating a back-office for the Consulate, initiated during the former US ambassador, Frank Wisner’s India visit.
Vasu is credited with reviving the Music Academy, where he held the reins since 1983. The Public Health Centre, the Bala Mandir, the Kalakshetra Foundation and the Hindu Mission Hospital are but few of the institutions that stand testimony to his commitment to socially relevant causes. His contribution to arts and culture is top of mind in Chennai for brand T. T. Vasu, and understandably so, as that is what he has been doing for some time now. And in a city, where the Tsunami waves, didn’t stop people from attending cultural concerts, it is but natural that his contribution to the arts takes precedence in public memory.
To read the entire story, grab your copy of Impact Advertising and Weekly magazine issue dated May 16-22, 2005