Babuida,
My ex colleague in ABP, senior friend Mr. Alokemoy Ghosh passed away in his sleep on the early hours of Sunday 27th June without letting the world know that he Is going…He was not ill, there was apparently no sign or syndrome of any illness except his recent hip joint operation.

I got the news on Monday morning, couldn’t believe in the first place but the shell shocking news sunk in later and I finally came to terms that Babuida is no more. I only spoke with him last week .

I know there are at least 5000 men in Kolkata who knew him more dearly and spent much more time than me (my association with him was only 16 years) and they are far better suitable to speak about him, but still I can not restrict to share my feelings ,more so after I read the very touching article by Mr Aloke Kumar, his ex boss.

I met Babuida somewhere in 1994 while I used to work in ABP, the interaction grew deeper during Anandamela Ankur, Anandalok Awards and Sananda Tilottama awards events. I was a small fry then,(I still am)and he was a giant in Marketing and PR but he has treated me as I am in the same rank & file. The relationship grew stronger over the years and was intact till the last week.Allow me to narrate some glimpses :
One day, I told him I am tired of speaking about events in front of a client and I want to know how on earth you convince client to get business, what lines you use, when you make the punch line etc,(although in circulation and events that time with no knowledge of marketing I used to read Kotlers and Ogilvy’s and subscribing A&M magazine). Babuida agreed to take me in one of his calls with one condition, that I would not speak a word ,either to him or to the client during the entire conversation, I agreed as I did not have any option and was eager to see how the great Babuida make calls.
To my utter surprise, during 45 minutes of conversation with the client, he never spoke about the event, any word about rates,size,page,columns and centimeters, artwork,.. NOTHING but movie gossips,Cricket,Sachin’s form, Politics ,all my bookish knowledge and guidelines of marketing calls have gone down the drain and I was half tempted to believe that the myth about Babuida is little exaggerated just then I found that he stood up and said “Ok, aj ashi” to the client ,dumbfounded , I too got up and followed him to the door, just then he turned and said to client ” ei ja.. bhule gechillam..e hochche sumantra..event kore…kal 75k ekta RO pathiye deben…detail sumantra fax kore debe…ashi” client” Hyan Hyan..Ok.”In the car I asked him how !!! in which his reply was typical “dekhte eshechile…dekhecho..cholo” .I have attended the first class of marketing of Babuida.

I do not want to test your tolerance as how great a Marketing and a PR guy he was as I am not qualified enough and there are greats in the likes of CBda, Amitabha da, Subirda, Situda,Deepakda, Anjanda,Chiranjibda and close friends like Sudip,Biprada who can speak volumes, I would rather share another personal incident.

On a scorching summer day 29th May (forgot the year) my wife enquired can I take her to Darjeeling and we only managed dates from 4th June -10 June upon which I said to her no chance,next year, as I have found out 279 in waiting list and no decent rooms in Darjeeling, upon which my wife dejectedly asked “nothing can be done?.” I told him I know one man on earth to whom I would ask ,if anything can be done he is the man I know.
I called Babuida and said today is 29th May, I want to go to Darjeeling on 4th June and come back on 10th June, I know it is summer vacation time, I don’t have any railway reservation either and no accommodation is booked.
It took Babuida less than 5 seconds to react and said meet me tomorrow and call Shyamalendu too.

Next thing I was accompanied by him to the Chief PRO Eastern railways, ticket and reservation done in exactly 25 minutes, from there, hold your breath, Writer’s building…marched to rooms of ministers after ministers ,every where people started saying ‘’Arey asun, bosun.” His and Shyamalendu’s only enquiry,, Darjeeling e 4th -10th ghar ache kina dekhe rakhun…in next 30 minutes..got a minister’s bungalow, arranged everything…I thanked him time and again upon which there were no reaction but only one request “ JJ ,office e namiye debe to?”

Usually when anyone dies ,it is customary and in good ethics that people praise and say good things about the departed soul but in my 45 years of life upon which 20 years were spent on events, marketing, circulation ,sales , distribution and PR, I can safely say it would perhaps take a lifetime to get to know another human being with no MBA degree from IIM's would come even 200 kilometers close to the quality and credibility of Babuida in PR and Marketing.

He has finally reached the level where he belongs....in the skies...

At last, yes.. he was fond of drinking, yes he was little careless, but history taught and showed us, geniuses are like that only ,who can not be measured in mundane, pedantic discipline.

Babuida..bhalo theko..tomake ar keu chuntei parbena....