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In this issue...

Matrix can be viewed at www.sanmargroup.comDesigned and edited by Kalamkriya Limited, 9, Cathedral Road, Chennai 600 086. Ph: + 91 44 2811 8051/ 52

For Private Circulation Only.

Tamil Nadu recovers from the deluge 5

Danish diplomat feted by Consul General 6

Fifty years in the TNCA senior division leagueAlwarpet Cricket Club’s distinction 7

N Sankar delivers convocation address atAnna University 8

Madhuram Narayanan Centre celebrates its16th anniversary 14

Taking cricket to a new pitch 16

NewsSanmar gifts building to primary school 18

Employees’ Corner‘A Man of Letters’ 19

Impressive heritage show by Sri SankaraVidyashramam 21

Sanmar Speciality Chemicals LimitedSSCL obtains OHSAS 18000 22

Chemplast Sanmar LimitedMarine Terminal Facility at Karaikal 23

St John AmbulanceMettur Local Centre wins rolling trophy 24

Chemplast rated excellent vendor 25

Farewell to S D Sankaralingam 25

Legends from the SouthJ Krishnamurti 26

Cover photography courtesy: Tamil Murasu, Tamil daily.

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5

Tamil Nadu recoversfrom the deluge

With characteristic determination, Tamil Nadu has bounced backafter the recent rains. The state has come to terms with nature’sfury for the second time in a year. Life is slowly returning tonormal after cyclonic storms and incessant rain battered coastalTamil Nadu for over a month, causing hardships to thousands ofpeople. Lives have been lost, dwellings destroyed, crops inundated,businesses affected by damage to machinery and goods, with waterentering everywhere, flooding workplaces, streets and roads,marketplaces, schools and colleges in several parts of the state.The official machinery swung into action and many public-spirited individuals and organisations lent helping hands to thepeople affected by the rains. Despite all the problems, life goeson and people go about their work unmindful of the discomfort.For a rain-starved state, the transformation to a state of plentyhas been an extraordinary experience.

The Sanmar Group has responded to the poignant situation bysubstantially supporting the government’s relief efforts in bothTamil Nadu and neighbouring Pondicherry.

Photographs courtesy: Tamil Murasu, Daily Thanthi, Dinamani,and Deccan Chronicle.

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Danish diplomat feted byConsul General

N Sankar shaking hands with His Excellency Ulrik AndreasFederspiel, Permanent Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,Denmark at the dinner.

N Sankar hands over a memento to HisExcellency Ulrik Andreas Federspiel whileN K Ranganath, CEO Grundfos PumpsIndia Pvt Ltd, looks on.

L Lakshman of the Rane Group and N Raviof The Hindu.

N Sankar, Hony. Consul General forDenmark, hosted a dinner to HisExcellency Ulrik Andreas Federspiel,Permanent Secretary of State for ForeignAffairs, Denmark, on 14 November2005. A distinguished gathering ofbusiness and other dignitaries attendedthe reception. N Sankar proposed a toastto the Permanent Secretary on theoccasion and welcomed the gathering.For the chief guest of the evening it wasan opportunity to interact with the localopinion leaders.

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Fifty years in the TNCAsenior division leagueAlwarpet Cricket Club’s distinction

(Alwarpet Cricket Club (ACC) is one of the teams sponsored by The Sanmar Group –participating in the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) senior division league inwhich it has completed more than 50 years)

At a function organised by The SanmarGroup to highlight the 50th year ofAlwarpet Cricket Club in the seniorleague and felicitate V A Parthasarathy(VAP), the Secretary of the Club,speakers hailed the contributions VAPhas made to Tamil Nadu cricket.

N Sankar, Chairman, The Sanmar Group,the current sponsor, described ACC’sachievement as a “unique milestone” and“a benchmark” in city cricket. He referredto VAP as a “person totally committed tocricket”. He added, “The league here isthe best run in the country”.

N Srinivasan, President, TNCA,complimented VAP for the role he playedin establishing the Club House andguiding ACC to achieve a rare distinction.“TNCA without VAP will not be what itis today”, he declared amidst cheers.N Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu, anda former captain of ACC, hailed VAP’s

enthusiasm and resourcefulness in runningthe team under the umbrella of thesponsors. Former BCCI President A CMuthiah admitted that the TNCA oweda lot to VAP’s energy and enterprise. S Vijiof the TVS Group admired VAP’s abilityto network and described him as “ValueAdded Parthasarathy”, appreciating hiswork ethos and commitment.

From l to r: N Ram, Editor-in-Chief, TheHindu, R B Alaganan, past President,TNCA, V A Parthasarathy, Secretary,Alwarpet CC, N Srinivasan, President,TNCA, N Sankar, past President, TNCAand A C Muthiah, past President, Board ofControl for Cricket in India.

A section of the audience including (l to r) M Subramanian, U Prabhakar Rao, M Gopalakrishnan, S R Jagannathan, K Prem Kumar,R Ravichandran and T G Thyagarajan in the first row.

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N Sankar, Chairman, The SanmarGroup was the Chief Guest at the 26thAnnual Convocation of AnnaUniversity, Chennai, on 3 November2005. The Tamil Nadu Governor andChancellor of Anna University SurjitSingh Barnala, the State EducationMinister C Ve Shanmugam, and theVice Chancellor Dr D Viswanathanwere present at the glittering function.N Sankar, delivered the convocationaddress.

We reproduce below the text ofN Sankar’s convocation address in full.

I am genuinely delighted andhonoured to be present on this

occasion when another group of brightand enthusiastic young minds preparesto leave the portals of academia, andembark on productive careers, and at theopportunity to address them. Onereason for this pleasure is that I myselfam an alumnus of Anna University, or

perhaps I should say one of the currentconstituents of Anna University, havinggraduated from the AC College ofTechnology forty years ago. As my mindgoes back to that time, I marvel at howthings have changed. Guindy, andparticularly the environs of GuindyEngineering College and AC Tech werethen fairly quiet and sleepy, with noneof the hustle and bustle that you seetoday, both within and without theircompounds. IIT Madras was justgraduating its first few classes. Academiclife was at a much slower pace, probablyreflecting the slower paced life styles ofthe time. The academic evaluationsystem was different, with the dreadedannual exams always in the minds of thestudents. This was before the days ofthe semester system, open book exams,and so on, and we had to take exams inthirteen different subjects over a fifteen-day period, including two Sundays.Things have now definitely improved inmany ways. The focus has switched toimparting knowledge, rather thanpassing examinations. Syllabi have beenmodernised to keep in touch with thechanging technologies of the day. Butone thing I can say with pride has notchanged–the graduating classes fromthese institutions continue to be thecream of India’s emerging technicalmanpower.

Anna University is now a huge institution with about 240 colleges

under its umbrella. From these itgraduates over 50,000 students each yearcovering the whole spectrum ofEngineering and Technology. There areseveral Centers of Excellence andInstitutes in specialised areas. I woulddare say that Anna would rank among

N Sankar deliversconvocation address atAnna University

Things have now

definitely improved in

many ways. The focus

has switched to

imparting knowledge,

rather than passing

examinations. Syllabi

have been modernised to

keep in touch with the

changing technologies of

the day. But one thing I

can say with pride has

not changed - the

graduating classes from

these institutions

continue to be the

cream of India’s

emerging technical

manpower.

N Sankar delivering the convocation address. Others in the picture are (l to r) Tamil NaduGovernor S S Barnala, Anna University Vice Chancellor Dr D Viswanathan andK Ramalingam, Chairman, Airports Authority of India.

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the top global technical universities.Similarly, Guindy, with its manytechnical institutions, like the Collegeof Engineering, The AC College, IITMadras, and the many otherdepartments located around here, wouldbid fair to be a world-ranking center oftechnological education, comparable,for example, to the research trianglearound Raleigh, North Carolina in theUS. It is indeed a privilege to be presenthere today as Chief Guest.

Investment destination

You are all aware that of late TamilNadu, and particularly the environs

of Chennai, have been attracting hugeinvestments in the areas of Software andInformation Technology, BusinessProcessing, Automobile and AutoComponent manufacture, not tomention a whole host of otherengineering-based industries. Apartfrom the other advantages that Chennaiand Tamil Nadu offer, there is no doubtin my mind that one of the main reasonsattracting so many multinationals andIndian business houses here, is theavailability of large numbers of welleducated engineers and technologists.Anna University can proudly lay claimto being one of the main factors behindthe industrial and economicadvancement of Tamil Nadu.

All of you graduating today are on the threshold of your careers. You

have a wide variety of choice. You couldstudy further, you could take up jobswhere you utilise the knowledge andskills you have acquired, you could enterinto areas of research, or you could thinkof building upon the technicalfoundations you have gained with amanagement degree. The student oftoday is very well networked globally,and I am sure all of you have alreadymined and processed the relevantinformation you need to make thischoice–probably most of you havealready made it. Notwithstanding this,

I thought I would talk to you on a fewissues, not necessarily linked, but whichI feel are important points for you toconsider at this stage.

Economy on a high

The Indian economy is now on ahigh. It is finally beginning to

achieve the growth rates that were alwaystalked about as being possible, butsomehow were never achieved. Ifindustry and economy are clocking 7 –8% growth or more this year, it is onthe basis of some very strongfundamentals, and not a flash in the pan.India is integrating herself with theglobal economy on a permanent basis.The liberalisation measures started inthe early 90’s gave Indian industry theshock treatment it needed. Decades ofprotectionism had resulted in Indianbusinesses producing goods which weresub-standard in quality, and selling themat prices unrelated to their global values.The lifting of the veils of protectionism,and the dismantling of licencing andindustrial controls in 1991, all resultedin a sudden surge of competition. Therewere several businesses that were unableto meet this challenge and went under.But happily, a large proportion ofindustry has restructured itself andemerged from the fire in much better

Apart from the other

advantages that Chennai

and Tamil Nadu offer,

there is no doubt in my

mind that one of the

main reasons attracting

so many multinationals

and Indian business

houses here, is the

availability of large

numbers of well

educated engineers and

technologists. Anna

University can proudly lay

claim to being one of the

main factors behind the

industrial and economic

advancement of Tamil

Nadu.

At the convocation (l to r): N Sankar,the State Education MinisterC Ve Shanmugam, Tamil Nadu GovernorS S Barnala, Dr D Viswanathan andK Ramalingam.

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shape, producing goods of internationalquality and cost, and invading andsecuring markets all over the world. Thebenefits to the Indian consumer areobvious. He has access to all sorts ofproducts produced here or imported,many at prices significantly lower thanto a consumer in other parts of theworld. Product quality is alsointernational.

Today as an Indian you can hold yourhead high – Indians occupy the

highest positions around the world asChief Executives of huge globalcorporations, are among the top rungsof most of the major Universities in theworld, are top Doctors at leadinghospitals; Indian entrepreneurs are beingcounted among the world’s leaders intheir fields, and so on and so forth.

From the global economic point ofview, India is perhaps second only

to China in terms of its potential andimportance over the next few decades.There are reasons for this.

Pool of manpower

India offers three very valuableattractions to global industry. Firstly,

a huge and growing market; secondly avery attractive manufacturingdestination; and thirdly, an everrefreshing pool of excellent manpower.

All three are equally important. Currenttrends in the western world are that asnations develop, forces build up withinthem that mitigate against establishmentof large capacities of heavy industry, andthese economies seem to gravitate moreand more towards the secondary andtertiary consumption sectors. This holdsout the opportunity for countries likeIndia to become the manufacturingpowerhouses of the world. To illustrate,just ten years ago if some one had saidthat the world’s largest refinery wouldbe located in India, he would have metwith severe skepticism, but with thecurrent on going expansion of ReliancePetroleum’s Refinery to 50 million tons,they will easily outdistance the nextlargest competitor. Mittal Steel Limited,the world’s largest steel producer, andmany others are setting up huge scalegrassroots steel plants in Eastern India.

But more important, India also offersa huge market for most

manufacturing products and services.The per capita consumption in India ofany product you take is today only about1/4th or 1/5th that of even countries likeThailand and Malaysia, let alone thewestern world where per capitas are verymuch larger. Thus, if we catch up withthe consumption levels of even ourcloser neighbours, the multiplier effectof India’s one billion population willensure demand for most products andservices at double digit rates for severalyears to come.

Lowest capital costs

Equally, India offers the opportunityto set up manufacturing units at

perhaps the lowest conversion costsanywhere in the world. The capital costsof setting up green field projects aresignificantly lower here, as are the costsof conversion once the units getunderway. Both these arise primarilyfrom the significantly lower cost of ourexcellent Indian manpower–theengineers, the technologists,

Current trends in the

western world are that

as nations develop,

forces build up within

them that mitigate

against establishment of

large capacities of heavy

industry, and these

economies seem to

gravitate more and more

towards the secondary

and tertiary consumption

sectors. This holds out

the opportunity for

countries like India to

become the

manufacturing

powerhouses of the

world.

11

accountants, lawyers, softwarespecialists, and what have you. The restof the world has awoken to this fact, andthis has resulted in the flood oftechnology companies from around theworld setting up research or basicengineering or design and developmentcenters here in India–GE, Ford,Microsoft, Intel, Emerson Electric,Amazon, Alcatel, etc., are already here,and the queue is long.

All this leads me to hold the firmbelief that India is on the threshold

of several decades of high growth. Thisshould be a heartening factor for thoseof you bidding to enter the world ofindustry and business today.

The next point I would like to makeis that when you receive your

degrees and diplomas today, you mustappreciate that you hold in your handssomething that is very valuable on aglobal assessment. The forethought ofthe leaders of our nation in realising thevalue of education and taking it to largenumbers of the Indian populationthrough heavy subsidies, has resulted ina fairly low cost of education. Even withthe recent upward trends in fees, youhave all acquired an education whichwould have cost many times moreelsewhere. But the earning andproductive potential of that educationis no different from that of one earnedin the US or UK or anywhere else. Themarket for brainpower is global.

Another point you should consideris what exactly earning the

engineering degree has taught you.While no doubt you have beenimmersed in a variety of courses invarious fields of technology andengineering, all of which are relevant andimportant, I personally found that themost valuable take away from myengineering degree, was that it taughtme to logically analyse problems andissues, and work to their solutions. Thisis a technique that you use every day in

solving problems in say, heat transfer ormachine design or reaction kinetics. Butthis methodology lends itself toapplication in many fields.

Advantages of engineeringbackground

Let me talk to you from personalexperience. In 1967 I came back

from the US and joined our group as amanagement trainee. At that stage myeducation was all in ChemicalEngineering, where I had a bachelorsdegree from AC Tech and a mastersdegree from an institution in the US.But I found I was dealing mostly withfinancial matters, and knowing nothingof double-entry book-keeping, trialbalances or other accounting andfinancial matters, I was all at sea. Butonce I understood the basics, I foundthat my engineering background wasvery helpful in terms of being able tovisualise problems and issues, andanalyse them for solutions. I must pointout that this is not an approach practisednaturally by say, accountants. They arenumbers - and calculations - driven, andtheir approach is more rule-bound, andsomehow they do not generally have amacro appreciation of the problem. Forexample, in comparing differentfinancing flows and their costs,techniques that we use in engineeringlike calculations of heat flows and

Even with the recent

upward trends in fees,

you have all acquired an

education which would

have cost many times

more elsewhere. But

the earning and

productive potential of

that education is no

different from that of

one earned in the US or

UK or anywhere else.

The market for

brainpower is global.

A section of the audience at the convocation.

12

resulting temperatures, came in handy.Within a short period I found that I hadgained a reputation as some sort of anexpert in finance, although I was stillignorant of accounting principles or taxlaws and so on. For many years I keptthis opinion to myself, that of theengineering discipline being what hadgiven me this edge. It was not until Iread the very same sentiment expressedby Jack Welch, the legendary Chief ofGE, in his memoirs–of how educationas a Chemical Engineer had helped himenormously in his management ofdifferent aspects of business. It is onlyafter reading this, that I startedespousing this view strongly in public.In fact, in our own group companies Iinsist we look at any problem in a logicalfour-step process:

• Define the problem

• Analyse the issue

• Decide a solution

• Implement the solution

A simple tool, but properly used ityields good returns. Every one of

you have by virtue of your education theseeds of such processes in you – use themwell.

Value of discipline

Leading on from here, this techniquethat engineering teaches you is

nothing but a discipline. One of theWebster’s Dictionary definitions ofdiscipline is ‘adherence to a rule orsystem of rules i.e., an orderly or regularpattern of behaviour’. Discipline sodefined will stand you in good stead inall facets of life. When you join acompany or other institution, you willfind they have their own rules and codesof conduct, and your discipline will bein adhering to them. The education thatyou have received so far makes it easierfor you to accept discipline, and thisdiscipline will in turn result in yourcompleting your tasks quicker and moreefficiently. I know that of late, there have

been issues in this campus andelsewhere, resulting from someinitiatives of the Universitymanagement, but when you look at itfrom the macro perspective thatdiscipline is a way of conducting youraffairs and of addressing issues andproblems in your work, and not just theless important matters of personalappearance and behaviour, then I thinkyou would begin to appreciate the valueof discipline.

Moving on, I have one thought thatI would like you to consider

when making your choices regardingyour future. Over the last several years,you are all aware that a very largeproportion of the best minds graduatingfrom our leading technologicalinstitutions like Anna University, havepretty much given up engineering andmoved on to fields such as finance, orgeneral management. In these areas also,the education that they have received hashelped them shine brightly, but there isno doubt that the hard technical areasare beginning to feel the non-availabilityof the best minds. At the time Igraduated in the 60’s, most of thegraduating engineers went on in theirfields. If they continued their education,they took up MS or Ph.D programmesin a specialised field of engineering. Ifthey took up employment, it was asmanufacturing or sales or designengineers. However, in the last twentyyears or so, I would hazard a guess thata very large number of engineeringgraduates have taken up managementcourses and moved on to Wall Street andother similar areas around the world.With the industrial progress that Indiais making, there are going to be hugeinvestments in manufacturing, research,design and development, and theopportunities for engineers in these areasis going to be enormous. I wouldpersonally urge all of you to seriouslyconsider sticking to the Technology andEngineering areas you are graduating in,

One of the Webster’s

Dictionary definitions of

discipline is ‘adherence

to a rule or system of

rules i.e., an orderly or

regular pattern of

behaviour’. Discipline so

defined will stand you in

good stead in all facts of

life. When you join a

company or other

institution, you will find

they have their own

rules and codes of

conduct, and your

discipline will be in

adhering to them.

13

and excelling in them. If the greaterproportion of the technical graduatescan be convinced to do so over the nextfew years, I can very clearly see Indiaemerging as a Technology andManufacturing powerhouse of the 21st

century.

This is not an idle claim. You don’thave to go very far from here to see

the proof of what I am saying. If you drivedown the Old Mahabalipuram Road, youwill see a very large number ofmanufacturing and design anddevelopment centers, each employinghundreds, perhaps thousands, of engineersand other technicians. Many of them areowned 100% by multinationalcorporations. No doubt thesetechnological and engineering centers areat present outnumbered by the gleamingsteel and glass buildings housing softwaredevelopment and BPO outfits, but keepin mind that these software and business-process units are there ultimately to servicethe industries and businesses turning outhard products. Their growth depends onthe growth of the manufacturing, processand infrastructure industries – the so called‘Old Industry’ sector. If therefore a youngengineering graduate of today came to mefor advise, I would certainly urge him tostick to his knitting.

Change is inevitable

Another important point that I findevery one of my predecessors at this

function over the last few years hasmade, and that I would like to endorsevery strongly, is of the inevitability ofchange. Today change is the onlyconstant. The speed of technologicaladvancement is very high, and isaccelerating further. The life cycles ofproducts and technologies arecontinuously getting shorter, as they areovertaken by newer technologies andbetter products. The Internet is just tenyears old. Can any of you think of lifewithout it today? I won’t even mentionthe PC or mobile phone or what have

you. Unfortunately, what this means isthat when you receive a degree today,you cannot afford to think that you havecompleted your education. If you doso, you will find yourself becomingobsolete very shortly. You willnecessarily have to continuously educateyourself, as developments of newproducts, process and technologieshappen. Continuing education isessential, not just for improving yourposition, but just to maintain status quo.

Continuing education

Here, I have a suggestion for AnnaUniversity. With the huge

numbers of young engineers beingemployed within a very short distanceof this campus, the constituent collegesof Anna University should considertaking up the cause of continuingeducation in a major way. Short-termcourses, perhaps offered after workinghours, which enable engineers toupgrade themselves to currentdevelopments in their field, would beextremely valuable. I am sure thesyndicate is already seized of the matter,but considering its importance I wouldemphasise an early start.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I realise havemeandered a bit, touching on

disparate issues, not necessarily cogently,but I hope I have impressed upon youmy basic and unshakable belief in thefuture of India and of Indian industry.The opportunities for young minds likeyours are enormous, and moreimportant, growing at a fast pace everyyear. The potential is there - the futurebeckons - but what you make of it is inyour hands. For myself, I am confidentthat all of you will make greatcontributions to our nation’sdevelopment.

If you drive down the Old

Mahabalipuram Road,

you will see a very large

number of manufacturing

and design and

development centers,

each employing

hundreds, perhaps

thousands, of engineers

and other technicians.

Many of them are owned

100% by multinational

corporations. No doubt

these technological and

engineering centers are

at present outnumbered

by the gleaming steel

and glass buildings

housing software

development and BPO

outfits, but keep in mind

that these software and

business-process units

are there ultimately to

service the industries

and businesses turning

out hard products.

14

Madhuram NarayananCentre celebrates its16th anniversary

The Madhuram Narayanan Centre forExceptional Children (MNC)celebrated its 16th anniversary on 12December 2005. The children exhibitedtheir talents with their parents. Theysang and danced for a theatreperformance titled, “Parakkum TherilSirikkum Kuzhandaigal”, based onThyagabharati’s songs. What isnoteworthy is that the centre makes it apoint to get the parents involved in allits activities as much as possible toensure that they carry forward thedevelopment work at their home.In his welcome address, Air ViceMarshal V Krishnaswamy, Director,MNC, said that it was an important partof their early intervention programmeto improve the morale of the parents of

children suffering from developmentaldelays and mental retardation.

In his presidential address, V Narayanan,Director, Willingdon CorporateFoundation, commended the work doneby the centre in helping special childrenand their families. He appreciated theexcellent performance of the childrenwith their mothers and added that itclearly demonstrated the empowermentof the children. He spoke highly of thecommitted service of the centre and saidthat it is a valuable resource centre forthe global community.

N Ravi, Editor, The Hindu, the chiefguest, lauded the centre for setting a‘valuable precedent’ of what privateinitiatives could achieve in the objective

Children and parents of the centre whoparticipated at the anniversary celebrations.

15

From l to r: V Narayanan, Director, Willingdon Corporate Foundation, N Ravi, Editor, TheHindu, P Jeyachandran, Director, Vijay Human Services and V Krishnaswamy, Director,MNC, at the anniversary celebrations.

of extending equal opportunities to all.He hailed the efforts of K S Narayananand the Sanmar family for starting thecentre and running it so successfullysince 1989 as a community servicecentre. He stressed that primaryeducation is the fundamental right ofall children irrespective of their abilitiesand that schools must adopt a diversity-based approach to education afteridentifying the diverse needs of thechildren.

In his message (read out byV Narayanan) K S Narayanan, whocould not attend the function, said thecentre was disseminating its earlyintervention programme to various partsof the country through seminars andworkshops and wished many more yearsof committed service to the society.

A section of the audience.

The children demonstrate their artistic skills.

16

Corporate sponsorship acquired a touchof sophistication when the majorindustrial establishments in the Statepitched in to enhance the quality of cityleague cricket about four decades ago.If India Cements gets portrayed as atrend-setter of this vibrant change, agood measure of credit to pioneeringthis concept and perfecting a systemshould go to the quiet, soft-spokenN Sankar, chairman, Sanmar Group.The company sponsors the two majorforces in the city–Jolly Rovers CC andAlwarpet CC.

Love for the sport

For Sankar, sponsorship is an article offaith and commitment rather than a

vehicle for purveying a commercialmessage. This stems from the insatiablelove for a sport that he devoutly playedand practised in school and college, bothhere and abroad. Eventually tennisclaimed his attention ahead ofcricket. Coaching sessions withT K Ramanathan, father of tennis aceRamanathan Krishnan, consumed quitea bit of time; but the passion for cricketrefused to die down. He found time towield the willow in the ground near hisresidence.

It is difficult to gauge how many in thisgeneration are aware that Sankar, alongwith N Srinivasan, president, TNCA,and current managing director, IndiaCements, formed one of the most

Taking cricket to a newpitch(A tribute to The Sanmar Group’s patronage of cricket for nearly four decades byS Thyagarajan, published in The Hindu Metroplus dated 13 October 2005)

The Sanmar pavilion at the IIT-Sanmarcricket ground, Chennai.

17

formidable collegiate doublescombinations in the 1960s, donning thecolours of A C College of Technology.Sankar even had a stint as president ofthe Tamil Nadu Tennis Association.

Unalloyed love for sport promptedSankar to court cricket and support itspractitioners. Picking up the threadsfrom his father, K S Narayanan, himselfa club level tennis player, Sankar re-defined the whole aspect of sponsorshipafter India Cements began supportingJolly Rovers Cricket Club in 1966. Sincethen, India Cements, Chemplast andSanmar have been in the forefront ofsponsorship for nearly four decades.And continue to be vibrant as ever. Afact that needs to be singled out forapprobation is this; while several highprofile corporate units began pulling outof the sponsorship net for one reason orthe other, Chemplast and Sanmar, underhis leadership, emerged as role modelsfor professional efficiency. Mafatlal,Sungrace, Tata, JK Tyres, Nirlon, PunjabCommunication Ltd., State Bankof India, TVS Chennai, KunalEngineering, Godrej, Pentasoft, MohanMeakins, Escorts and SAIL are some ofthe units that faded from the scene aftermaking a stunning impact in several topnotch tournaments. Sankar shows nohesitation in acknowledging thecontribution of TVS, The Hindu andDasaprakash in fostering city clubs, andspeaks appreciatively of MRF for theefficacy of promoting a brand withoutstanding success. While admittingthe strains of maintaining the tempo,level of efficiency and putting in placean effective assembly line of talent,Sankar reveals that the cost ofmaintenance and infrastructure hoversaround Rs. 1.5 crore annually.

Success rate

What satisfies him, however, is thesuccess rate of the teams, be it in thecity league, The Hindu Trophy, or inaway tournaments such as Moin-ud-

Dowla. He is happy that both theSanmar sponsored outfits, Jolly Roversand Alwarpet, will fight for thePalayampatti Shield this year.

To catalogue players who benefitedout of the sponsorship programmesis not easy. From K R Rajagopal toP K Belliappa and B Kalyanasundaram,to Test stars such as S Venkataraghavan,Bharath Reddy, B Arun, andL Sivaramakrishnan, down to RobinSingh, Harbhajan Singh, HemangBadani, Dinesh Mongia andLakshmipathy Balaji, the galaxy mirrorsthe confidence and trust enjoyed byplayers working with an understandingleader like Sankar.

One more area where Sankar spent a lotof energy as cricket administrator–hewas also president of Tamil NaduCricket Association in 1993-94–relatedto increasing the number of turf pitchesin and around the city. Whileencouraging the institutions to adoptschool and college grounds, Sanmar setan example by developing a superbfacility matching international standardsat the Indian Institute of Technology.The IIT-Sanmar ground earned theappreciation of players such as SachinTendulkar, Richard Hadlee and NeilHarvey. Said the Kiwi legend, “ The IIT-Sanmar ground is an outstanding one,the pitches and pavilion there cancompare with the best anywhere.”

Sankar’s mission continues with thefocus on helping deserving youngsters.Assisted well by Bharath Reddy, theadministrative manager, Sankar isendeavouring to give sports promotiona high priority in his company’s milieudesigned to offer society a platform togrow.

Reproduced with permission from TheHindu.

18

News

Sanmar gifts building toprimary school

A child from the school holds centrestageat the inaugural function.

Vijay Sankar inaugurating the school building.

The Sanmar Group has long beeninvolved in supporting schools offeringhigh quality education to both boys andgirls. On 9 December 2005, VijaySankar, Director, The Sanmar Group,inaugurated a new building at a cost ofRs.2.30 lakh, and donated to the EllenSharma Memorial Primary and NurserySchool run by the Children’s GardenSchool Society located at Karapakkam,Chennai. In his speech, he highlightedthe activities of the MadhuramNarayanan Charitable Trust throughwhich the group has made this gesture.He announced a donation of anotherRs.1 lakh towards the school’sdevelopment work. P Natarajan,Managing Director, SanmarEngineering Corporation, spokeappreciatively of the good work doneby the school.

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Employees’ Corner

‘A Man of Letters’V Ramnarayan, (Vice President Corporate Communications,

Sanmar Corporate Division)

Over the years, the New Yorkermagazine has provided me great readingpleasure. Its articles and profiles tend tobe long, but solid in substance, rich incontent. Its style, typography and designhave remained unchanged throughoutits existence. Perfection in all aspects ofproduction has been its hallmark. Iwonder if a typographical error has evermarred its contents.

Humour is an important ingredient ofmost of the writing featured in theNew Yorker; its cartoons must rankamong the best anywhere. I have readsome of the greatest writers incontemporary fiction and non-fictionfor the first time in the New Yorker,the list including Michael Ondaatje,Jhumpa Lahiri and Amitava Ghosh.Salman Rushdie’s account of histeenage passion for soccer and hisf ierce loyalty to the TottenhamHotspurs, peerless prose that lingersin the memory, is only one exampleof my favourite pieces of writing inthe magazine.

The December 5, 2005 issue of themagazine is a treasurehouse ofoutstanding content. In it, among otherthings, longtime contributor AlecWilkinson pays a tribute to a mastertypeface designer that makes compellingreading. To quote from the author:

“Matthew Carter is often described as themost widely read man in the world. Carterdesigns typefaces. He is universallyacknowledged as the most significantdesigner of type in America, and as havingonly one or two peers in Europe. A well-regarded British type designer named DaveFarey once told a reporter, “There’sMatthew Carter, and then there’s the restof us.”

The 68-year-old Carter is British andlives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Hehas designed type for some of the world’sleading magazines and newspapersincluding Time, Newsweek andBusiness Week, the New York Times, theBoston Globe, the Washington Post andthe Guardian, London. Verdana, forlong the signature typeface of Microsoft,is his creation, especially commissionedfor computer screens because typefacesused in the print medium could beillegible on screen. Bell Centennial, thetypeface used by A.T. & T in the phonebook, and Galliard, used by the U SPostal Service on a stamp, are also hiscontributions to typography.

Born in London in 1937, Carterinherited his love for type design fromhis father, a typographer, designer ofbooks and historian of typography.Trained to be an architect, his motherworked as a draftsman. World War IIbroke out when Matthew was two, andduring evacuation, with his father awayat the war, the boy learnt to read froman alphabet his mother cut out fromlinoleum at their new home in Croydon.“Gill Sans, a popular typeface of thetime”, Carter recalls. Early impressionswere made by the books his father haddesigned that his mother showed him.

Carter was a misfit at boarding school,as he “liked art, which no one consideredimportant, and bebop, which the schooldisapproved of.” At 17, he joinedOxford, but the school suggested he takea year off and come back later, as he wasmuch younger than the other studentswho had all done military service,something Carter’s asthma prevented.His father arranged an internship for

Matthew Carter, type designerextraordinaire.

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him at a printing company in theNetherlands, in Haarlem, calledEnschede en Zone, where he learnt tomake type by hand, using techniquesthat hadn’t changed for 400 years. Hewas one of the last men in Europe tolearn to cut type by hand.

After a year at Enschede, Carter decidedto pursue a career in typography ratherthan go back to college. Returning toLondon in 1956, he moved in with hisparents, painted signs and did letteringwork. Punch cutting jobs were hard tocome by, so he moved to London in1958, and found work with a group ofdesigners, aspiring to an internationalstyle in type design. His work there puthim on a magazine cover, and one ofhis father’s friends, impressed by whathe saw, helped him to travel to NewYork, something Carter wanted to do,without knowing exactly why.

The rest of the New Yorker storydescribes how Matthew Carter evolvedas one of the greatest living typedesigners in the world. I shall confinemyself to quoting a couple of inspiringpassages from the article and invite thereader to share the joy I experiencedreading them.

He gave Carter three hundred pounds,and in April of 1960 Carter arrived in

the city. Much of his time he spent

visiting graphic design studios. “It’s hardto recall, in these days of the global

village, how different design was in

different places. I had grown up in atype-making privileged situation, and I’d

had my year at Enschede and my time

in London, and I was cocky, but once Igot to New York and saw the level of

work the designers were doing—in

magazines and advertising, in postersyou would see around the city, at the

exhibitions I attended, the entire

aggregate impression—I was madeabruptly and forcefully to realise that I

knew nothing.” He felt that he was faced

with two choices: to slink home or toresolve to stay. “The cowardly part of

me could have gone back to England and

pretended I hadn’t seen all of thisdesign,” he says. “Or I could decide,

Wake up, Matthew, you’ve been living

in a fool’s paradise. You crossed theAtlantic and found something that

knocked you sideways, now it’s your

move.”

In the spring of 1960, the John ColtraneQuartet played its first engagement.

Carter was in the audience. Over several

weeks, he heard them three or four times.“Sometimes they played the same songs

in the second set as they played in the

first. Not because they were lazy butbecause they wanted to surpass

themselves, or find something in the

music that they hadn’t found earlier inthe evening. They were that acute. Their

seriousness of purpose was a lesson. Four

great geniuses who would knockthemselves out every night when instead

they could have coasted. I felt I could

have been dishonest enough to returnto England and say I hadn’t seen great

design. But I couldn’t somehow pretendthat I hadn’t heard the John Coltrane

Quartet.” As it happened, Carter

couldn’t find work in the city and wentback to England, where he worked as a

designer, but in 1965 he was hired by

Mergenthaler, whose offices were inBrooklyn.

Upper case, lower case

The alphabet was organised intocapital and small letters around800. The capital letters derivedfrom inscriptions on Romanmonuments, and the smallerletters from handwriting. The firstbook that could be easily carriedaround was printed in Venice in1501. It was called a pocket book.It was printed in italic, which wasthinner than the other styles oftype, and was said to be animitation of Petrarch’shandwriting. Printers kept theirletters in cases arranged beforethem on a table. Each letter had acompartment. Capital letters werekept in the upper case, and smallletters in the lower case. Howmany copies of each a printer kepton hand depended on the work hedid. Dickens used a lot of vowels.Lord Macaulay used mainlyconsonants. Tastes in typographyhave always been narrow. WhenJohn Baskerville introduced atypeface in England in 1757which was thinner than Caslon,the dominant face of the period,people thought that it was soshocking by comparison that thestrain of reading it would makethem go blind.

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Impressive heritage show bySri Sankara Vidyashramam

The Parampara Heritage Club of SriSankara Vidyashramam MatriculationHigher Secondary School, Tiruvanmiyur,initiated the village link programme lastyear when the children from the schoolvisited Illalur and Echangadu villages. InJuly this year, the children from thosevillages visited the school andparticipated in an interactive session withthe club members. They visited thehomes of the club members and stayedwith them overnight to get the feel ofurban culture. The club also celebrated“Madras Day” at the school. Childrenexhibited their skills by displayingwonderful models of the city’s landmarkmonuments and buildings. Anotherprogramme organised for the clubmembers was a trip to Mamallapuram aspart of the project, “Disaster leads todiscovery”. Dr Suresh, a renownedarchaeologist and a member of the IndianNational Trust for Art and CulturalHeritage (INTACH), accompanied theclub members.

The Interact Club of the schoolorganised a blood donation camp for theninth year in succession on 20November 2005. Thanks to relentlesscampaigning by the members of theClub, there was a turnout of 347 donorssurpassing last year’s number of 293. RtnGeorge Cherian visited the camp andappreciated the efforts of the volunteers.The officials from the Madras VoluntaryBlood Bureau who were the jointorganisers of the camp also applaudedthe work done by the volunteers. It isworth mentioning that the Club haswon the Bank of Baroda Rolling Trophyfor mobilising the most donors for threeyears in a row.

Sri Sankara Vidyashramam Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Tiruvanmiyur.

Project display by the members of the Parampara Heritage Club of the school.

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Sanmar Speciality Chemicals Limited(SSCL) - Performance Chemicals hasbeen awarded the OHSAS 18000certification for its Occupational Healthand Safety (OHS) management system.

What is OHSAS 18000?

Originally created from the BritishStandard for Occupational Healthand Safety Management SystemsBS 8800:1996, OHSAS 18001 is anOccupational Health and Safety (OHS)management system specification.Developed by a group of certificationbodies and various national standardsorganisations, OHSAS 18001 wasdesigned to enable companies to controltheir OHS risks and demonstrate theircommitment to provide a safe workingenvironment, protect their employees,and improve their performance.

With the success of the ISO 9000 andISO 14000 series of Standards, OHSAS18001 was developed to be compatiblewith ISO management systems. To allowfor easy integration into a company’squality management system, many

Sanmar Speciality Chemicals Limited

SSCL obtains OHSAS18000

sections and sub-clauses are similar, suchas management review, documentcontrol and corrective and preventiveactions.

To obtain compliance, companies mustfirst establish an OHS policy thatillustrates the company’s vision andcommitment to health and safety. Anypotential hazards must be determinedand identified, and their risks assessedand controlled on an on-going basis.Tactics utilised should be defined andconsistent. In order for an OHSmanagement system to be implementedeffectively, management should be readyto commit adequate resource to monitoractivities and conduct internal audits toidentify areas for improvement, ensuringthe effectiveness of the OHSmanagement system. Policies andprocedures need to be identified andprepared in order to control operations,including emergency preparedness andresponse plans. Documentation shouldbe accurate, up-to-date, easily accessibleand properly controlled.

Benefits of implementing an OHSmanagement system include:

• Reduced work-related accidentsand illness

• Reduced costs associated withaccidents and illness

• Improved performance throughpolicies and procedures

• Compliance with the latestlegislation

• Reduced risk of citations/penalties

• Improved company image bydemonstrating a commitment tomanage and minimise risks toemployees and customers

A view of SSCL Berigai.

Effluent treatment plant at SSCL, Berigai.

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Chemplast Sanmar Limited

Marine Terminal Facility atKaraikal

On 3 October 2005, at the officialexecution of the long term leasedocuments for construction andoperation of Marine Terminal facilityand use of land within the port limitsfor the pipeline corridor, senior officialsP S Jayaraman, Managing Director,Chemplast Sanmar and V Ramesh,Executive Director, Chemplast Sanmarmet with C S Khairwal, Chief Secretary,Government of Pondicherry andCaptain Ramkumar, Director of Ports,Pondicherry and exchanged documents.

Work on Marine Terminal Facility inprogress on the seafront.

C S Khairwal, Chief Secretary, Government of Pondicherry and Capt Ramkumar, Directorof Ports, Pondicherry seen with P S Jayaraman, Managing Director and V Ramesh,Executive Director, Chemplast Sanmar.

A view of the pipeline support structures.

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St John Ambulance

Mettur Local Centre winsrolling trophy

The originator of First Aid wasEsmarch (1823-1908). He was adistinguished Surgeon and went onto become the Surgeon General in theGerman army at the outbreak of theFranco Prussian War. He was anauthority on hospital managementand military surgery.

In 1877 St. John Ambulance wasformed as a full-fledged voluntaryorganisation. The objective of theassociation was to train men andwomen for the benefit of the sick andwounded, with instructions to pupilson first aid and distribution of usefulambulance material.

St. John Ambulance Associationadopted the term First aid officiallyin England for the first time in 1879.

Each year thousands get trainedand gain certificates all over theworld. In addition many undergoreexamination to maintain or increasetheir knowledge level.

These certificates are recognised byGovernment departments. Under theTamil Nadu Factories Rules No.95,Schedule 16, Part 2-23-9, 10 per cent ofworkers need to be trained in First Aid.

Dr R Kumar, Senior Manager - MedicalServices, Chemplast Sanmar, receiving thesilver rolling trophy from Surjit SinghBarnala, Governor of Tamil Nadu.

The memento, silver rolling trophy andcertificate bagged by the Mettur Local Centreof the St John Ambulance Association.

The Sanmar sponsored St JohnAmbulance Association, Mettur LocalCentre, was awarded the silver rollingtrophy for 2004. Dr R Kumar SeniorManager, Medical Services, ChemplastSanmar received the trophy from TamilNadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala on24 December 2005 at the AnnualConference held in Chennai.

The Mettur Local Centre of the St JohnAmbulance Association, comprising 13life members, was inaugurated on 24October 2004 under the Chairmanshipof V Ranganathan, Chief Executive -Operations, Chemplast Sanmar. It wasdecided at the function to conduct FirstAid Certificate classes for employees,educate the primary school children onthe need for hygiene and to screen thefilm “Fire - A friend or foe”.

Dr R Kumar and Dr R Kailasam,Manager, Medical Services, ChemplastSanmar, conducted First Aid Certificateclasses for 114 employees of all plantsat Mettur, Berigai, Viralimalai and

Karaikal and also for 150 primaryschool children emphasising the needfor oral hygiene and cleanliness at thecentre. Recognising the enthusiasticinvolvement of the centre, St JohnAmbulance Association, chose the centreto receive the trophy.

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Farewell to S D Sankaralingam

S D Sankaralingam, Executive VicePresident, Chemplast Sanmar, retired on30 September 2005 after 28 years ofservice in The Sanmar Group. Thecompany organised a farewell party forhim in October 2005.

Here V Ramesh, Executive Director,Chemplast Sanmar, felicitatesS D Sankaralingam. Also seen isK S Venkiteswaran, Chief Executive-IR,Chemplast Sanmar.

Chemplast ratedexcellent vendor

Chemplast Sanmar hasbeen rated excellent forthe period 1 January2005 to 30 September2005 by one of itscustomers, M/s GoetzeIndia, for Tri-ChloroEthylene (TCE). Thecredit goes to theProduction, QualityControl, and Logisticsteams who have helpedachieve this recognition.

Saibal Mukherjee of Flowserve Sanmar wasadjudged Employee of the Year and honouredduring the Group Annual Day 2005. The lastissue of Matrix published excerpts of thecitation read out to him on the occasion butcarried the photograph of his namesakeworking at Bangalore Genei. We are pleasedto correct the lapse and publish Saibal’sphotograph here.

Employee of the Year

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George Bernard Shaw called him themost beautiful human being he hadseen. Aldous Huxley described one ofhis talks as “amongst the most impressivethings I have listened to - it was likelistening to the discourse of theBuddha.” According to RimpocheSamdhong, a Tibetan monk, “if you feelthe compassion that flows from him,you will see there is no limit to him.”

J Krishnamurti, philosopher, sage,teacher, was born on May 11, 1895 atMadanapalli, Andhra Pradesh and diedat Ojai, California on February 17,1986.

Chosen in his boyhood by TheTheosophical Society, Adyar, Madras,to be anointed the next Messiah,Krishnamurti, broke away and evolvedinto one of the most original thinkersof the 20th Century.

In the words of former presidentR Venkataraman, “For more than 70years Krishnamurti went about theworld talking to vast audiences,meeting people who came to himburdened with sorrow and attractingthe attention of some of the best mindsof the century. He touched on allhuman problems and showed mankindclearly the possibility of a regenerationin the individual and society throughself-knowing.”

Krishnamurti constantly questionedauthority which people pursued becauseof fear. “When you realise that you haveto find out everything entirely byyourself, inwardly, psychologically, thenthere is no leader, no guru, nophilosopher, no saint that will help you,because they are still functioning on thelevel of thought.”

Krishnamurti’s iconoclasm was born ofextraordinary courage, for the first iconhe smashed was one of himself as theworld teacher. To the bewilderment ofthousands of disciples, he dissolved theOrder of the Star – with himself at thehead – a movement started by theTheosophical Society. He returnedeverything including a 5,000-acre estatein Holland that had been gifted to him.This was in 1929. In 1933, with thedeath of Annie Besant his last link withthe Theosophical Society was snapped.Mrs. Besant, whom Krishnamurti lovedand respected, had taken him under herwing after C W Leadbeater of theSociety had identified him at the turnof the century as the future Messiah.

Twenty years before Krishnamurti’s birth,a Russian clairvoyant, Madame Blavatskyhad founded the Theosophical Society inrejection of materialism. In 1882, theheadquarters of the Society moved toAdyar, Madras, where it still remains. MrsAnnie Besant, a radical socialist of theFabian Society, came to Adyar attractedby the theosophical programme ofdrawing East and West into a peacefulbrotherhood. Adept in esoteric practices,Leadbeater saw in young Krishnamurti,“an aura with no trace of selfishness. Heinvested the boy with a full set of pastlives”, forcibly drawing him and brotherNitya away from their simple southIndian life to an upbringing in the Societythat combined the ways of westerncivilisation and training in occultpractices. Mrs Besant who metKrishnamurti in 1909, initiated him andNitya into the Esoteric Section, an innergroup who, sworn to obey her,committed themselves unconditionallyto the coming of the world teacher.

Legends from the SouthJ Krishnamurti

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Theosophical doctrine settled on thebelief that if Krishnamurti was properlyprepared, the future Buddha wouldmanifest in his body. He was to be theWorld Teacher, and Mrs Besant did herutmost to protect, educate and providehim with intellectual skills.

Followed years of indoctrination whenthe youngster underwent what musthave been traumatic occult experiences.The battle for the custody of the twoboys which ensued between their fatherNarayaniah and Mrs Besant could havedone nothing for their morale either.They were both packed off to England,even as the custody suit was pending, tobe educated and trained as Englishgentlemen. Krishnamurti showed noaptitude for studies but his childhoodcapacity for silence, observation andattention had evolved into a questioningof the beliefs and practices that soughtto deify him.

Much of the introspection that led toKrishnamurti’s breaking away from theTheosophical Society had taken place in1922-23 at Ojai, California, where hehad gone with Nitya, in the hope thatthe dry climate there would help Nityarecover from tuberculosis. Nitya’s deathin 1925 was a shattering blow whichaccelerated his disenchantment with theoccult that had begun a few years ago.

Beginning from the 1940s, Krishnamurtispoke tirelessly to audiences all over theworld until 1983. In his own words, “Ihave only one purpose: to make man free,to urge him towards freedom; to help himbreak away from all limitations; for thatalone will give him eternal happiness, willgive him the unconditional realisation ofthe Self ”. People from all walks of lifecame to listen to him drawn by thecompassion of his being, his ability toheal the mind burdened by sorrow.Probing into the human mind,questioning every belief, ‘ism’ and creed,he defined self-knowledge as thebeginning of all wisdom. He had great

empathy for those suffering sorrow butnever offered short cuts to happiness. Heconversed at length with scientists,psychiatrists, religious leaders,academicians, children, political leaders.

Education was a major preoccupation.The Krishnamurti Foundation schoolsin India and abroad are testimony to hisfaith in education. With children heinteracted effortlessly. He encouragedthem to partner him in enquiries intomatters of grave importance. Accordingto Pupul Jaykar, biographer and closeassociate, “He told the child thatacademic excellence was essential, buthe also spoke of the awakening ofintelligence which arose out ofobservation, self-knowing andcompassion.”

Krishnamurti had a keen interest inscience and technology. He had achildlike enthusiasm for thingsmechanical which he could take apartand put back. Computers fascinatedhim. He was aware of their limitlesspossibilities but “demanded a mutationin the human mind” to preventdomination by the machine.

Before his death, Krishnamurti had saidthat the body was of no importance. Hewanted no rituals to be performed at hisfuneral. He stressed what he had stressedall his life: the teaching not the teacher,was important. There were to be nosuccessors and the teaching had to beprotected from corruption anddistortion.

Perhaps the acutest observation onKrishnamurti’s work came from theAmerican writer Henry Miller.According to Miller, Krishnamurti,“went to the very source of life forsustenance and inspiration. To resist thewiles and snares of those who sought toenslave and exploit him demandedeternal vigilance. He liberated his soul,so to say, from the underworld and theoverworld, thus opening to it “theparadise of heroes”.

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