RIP, Sivanthi Adityan: ‘Erudite, articulate, warm; humility personified’

B  Sivanthi Adityan, owner of the Daily Thanthi Group, passed away on 19 April 2013 in Chennai.

As an eminent publisher and educationist, Adityan had held several important positions on international federations. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri title in the year 2008 in recognition of his distinguished service in the field of literature and education. His efforts in sports were well appreciated too. He had received the Olympic order of merit from the International Olympic Committee in 1995 and a gold medal from the International Volleyball Federation for his contribution to the sport in India. He also got an indoor volleyball stadium constructed in Adithanar College, Tiruchendur, where the Indian team used to practice. Adityan was also chairman and managing director, Sun Paper Mill.

Prior to taking charge as CEO of Dina Thanthi, Adityan had worked as a reporter and sub-editor. Dina Thanthi is today printed from 15 cities across the country, thanks to Sivanthi Adityan’s efforts.

N Murali, former managing director, Kasturi & Sons, recalled his many interactions with Adityan, with both being past presidents of INS at different points in time.

He described Adityan as a very soft spoken person. According to Murali, though Daily Thanthi was founded by his father, Sivanthi Adityan was the one who built the newspaper and was responsible for its growth and development, making it the largest read and circulated Tamil daily. “He was also an ardent sports lover who held eminent position in various sports bodies,” Murali said.

R V Rajan, chairman, Anugrah Madison Advertising, described Adityan as ‘humility personified’. According to him, Adityan came across as an extremely polite and very positive person. Rajan fondly recalled Adityan as someone who fulfilled all the promises he made when Daily Thanthi was the title sponsor of the Advertising Club Madras’ Golden Jubilee celebrations.

K N Shanth Kumar, editor of Kannada daily Prajavani and director, The Printers (Mysore), has known Adityan for the past 25 to 30 years. “I knew him on two fronts - as a newspaper publishing person like me and the other as a true lover of sports”.

According to Kumar, Adityan was a very eminent, erudite, articulate and warm person who was passionate about both sports and publishing. Kumar said, “While lots of people get into sports having secondary thoughts on their mind, Adityan was one of those rare persons, who got into sports as he was a true patron and supporter of sports.”