246th GC meeting and 66th AGM of AIFMP at Pune

Hosted by the Poona Press Owners Association (PPOA), the 246th GC Meeting and 66th Annual General Body Meeting of the All India Federation of Master Printers (AIFMP) was held from the 20th to 22nd of September, 2019, at the Hotel Hyatt Regency, Pune. The 12-member KMPA delegation was led by President R. Gopakumar. Others in the team were GC members S. Saji, O. Venugopal, G. Venugopal; GB members Rajesh G., R. Haridas, Shaji Manjooran, General Secretary Biju Jose, Treasurer Raju N. Kutty, Joint Secretary Shajimon C.A., Ajith Jose C. and Mohammed Saju. The GC members actively participated in all the discussions held at the meeting. Coinciding with the Onam season, all KMPA members were in traditional Kerala attire for the occasion. KMPA also distributed traditional Kerala snacks as gift hampers for all attending GC members to celebrate the festival season.
The PPOA organised a gala event celebrating their centennial with prominent figures from the print industry from all over India. The celebrations to mark the association’s 100th year of formation was held on the evening 22nd September, 2019 at the same venue. AIFMP President Raveendra Joshi who is also the President of PPOA was instrumental in organising this grand function. The formation, history, and activities of PPOA was presented through a 40 minute video during the event. This was highly inspirational and much appreciated by all the delegates and guests.

Mrs. Sarada Rajendran, wife of founder President of KMPA, late M. Rajendran, of S.T. Reddiar & Sons, was honoured by PPOA as the ‘Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur’. The name of Mrs. Rajendran who is still active in the day-to-day activities of the press was proposed by KMPA. This was indeed a very proud moment for KMPA. Since Mrs. Sarada Rajendran couldn’t travel to Pune due to ill health, her son R. Suresh and grandson Rajendran Suresh received the memento on her behalf. Members of KMPA were privileged to have a good interaction that evening with the Vice Chancellor of DCRUST, Prof. Dr. Rajendra Kumar Anayath, PPOA’s guest of honour for the celebrations.
At the 66th Annual General Body Meeting & Elections of AIFMP, held on 22nd September, 2019, O. Venugopal, GC member representing KMPA, lost by a small margin for the post of Honorary Treasurer. The newly elected office bearers of AIFMP are Dibyajyoti Kalita, President; K. Rajendran, General Secretary; Ashwani Gupta, Treasurer; C. Ravinder Reddy, Vice President (South); Adarsh Pal Gupta,Vice President (North); Subrata Kumar Khan, Vice President (East); P R Ghodke, Vice President (West); Raghabendra N. Dutta Baruah, Joint Secretary; and IPP Raveendra Joshi.
On 23rd September, 2019, the team KMPA visited the office of PPOA, and was accorded a warm welcome by its President Raveendra Joshi and office bearers. The team members were thoroughly impressed by the way the association functioned. It was truly inspirational to see how the association had maintained its past records, publications, and even their minute’s book, almost a century old. President Joshi was a fine host and took team KMPA in an around the city of Pune. The team visited Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum and spent quality time with the Museum Director and Member Secretary Sudhanva Ranade, a close friend of Mr. Joshi, and also a connoisseur of history, art, and culture. Located in Shukrawar Peth, Bajirao Road, the museum showcases a collection of late Dr. D.G. Kelkar (1896 -1990) who dedicated it in memory of his only son Raja who met with an untimely death. It is a collection about 22,000 priceless artefacts which mirror the everyday life of India. The three-storey building houses abundant collection of artefacts and various sculptures dating back to the 14th century. There are also ornaments made of ivory, silver, and gold; a fine collection of musical instruments; weapons used during wars; and vessels.
The team was much honoured for the opportunity to visit the Pune Vidhyarthi Griha’s College of Engineering and Technology. The parent institute Pune Vidyarthi Griha, formerly known as Pune Anath Vidyarthi Griha is a well-known charitable institution in Maharashtra, established in 1909, by a group of dedicated and visionary educationists. The primary mission of the institute is to provide progressive and value added education facilities for the deserving, poor students of the society. Today, the institution has grown into a big banyan tree with its branches at Pune, Mumbai, and Nashik under its umbrella. The institute conducts a wide spectrum of education programmes from pre-primary to higher education. They also include professional fields such as engineering technology, management, computer science, commerce, pure science, and communication technology. Pune Vidyarthi Griha has been the foremost institute in India, which has striven hard in providing professional education in the printing field since 1926. PVG has taken lead in establishing degree and diploma in printing engineering and communication technology, approved by the All India Council for Technical Education. PVG has one of the modern printing press and publications division.

Team KMPA was given a warm welcome by the Directors of COE&T Sunil Redekar, Prof. Rajendra G. Kaduskar, and senior faculty members. Prof. Madhura P. Mahajan, HoD, Printing Engineering & Graphics; Dr. Akshay V. Joshi, Assistant Professor; and Abhinay Ravindra Mahajan, Assistant Professor; were kind enough to take the team for a tour around the very impressive campus, and for lively interactions with faculty members and students. It was indeed a very inspiring and exciting visit.
In the evening the team was taken to the Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Mandir, the epitome of pride and honour of Pune. Located in the midst of the city at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Road in Budhwar Peth, it is one of the most visited places in Pune with devotees from every part of India and the world coming to offer prayers to Lord Ganesha.
True to his character Mr. Joshi later took team KMPA to a typical Pune restaurant for a wonderful treat of traditional Maharashtrian cuisine. PPOA has indeed been a superb host. The 246th GC meeting, PPOA centennial celebrations and the city tour was a truly memorable experience.