Bhaskar Das Prayer Meet: Ad and media industry leaders unite to pay tribute and celebrate a visionary legacy
From singing his favorite Rabindra Sangeet to his friends and family narrating his larger-than-life stories, the prayer meet held in Mumbai on January 24 was a celebration of the legacy of Dr. Bhaskar Das.
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In a poignant gathering at Mumbai's Nehru Centre on January 24, the media and advertising industry's luminaries came together to honor the late Bhaskar Das (BD), one of India's most influential figures in the field of media. Das, who passed away on January 15 after a prolonged illness, leaves behind a legacy that shaped the evolution of India’s media landscape over a remarkable career spanning more than four decades. Das was widely recognized for his innovative leadership and pioneering work at Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. (BCCL), where he served as President of Response. His influence extended far beyond his professional roles.
The prayer meeting, a celebration of Das’s life, was filled with warmth and fond recollections. Friends, colleagues, and family members gathered to remember his spirit, with the evening beginning with a rendition of his favorite Rabindra Sangeet. Among those in attendance were stalwarts like Piyush Pandey and Prasoon Joshi; Anupriya Acharya, CEO of Publicis Groupe South Asia; Madhukar Kamath, former Executive Chairman of DDB Mudra; Ashish Bhasin, founder of The Bhasin Consultancy; Vikram Sakhuja - Group CEO - Madison Media & OOH; Shashi Sinha - CEO - IPG Mediabrands India; Prasoon Pandey, Director, Corcoise Films; Megha Tata, ex-CEO at Cosmos Maya; Meenakshi Madhvani, Managing Partner of Spatial Access Solutions; Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India; Abhijit Avasthi, Founder, Sideways Consulting; Nandini Dias, CEO, Lodestar UM; and Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World, to name just a few. Their presence reflected the profound impact Das had on those around him.
In a deeply emotional moment, Das’s son, Uditvanu "Rik" Das, spoke movingly of his father’s remarkable duality. "...My father was a man of incredible duality in his life. He embodied both the depth of and seriousness of his namesake from the movie (Anand). A guiding figure full of wisdom and strength, and the lightness and infectious joy of anand, spreading laughter and positivity wherever he went, even in his final days. He lived with grace, embracing life with the same courage and humor that defined him."
Rik recited the iconic lines from Anand, which he believed perfectly encapsulated his father’s spirit — serious yet light-hearted, reflective yet hopeful. He honored his father by reciting Maut Tu Ek Kavita Hai, a poem by Gulzar, which he felt captured the essence of the wisdom with which Das lived and the optimism with which he departed.
Sujoy Ghosh, a long-time colleague, also shared his thoughts. "...BD wasn't someone you could capture in a single story or description. He was a man of many dimensions, full of quirks, contradictions, and achievements that made him unforgettable. So as I stand here nine days after BDleft us, I can't help but smile because his life wasn't just a story of achievements. It was an epic of moments.
Ghosh added, "...working with Bhaskar wasn't for the faint-hearted. He was relentless, ambitious, restless, and unapologetically larger than life. His life unfolded in episodes, each one adding to the leitmotif, creating a whole far greater than the sum of its parts."
