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L. V. Krishnan is CEO of TAM Media Research, a TV viewership analysis firm that measures TRPs

What does spirituality mean to you?
Having lived a life with all kinds of ups and downs, with both the worst and best periods, I now feel that the essence of spirituality is about trying to serve a cause. I used to think that I owe service mostly to my family but in the last eight years I have gone through a huge internal sea change and I have gradually extended it to the people I work with, my industry and so on. If I can be of use to others till my life ends, then there is a meaning to being alive. The rest is only an accompaniment.

I went through a really tough time for instance when my mother had to undergo a very difficult back surgery. During that whole period, I found somewhere a Third Force, call it God if you wish, which gave me tremendous strength to overcome the challenge, and move ahead with life. It was one of those moments when I really felt and saw there can be a huge amount of Third Force that can actually help. If it is catered in the right direction, it can bring organizations or countries together.

Did you always feel that “Third Force”?
Definitely. When I was a kid for instance, I was really passionate about astrophysics. I had absolutely no connection to advertising or media. My entire focus was on Russia as the home of cosmology. Many people from India were going to Tashkent to study. I was about to go there as well. Then perestroika happened, and overnight the house of Soviet culture closed down in Bombay, no more contact, everybody left floating, and all my dreams fell apart. It was a complete no-go in that direction.

Yet there was a need in the family for me to start working. I saw an ad for “space marketers” in the Times of India. I walked into the meeting with my articles on astronomy, thinking the position was related to space matters. It actually was about space marketing, meaning marketing advertising space for ToI. I had absolutely no clue what it meant. The gentleman assigned to interview me was kind enough to explain it to me, and even more so, not to discard my candidacy. I ended up being hired. And I do not think it could have happened without a Third Force walking along with me. It was a very implausible outcome! And that is how I got into advertising. That was my first clear encounter with that Third Force. And it put me on a career platform I would have never thought of.

I stayed for a year and a half with Times of India. Then again the Third Force was at work. Because of my mathematical background I was keen on moving into media planning where research was heavily used. Usually people in the selling side of space are not accepted in the planning side. But one person there decided to give me a chance. And again, the Third Force made me realize that potential.
This is one of the reasons we very rarely go for pure researchers at TAM. We take people from the widest and weirdest backgrounds. As long as there is a passion to learn new things, that is what we are looking for.

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