TM INPUTS AND SERVICES PVT LTD IS 31 YEARS OLD

Thirty one years and going strong. I think. I am talking about TMI Pvt Ltd. It was started in 1988 and T M Inputs then very simply stood for Turab and Murali. Turab Lakdawala, the founder partner left us to start Tempest and they come out with the most creative ads ever so often. Murali continued on his own till we found partners in his brother T Sreedhar (late) and B R Ramakrishnan, a dear friend who also worked with Murali at Nocil. 

About the company, I do not hear too many cha chings, but during board meetings there is a lot of gung-ho talk. One thing, for sure is that the presentations have become more interesting. I am not a frequent visitor and in fact, there have been occasions when the front office person at TMI has asked me who I was, and I have been heard saying "And to you I am Mrs TMI," much to her chagrin, till someone from the office runs up to invite me in. Primarily, because I visit the office rarely, other than for some occasions and for board meetings. That too has come to an end, thanks to online meetings and practically no celebrations. 

I correct myself. In fact there was a celebration and just yesterday was the Foundation Day for TMI Pvt Ltd. Apparently, founder himself, T Muralidharan, my husband, had forgotten the day and date, till BR Ramakrishnan, partner remembered and they garnered up a cake and some who have stayed with us for long, said a few good words.

This would have never ever happened, had T Sreedhar, Murali's brother and also a partner been alive. He had the memory for such occasions and the enthusiasm to keep the office lively and spirited. He would have made an occasion of it. Remember him very fondly, for his generosity of spirit as also his ability to take people along with him.

In 1991, TM Inputs became TMI Services Pvt Ltd, from a partnership to a private limited company. I fondly remember K Srinivas Reddy, an enthusiastic first employee. Ever eager to please, he moved on to the US where he is an entrepreneur and is the Sr VP of a company. Makes it a point to send a greeting for all occasions and brings a batch of chocolates for all in the office and a special packet for me. Thank you KSR.

Slowly in 2000, C&K Management was started and inaugurated by Mr Chandrababu Naidu, then CM. I remember riding with him in his convoy and telling the driver to slow down a tad. This company deals with learning content for customers and agencies in India and abroad. It has picked up slowly for the company was launched and Y2K happened, which was not good news for anyone.

In 2010, the E2E Academy was started. Stands for Education to Employment and assists unemployed to get sustainable jobs. Connected to this was started the E-van in 2015, in collaboration with GHMC. Then one was started in Vijayawada and now I think they collaborate with the Hyderabad police and hold job melas, etc.

Why am I writing about this? Because I too  made a contribution of Rs. 25,000, the first ever money put in for the company. Four of us partners, including Murali, Turab and his wife and dear friend Dipti made our contributions of the said amount. And hence I am a board member. We did not have any idea of how to run a company. Murali lived and learnt from all and sundry and then he got good persons to work with in steady and sturdy partners. 

Those days when we started,  I was the only earning member of  the group and we two families shared my salary. I had joined Newstime as a sub editor and worked night shifts quite often. Oh, those were the days. We had our fun and have great memories. Thank you Dipti and Turab and of course their very young one, Sahil. He is the father of a child.

Well, after so many years TMI has 220 full time employees, 700 gig workers and 4000 staffing employees. And Murali has started his 8th start up called CLAN (Community for Learning and Networking), a digital platform for increasing the performance of FLEM (Frontline Executives and Managers).

But enough said about the company. I am just happy that I contributed towards laying the foundation for this growing company.

Here's to you guys at TM Inputs And Services Pvt Ltd.