Tribute to Mr SK Khurana: the man who breathed, lived and loved CMYK

All About Book Publishing mourns the loss of their founder editor SK Khurana, who left for his heavenly abode recently.

Born on 1st September 1945, Mr. SK Khurana was an Arts graduate from Delhi University, and a qualified print technologist from Northern Regional Institute of Printing Technology, Allahabad. Printing was his first and last love and he was truly passionate about it. In every walk of life, in every second of the day, he never failed to admire the power of print.

Early career: During the year 1966, he attended the Pressman’s Course at the Heidelberg Ganges Print Institute, Mumbai and participated in an All India Educational Tour, visiting large establishments across India. He did his in-plant training (1967-69) with Thomson Press India Ltd., Faridabad, spending most of his time in the photocomposing division.

He later moved on to an Advertising Agency as production assistant in 1969 and left in 1973 as Production Manager before co-founding a print-production agency. He handled numerous national and international accounts with jobs ranging from Catalogues, Annual Reports, Carry Bags, Cartons and Labels, POS, etc. Most of the assignments consisted of “concept to delivery” pattern. Infact, he was conferred the National Award for Excellence in Printing and Designing from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India.

Creation of the S-Media Group: In early 1996, he founded the bi-monthly publication “Print & Publishing” as a trade journal, making it the first all colour publication adopting digital data transmission in Pre-press. The magazine was an extension of his passion for print. It was his soul and he worked really hard to make it one of the best in the country.

But, this was just the beginning. He always had new ideas in mind and was not averse to taking risks professionally. He later founded another magazine on the signage industry – Sign & Graphics (Estd: 2000), followed by another magazine on the newspaper industry – All About Newspapers (Estd: 2005). But, the quest for more always kept him going. All About Book Publishing (Estd: 2010), a magazine for the book publishing industry, was another feather in his cap. A lot of people discouraged him from starting this magazine on the book publishing industry, but he took it as a challenge and plunged into it. The magazine has been well received and is now one of the premier magazines in this industry.

Today, the group – S Media Group – has seven different magazines, including Print & Publishing, Sign & Graphics, All About Newspapers, All About Book Publishing, Dogs & Pups, The Progressive School and The Progressive Teacher. He took a keen interest in the entire production chain of the magazines, right from conceiving the content to content creation to layout and then printing and distribution. He gave personal attention to every detail.

Giving back to the society: Mr. Khurana was also actively engaged in educational activities, specifically in printing institutes situated in Northern India. He was on the board of print and packaging institutes where he was deeply involved in finalizing/revising the teaching curriculum for diploma and degree courses.

An illustrious leader of the print community, Mr. Khurana was a self-made man. He was a pillar of strength not just for his family but also for his social and business contacts. Ever smiling, he always managed to find the silver lining behind the darkest cloud. His smile was so infectious that it made everyone he met smile back in return.

Highly motivating, he always urged others to think out of the box and work hard towards the goal. For him, nothing was impossible and there was a solution to every problem. He loved to travel and travelled extensively not only in India but all around the world.

His first visit to an international print show coincided with Drupa (Germany) exhibition in 1995 and thereafter he attended major industry events in different parts of the world like U.K., U.S., Japan, China, Australia, Italy, Dubai, Malaysia, Philippines, Bangkok, Israel, Vienna, Frankfurt, Cape Town, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and many more. Every time he travelled, he brought home new ideas and new contacts which he incorporated in his business.

A very practical man, Mr. Khurana gave sound advice, based on his years of learning and expe-rience. In fact, a lot of youngsters feel that he was a father figure to them and helped them when they were struggling to make their way in the world.

He lost his wife Mrs. Savitri Khurana last year, who was an epitome of love and strength for him. Mr. Khurana is survived by his son Sonal Khurana, his daughter Bhavna Khurana and his daughter-in-law Shweta Khurana. Sonal has been actively involved in the business for the last 15 years while Shweta is actively involved with AABP.

We, at S. Media Group, will keep the torch lighted by Mr. Khurana burning till our last breath. He will always remain our hero and our inspiration. May his soul rest in peace!

S.K Khurana- Man and his mission

The story of illustrious men cannot be easily encompassed. Like outstanding mountain peaks, these men invite description but elude definition; they provoke examination but defy exhaustion.

My association with Mr. Khurana goes back to mid nineties when I was Head, Department of Book Publishing, College of Vocational Studies, and University of Delhi. I was introduced through a common friend. We remained in touch and became a part of his vision to start All About Book Publishing.

It was his dream to start a magazine on publishing industry as he believed that though our country boasts of a major book producing country but sadly not a single worthwhile magazine to highlight the problems and prospects of those who toiled to make a name in this field.

When we together visited various leading publishing houses to get a feedback of the dream which Mr. Khurana wanted to pursue, the responses were not complimentary. We were told why big ticket publishing houses have not as yet ventured into this activity, because there is no money. “Every dream will be challenged,” these were words which Mr. Khurana said to me.“Mr. Jolly do you know why nobody attempted to start a journal on publishing industry?” I had no definite answer to this. Mr. Khurana, very proudly with radiance in his eyes said, “Because it was left for me to do it and we will do it, come what may.”

Mr. Khurana was a strong believer in quality. Excellence was a habit with him. He was a strong believer in giving the best in you. He never compromised on the quality of printing, the type of paper and was quality conscious to the core. He believed in the maxim that, “Excellence is never an accident; it is the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, skilful execution and the vision to see obstacles and opportunities.”

In his editorial of the inaugural issue of AABP Mr. Khurana highlighted the philosophy behind starting this journal. He wrote, “All About Book Publishing is our sincere effort to serve the industry associates and enable them to perform effectively…we are conversant with the pulse of the industry, this debut publication is aimed at publishers, authors, editors, reviewers, booksellers, librarians, marketing experts, publishing & production professionals and all those who are interested in the economics of book trade.”

We at S.Media Group will keep the torch lighted by Mr. Khurana.

–G. S Jolly

I feel blessed to be associated with Mr. Khurana for the last 20 years. A keen observer and a wonderful communicator, he connected with people easily — a quality I try to emulate in my personal and professional life. He taught me that one has to come out of one’s comfort zone to achieve more. It’s because of him that I can today write on diverse unrelated topics. I will always cherish him as my mentor and my guide.
–VarshaVerma

I remember Mr. Khurana as a man with sweet smile and clear vision. He was someone who was adaptive to newer trends in the industry. He will always be admired for his childlike inquisitiveness to explore new things. His ability to get the best out of each & every person associated with him was unmatched. I feel blessed to be one of those, who learnt so many important lessons of life and profession from him.
–Smita Dwivedi

My association with Mr. Khurana is around 20 years and I can very well say that he was a mentor to me. He was very punctual and hardworking even in his silver years.
–VN Kutty

Mr Khurana was a good mentor for me—I think for every one of us at S-Media Group. He provided guidance and constructive feedback on my work. With his excellent communication skill, he taught us the challenges that would foster professional development and a feeling of accomplishment in learning what we worked upon.
–Jyaneswar Laishram

I have worked with Mr. Khurana for more than two decades and S Media Group is like a family now. He always set an example for us and tried his best to keep us motivated at all times.
–Surendra Kumar

Just the way one moon lightens up the sky and nights become bright, Mr Khurana was a man of his words. I have worked with him for 20 years and learnt a lot from him. He was a lively soul, full of positivity. He built an asset of beautiful memories that no matter how far he is, he will always stay in our hearts.
–Sunita Arora

Mr. Khurana will always remain in our hearts and I have learnt a lot from him. He was involved in the entire production of the magazines and I really benefited from the inputs he gave on designing from time to time.
–Harish Pandey

Mr. Khurana was a workaholic and he worked very hard till the day he fell ill. I really appreciate his quest to do something more and think out of the box. He will always motivate us to work hard to achieve our goals.
–Sanjeev Kandwal