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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

His undying love for Japanese

An engineer by profession, he
has popularised Japanese management practices in India

— PHOTO: M. KARUNAKARAN

M.K. Ranganathan.

He is an unassuming man, working to strengthen the cultural ties between India and Japan. With more than three decades of experience in teaching Japanese in Chennai, M.K. Ranganathan is a familiar face among school and college students who participate in the Japan quiz and the ‘Talk your way to Japan’ contest. To this day, he retains his love for the Japanese language, people and culture. R. Sujatha learns more about his passion for Japan.

Mr. Ranganathan’s resume runs to a dozen pages, and most of it is about the Japan connection, which began when he was a student of the University of Madras in 1966. He was the first of the two batches of students who learnt the Japanese language, history, society, geography and culture at a course conducted with the help of Japan Foundation teachers.

An engineer by profession, he has popularised Japanese management practices in India. He is the founder-chairman of ABK-AOTS Dosokai, a voluntary organisation formed by trainees who had benefited from the training programmes conducted by various Japanese organisations.

He became a teacher in 1973, when he started conducting Japanese classes at the houses of members, and then at a college. His students volunteered to teach the language to others. “Today, we are one of the well recognised schools in Chennai, with approximately 450 students,” he says.

A favourite among children is the ‘Quiz on Japan,’ which provides them a glimpse into the Land of the Rising Sun. “We have created a question bank with 6,000 questions and answers and distribute them to city schools free. The schools can bring their CDs and have them updated anytime,” he says. The quiz programme attracts more than 100 children who have learnt much about the far eastern country, thanks to Mr. Ranganathan.

“One of my ambitious projects to promote goodwill and understanding between Japan and India was ‘Talk your way to Japan’ for the children of Tamil Nadu launched 10 years ago,” he recalls. The children become goodwill ambassadors who talk extempore on topics such as the environment and ecology. The winners get a fortnight trip to Japan, and on their return continue to promote ecological awareness among students by talking about their experience in Japan.

His efforts at improving the ties between the two countries have reaped rich rewards. The Emperor of Japan has conferred the title, ‘The order of the rising sun, gold and silver rays’ on Mr. Ranganathan.

Among his other passions are philately. He has a large collection of Japanese stamps. He is proud of his media connections. “As a professional photographer and a journalist for Tamil magazines, many of my photographs have graced the cover of Tamil weekly magazines. I have worked with the well known playwright Marina for three years as a stage manager.”

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