Born on 1st September 1947, 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 photo-composing 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. In fact, he was conferred the National Award for Excellence in Printing and Designing from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India.
Creation of 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 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 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 finalising/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 the UK, US, 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 experience. 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 and his daughter Bhavna Khurana. Sonal has been actively involved in the business for the last 15 years.
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!
A fine gentleman, with defined approach to his goals and a positive thinking towards achieving the same A friend, a thinker, a guide to colleagues, young aspirants in printing, advertisement and its marketing.
He has left a well groomed team of young staff members, son – Sonal, daughter-in-law – Shweta, daughter Bhawna to carry forward his mission and the various Magazines. He was my travel partner to most of the Printing Exhibitions -Seminars-Expos during more than a decade which I shall be missing him in the times to come.
–SM Dutt
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 cherished him as my mentor and my guide.
–Varsha Verma
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
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
I have worked with
Mr Khurana for
more than two decades
and S. Media Group
is like a familay now.
He always set an example for us and tried his best
to keep us motivated
at all times.
–Surendra Kumar
Its very difficult to say something about him in few words... 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 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
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
