08/04/2022
8th April is the 100th Birth Anniversary day of Mr. Madhusudhana Rao – “Founder of Madhus”
Mr. Madhusudhana Rao – fondly called by everyone as Mr. Madhu was born in Mysore. He was a self-made man, starting his business in a very small shop named as Madhus Mills Stores & Automobiles in 1948. He was selling lubricants, parts for the mills, beltings, and many other small items in the beginning. He became a dealer of tyres in 1955 and quickly understood the trade and grew into a good tyre dealer for Mysore. While having his business located in Mysore, he started trading all over the country by 1965 and grew to be called “Tyre King” . He had developed good contacts in Delhi, Calcutta, Cochin, Calicut, Madras etc and commanded respect from all big tyre manufacturers of that time. Dunlop, Firestone, Good Year, were some of the big companies of 1960s. He also started the business with MRF, CEAT and other premier tyre companies.
His way of looking at opportunities and jumping with hard work and enthusiasm made him what others called “The Tyre King” . His shop was just 10 feet wide and 15 feet length filled with Oil barrels, beltings and 3 chairs for customers to sit. His throne was a chair with a cushion he would sit from morning till night. He got his packed lunch from home and would sit on a stool at the back side every day and enjoy. His attire was a khaki pant and a white shirt most of the time.
He used to travel to Bangalore very frequently to meet the Tyre company officials and tyre dealers to interact and strike deals that made his business grow.
He would have done more, if he had lived longer. But in 1972 he had the misfortune of having a brain tumour that turned out to be cancer and died in 1973. He was 51 years.
His three sons, Prasanna, Ravi & Prakash have taken the business to a new level and made his name shine for ever. Even today everyone remembers Mr. Madhu as the Tyre Man from Mysore. All the car owners in Mysore and Bangalore frequent the tyre stores for the core principles set by the founder -- Honesty, Transparency and Fairness. With the Garage Equipment company, the name Madhus is known across the country.
Today we remember him and pay our respects as “Team Madhus” .
