V. K. Thanabalan
V. K. Thanabalan, also known as V.K.T. Balan or Madura Balan, was an Indian travel agent and media figure from Tamil Nadu. He was born on January 26, 1954, in Thiruchendur, Tamil Nadu, and died on November 11, 2024, in Chennai at the age of 70. He was married to T. Susheela and had two children, Saranya and Sriharan.
Growing up in a poor family, Balan studied only up to the 8th grade. In 1981, he moved to Chennai, where he lived homeless at the Egmore railway station. He began making money by standing in queues at the American Embassy to reserve visa slots for others, gradually learning about the travel business. After connections with travel agents, he started his own travel agency, Madura Travel Service (P) Ltd, on January 17, 1986. The company grew to a turnover of around Rs 20 crore and is based opposite the Egmore station. It is IATA accredited and a member of many travel associations.
Balan helped pioneer 24/7 travel services in Tamil Nadu and served on the Tamil Nadu Tourism Advisory Committee. He founded the Madura Institute to train people for travel jobs, offering free training to physically challenged individuals and placing them in work afterward. He also started Madura Welcome, a Tamil travel guide, and published the English-language Madura Welcome book. His writings included biographies and guides, distributed to government libraries.
In media, Balan launched World Tamil News in 2001, Tamil Nadu’s first Internet radio (also known as Tamil Kural). He hosts Velichatin Marupakkam, a program on Podhigai TV, where he interviews people who are physically challenged but have achieved success.
One notable achievement was organizing a Gala Music Festival in 1992, bringing together many Tamil film artists and presenting the video cassette to President R. Venkataraman. He received several honors, including the Kalaimamani award and the Thanga Pathakam (Golden Award). The Limca Book of Records recognized his work in conducting thousands of cultural programs in 25 countries from 1987 to 2007.
Balan lived simply and focused on tourism and human values, regardless of caste, creed, or politics.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 13:21 (CET).