Chief executives and top managers from publishing and advertising, friends and former colleagues of CAN, as he was fondly known, turned up in numbers at the Express Lawns for the prayer meet which remembered him for the fine human being that he was.

Leading the tributes, Vivek Goenka, CMD of The Indian Express group-which CAN served for over four decades-said apart from the senior positions CAN held and the service he rendered the industry, he would remember him as a ``perfect gentleman''.

Ram Tarneja, too, recalled his association with CAN and said he was always cheerful and ready to help as did Avinash Jain, Bobby Sista and Surkund while Dr P D Murlidharan told the meeting about the religious and philosophical side to CAN. V Ranganathan, printer-publisher of The Indian Express and contemporary of CAN, said that CAN was like a `father figure'to the group and recalled his unshakable loyalty.

Narayan's wife Sita, son Ramesh, daughter-in-law Devi and other family members received the condolences. One of CAN's granddaughters read out a moving tribute to the man who taught her ``that in every little job that one does there's something new to learn''.