Sona and the Sound of Music
June 26, 2009
Sona Mohapatra has a degree in Engineering and an MBA in Marketing. She had a plum job as a Brand Manager in a consumer goods company. She quit that to take up singing. That’s not all. At 5′8″, this MTV Style Icon 2006 trained as a classical singer for 10 years. Her debut video Bolo Na बोलो ना (Translation: Tell me naa …) made people sit up and take notice. The song was about drifting relationships. She still bristles when someone describes her music as ‘unusual’. She would rather describe it as a “unique sound” and not unusual. Her debut album “SONA is a blend of contemporary and ethnic sounds with nuances of Romanian gypsy music, R&B, East Indian baul, Flamenco and North Indian folk rhythms.” At a friend’s I heard the album and liked her sound. The song that lingered on for a long time in its aftertaste was अभी नहीं आना Abhi Nahi Aana (rough translation: Don’t come over to meet me yet … ). I must admit I had initially found the lyrics a bit masochistic. I mean here is the video of a woman pining for her lover and yet she is telling him to not visit her. Ummm … why not? Just so that when they meet, it is just that much nicer. The gal just enjoys pining for the lover boy. Read more
Ustad Ali Akbar Khan
June 21, 2009
Tweet Nothings
June 14, 2009
The Wall Street Journal sent out a memo to its staffers some time back outlining rules around the use of social media like Facebook, Twitter etc. For instance the journalists now need to take approval of editors before “friending” a confidential source on Facebook or Twitter. These ground rules should guide all news employees’ actions online, whether on official sites or in social-networking, e-mail, personal blogs, or other sites outside. This has thrown up a debate among bloggers and social media enthusiasts who are divided on two sides of the argument. If the employee were to spread positive stories about the employer on their social network is that OK? What if the employee were to spread stories about a bad manager or blow the whistle about a wrongdoing in case of a publicly held company? Is it wrong if the employee does the social media thingy during office hours and using the company’s network and laptop to generally vent to the world at large? Should the employer monitor such tweets or blog posts? There are firms who spy on employee behavior on Facebook and other social networks for a living. What if the person blogs or tweets under an assumed name and then conveys an opinion on his or her network, is that morally wrong or legally? Should the investor have a heads up about issues that may impact the stock price? The social media has given the power to every employee, citizen or passerby a chance to have their opinion published at the touch of a button. Along with this opportunity comes responsibility and the debate about the evolving roles of the players. If you think I am talking only about Corporations think again. there are countries like China that worry about what their citizens are Tweeting about. Youtube service goes down if there is objectionable content. Recently when two employees of the Dominos Pizza posted a prank video on youtube, it put a massive dent in the goodwill of the company.
India on the Write Track
June 8, 2009
How many books does an author have to sell before it is classified as bestseller in India? Why are Indian authors suddenly in demand? Have readers started noticing them because there is a proliferation of these authors in the bookshops in India? I believe there are many factors that have tapped into the collective potential of Indian authors – especially those who write in English. The foremost is the willingness of international publishing houses to identify local talent. What has happened is that readers who snootily ignored books that were not literary have started reading what was labeled as “commercial fiction or masala fiction”.
As you read this article by Sandhya Iyer, notice the happy confluence of events that lead to Indian Writing In English (IWE) growing out of its elitist bearings in the last few years to appeal to a wider mass readership, offering a variety like never before, says Sandhya Iyer in this article.
Join the Talent Revolution
June 4, 2009
How did you decide on what career to pursue? Did you think it through or was it just a happy accident, a matter of chance or a choice that you have now learnt to tolerate because it pays for your current lifestyle. Are you the person who now believes, that everyone doesn’t HAVE to just absolutely jump up with joy at going to work on a Monday morning. Let us face it – most people don’t. Not unless you are wildly in love with your work and can’t stop thinking about the ten different things to do at work that will give you a high. Even if the honest answer to your career lifestyle is “serendipity”, remember you are spending several years of your life pursuing what may have been a chance outcome. You hope like hell you will like it. As an HR person, ever so often I meet people who are stuck in a job that they hate with all they have. Imagine what it would do to pursue a career designed around what they are passionate about. Careers and lives need to be in synch with each other. Else you are wasting your life and your talent just to earn a living to fund your lifestyle. With shrinking corporate payrolls, more and more people are getting a chance to ask themselves how do I want to use my talent rather than the regular drudgery of how do I stay in job that pays my bills. What should the process of pursuing your passion? I thought of talking to someone who has done this thinking for herself and is now getting others to discover their passion through what she calls the Talent Revolution. Read more
Loading ...
