Travelling to exotic places and writing about them seems like a dream career; but what does it take to get going? 

Interview by Aparna V.Singh

A good travel writer’s words are like a magic carpet; they can transport us to new places and help us discover hidden delights or make us see well-known sights in an entirely new light. They serve as an extension to our senses and make us experience the flavours of destinations that we long to explore, someday.

Charukesi Ramadurai is a Bangalore-based travel blogger and freelance writer whose travel mantra is ‘anywhere but here’ – so when she is not actually travelling, she is busy planning her next trip. She blogs her travel stories on Itchy Feet. Charu talks to us about her passion and shares some pointers for anyone considering travel writing as a career option. More about her and her published work on her website. 

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What is sensitive greening? Why are indigenous trees critical to urban areas? An interview with Shobha Menon of Nizhal, ‘the tree NGO’.

Interview by Aparna V. Singh

On hearing the word, “ecology”, we first think of wildlife sanctuaries and nature reserves. Yet, the urban environment we live in also needs sound ecological thought, given the rapid population growth and attendant pressures in India.

Nizhal (shade, in Tamil) a non-profit trust that started working in Chennai in 2006, aims to preserve and nurture indigenous trees in urban landscapes, as well as create awareness of the need for greening in crowded urban areas.

We caught up with Shobha Menon, a Trustee and founder-member of Nizhal, to learn about the interesting work they do in the urban ecology space. The meeting spot was interesting too; a “tree-park” coming up on the banks of the Adyar river, hidden away in one of Chennai’s busy neighbourhoods.

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Ritika Mittal, textiles entrepreneur on the one-of-a-kind saris she creates at MORA, her fascination with the North-east and why she doesn’t want big business!

Interview by Aparna V. Singh

Coming across Ritika Mittal’s MORA sarees is something of a shock. Few of us even know that the North-eastern states of India produce some exquisite silk fabrics unique to them. Even stranger it is to find them allied to Kalamkari techniques from Andhra Pradesh and ending up as saris that look traditional, yet have a certain je ne sais quoi about them.

When I came across MORA on Facebook, I knew that I had to interview the woman behind it, and find out more.

Aparna V. Singh (AVS): I’ve learnt from your website about the curious way in which MORA started up, with you designing saris for your own wedding. How did it grow into a business venture?

Ritika Mittal (RM): I designed my first sari in November 2008, just before my wedding in December. I had been working in media for over a decade – before I decided that I wanted to do textiles. I had no formal training in textiles, none at all – so I was like, let me try this and see how it goes! What happened was that I went backpacking to Ladakh for 2 months, and once I was there, I realized that what I really wanted to do was work with the local women’s groups – and the only way I could do that was with textiles.

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An interview with Mukta Darera, Founder of iReboot, a life orientation company which helps people discover themselves and  their true career calling.

Interview by Aparna V. Singh

Mukta Darera started iReboot in 2008, to help people change directions in their lives. Here she shares her experience with helping people re-look their lives and identify new career directions.

Aparna V.Singh (AVS): Tell us a little about yourself.

Mukta Darera (MD): Born and raised in Mysore, I am a firm believer in second chances – a concept that is the very foundation behind the initiation of this company. I graduated in Electronics & Communication Engineering from SJCE, Mysore and soon became part of the prestigious Intel family; the place that triggered my thoughts to build a world where people can “reboot” from where they left off. I later went on to an entrepreneurship program at IIMB, where the seeds for iReboot were sown.

As for my passions, I’ve been lucky enough to be all of these – travel guide, tutor, examiner, drummer, theatre actor, anchor, voice over artist, radio jockey, master of ceremony and a Kathak dancer. I have always believed that there is really no limit to how enriching one’s life can be. And the choice to enrich one’s life is in the hands of each and every individual.

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An interview with Aarti Mohan, Chief Editor of The Alternative, an online platform that seeks to chronicle and support social development in India.

Interview By Anne John

Aarti Mohan had a flourishing career in Engineering before she switched lanes to follow her twin passions of community development and writing. Thus was born The Alternative, an independent and progressive space for information, dialogue and social action focusing on the evolving changes and challenges of social development in India.

Anne John (AJ): What was the inspiration behind an initiative such as The Alternative?

Aarti Mohan (AM): The Alternative emerged initially out of a need to communicate stories about interesting yet lesser known organisations, people and initiatives that are making a bigger difference to society. As volunteers with various non-profits in Bangalore, we experienced first-hand the passion, hard work and commitment that drove social organisations to bring about real change, an impact we felt needed to be talked about much more widely.

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Hetal Jannu and Anuja Balasubramanian, founders of Show Me The Curry, transport thousands of viewers from across the globe into their kitchens through their cookery shows on YouTube.

Interview by Anne John

Anne John (AJ): What was your ‘aha!’ moment that spurred you both onto the road to SMTC?

Hetal Jannu/Anuja Balasubramanian (HJ/AB): Filming cooking videos was Shrikant’s (Hetal’s husband) idea but the “aha!” moment came as soon as he mentioned it. Immediately, we both thought of family and friends who could benefit from such a service.

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Meet Aishwarya Natarajan, Director of Indianuance – an artiste management firm – and  proud recipient of the British Council’s Young Creative Entrepreneur Award in Music.

Interview by Anne John

Anne John (AJ): You’ve talked about your growing up with music and starting Indianuance previously. Could you tell our readers briefly about what  Indianuance does and where it fits in the music world?

Aishwarya Natarajan (AN): Ours is an idea born out of the desperate need for professional management among Indian classical musicians, much like it exists in the Western world where managers are  respected for taking an artist’s career to new heights; and the need to see Indian music find a more ready audience amongst the young – to see them enjoy classical music as much as they would a rock music gig.
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Meet Jessie Paul, previously CMO of Wipro, and now working to create Paul Writer, India’s first community for B2B marketers.

By Aparna V. Singh

Traditionally, we think of Marketing as aimed at the ‘ordinary consumer’ like you and me. However, businesses also sell to one another, and this area of Business-to-Business (B2B) marketing is fascinating and challenging in its own way.

Jessie Paul is the Managing Director of Paul Writer, a marketing advisory firm she founded in early 2010 to work with clients in the B2B, services and technology space. What drew us to interview her was her creating the Paul Writer community, a first of its kind for B2B marketers in India.

Previously Chief Marketing Officer of Wipro’s IT business and as Global Brand Manager at Infosys, Jessie has been among the most influential business women in the Indian IT industry.

(Note: This interview was conducted in early June 2011). Continue reading →

Interview with Indrani Dasgupta and Sugandha Garg, co-hosts of What’s With Indian Men?, a travel show that decodes the man with his city.

By Amrita Rajan

Indrani Dasgupta has one of the most famous faces in India – the Lakme girl is in every magazine, on hoardings and television across the country. Sugandha Garg is the young actor who’s a part of New Bollywood, appearing in movies such as Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na and Tere Bin Laden to name a couple. Together, they host FOX History & Traveller’s original series, What’s With Indian Men, currently airing through July.

Amrita Rajan (AR): How did you come to be involved in What’s With Indian Men?

Indrani Dasgupta (ID): The channel called and asked me if I would be interested in doing the show. This show was different from everything I have been offered on TV. It sounded like a show I would watch, which was the tipping point.

Sugandha Garg (SG): I was approached by the channel to host the show. When I heard the name of the show, I had no doubt that I was doing it! We all want to know ‘What’s With Indian Men’!

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Nirmala Menon, CEO of Interweave Consulting helps Indian workplaces create an enabling environment for people of different gender, regional origin and communities.

While “Diversity” is a concept Indians understand instinctively, we know little about actively managing diversity at an organizational level. An experienced Human Resources professional, Nirmala Menon is the Founder and CEO of Interweave Consulting , a diversity management solutions firm. Here, Nirmala tells us more about diversity management in India, the rise of new, flexible work environments , the issues that different employees, especially women face , and how actively dealing with these issues can help.

Interview by Aparna V. Singh

Aparna V. Singh (AVS): How and why did Interweave and the idea of offering diversity management support in India come about?

Nirmala Menon (NM): After a long career with ONGC, I had gone to the U.S for an additional Masters degree; while in the U.S, I worked with a Small Business Centre. This was the time when a report called Workforce 2001 was making big waves there, on how U.S workforce demographics were changing, and businesses had to change accordingly.

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