By  Jigar Ganatra

The art of storytelling has been in the world for decades. In today?s dynamic world of literature, there are many eminent writers who have mastered this art of storytelling, excelled, made a mark and tasted success. One among them is Amish Tripathi, an IIM graduate, who gave up his fourteen-year-old career in financial services to focus on writing.

His journey as an author started with The Immortals of Meluha, a bestseller, which created a record as the top seller within a week of its launch. And since then, there?s been no looking back for Tripathi. His passion for history, mythology and philosophy clearly reflects in his work.

In a conversation with Indiantelevision.com?s Jigar Ganatra, this ?Eisenhower Fellow? shares his ideas and views as a renowned author and an established entrepreneur.

Excerpts from the conversation:

Tell us about your journey as a writer and choosing ?mythology? as the subject?

As a child, I was never creative. My interest was mostly into sports and I had never thought about writing. My parents and I were always passionate about books and we all have been voracious readers for a long time now. With time, I started to pen down my thoughts, which were appreciated and that is how the journey as a writer began.

As far as mythology is concerned, as a family, we?ve always been proud of our rich history and culture. My grandfather was a pandit, he taught me a lot about the subject. Besides that, my habit of reading has helped a lot. Mythology is an interesting subject and I enjoy sharing my views about it.

Are you trying to modernise and simplify mythology for the audience?

The concept of reinterpreting and modernising mythology has been present for thousands of years. I believe the essence of the story is vital and not the way of storytelling. So, yes, I?m just following the same tradition, culture and the process, thereby modernising and simplifying those stories for the audience today. I?m following the same concept, expressing my thoughts and making it available to my readers.

How important is it to inculcate mythology in today?s education? 

I?m not anti-western, but there is a lot we can learn from our ancient literature. I know Indian history and mythology is not extensively taught in the country, and that could be a flaw in the education system. It is strange that in India, we learn about Shakespeare or world literature more than educating ourselves about the rich Indian heritage, be it mythology, science or historical achievements that our ancestors have accomplished. Educating our children and ourselves about our own history is the need of the hour and I think it is time that the education system is redefined and improved.

Tell us more about Amish as an entrepreneur and now a brand.

The skills have come from education and my professional experience. I believe that every writer is an entrepreneur. It has been the literary scene for many years now. For example ? the great author Charles Dickens used to market his literary work.

Books are my product and once I have written them, I can?t change the product. The best way to make it available for the audience is marketing. My team and I work on different strategies and promote the book. I?m glad that my team has great expertise in branding and promotions. 

Would you like to see your work adapted as a movie or a digital series?

Yes, absolutely. In fact, I?m happy to announce that all the books from the ?Shiva Trilogy? are being made into a movie by Dharma Productions. I have got offers for the movie adaptation of my first book from the Ram Chandra series, but I?m not ready for that yet.

On the digital front, I believe these are early days and it is a new space for me to venture into. It is going to be a big part of the future and it does seem promising. Further, it is very interesting and there are many perks associated with it. In the years to come and with improving technology, it would have a strong presence, vast reach and better connectivity. I am certain that it will have a strong strategic impact and it is something all of us, from the creative world, will have to keep in mind.

How did you plan to link music and your work?

It was a clearly a marketing move, which happened due to a combination of two factors. Firstly, the credit goes to my management team. I have great advisors whom I have worked with. They give me great ideas and strategies to promote my books. Secondly, I think the budget and the scale, which we set for marketing and promotional activities, allows me to invest in music. We all decided on the idea and loved it, hence it happened. It is produced by a team of experienced musicians and I?m closely associated in the making. 

Do you have a library for the next two decades?

I have various project ideas in my mind and all are based on mythology. I want to tell my readers and followers that there are clues for my future work in the Shiva Trilogy. If my readers come back to Shiva trilogy, after reading any of my series, they would find the clues for my next work. An era or a civilisation that lasted for thousands of years is what links all my books and allows me to have such a vast library. This entire mythological universe is very interesting and clearly set in my mind.

Would you want to write books that address social issues?

I love fiction and I believe in conveying a message through storytelling. This art has been followed for many years and also makes it easy and interesting for the readers to follow the message. With regards to social issues, I may write in the future but there?s nothing in the pipeline.

Can you share some interesting reviews that you have received about your books?

I have received a lot of reviews from the books, which have been translated in foreign languages. I have noticed a mixed bunch of readers, both who believe in the mythology and those who don?t. But there have been instances where the readers are amused about the characters and have fallen in love with them, especially Shiva. It is interesting to know their opinion about it. All I can say is that I?m glad that the books and the art are being appreciated globally.

What advice would you give to budding writers?

I believe that the writers today are fortunate as they have the right to speak their mind. We are thankfully in a country where an individual can voice their thought. So, it would be nice to see the upcoming writers share their views, have a firm opinion about the subject and let their work speak.

Amish?s last book, Scion of Ikshvaku was released on 22 June, 2015. He is currently working on his second book from the Ram Chandra series. More information about his work can be found on www.authoramish.com

By Papri Das

Known for his chiseled body and action packed roles, Sonu Sood is the kind of actor that makes you root even for the villain. (Remember Dabangg?) Given his 'angry young man' image, it comes as a surprise when we found out that he is a self confessed shopaholic. 

After a two month hiatus from the maximum city, Sood is back in Mumbai and Exec Lifestyle caught up with him at Vogue Fashion's Night Out. Looking dapper in a black on black suit, he soon slipped into the crowd of celebrities inside a popular pub for the after party of the event, but not before answering a short Q&A on fashion with us.

Excerpts:

What's your fashion mantra?

Wear what's comfortable and be confident in it. Don?t follow a fad blindly unless you want to experiment and are down for it. In events like these, you generally see a lot of people decked up for the occasion, but for me this occasion is all about meeting my friends. I was out of Mumbai for a few months and I am going to have a good time catching up.

Have you ever gone on a shopping spree?

Although I hold myself back here, but yes, there have been a few instances abroad where I have gone on a shopping spree. There was time during shoots when I over stacked myself with stuff I bought and I had nowhere to store them. Women are often teased for their love for shopping but it is definitely not exclusive to them.

What do you go gaga over in a store?

Shoes, shoes and more shoes. I am head over heels for a new pair of shoes. If I do an inventory of my wardrobe, I think there will be around 250 to 300 pairs of shoes at least.

What type of shoes do you prefer?

Depends on where I am headed to and what the occasion is. I like the good old classics, but off late I am experimenting with colours and patterns but within my comfort zone.

Would you go to a party wearing the wackiest pair of shoes?

Oh absolutely. I sometimes wear bright red converse shoes with formals. But then again, I need to be among people I hang out with.

By Papri Das

Celebrated playwright George Bernard Shaw?s famous quote: ?A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing,? resonates deeply with TravelXP HD and Media Worldwide Limited CEO Prashant Chothani, who began his career as a cable operator.

From climbing numerous floors every day to set up cable connections in houses, pioneering the movement to get cable TV legalized, formulating the revenue system for film and music advertisement in television, to launching a TV channel on a patriotic spur ? his last two decades in the industry have shown him some dramatic crest and troughs.

In this heart to heart chat with Indiantelevision.com's Exec Lifestyle, Chothani opens up on his early days in the industry, launching India?s first HD travel channel, and why he will always be a "Zeeian," even after parting ways with the Zee Network.

Excerpts:

You are credited with launching India's first and only High Definition travel channel TravelXP. How did you come up with the concept?

TravelXP is close to my heart for more reasons than one. When we conceived the concept of an Indian travel channel, we didn?t see it as a business venture. The idea came to us from an unfortunate personal experience that my family and I faced while travelling in one of the European countries. There, we came across someone who had strong negative opinion about India and was unabashedly vocal about it. This left a lasting impact on us, specially our son, who naturally asked me why others have a very one dimensional view of our country.

After some thought, I realized it wasn?t the foreigner?s fault for not being informed about India?s beauty, when most international and even national media show us in bad light. While there is a need to report the bad, there should be a platform, which focuses on the good, beautiful and updated India as well. TravelXP comes from this very thought. 

What challenges did you face when launching a travel channel in India?

Since a travel channel was far removed from what we had been doing so far, it was a huge risk to take with so much at stake. We needed to understand the market well and also the viewers. Getting the right infrastructure to create content that is at par with international standards was the first of many challenges. We travelled across India extensively, and shot big - small, known - un-known, all kinds of places. In the process, I was surprised to find many hidden gems of sites that India has to offer to travellers.
This came through to our viewers both here and abroad through our shows. I am proud to say that TravelXP is probably the only Indian travel channel, which has a vast international reach with a completely Indian production team.

Many don?t know that you left home to pursue your dreams. Tell us about your early days in the industry.

Following the tried and tested career path didn?t sit well with me, so I left home and started working as a cable operator. Those days, I used to climb 300 floors every day, to fix networks for different providers in Mumbai. It was around that time that the film industry started raising issues over screening movies on the small screen, and the matter even went to the court. I was part of the group who stood up against the film industry?s monopoly over entertainment and rooted for legalizing cable TV. In 1988 a case was filed in the Mumbai High Court -- film industry and others VS me and others -- on the same issue. After a long struggle, the court ruled in our favour that cable television was not illegal and cable operators would have to get a copyright license to air movies on their network. That was a crucial decision that determined the future of cable TV, and was also a turning point in my career.

After seeing the industry going from being  legalised to organised, I should have been in the broadcast business since the legalisation of cable TV, why only in 2004? I question myself on this sometimes. But looking back now, it was worth it. 

Who is your role model in the industry?

I always consider Subhash Chandra from Zee network as my role model, and a father figure. When he launched Zee Television Network, Subhash ji was of the opinion that we should be supportive of the film industry. He was of the opinion that a lot of talent would flow to Bollywood from the television industry and that is exactly how it is today. What he envisioned years ago has fallen into place now. His show Dr Subhash Chandra Show on Zee News is one of the shows I watch even today. Not just in media, but anyone who wants to be inspired to do something special must watch the show.

You had a long standing relationship with Zee Network before launching your own channels. What was working with the Zee Network like?

Another landmark in the broadcast industry was when Subhash ji launched Zee Television network, and I had the opportunity to associate with it since day one. Since Zee was facing similar challenges that we faced with cable TV legalization, they approached me with an offer to address the problem together. My suggestion was to formulate a system that assured the industry that television and films could co-exist. Providing air time to film trailers at a cheaper rate to promote films was one of them. We introduced the concept of airing trailers and songs from movies on television. The feedback was tremendous and production houses soon realised that rather than fighting against us, accepting us and making use of the platform to their advantage was a wiser decision.

This started our long running association with Zee Network, till 2006. I and my wife who joined me later, were never employees of Zee, but independent associates by the name of Celebrities Management Private ltd (which runs TravelXP now), and looked after the film and music business of the entire Zee Network, including the regional ones. But Zee was like home to us.

Are you emotional about parting ways with the Zee Network?

In 2006, when we parted ways with Zee, it was an emotional moment for me and my wife. We felt like kids whose parents have kicked them out of home. It was one of the saddest moments of our lives, and it took us a month to get over it. During our long running stint with Zee, we had offers from other channels to provide the same service that we did for Zee, but we felt morally committed to Zee. So not as employees but as another independent company, we held on to Zee. Now, from a business point of view it might have been a naive decision, but I don?t regret it. We could have continued the same business with a different network, but we chose otherwise. We wanted to keep that moral commitment to Zee intact. And then we entered into broadcast on our own with Music India.

What is your current equation with Zee Network?

My relationship with Zee, Subhash ji or Puneet (Goenka) never soured. We never had differences on a personal level to begin with. It was more functional. And after 15 years, you can?t call them disagreements. Granted, people did try to take advantage of the situation, but by God?s grace, we never got taken in by that, and neither did anyone in Zee. I always say that a Zeeian dies a Zeeian.

How did Sangeet Bangla and Sangeet Bhojpuri come about?

While I was still with Zee, there were many occasions when I would fly to Kolkata and meet producers like Shree Venkatesh Films, SK Movies etc. I had always found Bengalis very musical, and was surprised to know that almost every household had a harmonium. It always made me wonder why there wasn?t a regional music channel there. In fact, I even suggested to the then business head of Zee Bangla Aditya Ray, to consider starting a Bengali music channel under Zee?s banner. But the plan never saw the light of the day. When we wanted to start something of our own, we called back on that idea and zeroed down on a Bengali music channel.

I called for a meeting in Kolkata with artists, producers and people from media, and asked what they expect from a Bengali music channel as a platform to showcase their talent. I could feel their excitement and after a discussion we soon crystallized the concept for Sangeet Bangla. The biggest challenge was to turn the young Bengali?s attention to their regional film music instead of Hindi songs and Bollywood. It took a great deal of effort but I can proudly claim that over the last 10 years, Sangeet Bangla as a channel has been instrumental in shaping Tollywood and Bengali commercial films to what it is today.

Our idea behind the other venture, Sangeet Bhojpuri was also the same, which has yet to show the same result like Sangeet Bangla, but we are working on it.

Square Yards co-founder & COO Kanika Gupta has had diverse professional exposure in the fields of asset management and entertainment.

Having worked in companies like Tata Asset Management and ICICI Bank, Gupta, who is also the winner of ?Young Achiever of 2014,' by Franchisee India, has had an interesting journey so far.

While bringing up her two kids, she decided to help her husband in managing their real estate portfolio. The need of players who could provide professional advice and handhold her throughout the transaction cycle was something that their global real estate advisory consultancy firm Square Yards was born out of. Started as a one-woman-army, the company now boasts of 25 offices in six countries and 14 cities of India, in just 14 months of existence.

Tell us about your journey as a professional in the industry. How has your experience been? The hardships & the incentives?

The journey has been quite rewarding actually. What started in the guest room of our home in Hong Kong with just me at the forefront is now a very successful venture. There is something fulfilling in helping people find a place they can call home. Every time a client sends a thank you note, the feeling of worthiness is beautiful. It is I would say sheer joy.

It is true that every journey has its set of challenges. A mother of two, I had left my job as an asset manager after embracing motherhood. My life was limited to my family and friends. Initially, this was my biggest challenge - to find that fine balance between my family and work. Also, when you re-start your life after such a long break, there is some nervousness. A part of you is also guilty for focusing on something other than your kids. It?s also scary in a way to go back to the cut-throat, rude yet gratifying world of professionalism. For me it was scarier because I was for the first time in my life, starting up a business. The trick is to put your head down and swim in the current. And survive I did.

How tough is it to be a female leader in the industry?

I will not pretend and say it?s easy. People associate women with being soft and malleable. It takes a lot of tough talk for you to make them realize that we are not two-year-olds and understand if not better as much as they do. Yes, you have to be firmer, more professional and more disciplined than your male counterparts. But is it impossible? I don?t think so. In my entire career as a working woman, I have never faced any major problems in getting some work done just because I am a woman. There is this subtle feeling that it takes more effort to make people hear you. But again, if you keep going you get there. And honestly, the men are not that bad. They come with a set of prejudices, but they do get over them too.

Does a glass ceiling exist in today?s world?

It does. But it is truly a glass ceiling? easily breakable. Most of the times it depends on how you take it. Either you go the extreme way and become a bad caricature of a man in attempts to rise in the corporate ladder. Or you be your own self, be proud of being a woman and feel sympathy for anyone who feels that you are inferior. If there are those laughing at you or don?t think your opinions matter, well, it?s their problem really. You keep your dignity, work hard and no glass ceiling, man or God can keep you from being successful.

Which part of your job do you enjoy the most and why?

The part where I help create systems that help people. Our CRM team, relationship managers, portfolio managers? they take care of all your real estate investment needs. When I say all, I mean all. To see our clients smile and come and appreciate our efforts is the thing that keeps me going and motivates me to even work harder.

How do you manage to balance your role as a CEO and a family person?

I am walking on a tight rope on this one. My husband, Tanuj, along with some of my closest friends are my business partners. It?s impossible for a day to pass without us disagreeing or having very different and strong opinions on things. Does that affect our personal life? Nope. Reason? All of us before we embarked on this journey made a promise to ourselves. We leave work and our disagreements in office. At home we never discuss business.

While all of us meet in office some days, we go out on drinks like old friends too. Also, the fact that the basic element of respect is not lost even during the most heated discussion helps. We are all old enough to accept each other as different individuals with different set of ideas. That?s also one thing that makes Square Yards such a dynamic place to work.

What is your opinion on the current status of women in the work force?

Oh! They are taking over the world! There is no skill, no job and no position that a woman cannot handle with great zeal and expertise. But are they being given equal opportunities? That is clearly debatable. There are many organizations that do not pay them equal to a man. If you look around, there is a clear need for more women leaders in the corporate world. There just aren?t enough to become role models for others.

The fact that a woman gives birth does works against her in the corporate world. The fact that men are still not sensitive to post-maternal trauma, periods or simply to a woman?s existence, holds true. Whatever her skill, a woman in the corporate world is still judged by her looks, her figure and has to bear snide comments every once in a while. She is judged by all and with an authority that borders on patriarchal behavior. All this is true. Is that going to stop them from becoming the future of corporate world? No, not at all. Women today are fighting against this current and with such ?lan that it?s only a matter of time before you will see more women out there, creating their own rules.

How do you think we can encourage education for the girl child?

By educating the parents and the society. Man is no more the only provider in the society. Times have changed. We are not living in times where a man went out to forage food and a woman took care of the kids. A man can now stay back home while a woman earns. The line between a man and a woman has blurred. We are moving towards a sexless society. It is important that people understand accept this.

What kind of books do you like to read?

I can read anything and everything under the sun.  The last book, which I just finished reading was Too Big To Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin and loved it to the core.

Which are your favorite movies?

A good movie with my family is the best stress buster, which keeps me going. Being an actor in past, I like movies more from a cinematic angle. Some of my all time favorites are When Harry met Sally, Godfather amongst others.

How important are awards, appreciation and recognition to you?

Pretty important I would say. Everyone likes to be appreciated. I am no different. After all as rightly said by Alan Cohen, the famous American Business man, ?Appreciation is the highest form of prayer, for it acknowledges the presence of good wherever you shine the light of your thankful thoughts.?

Who is your inspiration? Where do you draw your energy from?

Your biggest strength is you, yourself. I believe you do not need to look for any external source of energy. Make yourself so strong that your inner well of energy never dries up! My inspiration? Mark Zuckerberg. He is very cool.

What are the three things you wished you knew when you were in your 20s?

? Money is by-product of pursuing your dreams

? Life is goes on, with or without your approval

? Family and friends are the only two things that matter

At this stage, if you had to describe your life in one word, what would it be and why?

One word that describes me is ?Initiator?. I have initiated my life numerous times in different domains and tried to excel every time I started something new.

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

I see myself as a very successful entrepreneur. Happy in my personal life, an inspiration for women around the world and charging ahead to new horizons.