Q. PLEASE TAKE US THROUGH YOUR CORPORATE JOURNEY.
A. Corporate journey I am not really sure of that. But journey – yes, that word has an immense impact on my thought process. Towards the end of the 4th semester, I already had a studio apartment in Chittaranjan Park, Delhi. And the first Monday aft er the exams got over, I took the early morning bus, (at about 5:41), to Jantar Mantar and then took an auto to Jhandewalaan to HTA for my first day in the advertising world. That was a journey, a real big journey that taught me the value of a three-piece suit and a warm handshake. That was 30 years back and it justseems like yesterday.
In 1984 by sheer coincidence in the early hours on my birthday, on the 17th of September, I took a Japan Airlines flight from New Delhi for my first assignment as a creative director of an international project. That was the journey that taught me the value of my roots. Directing films and communications for the leaders in the hospitality or petroleum sectors, I learnt the value of being an ambassador of my country. 1988 – Publishing and advertising coincided this time, when I joined Apex, the numero uno in the region. That cauldron of hectic deliberations multiplied and pushed me into another journey. The demands of a growing industry and the appreciation and respect of a multicultural international audience gave us the optimism to establish a multifaceted communications organisation, Prelude in 1992 and Al Roya Publishing in 1994. And the journey on the fast track continued.
Allegro was born in 1995 to meet the specific demands of a highly specialised corporate profile of a nation. Culture and heritage, and hospitality demanded dedicated involvement. And the journey took a different flavour and colour. Films, exhibitions and museums took the front seats, although below-the-line continued in its true self.
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD, HAVE DIFFERENT SETS OF CONSIDERATIONS AS FAR AS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ORGANISATIONS IS CONCERNED.
A. I have been fortunate. Very fortunate. I have been able to create without having to bother what to do with my creation. On a serious note though, it may not be out of place to clarify that the concept of ‘own venture’ is often misleading. Commerce and industry, in this part of the world, have different sets of considerations as far as the establishment of organisations is concerned. I have come up with the basic creative platform, and my associates have provided the corporate entity. In the service industry, the end product is as good as the initial ingredients. Only the intangibles attached to the end product elevate a corporate entity from mediocrity to higher levels. And that is where my motivation must have come from. In the beginning, the deliverables were being delivered; the creative strategies, the storyboards, the lilies, the exhibition coordinates, they were following one after the other, I, as the Creative Director, was always the boss. One day I realised that I had better control on my choices as the Executive Director, but fortunately I never ceased to be a Creative Director and that kept me afl oat. And that is when I got drowned… drowned in the art and science of museums.
Q. PLEASE COMMENT ON THE WORK CULTURE IN MIDDLE-EAST.
A. Effectively, work culture is the same everywhere, barring a few umbras and penumbras here and there. In the good old eighties, almost the whole of the private sector used to have an afternoon siesta, between 1 and 4.But it was not all-siesta time. We used to start at 8 in the morning, and aft er the break, worked till 7 in the evening. And the deadline did not change either. Today, many in the region work straight shift and follow international weekly offs, ie. Saturday and Sunday instead of Thursday and Friday.
Culture is what the demography dictates on that day. And with the constriction of the proverbial global village, today’s work culture around the globe too seems nearly of the same lumen. And time is the filter which has really affected the culture of work in the so-called Middle-East. Previously, legendary Arabic hospitality was not only an everyday affair, it was an every meet affair. The warm Arab greeting, almost ritualistic enquiry of well-being, the understanding and comforting eye contact and then start the business dialogue. Time was not the dictator. Today a few things have changed. The greeting is still very much there, but more international than Arab, the rich aroma of Kahwa (Arabic coffee) and Zathar (thyme) have given way to the very familiar brewed coffee and the tick-tick of the Rolex watch reminds you of the value of time. And yes, as in the good old days 30 years back, even today one knows what is needed, and what it takes to get what you needed. Yes, work culture is nearly the same everywhere.
Q. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES AND DIFFERENCES TO WORK AS AN EMPLOYEE IN AN ORGANISATION COMPARED TO BEING AN EMPLOYER?
A. Technically, there should not be challenges towards working as an employee rather than an employer. The association is a factor of responsibilities offered by the employer and responsibilities accepted as an employee, at a package of fees and affiliated benefits. Unless there are traces of lunacy or misconduct on either or both the parties! On a normal time line, if I am hired to develop the museography of a brand new museum, I should be happy doing that rather than trying to oversee what my curators are busy doing; similarly, if my employers expect me to oversee the functioning of the showcase manufacturers, something is desperately wrong somewhere!
Yes, there are a few delicate differences in the balance. There are obvious fundamental differences in responsibilities , duties, contributions and their due returns. There are also the factors of leadership, motivation, speculation and decisive flexibility. But in a situation of controlled constants, where an employee and the employer are true to their professions, one major difference seems to stand out. That is the power and responsibility to decide and interpret the coordinates of the time line where to start taking the risk, and where to stop doing so. This is strictly for the adults and definitely the domain of the employers.
Q. WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE BRAND “ ABHIJIT”.
A. Honestly, there is no brand ‘Abhijit’. No, that’s not totally right either. There used to be such a brand, right at the beginning of my career. Times Roman, Black, grays and white, fast-transit edits, golden sun and Mozart. The elements are still fundamental to me. But they no more come out as a brand, they live with me as my favourites. Once I am in my car, on my way home, aft er a ‘hard day’s work’, the brand comes alive. That I can adopt and adapt to the brands of others with absolute sincerity and humility has probably made my journey a shade more colourful and musical.
Some say that they are great people to fly with. But when a delay costs you, your connecting flight, you are left with notso- great-a-feeling. Some promise you a flight as smooth as silk, yet the bump on landing makes your heart leap into your gullet. Some promise you treatment befitting a king, yet end up giving you a cup of tea not worth taking a sip from. But all these do not prevent them from continuing with flying because their intentions are far from bad. Only at times when the promises fall short, communication takes a hiccup. Any or all of the above will not stop the sun rising from the east or prevent the teardrops from showing when you meet your dear ones after a long span of time because that’s the way life is supposed to be. Only on such a platform expectations take a different look, and participation takes a different meaning.
Q. APART FROM ALLEGRO COMMUNICATIONS AND YOUR PASSION FOR MUSEUMS, WHAT ARE THE OTHER FIELDS YOU HAVE A STRONG FOOTHOLD ON? PLEASE ELABORATE.
A. I have been deemed as footloose. I have fallen in love with so many of those milestones on my journey. And with obvious impact, I have not been able to have a strong foothold on any. Would you believe, a museum environment surprisingly provides one with many of those milestones-structural, civil, gypsum and joinery, then museology, museography, artefacts and showcases, then graphics, lighting, music, audiovisual and films and customised IT designs, from virtual reality to augmented reality. That’s a complete storyboard of life, from history to the present for the present and the future.
On a serious note though, I would have loved to continue studying languages along with history. Music has always been with me, and fortunately, my travelling does give me the opportunity to collect music from the land of the great composers. I had been always convinced that I had tremendous talent in the culinary aspects of life. I could also churn out a fair deal of cocktails – in the myriad hues of our everyday voyage – only that I wouldn’t be able to repeat them later, because you know why. Every day is a new day, and every new day has its own charm, its own promises and its own romance. – See more at: http://www.dttb.org/alumni-speak/82-the-saga-of-an-enduring-entrepreneur#sthash.UN3Ze66x.dpuf
