Can you think of a profession where a boss is tracked down by many on a social media channel only to be told that how much value he or she has brought into their life? I have heard this happening to people in only one profession and that is teaching. A neighbour who happened to be a teacher shared with me how her fan following has been rising. Some 20 plus whom she had taught when they were in grade 1 or 2 have been sending her friend requests and connecting with her. They have filled her with so much love and admiration that she feels they have made her life so worthwhile. I can confidently say that the case applies to most of the teacher if not all.

We are a Family

The pandemic has changed professional life of almost everybody, but nothing like the way it has transformed for the teaching fraternity. But the admiration that students reserve for their teachers hasn’t changed at all. Almost in all cases, where students are accessing online learning, they moved to their new grade in April and since then have been interacting online with their teachers who were probably new to them. But, in a matter of 5 months they have become a close family. All was made possible by the affection and hard work teachers have been putting in to make the learning seamless.

A Communicator or Teacher? 

They wouldn’t have imagined even in their dreams that would ever have to metamorphose into communications professional. A teacher these days is expected to be digital savvy, marketing strategist, a communications professional who knows how to invite and connect prospective customers (read parents) and conduct a business meet or an event on social media sites connected hundreds and remain competitive in the market place.

A Digital Strategist

It was quite interesting when a friend, also a teacher shared with me that the biggest challenge before teachers during this time is how to create customer engagement on digital media? So the focus on them is not just how much and how to impart learning to their students, also how to create online engagements with prospective students or their parents!

Teachers Empowered

I am sure they miss in-person interaction with students as students miss being in school and college. Online learning has definitely made communication challenging for teaches. I wonder how helpless they feel when there are children displaying all seven emotions, some highly distracted, some sitting in different yoga postures, some of them highly distracted, others making the best of the opportunity to evade the lecture! Despite going through the demands of online teaching, ensuring that learning happens for all, they share files and videos on specific platforms, or on YouTube or groups in WhatsApp.

Education Warriors

MOOC may have failed to live up to the hype or online learning was never given a serious thought before covid, teachers have adapted well to online teaching. I would call our teacher community our education warriors. They have adapted to the technology so well that surfing through the technology is gradually becoming their second nature. They have become digital experts and can organise business summits gathering of 200-300 people and making all efforts that learning for students stays in progress.

The technology has even empowered the education warriors in keeping the adventurous students under discipline. Those who do not pay heed in the class or create disturbance, keep their videos off, are eased out of the meeting room, or silenced by deactivating the chat box. This is that army which goes on with its regimen without any complaints.

They are ready to conduct classes any time of the day, even when their throats get dry with classes running back-to-back or long screen time taking a toll on their eyes stressing them out. They are always happy to teach. More power to the education warriors.

Happy Teachers Day

The invasion of the COVID-19 pandemic in everyone’s lives has put forth unique challenges in front of the Indian workforce. As a large section of the white-collar workforce has switched over to working from home as a result of the Indian government’s-imposed lockdown that has now extended for a further 14 days over the originally proscribed 21 days, a few key concerns need urgent attention from businesses.

Working from home, under normal circumstances, allows employees greater flexibility, eliminates the need to commute, saving valuable time and spares them the stress of braving crowded public transport and congested roads. In the current situation, working from home has been most effective for employees in keeping their households running and maintaining social isolation. With schools and day cares shut, parents with young children are able to also attend to their children’s’ needs.

However, working from home has its own drawbacks, the primary one being the effect on mental health and wellbeing. According to a 2019 survey of over 1000 US employees by Airtasker, 29% remote workers struggle with work-life balance, as boundaries keep blurring between personal and professional domains. The other major problem is that of a sense of isolation and loneliness. Over time, these two concerns ramify, leading to worsened stress, the inability to unplug oneself from work, anxiety and depression. In a sense, without some checks and balances, working from home can result in the same conditions it was created to alleviate in the first place. Luckily, there are some solutions that are relatively easy to follow to help counter these.

1. Setting boundaries in space and time for work:

   The approaches that can be applied to combat the two major problems listed above are not mutually exclusive. Regardless of our individual traits, humans are fundamentally creatures of habit. Two immediate steps might help remote workers struggling to attain work-life: to have designated work spaces, and to establish and maintain a work schedule that matches ones’ office hours. One needs to build discipline about separating the space and time they establish for work versus private spaces and non-working hours of the day, barring emergencies.

   Comfortable workspaces are known to boost productivity. Following common tips about ergonomic posture, eye health by controlling screen brightness and allowing for some green view goes a long way. General wellness tips such as maintaining hydration through your workday, choosing a comfortable chair with proper back support, using a screen which is height- adjusted to the eye level helps reduce fatigue and prolonged tension on neck and back. For postural comfort, and steady blood pressure, you can put a small footstool near your work chair.

   Once you have set up your workspace, the next order of business is to organize your workday efficiently. Time management techniques like The Pomodoro technique, which breaks down an eight-hour work day in to segments of 25 minutes dedicated to specific tasks, interspersed with 5 to 7 minutes of breaks is a very useful trick to keep productivity up, while taking breaks. You can use these breaks to refresh your mind, do a couple of quick stretches to boost your ergonomic health or simply, take a short walk and refill your glass of water or tea. Usually making the breaks analog and away from the screen is a good strategy for maintaining wellbeing.

2. Minimizing distractions using technology:

   If you don’t need to access social media for work, unplugging oneself from personal social media accounts is a good strategy to limit distractions. Many apps are useful to restrict social media usage or distractive web surfing. Broadly, these apps can be grouped by their ability to aid in streamlining focus, minimize distraction and enable teamwork. Several apps allow you to block distracting websites, custom block your time for specific tasks such as responding to emails and research or writing tasks and manage workflows for team members if you are in a managerial role. Apps built on principles of behavioral analysis help study behavior patterns and then set custom reminders to nudge you towards healthier habits. Most apps today integrate across multiple platforms and devices, and can help circumvent all difficulties of working from home as well as building better work productivity habits in general. A pretty comprehensive list is available here: https://www.ventureharbour.com/best-productivity-apps/

3. Maintaining essentials of self-care:

   While we are required to practice physical distancing, staying in touch with friends and family over phone is important during this period for mental health. This lockdown might even provide urban families with extra family time. Allowing some time for yoga, stretching and meditation assisted by online apps or videos will help protect your mental health. Unplugging from work emails and texts outside working hours is important to protect the boundaries between life and work.

We are fortunate to have lives where we can retreat to the comfort of our homes, work and receive salaries. However, we should also spare thoughts for people who do not have this luxury, and acknowledge that by their labor, are our comforts made possible. We can honor the law enforcement members maintaining safety, the scientists trying to find a cure, the doctors and nurses at the frontline battling the virus, the supply chain workers for essential commodities who jeopardize their safety and are putting their lives at risk for us, by simply staying indoors and letting them do their jobs.

– I like how you’re carrying your C.V., it’s rare these days
– I am judging you not from your C.V., but on your attitude to take challenges

The meeting with the Managing Partner of my firm in a nutshell.

Who am I?

What is a person who breathes, sleeps and lives Bollywood doing in the World of Renewable Energy, Healthcare and helping people realise the importance of Climate action? If I sit down to retrospect my journey, I probably would have an anxiety attack and I do not use this term loosely. I remember the first question my Manager asked me during my interview at OnPurpose, ‘Why this? Why such a boring life after such a glamorous one?’ Trust me, I am still confusing everyone with my answer.

I have always been restless in life, I don’t like to plan my days and by extension, I have never had a fixed plan for life. I live by, ‘One Day at a Time’ and that translates into why I am working in an Energy sector after working as a hardcore PR professional in Bollywood. An English Major and a fresh PR graduate from Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai, I waltzed into the world of Consumer & Entertainment. Set-visits, chilling with the actors, influencer-engagement, making strategies for Bollywood talk shows wasn’t work for me, it was a dream I was living for someone else.

My life was good, my friends were jealous of my Instagram until it all came rushing in, all the things I had put on hold. My weekends were occupied, so I had bookmarked ‘things to feel’ later and in that moment, I realized that I was living my life for the world and for Instagram. I had started out in the world of entertainment wanting to create meaningful content, I had wanted a series on ‘consent’ to be supported by dedicated bodies like Breakthrough and UN. It was like a switch had flipped.

Without any backup plan, I quit my job after a year and a half and moved back to Delhi. From Instagram to LinkedIn, my search began to find a job, to be honest I was looking for something meaningful. I had wanted to change the world, but I didn’t know where/how to start. That’s  when I stumbled upon On Purpose.

What’s next?

From hardcore traditional PR, to hardcore digital, from Entertainment to Energy, to Breakthrough, The UN, and IRENA, from Mumbai to Delhi, from an established agency to a start up with a Purpose, the switch has been maniacal and H.U.G.E.

Do I regret it? No. Can I explain it? NO. Have I found my purpose here? I will get there.

Life in Digital world is fun and at On Purpose, it has been dynamic. Working at a start-up is fun, the energy is sky high and the fire to prove oneself is immense. I’ll share what I have learnt in my time here:

• Take ownership
  It could mean different things to different people and situations. For me, it is to be responsible and be accountable. It keeps you focused
• Thoughts into action
  Translate your thoughts into action, that is the only way they’ll get implemented. Theory, is just theory if doesn’t translate into actionable outcomes
• Don’t be apologetic
  Sometimes we don’t give ourselves enough credit for what we do. Don’t back down if you think differently. Be relevant, and have the courage to own your thoughts, ideas, actions and accomplishments
• Add value
  Be anything but boring. Bring a perspective, and add value. In an industry, that replaces resources at a drop of a hat, have something that sets you apart, even if you are dealing with the same set of brands/people everyday.

In a nutshell:

My biggest challenge here has been to overcome my reservation as a professional and the constant buzzer in my head that nags, ‘Is it relevant? Was that idea good enough?’

I am still coming to terms with it, and the only solution I have found to deal with it is address it and share it. If you don’t, you’ll never know.

The highlight has been to pitching to a dream brand and attending the 3 rd UN – Gender Equality Summit. It was a moment I’d like to describe as, ‘Yaar, mazza aa gaya!’

To take notes, learn and absorb so much energy, with so many people with a mind of their own was phenomenal.

I’ve learnt in life to not attach yourself to a place, but to people and to practices, to attach yourself with the larger mission. Sounds heavy, but it is as easy. Here’s mine: If you’re going to call yourself a storyteller, have stories to tell. For now, I am choosing to build mine. An exciting, rich on experiences story and I think, I will have good ones with a purpose. The journey has only just begun, and there are miles to go before I sleep.

As I grew up, I started looking back at history as a map of events, a process, that involved different stages that have led to the present. The specific days did not really matter. I celebrated the stories. I celebrated every event in the thread of events.

The country celebrated its 73rd Independence Day recently. We, being a part of an industry that thrives on capturing the mainstream, processing it, and narrating it through our stories, and constantly working to find a way out of it, were surrounded by bold messages of freedom.

Being the ones telling the stories, we need to be reminded that we also hold the power to change them. We hold the pens. We are on the screens, and screens are everywhere. Even if we don’t believe in the days, we are a part of the celebrations. These are complex times, and the narratives are complex too, and it is almost impossible to know which two stories are connected (or is it just one, big story?). This would certainly mean that we are very near to the truth, even if we don’t have the eye to identify it.

In this overflow of narratives, how do we make sense of the days we are celebrating? How do we make them a part of our journey and not let go of what could be an important piece of our own puzzle? How do we write our own stories of freedom?

Here, let me point you to what I believe is the beauty of the work we do. It is that the ambit to know, understand and acquire is endless, and we have access to all of it. We are not confined by specialisations, if we do not wish to be. We can create our own definitions. We create our own stories.

So, before you start “celebrating,” give yourself a little time to think about what these days really mean to you, what freedom truly means to you. To think about how free you truly are from your own biases, and what you’re doing to overcome them. Remember, this is not a script. This is about reflecting at the narratives your minds consciously or unconsciously chose to stick to while creating elaborate brand stories.

Freedom to me is freedom from archetypes, freedom from dated, stone cold methods that refuse to die, the ones that prevent new learning.

What about you?

Climate change is real. We have ample evidence to suggest this. It is mind-boggling though, that some people are still questioning the authenticity of climate change and backing out of climate agreements!

We live in a world where it is getting easier by the day to manufacture truth, most palatable to you, but even the manufactured truth can’t refute the hardcore scientific facts that point to climate change. It is time for action, time to shift to a sustainable way of living. And when we think sustainable, one of the foremost answers is a shift to renewable energy.

As the fossil fuel reserves rapidly dwindle and demand for fuel grows; renewable energy becomes the obvious solution. Renewable energy forms like wind, solar, hydropower etc.  cause little or no pollution and hold the key to a sustainable, energy secure future. Not to mention their longevity and availability, across the globe, unlike fossil fuels which are concentrated in certain regions, makes for a viable solution.

The renewable energy industry while in its nascent stages is growing rapidly. With India’s push towards sustainable development, renewables are now a cheaper alternative to fossil fuels. And, like any other industry starting out, it needs a case built for it. Here lies the opportunity for the communications industry.

With climate change growing worse by the minute and the push for sustainable development, there is a dire need to build awareness for and educate more and more people about the renewable industry. In addition to the most obvious, environmental benefits, renewables offer energy security and economic opportunity.

Renewable energy is being recognised as an investment opportunity that provides economic advantages, propels local economy and creates significant job opportunities. Not to mention the resultant innovation that will restructure energy markets.

As communications professionals, it is a great opportunity for us to be able to see an industry built from scratch, internalise and imbibe it, and become ambassadors for it. Only then can we work to educate others. While a niche industry right now, it offers great opportunities for the communications industry to explore perspectives, opinions, evaluate facts and help shape the future of renewables in India.

“Is it a film or a musical?” My friend from New York asked me, amused as we left the movie hall after a 2 hour and 35-minute-long movie. Unlike in the west, in India we’ve rarely separated one from the other. Music and dance have always been an integral part of Bollywood, providing creative expression to our identity and sense of being. The words stay with us longer when put together in beautiful lyrics and good music.

In India, we have songs for weddings, baby showers, child birth and even death. It helps us capture the transient nature of our lives and give expression to our feelings of love, loss and joy. Music allows us to be more present and relate with our emotion completely. Our ancestors also chose the medium of music to pass on folklore and ancient wisdom down to generations. Clearly, they were well versed with human psychology and understood music’s role as a compelling form of communication.

Our first documented relationship with music dates back to 2nd century B.C when the ‘Natyashastra’ was written. The text consists of 36 chapters with a cumulative total of 6000 poetic verses describing performance arts. The Shashtra asserts that the primary goal of the performing arts, with music being key, is to transport the individual in the audience into a parallel reality, full of wonder, where they experience their consciousness in every part of their being.

Today, a number of films in Indian cinema are remembered more for songs than their storylines. Alam Ara, the first Indian film with sound and music had 7 songs dedicated to love, vengeance, separation and union. The film’s music had a spellbinding effect on its viewers with its relatable Urdu couplets, used widely among masses in pre-independence era.

Barsaat (1949), Bobby (1973), Aashiqui (1990), Komaram Puli (2010) are some of the top grossing Indian albums of all time. These films couldn’t have had a solid opening week without their music. In a time when films would reap in revenues in the excess of lakhs, Aashiqui’s music revenue topped 1.5 crores.

Music marked the various milestones at different points in the history of Indian cinema. Jatin Lalit’s Pehla Nasha defined the innocent ’90s, with Aamir Khan’s dreamy, slow-motion leap in the air amid picturesque hills, Lalit’s melody and Udit Narayan’s velvety voice. Just like the movie, there was something fresh about the soundtrack of Dil Chahta Hai (2001). It was Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy at the top of their game. Emosanal Attyachar became the new cool for the young people. The composers won a National Award for the strikingly original Dev D album (2009). Tum Hi Ho, the haunting love ballad from Aashiqui 2 (2013), turned Arijit Singh into a phenomenon that still hasn’t ended.

The allure of songs is indeed infectious and hard to resist.

While the music in Indian films is evolving in fascinating ways, it will continue to play a disproportionate role in defining and redefining Hindi cinema.

Politically charged discussions abound in all corners. Everyone is glued to their TVs to finally concur if the exit polls matched with the actual result. Some bets are won, others feel forlorn and dejected.

By now you would have realized that it’s that time again when promises will be made in abundance, freebies will be distributed far and wide and all kinds strict oaths will be undertaken to ensure the ‘common welfare of all the people.’

The politics of consciousness refers to the idea of a person who is self-aware.We have got to continually engage with politics in our often-limited capacities. Being cynical or indifferent to the idea only adds to the problem. We understand that it’s easier said than done because of the bad name and colour that the word ‘politics’ has acquired over the years. We can blame the politicians, corrupt officers and even the justice/ judicial system but that is exactly where our job begins, not ends. Because politics affects us and it takes consistent efforts on a societal basis to affect any positive change.

The essence of a democracy is in understanding, analysing, criticising and reacting to issues. We need to account for the fact that politicians are elected representatives, that we chose to elect them and they are an extension of the society we all are a part of. We’ve got to live up to the fact that we are the world’s largest democracy. Let’s show the world what we’ve got, people! Because it doesn’t matter how many slaps/ abuses/ insults we throw at our representatives but rather if we made honest efforts in fully engaging with the system.

Also, don’t forget to vote this election. Make an informed choice and all the best!

Yours for the revolution,

Karan Kampani