By Jaisurya Das
 Hello and welcome to a wonderfully hap-hap hooray week !
Quite recently, I heard a gem from the man with the flowing robes, Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev who was in conversation with actress Juhi Chawla…
 We don’t realise he said, that the most important thing in ‘life’ is ‘life’ itself!! It’s so true when you think of it…
 Most of our lives are spent on aspiring for, and acquiring symbols of success, be it cars, houses or fancy jobs and then one fine day, nothing else but one’s existence matters. The dichotomy of life, witnessed each day of our infinite trudge through what we call living…!
And, somewhere in the midst of all this, good cheer and laughter disappear….
Smiles become increasingly artificial and conversation’s stilted with nothing beyond the customary exchange of pleasantries. Everything becomes a task, so much so that, even spending time with your own assumes the role of a time slotted task! One more tick off your daily calendar.
Lot of this rat race is the negativity that lingers in the air we breathe.. We wake up to the mayhem in our world, followed by the world at large, day after day. It can be quite tiring you know, and what is worse, is that our eyes and ears will soon only recognise this sombre genre of news and information.
 If it’s sad or horrible, then it’s for me to know… Appalling isn’t it? But this is exactly how most of our lives are lived now. Negativity attracts negativity, unfortunately. Stop. Think. We don’t need this any more!!
May be the time is just right for a ‘sunshine take on news’, the flip side of life and news around it…
It felt nice to see my good friend Pradyuman Maheshwari (who also spearheads this site) is now partnering a venture that powers ‘Happ Post’ which as the name suggests is an app whose raison d’être is good news! Simple, unpretentious and yet has great intentions. I am still unclear though, on ‘how and what’ they define as happy news but thats alright. Am sure soon enough, one of us will figure !
All the best guys ! May ‘Happ Post’ bring us all good tidings.
You know sometimes, the simplest of things can have the largest impact.
And, on that simple note of happiness, we shall dive into the Q&A for this 2nd week of 2016.
Enjoy reading it. We do, each time, every time….
Would it be right to say that the kids of today aren’t disciplined as we would be 20-30 years back?
Ha! Now this a question I like, though there is a strong chance that I shall be under major flak from my own children.
Having said that, to be honest I don’t think that is right. It’s more about adapting to the world around them that makes them seem disobedient. Peer pressure is at its highest now, and whether the children agree or not, they are all guided by their circle of companionship.
So, whether it’s going for a really late night movie or attending ‘that friend’s’ party and sleeping over, it’s about being ‘in with the rest of the gang’.
Two or three decades ago, things weren’t the same. ‘Gangs’ were smaller, more sedate, and rarely did anything that wasn’t time tested. They were
And even if all that was in place, there was really no place to go!!!
 Discipline is relative, and hence tough to elucidate here, yet safety and well-being is a major concern that needs to be addressed through frequent communication with children.
 And, yes, just as they are trying their best to adapt to the madness that is life, it’s important we as parents/ elders adapt as well to current times and our lovely children. God bless them all, always.
I live in Shillong and a music writer. While the rock scene rocks here, I am told you hit it big time only if you are in Mumbai or Delhi. Please advise
You have a point there, though I wouldn’t restrict it to only Mumbai and Delhi. Plenty of other cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Goa, Kochi etc have given birth to fantastic bands and musicians.
I am aware of Shillong’s penchant for rock, yet it may not be a great market for you long-term from a career perspective. Hence it may be a good idea to check out other cities as well.
This could also work in your favour by opening up opportunities to write for other genres besides rock.
You would obviously be dabbling already into other areas and a move may give you enough exposure. Additionally you would get an opportunity to interact and work with varied musicians.
I mention this, since most bands write their own music in India at least. I may be wrong but this is the impression I have, having interacted with a few bands and musicians.
Hence, if I were you, a trip to key music markets would be in order. Spend a few days, connect, soak in the music , the environs and the culture. Soon enough you will have your destination in place. And once you do, don’t think. Just move !
Mobility is an important catalyst for growth.
Why is it that the business models in media are so warped that salary levels are so low?
Wait a minute, my friend ! Whoever told you that media business models are warped. If this were true, India wouldn’t be home to one of the largest media groups in the world
Or for that matter several groups who are very profitable and have very strong business models too…
Salaries aren’t great, yet not frightfully low. This is as much as I will agree with your view, my friend. Yes, salaries can get better and am sure they will considering how they have grown in the past decade.
This has lots to do with the economy, the propensity to spend on marketing, the wealth to do so and the demand : supply ratio.
With the kind of population we have, coupled with the humungous number of professionals we throw up year on year, it’s not surprising that earnings haven’t matched the greater developed continents! Get 50 of the top US companies into India and I can assure you that in 24 months flat they would be revoking their global compensation policy.
Give our country a chance! Give it the patience and faith you have in greener pastures and believe me, much will happen.
Sir, Do you see a greater consolidation happening in digital agencies? Please enlighten us.
No, I don’t . Digital is on a good trajectory and there is no reason why the smaller agencies can’t do good work and complement the larger players.
Consolidation, in my opinion, is most often a side-effect of a shrinking marketplace. In the current context there is more than enough room for everyone to co-exist and prosper.
Yes, such a move can happen when India attains a decent enough level of digital maturity which would mean a couple of years for sure.
Having said this, one would probably see a few instances of mergers and acquisitions in digital akin to SVG buying out the Indian’s business of Komli Media last year, but I don’t expect this to change the fortunes of the smaller players.
Not a bad start for the year, what say? More cheer, more apps and more things happy….
So, put on your dancing shoes and take on the year with a smile ..
And yes, do take good care of yourselves till we meet next week … Au Revoir !
Meanwhile, you can mail us 24/7 at editor@mxmindia.com with ‘dear mxm’ in the subject line and we would be more than happy to answer your questions !
Jaisurya Das, maverick and media evangelist, eats, sleeps and makes love to brands. His consulting interventions are aimed at making brands powerful and sustainable. The views expressed in this column are his.