Listening to Indian Classical Music Can Jump-start Your Career: Kartik Sharma, Wavemaker
Guest Column: The South Asia CEO of Wavemaker has a rather unique but pertinent point to make- the art of listening is the cornerstone of a great career

One of the biggest challenges of modern-day working is that nobody has time and all around I see that people are always in a rush. This means that a lot of people are not fully listening or at best, listening is always a partial activity. While there are many good practices a manager or leader should follow, I feel that if people improve their listening skills, they will improve their managerial/leadership quotient.
While this sounds obvious and has been spoken by possibly every good literature on management, the practice of this skill is never easy. So, the real question is how can we improve our listening skills? This issue has been on my mind for a very long time and suddenly the answer just popped up when I was indulging in one of my favourite activities.
So, here’s the secret sauce to improve listening. Start listening to Indian classical music. You might wonder why music and that too Indian classical.
There are many reasons and let me begin by sharing a few.
Indian classical music is taught in the “Guru Shishya” tradition where the Guru imparts knowledge gained over years to his/her disciple. However, the mode of teaching is primarily by listening/observing and following the guru’s instructions. The learning style is designed in such a way that the disciple must listen carefully. When the disciple makes any mistake, the Guru corrects by either singing (in case of singers) or playing the instrument (in case one is learning to play an instrument) and trains the disciple to deliver the same through multiple rounds of practice. This is the foundation of learning Indian classical music.
It is critical to note that the Indian classical form is very fluid. While the lead performer will have a broad idea of what he/she is going to perform, the accompaniments whether the violinist (in Carnatic classical) or the harmonium player (in Hindustani classical) will not have any prior information about the lead performer’s choice. Similarly, the percussion player, be it the Mridangam or Tabla player, will have no prior knowledge.
So how do the accompanists, who have no prior information of what will be performed, perform their role?
This is where the art of listening comes into play. The early training of all these artistes from their Gurus come handy where the accompanists listen very carefully to the main performer and accompany them beautifully and create harmony. It’s magical. Every nuance from the main performer is given full attention. Even a slight slip in attention and not being in the moment will lead to disastrous results. The responsibility is even more if it’s a Live concert where there is no room for error. For the listener, unless trained in the nuances of music, they will not be able to find these dynamics.
The other beauty of Indian classical music is that the accompanists will always shadow the lead performer and will adapt themselves based on that. For example, if a lead performer is a singer and let’s say his/her style is towards singing slow songs while the accompanist, let’s say the violinist, is known to play fast songs in their solo performance. The violinist will dynamically adapt his playing style to give seamless support to the singer. It’s never about individual brilliance and it’s always about collaboration. Therein lies the beauty of Indian classical music.
My strong belief is that if you apply the principles followed by Indian classical musicians it will lead to a more meaningful career. Don’t forget it’s a life skill which you can apply anywhere. This is an opportunity for all corporates to include Indian classical music as part of their curriculum whenever they are training their teams on listening skills. This will significantly improve the quality of decisions and lead to improved business results.
(The author is CEO, Wavemaker, South Asia. This article first appeared on his LinkedIn profile and has been reprinted with his permission)
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com.
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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur
The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more
With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.
The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.
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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out
The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'
Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."
The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."
COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.
Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.
He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board
e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.
According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.
As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.
A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.
Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.
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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall
The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall
Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.
“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.
“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.
"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."
"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."
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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias
Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments
KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.
Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy
Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.
Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."
Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."
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