India, (then) Sunshine, laughter
and ideas that
connect.

Founder @ The Jai Hind Project & Word Of Mouth Media.

This is my showcase. :)

Why I kept India before Sunshine and Laughter is here - The Jai Hind Project.

Also, ye website main khud maintain karta hun... change karta hun. Agar aapko kahin spelling mistake dikhe, ya grammar gadbad dikhe, toh pareshaan naa hoiyega. Ye mere ghar ki tarah hai. Perfect nahi hai, par mera hai. :) This picture of mine is years old. Whatever remained of 'grey' is now white. I just don't have a professionally done photo after this, so I continue to use this. Kaun ab dobara paise kharche? ;)

I have been called by all these names :

Speaker Poet Activist

Storyteller Communication Consultant

Filmmaker Voice-Over Artist Musician Ideabox | Par kee fark penda , Pahjee?

I am at best a 'Certified Nut' and that's fine!

A rolling stone is how I often describe myself. Started as an on-the-run-from-home teenage musician in a band, spent years trying to climb up the 'ladder' ; realised the view from the top wasn't to my taste... quit, started a studio, became a filmmaker, started solving communication woes in organisations, and somewhere down the line, started expressing myself through what could be called 'Nazm-Numa-Items'. Bas itni see kahani hai!

My good friend Archana Dutta's Podcast where I spoke of why I do what I do may give you additional insight into how I think. This was recorded during the pandemic and so may be slightly dated. The Jai Hind Project became real for me around this time. The other podcast is with Saurabh Sardana.

Confessions Of A Nutcase

I call my story

Confessions Of A Nutcase

You'll also find my talks here!

Nazm-Numa-Items | The Back Story

OK, I'll tell you this straight. This art is called 'Tuk-Bandi' meaning 'to rhyme'. After writing and composing hundreds of Jingles for Radio and TV, one starts to think in Rhyme. That's what I did for years.

Example 1 :

Boss Ko Salaam , Subah Shaam , Toh Poore Honge , Saare Kaam - Kyuki Makkhan se chalti hai duniya.

Amul's Mnemonic at the end , and a 30 second jingle is ready.

Example 2 :

Ghar mein hum ko sajaya , palkon pe bithaya, Shuriya aapka . LG Air conditioners.

Kavitaen

My love for 'Tuk-Bandi' and music, proved to be my gateway into jingle writing ...Soaps, shoes, washing powders, airlines, juices, bikes, cars, tea ; even an occasional political party; I've written for whoever was ready to pay.

My partner Amit Vishnoi of Jingles India, and I poured our hearts and minds into making these little songs, till these became representative of our need to do good quality audio work, irrespective of how much we were being paid. That worked!

Since 2009 Jingles India, the original company I founded, and now lead by Amit Vishnoi, has made thousands of these small pieces of advertising content, for Radio , Digital and TV, not just for India, but also for Indian radio stations across the world. The journey from music then led us to making films when we started UK07 Films, and started calling our group - Word Of Mouth Media . UK07 Films , lasted a few years till Diwas , my partner then and I decided to part ways. By that time, our interest and passion had moved to things beyond production, and we were slowly becoming a creative agency. Sarika (my sister) , and Jimmy , our partner in Bombay started to take the company in newer , more thought through directions, and I started to focus more on what I love. Writing and thinking. :)

September of 2018 brought with it, a new trail of expression. Or rather, just a push towards something I'd already been edging for. Jaldi Aa Gayi To, was an answer to life, as I thought of it. The team encouraged me to publish the poem and it managed to strike a chord with the people. Warm responses to the video made way for more poems, each new one a deeper dive into my inner self and a reflection on my interaction with the outer world.

'Kameezen' got very widely acclaimed and was shared across the world through various channels. A real high was Mr. Amitabh Bacchan himself sharing the poem. (I didn't get a chance to thank him yet. Could you please pass on the message if you happen to meet him?) In fact, I am extremely humbled and grateful to see people connecting with my poetry so much that the metaphors started becoming a part of the vocabulary for many. For example: A very close friend can be called a 'Safed Kameez', 'Purane Makaan' would be childhood relations that we do not judge, and accept as they are, and so on...

Since my 'poems' were not really poetry by traditional standards, a close friend and a poetry connoisseur herself opined that 'ji apki ye kavitaein, kavitaein to nahi hai. Kuch 'item' type ki cheez hai'. And thus, I present to you, 'My Kavita-Numa-Items'.