Last December, I applied for a position at a company I really admire. I totally killed the first round of interview and was invited to the second round with the hiring manager. I prepared for almost a week as I didn’t want a thing to go wrong. I met the manager and we spoke for about 1 hour. I think I did pretty well, but then a week later, I got a denial call. While I was very disappointed with the outcome, what I liked the most was having an honest conversation with the man who called to reject my employment. Apparently, I was one of the top two candidates suited for the job, but they decided to move forward with the other candidate.
You’re disappointed in such situations, but you have to move on. Lessons learned:
1. When it’s not your door, it’s not your door.
2. You can be great, and still not get selected.
3. Every denial is a redirection. (You don’t know what God saved you from!)
4. Your belief and self-esteem in yourself. (yes, redundant. I know) You can’t be dependent on how many approvals or denials you get. Get up, dress up, chin up and never give up.
The biggest perk of working for an Indian television channel in Singapore is that you never really feel away from home. Your work in an office full of Indians, your advertisers are majorly Indians, you use Indian media to promote your content, and most importantly, your content marketing strategies are focussed towards tapping more Indians/ South Asians.
The Indian diaspora in South East Asia can broadly be categorized into 2 categories – recent movers and 2nd/3rd generation Indians. While the recent movers would still consume Indian entertainment content to be connected to their roots, 2nd / 3rd generation Indians prefer watching content relevant to their lives and culture. Therefore, it is important for us to produce shows that appeal to this consumer set all the time.
So last quarter, we decided to create a mass-property that would appeal to all age groups and backgrounds and thus germinated the idea of reviving India’s favorite musical game show – Antakshari. We were confident that this age-old family game is sure to take the NRI audiences down the memory lane, so we bounced off the idea to our presenting sponsor StarHub and in no time, they got on board.
The campaign started with an awareness cum registration drive which was carried out at multiple touchpoints like malls, business districts, Diwali parties, Indian community events etc. We received over 500 registrations. First 50 teams to register were invited for a preliminary event where they competed in an intense yet fun-filled Antakshari match. We were delighted to see the enthusiasm with which each team participated.
AntakshariIndian television channel, Zee TV brings Antakshari to SingaporeIndian television channel, Zee TV brings Antakshari to Singapore
Shortlisted 10 teams were invited to the Semi-finals & finals next week. During the week, people sent us images and videos of Antakshari parties they hosted at their homes to celebrate their small victories. We were overwhelmed with joy to see such phenomenal response from the public.
On the event day, teams got their supporters along. They sang, danced, waved their placards and cheered for their supporting teams during the show. Top 4 teams competed against each other over multiple rounds to win the prestigious title for “StarHub presents Zee Antakshari Winner”. The show was recorded and 4 episodes covering our contestant’s journey from registration to finale stage were aired on Zee TV APAC in December 2017.
Indian television channel, Zee TV brings Antakshari to SingaporeIndian television channel, Zee TV brings Antakshari to Singapore
What went on the sets was impressive. We enjoyed it as much as the participants did. We sang along the participants, we cheered along the supporters and we danced to their victories. Those days didn’t seem like the regular work days. We felt immense joy in putting together the show.
And as a result – our viewership ratings shot up in December. 🙂
So, I’ve decided to revive this blog. I know the intent of starting this was to just document my experiences in the first 100 days of moving here and hence the name was #100daysofsgliving, but what’s in the name anyway! Singapore still amazes me in many ways and it’s home now. There are things I love about this place and then there are those that I hate. Like I love spending time on Sentosa Boardwalk. Doing nothing, just watching the horizon is peaceful and such peace, I do not get anywhere else. And then there are people, freezing cold people. You greet them with a full smile and they either startle or look away.
Anyway, I’m just back from a two week holiday at Spain and I’m hungover. How can I not be? I spent the last two Sundays basking in the Andalusian sun. It is this annoying, addictive throwback pattern that makes travel difficult in the first place. If I never left, I wouldn’t long. If I wouldn’t long, I wouldn’t sulk. If I didn’t sulk, I would make peace with the endless checklists that I have to deliver at work. I don’t want to feel sad after coming back from such a beautiful place. So I decided to spend the last evening bringing to life my Spain moments by having waffles that I brought back from Amsterdam and doodling away. Food brings home familiarity and art helps me declutter my mind. Take a look at some of my usual moments from the past two weeks.
And it helped. I’m still hungover about the bluest of the blue skies, cobbled streets, forts, palaces and everything in between. But ready to float back into reality (cause sooner or later, we have to)
Enjoy the pictures 🙂
The University next to Alphaso XIII hotel in Seville
San Jeronimo el Real, Madrid
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Manceewrites 