Inaugurating 'Just Like Us', the artist way!

Vaaman has been primarily bringing to you my experiences, expressions and opinions. Just thought would be a decent idea to bring in a fresh perspective by sharing with you experiences of some of my friends who have excelled or on the right course of pursuing excellence in a field which is not conventional and have taken the plunge for the better, outside the comfort zone.

These are not people who have descended from the heavens. Neither have they necessarily taken on the society, squashed supreme challenges etc. These are people as real as you and me. Hence, though this may not make for perfect potboiler material, they would provide the readers with a view of how these achievers in the own right have gone about their business. In the process, it would be a bonus if this could inspire a few more souls to take the road less traveled.

With the above objective, we start this series with Mihir Ranganathan, a friend of mine from primary school. Right from Standard IV, I have been a fan of his illustrations. Imagine someone drawing complete Transformer series images at that age!

The seeds have been bearing fruits over the last decade. After doing VISCOM from Loyola College he now heads a few diverse enterprises.  More on him over the course of this conversation.

Presenting the first part of the new series ‘Just Like Us’ (pun seriously intended J )

Arun: Does the artist gene run through your family, or are you the pioneer in your close family circle?

Mihir:I am the first in the family to take up art/graphic art as a career. Though my father is excellent at sketching and a fantastic engineer, it was never more than a hobby for him. I have learnt a lot by just watching him at work. My mother is also artistic.

Arun: How was the decision to pursue a full-on arts based education backed by your family? Didn’t the typical Professional qualification topic not dominate breakfast sessions?

Mihir: There was some disappointment when my engineering entrance results came in and my family understood that I may not make the cut so easily. I then tried NID (National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad) with my family’s support immediately after school, but didn’t get past the entrance test. I later enrolled for a Bachelors degree course in Visual Communication at Loyola. I’m fortunate that my parents understood that being in entertainment or media was a viable career.

Arun: Did you start your post qualification career as an entrepreneur, or were you working before you took the plunge?

Mihir: I had no notions of being an entrepreneur when I first started out. My first job was as a graphic designer in Chennai agency D’zine Garage, while I was in my second year of college

Arun: You started your entrepreneurial innings with web design and branding? Any specific reason that made you choose this line? Was it commercial viability or did it suit your personality?

Mihir: Not only did I believe it was commercially viable, I also believed I was good at it!

Arun: You then moved over to setting up your own brand consulting firm BrandMuni. What exactly are the service lines in this business?

Mihir:To keep it short, Brandmuni offers strategic brand management using print media, the internet and events.

Arun: Moving onto what many would perceive as the most exciting part of your artistic streak is the founding of Duality, your music band with Manoj Sreekumar. How did you both get together and what was the time it took from your decision to the first live performance?

Mihir: It was Manoj’s idea. I met Manoj through a common friend. We then stayed in touch through Facebook, which as a platform revealed a mutual interest in music, and one day out of the blue, he pitched the band concept to me. It was an opportunity to live out a fantasy.

Arun: Take us through the rigours of musical band operations. How big is your team and what according to you are the essential roles that make a band tick?

Mihir: We are lucky that the concept of Duality requires just two musicians. Getting together for a practice session is not as difficult as it would be for a 4 piece of 5 piece band. Duality works because we value each other’s contribution to the overall creative process. Mutual respect and appreciating each other’s strong points and weaknesses is extremely important.

What makes us tick? The high after every performance and the sheer thrill of performing for an audience!

Arun: How do you manage to multitask between the various ventures of yours. There could be  times, when some of your team members feel that a particular venture needs more attention than it is accorded. How do you manage those situations?

Mihir: I restrict my practice sessions to weekends or non working hours. A musician must do his homework and cannot afford to get too rusty. A little bit of practice can be accommodated even on the busiest days. Sometimes it can get difficult, but my colleagues and my band mate Manoj respect my view that I need both in my life and that I won’t give up one for the other.

Arun: How important is the spirit of partnership and team spirit in a start up environment? What is your mantra for motivating a young team?

Mihir: Team spirit is very important in a start up, and if you have the right team every member in is willing to put in the extra effort. Motivating a team is a subtle art, especially in a startup and requires keeping their spirits high and encouraging them to take on responsibility.  I also believe that every member has to have an active life outside working hours. A casual environment helps.

Arun: Artists need to maintain a balance of being ambitious but at the same time, portray a sense of contentment in public. With you being both a founder of an out and out commercial venture as well as a member of a musical band, how do you juggle the hats?

Mihir: I must say that as an ‘artist’, I’ve been allowed a few quirks. Being the introvert in the band and in my venture, I limit my activities to the creative aspect/behind-the-scenes workings of both! I choose not to be the face or the mouth of either

 Arun: What would be your major learnings through this decade of serial entrepreneurship which seems to be your chosen path?

Mihir: If there’s one thing I have learnt over the recent years, it is that every human being is versatile and can be useful to his environment and people around him in more ways than one.

 Arun: Thanks for your time, Mihir. It was a pleasure to share your experiences on vaaman.

Mihir: Thank you! I enjoyed answering your questions as well!