"Please don't join MTV"

Earlier this week amidst our Christmas shopping, Priya and I went to our neighbourhood bank - Citizen Bank on Hill Road to check our locker. Anyone reading this with the ill intention of accosting me or my family for money can rest assured there’s not much to be got. Plus you will

have to deal with the wrath of my wife, which as any married man will tell you is not a good thing - hell hath no fury etc etc…but I’m digressing.

So back to the bank, Priya did an inventory check, everything was as we had left it (unfortunately Santa doesn’t stuff lockers!)put in some documents and removed some jewellery. What started as a daily chore soon turned into a sentimental journey down memory lane and brought back memories which i had to share with my regular reader - YOU!

I found the gold chain i bought from my first salary back in November 1999. No, I didn’t give my first salary to my parents as is customary since my elder brother who was with the Merchant Navy at that time was bringing in a fairly tidy sum in dollars and would transfer EVERYTHING to my mum after keeping a few hundred dollars back to buy chocolates for us. In those days phoren maal was not as easily accessible and we would all wait to unload his suitcases upon his arrival. I’m sure if you are a "catlick" with someone on ship or know someone, you will be able to relate. Tons of stories. I’ll save that for a separate blog.

Back to the locker at Citizen Bank and my first self-funded gold chain.

I had graduated with a BCom degree from the prestigious Narsee Monjee College of Commerce (not to be confused with NMIMS - the B-school). Didn’t get around to doing my MBA then as I couldn’t afford the 40K fees (will save that for a separate blog as well, if you want it)

My elder sister was based in Dubai working with a company called Megastar and offered me a chance to come and scout around for a job there. This was when Dubai was one of the most happening places for Indians and a shawarma cost 1 dirham (INR 15)

So i spent the first 3 months post graduation in Dubai meeting with potential employers offering to do “anything” to just get a foot in the door, get some work ex and try and support my self and contribute to the family. Until i got a call from home telling me that dad wasn’t keeping well and i had to rush back on the next flight.

The search moves to Mumbai, India.

---

By now it’s late August/September 1999 and unfortunately all the potential openings in music companies (my sister was and still is my biggest role model) so i had taken commerce and now wanted to work with the music business which i had been vicariously following ever since her first job with a music label called Vatsa Music then Sony Music India and later Megastar and Sony Music Middle East. She’s now found her Ikigai and is training at Dilkhush to be an Autism teacher (separate blog!)

The search continues…

I started buying the Mid-day newspaper to check out the listings (Google was just 1 year old, and the internet itself was a novelty. Dial up connections were the norm and VSNL was our connection to the world! How we survived on 256 kbps connections will forever remain a mystery - another blog!)

One of my interviews was with Farnaaz advertisers to solicit ads for the classified pages. I went across to meet the owner and after looking at my resume he said - are you SURE you want to work here? I said WHY NOT? He said you are a graduate. I can pay only Rs. 2000/- per month. I said that’s fine. I don’t want to sit at home. He said OK do one thing, take some time explore the other listings and if nothing clicks in the next few weeks come back and I’ll take you.

It was around this time that i got a lead to meet with a gentleman called Mr. Hemant Kenkre, the head of PR at MTV India. I was ecstatic and rushed over to meet him. I still remember him in his off white kurta and joyful demeanour. No pompous airs. He ushered me into the the conference room and we sat across a converted pool table. You must remember i had just spent the last 5 years in a very conservative Gujarati institution. I didn’t know such audacious behaviour was allowed, that too in a professional workspace.

He then proceeded to give me the sweetest yet stern advice on why I DID NOT need or rather SHOULD NOT join MTV! He explained that i was at the start of my career and should get some REAL work experience (whatever that meant was lost one me, all i could think was “man I want to work here. You guys are so cool. PLEASE SIR give me a chance!” Anyways, he told me he would recommend me to someone even better and gave me the contact details of a gentleman called Ajay Miglani from Kankei. He said go meet him and tell him i sent you. BTW, i would later find out that Hemant is the cousin of legendary cricketer Sunil Gawaskar.

So from the MTV office (with the cool pool table) in Film centre, Tardeo i walked down the road to meet Mr Ajay Miglani at #70, Tardeo AC Market.

I would later learn that Ajay aka Migs is a blue blood, an alum of Doon School and IIM Kolkata. He had worked at Amex and headed marketing for VISA South Asia where he signed on Sachin Tendulkar as the brand ambassador (remember the cult “I’ve got the Visa power, now you go get it” Campaign? If not CLICK HERE)

Ajay was dressed In a crisp white shirt and formal tie and had a very professional demeanour about himself. But to be frank the office was way smaller than the MTV one and didn’t have a cool pool table. In fact it used to be a carpet shop. But i had seen much worse so I didn’t care. I just needed a job.

Ajay took time to explain the thinking behind Kankei (which meant “relationship” in Japanese). His insight from his days holding senior leadership positions at MNC’s was that A-LOT of money was being spent acquiring customers but not enough retaining them. So he set up Kankei to fill that NEED gap. They were majorly into Telecallng and direct marketing via snail mail (remember gmail wasn’t yet invented).

The clincher…

Ajay said he could offer me a starting salary of Rs. 4500/-

When do i start?

Tomorrow!