While the daily hustle to attend regular meetings and interactions continue, once in a while, it becomes important to put down the corporate hats and unwind over a common passion. And what could be a better option than music.
Top executives of various companies with an interest in music came together to perform timeless Bollywood classics with a musical orchestra on a Sunday afternoon. The event, titled Hindustan Times Mingle, was organised in association with Showcase events. Popular Bollywood singer, Neeti Mohan, enthralled everyone with her performance. “This is the first time that I am part of HT Mingle, and I never thought I would see the biggest CEOs (chief executive officers) of our country singing and interacting with each other.
I think music has the power to connect people, and I saw that today. I am very happy that I got to be a part of this event,” said Neeti Mohan. Pankajj Chaturvedi, CEO and executive director of Rich Graviss Products, moved to Mumbai to become a Bollywood singer and not a corporate man. He said, “It is an innovative concept. It has helped so many people connect with each other. It helps everyone to get out of their closets and not think about their corporate lives for a day.”
KVS Manian, board director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, who had never performed with a professional orchestra before, said he had “a great day”. “I’ve never had so much fun before. It was very well organised as well,” said Manian.
Navin Gurnaney, CEO of Starbucks India, who “loves music” said, “This is absolutely brilliant. The band and the singers are excellent. I had a wonderful time because I don’t get to do this often.”
With Mingle, Rajan Bhalla, group chief marketing officer of HT Media Ltd, said, the endeavour is to create a platform for corporate head honchos, who find little time for their hobbies, to come together and share their passion for music. “I am pleased to see so many people reciprocating and participating in this edition of HT Mingle,” said Bhalla.
Prasanth Kumar, CEO, GroupM South Asia, with his wife, Seema, and Bharat Puri, managing director, Pidilite Industries, were present at the event.
The host for the afternoon was popular anchor, Mihir Joshi. Also present at the event were Venkat Shankar, CEO, Parag Milk Foods; Nitin Chaudhry, CEO, Fevicol; Vikram Gupta, founder and managing partner, IvyCap Ventures Advisors Pvt Ltd; Rajeev Beotra, executive director, HT Media Ltd; Ena Sinha, director, Chubby Cheeks Playgroup and Nursery; and Alka Puri, founder, Roads Ahead Consulting, who delighted everyone with their performances.