inspiringwomen

Inspiring Women

Inspiring Women Every Wednesday: Saxophone Subbalaxmi

/

M S SUBBALAXMI, A.K.A SAXOPHONE SUBBALAXMI One of the best professional celebrity Women Saxophonist in India today Mysore Sainatha Subbalaxmi from Bangalore, India, secured the Guinness World Record for the longest marathon playing saxophone, with an impressive duration of 26 hours and 23 minutes. This remarkable achievement took place from 18 to 19 February 2023. Notably, she accomplished this feat while being seven months pregnant, adding an extraordinary element to her record-setting performance. She specializes in a diverse range of music genres, encompassing Carnatic, Fusion, and Bollywood Music. With a whopping 3000+ performances worldwide, she’s not just playing the Saxophone; she’s turning every performance into a dance party, making her audience swing. She proudly claims to play saxophone fluently in over 109 languages, including Kannada, English, Hindi, and Telugu. Saxophone Subbalaxmi also awarded with very prestigious “PADMABHARATHI”, “YUVAKALA BHARATHI”, “Limca book of record” and many more. Humility still remains a hallmark. Let’s Get Inspired In Conversation with Saxophone Subbalaxmi – Preeti Juneja Q. What difficulties did you encounter transitioning from Carnatic music to playing the Saxophone and embracing Western musical elements in your saxophone performances? Classical music is a different genre characterized by its unique elements, including intricate ‘gamakas’, ‘bendings’, and specific blowing techniques. The approach to playing sahitya in this genre also sets it apart. Initially, I encountered challenges adapting to this style; it did not sound so Westernized. The nuances of bending in Western and classical music presented distinct challenges, with classical playing emphasizing straight notes. Overcoming these differences required long research and posed a substantial yet rewarding challenge. Q. What lifestyle habits do you adhere to in your daily routine to enhance your overall performance, concentration, and motivation? There is no separate daily routine for this; it’s all about consistent practice—just practice, practice, and more practice. That’s the key! To enhance playing and sustain technique, incorporating pranayama is essential. Even if it’s not a daily commitment, practising pranayama significantly helps a lot. Q. You mentioned in one of your interviews, “I proved that women too can play the saxophone.” Given the fascination many young girls have with your performances, do you intend to offer saxophone lessons or teach in the future? Yes, I do have the intention to teach. I conduct online classes, where I have a female student and some youngsters. I’m open to anyone interested in learning and genuinely delighted to share my knowledge. Additionally, I’ve provided lecture demonstrations and free classes for numerous NGOs, including sessions for children. Q. Guinness World Records: You have achieved the longest marathon playing the Saxophone, lasting 26 hours and 23 minutes during your pregnancy. What factors played a crucial role in realizing this dream? Additionally, did you receive any particular congratulatory messages that held special significance for you? My dream and goal were to achieve a world record alongside Kenny G, and I am thrilled to have accomplished it. I attribute this success to the pride of our nation, and it feels like making history. I take great pride in what I have achieved, and while I have received numerous recognitions and appreciation globally, my motivation was for more than just personal recognition. I undertook this endeavour to contribute to our nation’s pride. Q.’ Saxophone in a saree is my pride’. Your sarees travel the world. Would you be open to promoting Indian Handloom Textiles or Mysore Silk if given an opportunity? I will be happy to actively promote Indian handloom sarees, including my collection of social sarees. Q. Children in many Indian Traditional families start learning music very early in life. By the time they reach adulthood, they have mastered the art but may not opt for it as a profession. What can be done to promote music at a higher level? How can we create more jobs in this field? Indeed, when students pursue their education beyond the 10th grade, it becomes a crucial stage for choosing their professional careers. If the educational system emphasizes music and art on par with other subjects and the government actively promotes them, it could significantly influence children to explore and study music and art. This approach has the potential to foster a greater appreciation for these cultural pursuits and encourage more students to consider them as viable career options. Q. What message would you like to give the world on International Women’s Day? By breaking gender barriers, women can unlock their full potential, make their own decisions, and excel in the field they are passionate about. How can we overcome these gender barriers? Certainly, we can. Women aspiring to succeed in their careers often encounter various challenges and obstacles. Each time, they find themselves in the position of having to prove their worth and capabilities. This scenario is prevalent across all fields. On International Women’s Day, I want to convey that despite these ups and downs, it’s crucial to confront and navigate through them. The challenges you face will contribute to your resilience and strength, ultimately aiding you in reaching your goals. Remember, with time, these hurdles will fortify you, and you will successfully reach your destination. I wish you all the best and want to reiterate that this is not just a motivational message; it’s a call to action. Forge ahead, and you will undoubtedly attain your objectives. Rapid-Fire: Who is your favourite Saxophone artist? My all-time favorite, my guruji, Dr. Padmasri,Dr. Kadri Gopalanaraji. How do stay optimistic and motivated? Because of my audience. At what age, did you get your first recognition/ award? In the year 2005 Any plans for Bollywood or Hollywood or Bollywood or Tollywood? Yes, I have plans to re-enter Tollywood. If I wanted to have an alternate career, what would it be? I’ll be a very good animator. One-Liners: When in doubt I listen to: My Guruji, Padmasriddha Kali Gopalachi’s performances. For Western, I listen to Kedji. I love to play this song: I love to play ‘Churaliya’song; and in South Indian classical music I play Krishnali Begum. In my pastime, I

Inspiring Women

Inspiring Women Every Wednesday: Prakriti Prasad

/

Prakriti Prasad is a Parenting Coach, Author & Wellness Mentor. Over the last five years she has conducted over 300 sessions for parents, teachers, children, young adults and corporate professionals across different cities. Her ‘Nurture a Strong Seed’ Workshops for Parents are a big draw as she equips them with her unique tools of positive dynamic parenting. The ‘Ace Your Game’ workshops for youngsters on issues like Internet Safety, Identifying Predators, Dealing with Exam Stress, being Anger Smart or Gadgets Judicious are designed to train and equip children with key life skills and wisdom to find themselves on a sound footing in life. In this age of growing alienation between children and parents, her book ParenTEEN: How to Nurture Adolescents in Modern Times (by Rupa Publications) aims at bridging the communication barriers with wisdom, sensitivity and positive handling. In this age of growing alienation between parents and children there is an urgent need to bridge the gulf between them. Parenteen: How to Nurture Your Adolescents in Modern Times is a handbook which focuses on decoding the insecurities, dilemmas and interests of youngsters to help parents understand their children better. It addresses a range of teenage issues pertaining to peer pressure, gadget addiction, underage drinking, anger, exam stress and obsession with social media, to name some. The Book aims at helping you raise not just happy, confident and humane children but friends for life. It has practical pieces of advice, examples and real life anecdotes pertaining to specific issues in each chapter which can help both parents and wards navigate through the rough waters of teenhood. ‘Parenteen’ is an outcome of my sincere desire to create awareness about positive parenting, role modelling and spiritual grounding. As sensible adults each of us should be committed towards bringing up a generation of youngsters who are not just well qualified, highly educated and talented but rock sturdy from inside to be able to handle the ups and downs of life. An avid lover of music, Prakriti is trained in Hindustani Classical & folk music, sitar and Kathak. Let’s Get Inspired In Conversation with Prakriti Prasad – Preeti Juneja Q. When you began writing your book PARENTEEN, what profile of a parent you had in mind and who you think would benefit most from reading this book? I wanted this book to be a perfect handbook for Indian parents struggling with their daily challenges while raising their adolescent children- the anger outbursts, peer pressure, screen addictions, crushes and heartbreaks. The idea was to help all parents, be it working moms, single parents or multi-tasking homemakers understand the importance of role modelling, spiritual grounding and above all, positive communication with their children. Q. Working as a full-time journalist, and raising emotionally strong children. Were there any regrets or setbacks that prompted you to shift gears and become a catalyst in supporting other mothers on their parenting journey? As a conscious mother wanting to understand and connect with my teen better, I started on this journey of reading, researching and attending workshops on positive parenting. Besides, being a journalist I had this growing sense of unease about the rising incidence of violence and aggression in children even in India, something which was a reality only in the Western world earlier. I observed our children’s minds were evolving at break-neck speed but so were their stress levels. I realised most parents are rushing to provide the best of everything to their children – in terms of the best education, branded clothing, gourmet meals, top-notch toys and gadgets for recreation. But we are missing out on connecting with them. So I began writing a column for the Times of India on positive parenting, then followed it up with my book- ParenTEEN: How To Nurture Your Adolescents in Modern Times. For, I wanted parents to realise we do not just need to focus on raising well-educated and multi-talented children but also those who are emotionally strong- to be able to handle setbacks and failures in life without becoming aggressive or depressive. Q. Transforming the perception of parents to see a positive impact on their children, requires considerable time, patience, guidance and deep understanding of family history. What is the process you follow in planning for one-on-one coaching sessions? Yes, you’re right it certainly does require keen observation, understanding, objectivity and consistent effort to convince parents to change their past patterns of behaviour to bring about the desired transformation. So basically,  I follow a simple 3-step formula in my one-on-one coaching: Challenge Assessment- first understanding the key challenges of the coachee Offering Customized Solutions- after zeroing down on the root of the problem Hand-holding for effective implementation of the tools and strategies that I share. Q. “The trick is to follow your gut, remain communicative and be ready to evolve with time”. This is excellent advice for parents navigating the challenges of raising teenagers. However, there often exists a discord in understanding and addressing issues, with each party pointing fingers at the other. Living up to parental expectations can become a daunting task for teenagers. In such cases, is counselling for children also necessary? What would you advise children? Yes, the root cause of most parent-child conflict is unmet expectations- with each blaming the other. It is important for parents of teenage children to understand we need to alter our supervisory role as parents to now act more as facilitators. Lowering down our expectations and being a little more forgiving goes a long way even as we lay down certain firm and flexible rules of behaviour to be followed by our children. Meanwhile, training and counselling children to help them come to terms with their raging hormones, tone down their stress levels, practising internet safety, handling peer pressure or using social media more judiciously is equally crucial. My ‘Ace Your Game’ sessions for children are designed to empower children on how to lead happier, stress-free lives Q. Which five teenage issues do you believe can be managed well and quickly?

Inspiring Women

Inspiring Women Every Wednesday: Ritu Bararia

/

Acknowledged amongst Asia’s Power Women leaders 2023 Published author of the book ‘Little Joys of Communications’ In Dec 2020, she turned into a published author with her maiden book ‘Little Joys of Communications’ earning rave reviews. This is a mini gospel for aspiring communicators and publicists where she has talked about various aspects of Communications & PR. Ritu has created and conducted workshops and masterclasses on topics like Work Ethics, Leadership Skills, Integrity as a vital tool for publicists, D&I, and Safe professional Interactions. She is a passionate Communicator/Publicist who likes to call herself a constant learner. Integrated communications, External Communications, Internal Communications, Public Relations, Media Engagement & Management, Media Training, Strategic Communication, Crisis Communication, Branding communication, Social media, Industry Engagement, Press Releases, Content writing, Articles/ Blogs, Press Conferences, Corporate Affairs, Advocacy, Workshops on Soft skills in Corporate. Let’s Get Inspired In Conversation with Ritu Bararia – Preeti Juneja Q. Talking of gender mainstreaming, where women are empowered in the true sense, given the decision-making powers, and there is greater gender equality, what changes or improvements would you suggest as National President- WICCI Public Relations & Digital Marketing Council? First and foremost, I am certain many of my counterparts would agree that Public Relations is quite a women-centric profession where you will find women leading this particular profile in various organisations. However, this fact alone does not necessarily mean true women empowerment. Disparities do exist. As the National President- WICCI Public Relations & Digital Marketing Council, my key emphasis in this regard would be upon salary parity amongst genders, active involvement of women colleagues in decision making, and to take them seriously when they want to make a ‘comeback’ to work after a hiatus considering that their credibility does not go away with a few years of sabbatical. Q. To promote mentorship and support for other women in the workplace, how can WICCI help? WICCI can tie up with organisations/ institutions where the council members can go and mentor women about leadership skills, about gender sensitivities, Diversity & Inclusion and of course the PR profession at large. The main idea would be to motivate women to achieve success through various means. Q. Transitioning from being an executor to a leader in the communications field demands specific skills and education. What guidance would you offer young women aspiring to assume leadership roles? To become a successful leader in your space, firstly you need to be well versed with the industry that you are a part of so much so that you become the ‘go to’ person for all stakeholders. That I feel, is constant education in itself. You must be a team player, a people person, someone who believes in an open-door policy. Be confident, trustworthy and adaptable. Integrity, I think is very important. Critical thinking and problem-solving are vital too. Perseverance, Empathy and Mindfulness are great characteristics of a leader. Q. Can you share a leadership experience that significantly impacted you? I would like to share my stint at Bird Group where I was spearheading Marketing Communications. The ED (Late) Ankur Bhatia’s leadership style impressed me significantly. He was a great visionary, a go-getter, extremely sharp in his thinking and extremely well-versed in the industry. Most importantly, he was a people person, always available for his staff, acknowledged people’s loyalty in his own way, and was a great problem solver. He gave a free hand to the people he trusted. And the best thing, he balanced his work life and family life very efficiently which is rare for someone at his level. Q. What was the greatest communication challenge for you as a spokesperson of Kingfisher Airlines and/ or The Park Hotels? The communication between the media and me as a spokesperson was very open and mutual. I had gained the reputation of being the ‘go-to’ person for media for not just my organisation-related information but for industry-related information. Similarly, I used to receive a lot of pertinent information from the media as well. I enjoyed a great camaraderie with my media colleagues as I made myself available to them and went the extra mile to provide them with the correct information. To be honest, I did not face any communication challenges as a spokesperson. Q. If strategic communications as a way to achieve business goals is the key to enhancing brand presence and reputation, then why is it that corporate communications is mostly a one-man army or an outsourced wing? If you were at the helm of the organization, how would you conceptualize its structure? You are right in saying it’s mostly a one-man army with the majority of work being outsourced to PR firms as the extended arm of an organisation. However, pardon me for quoting the instance of Bird Group yet again, I had a well-structured in-house team under me (besides the PR firm) comprising a content writer, marketing specialist, event specialist, internal comms specialist, graphic designers, web designers and a coordinator for my department with various stakeholders. I would pretty much propose this structure to be followed by an organisation. Rapid-Fire: Chief Reputation Officer (CRO) is a need or a fad? Need What is the career progression for a corporate communications role? MD/ CEO. Is public relations education in India different from institutes abroad? Yes to an extent. Would you recommend a big brand or a small agency to manage public relations for a startup? Small agency. Can WICCI become the next BNI for India? Not really, I think both the platforms are quite different in approach. would it be? I’ll be a very good animator.   One-Liners: Can WICCI become the next BNI for India? Not really, I think both the platforms are quite different in approach. One newspaper that I trust the most: Mint. Online Reputation requires constant: Monitoring. Public relations is: Creating publicity and awareness about an organisation/ brand/ individual. About Author Ritu Bararia Ritu Bararia, National President – WICCI Public Relations & Digital Marketing Council, is a veteran Marketing and Corporate

error: Content is protected !!
Scroll to Top