Passion, devotion, vision and aggression- adjectives that define the journey of Khumaar, the musical night to Khumaar, the Coffee Table book. Bipin Padit’s sincerity and hard work is applauded by all.
He needs no introduction; the COO of The Advertising Club is an extraordinary individual with an ocean of knowledge, not only about the lucrative ad world but also about sports, culture and most of all music. His love for music is so intense and his passion to bring alive some of the best numbers from Bollywood movies and albums, so deep that the adman started a property called ‘Khumaar’ seven years back which is an extremely talented group of musicians, singers and composers that perform live shows.
Taking inspiration from music itself Bipin Pandit started writing a book which he has fondly titled ‘Khumaar’, about music, but not only did he write about his favourite musicians, composers, lyricists and vocalists but also requested Industry stalwarts and encouraged his friends to write articles about their favourite artists, composers, singers, etc. to include in his book. The book was launched by the legendary music composer Shri. Pyarelal Sharma on 19th April.
MediAvataar.com India spoke to these industry biggies to talk about their love for Khumaar and impression of the book. Here is what they had to say:
M G Parameswaran, ED & CEO Draftfcb Ulka Advertising Mumbai: Bipin Pandit has been organizing the annual music event for over a decade and I have attended several of them. He brings to the show his own brand of enthusiasm and energy; it is commendable that he has managed to bring out an excellent coffee table book. I wish him all the very best in his future endeavors.
Ravi Rao, Leader South Asia, Mindshare: It is such a refreshing thing to attend with the industry people and not talk of work but follow one passion that unites all – music. That too the evergreens from the 60s to 80s. A great way to unwind and charge up.
A very unique concept that made me sit and read the trivia with a lot of depth, weight and insight on music, musicians from a perspective that I never thought existed. A truly outstanding effort and output.
Ashwini Pable, Group Product Head at Marico Ltd: I feel Bipin’s initiative of Khumaar – the musical night is an example of how one not only follows his passion but also contributes socially by creating a forum/experience so that many more could share a similar passion.
Reading his book is like embarking on a musical journey that travels through time celebrating the legends of Indian music, and what makes the book very characteristic is the fact that Bipin has given a very interesting and insightful glimpse into the lives of these legends embellished with beautiful photographs that have a story to tell. It was a different and a great experience reading his book.
Chaaya Baradhwaaj, founder, BC Web Wise: This is the first time I have been for this show, I was amazed most by Bipin’s talent. His rendition of Dev Anand’s dialogue in Guide was breath taking and if my eyes were closed I would have thought it was the movie going on, ditto with Rajesh Khanna’s dialogues. I wished the show had much more of it, and I hope there is opportunity to see more of him. Outstanding I must say.
The book is Unique, and insightful. It is wonderful that anyone should think of bringing out a collection that Bipin has, and his work is an asset to the Indian film industry. Further he is helping to bring together a community of connoisseurs of Indian film music which is also commendable.
Nagesh Alai, Executive Director India Operations, Draft FCB Ulka Group: It’s reflective of Bipin’s love for the melody of yore, the expression of the innate artist in him, the ability to detect and locate good voices and his networking. Khumaar has been improving over the years. And I am not sure if the audience comes for his emceeing and mimicry abilities or for the mellifluous singers.
The book is a good concept well executed.
Priti Nair, Director Currynation : There is something very buoyant about Bipins musical nights .it is not just about the music but the energy and passion one feels about it. And you feel that vibration in the way Bipin conducts the show.
Khumaar is very unique book. Usually you only get to know about experts commenting on singers. This is the first time you actually get to feel the feelings of lay people, who are the actual listeners enjoyers and livers of these songs and singers.
Punitha Armugham, Director- Agency biz, Google India: Magical. It was one of the best evenings I have ever had. Was planning to be there for 30 minutes and ended up being there for over 4 hours- such was the power of Khumaar. I am not a Hindi speaking nor do I know all the old Hindi songs- despite that the fact that I had the most magical evening is a reflection of the power of the team of singers and musicians that Bipin put together. Music really does not have any boundaries- and Khumaar was an ample proof of that.
Ramesh Narayan, Founder Canco Advertising: I like Kumaar for couple of reasons- a. the song selection b. the ability to identify good singers, icing on the cake is Bipin himself, his jokes, shayri and mimicry make for a great evening. The idea of having great personalities of media and advertising to write is a noble idea and it has turned out to be a very interesting and knowledgeable read. He’s able to get pictures which are not seen before.
Pratap Bose, COO, DDB Mudra Group: I’ve been attending Khumaar for 4 years and what sets it apart is Bipin’s passion and very deep understanding of Music, songs, lyricists and recorders. With his own sense of humour and liveliness it becomes a great evening for people attending it. The book is lovely, again very different. People from various facets of life have come together to write, which has made the content richer.
Paritosh Joshi, Principal Provocateur Advisory: I wrote a piece in the book. One of the things we tend to assume is that we all are unidimensional but so many of us are multidimensional and many of us are defined by music. Its music we are grownup on, cheers to what Bipin did. Communication professionals have come together to do what they have never done. Everybody wants to talk about their favourite music. All of us have our love to be expressed and he gave us a chance. And not to forget with his show he is giving chance to a lot of talent which is untapped. He is giving them a stage.
Ajay Kakkar, CMO, Aditya Birla Group – Financial Services: It shows passion of a person who is fully immersed in music. The amount of effort he puts in is commendable. The book is a very different concept with people from the industry to talk. I was amazed to have such an insightful experience. Things I’ve never thought of and heard of. It was such a pleasant experience, I thought it would be boring.
Anita Karnik, Principal Partner, Invention, Mindshare: I have never had such good time. Beauty is, he brings fresh faces, whom he is giving a fabulous platform. You get goose bumps when you hear them. Also getting industry people together to attend this is a big thing.
Book is so classy! We created a special ad for him. It’s not a regular ad but custom-made for Bipin. Ravi Rao sketched that ad himself for the book. Earlier the format of the ad was a full page ad but Bipin told us that he will give us a double spread that too without any extra cost. When we got the book there was a personal message from Bipin for everybody, not a copy paste job but personalized message-that’s a big thing again. I can’t imagine the way he’s pulled it off!
Madan Sanglikar, Cofounder & MD at AD2C: I’ve been able to attend Khumaar for 4-5 years, I see it in two ways- One is the passionate man who is driving it and giving chance to youngsters. It’s very difficult to ignore Bipin- on and off Khumaar and two he is very selective about the music, picks up songs full of melody and display his passion in full glory.
The book is very innovative. Good usage of the entire opportunity. There are so many people I would want to know beyond work. It’s a request nobody has said no to. At the same time they created a platform where people can share their liking. Most people picked up the performances of the same era. In digital language its crowdsourcing but a premium one and its more of a personal blog that people would be very happy to read. It’s something that can come again and again. One book can never do justice to the reason.
