Harish Bhat in conversation with Tamanna Bhanot
The first tale from the Qissewale series saw author Harish Bhat in conversation with Tamanna Bhanot. Bhat shared interesting and funny tales that he witnessed in his 36 years’ service in the corporate sector. Mita Kapur, CEO – Siyahi kickstarted Qissewale, saying the series will have a qissa for everyone. She introduced the qissewale for the day: Harish Bhat and Tamanna Bhanot. “I live for writing, I live for my books,” Harish Bhat said, beginning a conversation that flowed seamlessly from board meetings to coffee plantations, acquisitions and brand building to books and writing. He said, “With an experience of 36 years in the corporate world I thought of sharing it with others. I kept wondering how can I put this down in writing and make it reach thousands of people and that’s how I decided to write books.”
Guests at the event
Guests at the event
Among the many stories Harish told the audience, was the tale of Dorabji Tata. While in London in the early 1900s, Dorabji found what was then the world’s largest diamond – The Jubilee Diamond. He said, “This is such a wonderful diamond, I must gift it to my wife as a token of my love.” The lady Meherbai Tata used to wear it on a very delicate chain. Harish was selected as one of the ‘Top Voices in India’ by a social media networking site. Since he didn’t know about it, he requested a younger colleague for help who then showed him the ropes. His colleague explained what the platform was about and helped him set up his profile – the right picture to use, how to write his bio, how to interact and connect with people on the platform. During the pandemic Harish turned to using the platform to share stories. The series was eventually published as a book. These stories developed a wide and enthusiastic online readership. Harish believes that every manager over forty should be mentored by an extremely young colleague so they can acquire the new-age knowledge the young person is familiar with. He calls this Reverse Mentoring.
The qisse with Harish Bhat were followed by Gharane ki Kahaniyan – a specially curated menu of heirloom recipes from Rajasthani Gharanas put together by the team of expert chefs. The chefs explained the ancient cooking processes while whipping up delicious plates for the guests to enjoy.
