Karthik S | beastoftraal.com

Matchmaker Sima Taparia’s half-hearted career pivot

November 21, 2022December 19, 2022 by Karthik S

Shorter version on audio: YouTube: Spotify: Full post: Sima Taparia is a real, full-time, professional matchmaker since 2005. But her fame skyrocketed after the Netflix series, Indian Matchmaking, in 2020. Sima is on Instagram with over 117,000 followers and this is no…

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Personal branding vs. Professional networking

November 14, 2022November 14, 2022 by Karthik S

If you look up ‘professional networking’ online, it is defined as ‘sharing information, interacting, and engaging with people for mutual benefit’. Professional networking conjures images of a group of people in a room, all talking in smaller circles in hushed tones. For…

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A TV series in a cinema theater?

November 7, 2022November 7, 2022 by Karthik S

Would you be ready to watch a TV series in a cinema theater? Considering the amount of money lavished on both The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and House of the Dragon, and the sweepingly large-screen’ish way they have…

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A prequel to that Sabhyata Diwali ad

October 31, 2022October 31, 2022 by Karthik S

The recent Diwali ad by Sabhyata, a clothing brand, made by the agency ‘P se Picture’ garnered a lot of praise. The narrative in this ad reminded me of a classic episode of Darpan or Katha Saagar that I used to love…

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About the ‘reimagining traditions’ accusation on advertising

October 17, 2022October 21, 2024 by Karthik S

Shorter version on audio: YouTube: Spotify: Full post: Let me start with a disclosure: I am a huge fan of McDonald’s Paneer Burger. They seem to have made it hotter/spicier recently compared to what it seemed to have been a few years…

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The 5G advertising challenge

September 22, 2022September 22, 2022 by Karthik S

I don’t specifically recall when my mobile phone network moved from 3G to 4G. 4G arrived in India around 2012 and I don’t recall a pricing difference (at least in my Airtel post-paid connection) between the 2 networks or even being given…

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Muscle-memory and personal branding

September 21, 2022September 21, 2022 by Karthik S

I have written about my daily 5-kilometer running routine many times in the past. See:1. Get healthy and enjoy your drive… while reading a book! 2. Habits But this post is about the breaks in that routine and how it affects me….

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