The Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI) organised the first edition of PRana 2024: Shaping the Story of India and brought together opinion leaders, C-suite executives, and top communicators to collaboratively craft a new national narrative as India approaches its centennial independence celebrations in 2047.
The report ‘Bharat ki Baat 2024’, a study commissioned by PRCAI to LocalCircles, India’s leading community platform and pollster on public issues and governance, was also unveiled at the event. This study received over 180,000 responses from over 40,000 citizens located in 396 districts of India and it sought citizens’ views on their hopes and aspirations in 10 significant areas: growth and prosperity; geo-political influence; infrastructure; healthcare; sustainability and environment; education; skilling, employment and livelihood; ease of living cities and digital governance; technology and innovation; and communications and information.
Imtiaaz Ali on ‘Jab We Met’ and more
Filmmaker Imtiaaz Ali was present at the event and when asked about how he would want to recreate the character of Geet in one of his greatest works, ‘Jab We Met’, he was quick to say that she would be exactly the same. “Maybe the language will be a little different. Maybe she is even more talkative. And maybe she appears to be more demented than she already is,” he quips.
In discussing how to make a PR crisis look good, he understands that these are extremely dynamic, interesting, dramatic and useful. “Like Shakespeare said – ‘Much ado about nothing’. Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. PR crisis sometimes is personality-oriented. It is to note that in a PR crisis how quickly the whole thing evaporates. You should take lessons from the previous PR crisis when you are in a present PR crisis.”
On recollecting one of the most iconic dialogues of the movie, ‘Main apni favourite hoon’, and being asked if he is his favourite, he says, “Not at all – I’m not on that list of favourites. But when my daughter was a kid, she had a list of favourites – and everybody was vying for the position of the most favourite. So I think it came from there.”
Panels and chats galore
The panel, 300Wise Storytellers & Storyweaver had Nadir Godrej, Chairman & MD, Godrej Industries; Guneet Monga Kapoor, Academy Award-winning Filmmaker & Founder, Sikhya Entertainment and Manish Sharma, Chairman, Panasonic Life Solutions India and South Asia as panelists and moderated by Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Editor, The Hindu, represented India's best. Being the ones who can see where India can go and what will India be known for, the panel delved into all that India was, is today, could be and should be. Godrej’s recital of a poem based on the varied facets of India was a revelation of sorts and a befitting opening to this panel, which further continued to outline the potential of India.
In the panel conducted by Gaurav Shah, Founder & Director, Indian School of Development Management, the panellists - Sanjay Hegde, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India; Shantanu Deshpande, Founder & CEO, Bombay Shaving Company & Visage Lines Personal Care (VLPCPL); Chhavi Rajawat, First MBA Sarpanch and Alina Alam- Founder, Mitti Café underscored the idea of economics and economic growth overwhelming one’s imagination of what this world needs to be, where it needs to go, and the addiction to a three letter acronym called GDP (gross domestic product) which is a quantifiable policy measure across the world.
A fireside chat with Captain Indraani Singh, World’s First Airbus 300 Captain, Literacy India and Dhuwarakha Sriram, Chief of YuWaah, Youth Development & Partnerships, UNICEF which was initiated by Fatima Mahdi Karan, Consulting Editor, Senior Anchor defined how purpose-driven leadership and social commitment have set new benchmarks for societal progress and enhance India’s global narrative of an equitable nation.
India from Devdutt Pattanaik’s eyes
Famous author, Devdutt Pattanaik who was also present at the event, had the attendees yearning for more insights and stories about the country, in his discussion about ‘Indian Values and Culture As a Lever’.
He revealed that when we talk about the reputation of India and what people want, he is invited to explain India to a lot of investors coming in from abroad. “When I deal with directors from other countries, people from other lands, they come in and they want to talk about India. The first thing is not to be defensive.
We do not need to impress the world. We are what we are. This is what it is. You have to work with helping people understand how we are different. We are not better than others. We are not worse than others. We are just different. We are a function of history. We are a function of geography. We are a function of the population. We are a function of diversity. You do not have to be apologetic. You don't have to be aggressive. You don't have to go to press conferences looking like Superman, shooting down people who ask awkward questions - you can just gently present facts.”
When diversity and inclusion are spoken about in various parts of the world, he stated that not a single professor of diversity and inclusion presents India as a case study. That's academic arrogance. We are a country which has more languages, more communities, more complexities than anywhere else in the world.” The very reason, hence, Master Chef struggles in India, he explained.
With religious traditions and the Western traditions of monotheism, there is no right way or wrong way to live, and there is a wrong way to live. “Indians have found a better answer to the Great Wall of China. We will not build walls.
Different cultures think differently, and therefore different cultures have different stories. While most traditions believe that you live only once, India came up with the idea of rebirth. So the denominator of your life is infinity. And if the denominator of your life is infinity, no matter what you achieve, the value is zero. It's a very different way of looking at life. It's not achievement-driven. It is meaning-driven. And you give meaning when you help others because they consume you.” He hopes that India influences the world, listens to them and is heard, which is not just the recipe of the country but a source of exchange of ideas.
Making room in hearts with Rajasthan’s Godawan
Akhilesh Sheoran, Brand Ambassador, Diageo highlighted the Story of Godawan, an artisanal single malt that finds home in Rajasthan and has been crowned as the best in the world at the London competition. “It's a mark of our heritage, craftsmanship, and our culture. The only single malt coming in from the state of Rajasthan. There could not be a more fitting tagline to it, as we call it, the spirit of the desert.
The kind of architecture marvels that we have, the stepwells etc. – have been standing strong against the odds for decades now. The brand is a celebration of sustainability, mindful luxury, and of our heritage – the culture that we have in Rajasthan.”
He shed light on the deeper and profound story behind the brand name. Godawan is the state bird of Rajasthan, often referred to as the Great Indian Bustard, and is almost on the verge of extinction with just about the last hundreds of them surviving only in the state of Rajasthan. “That has become one of our primary inspirations and commitment to the bird. We have been able to raise close to Rs 15 million towards the conservation of the bird, which we have done in the past few years.”
The event was held on 4 September, 2024, at The Leela in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, and emphasised the crucial role of compelling storytelling in driving change, sparking innovation, and contributing to the country's progress.
