Most people who choose to join advertising and more importantly, stay on (!) do so for a reason: passion for the business. You’ll hear stories of Engineers from the IITs, MBA’s from IIMs actively choosing Advertising as a career option arising out of an innate passion for the advertising business. The founder and Managing Director of Trikaya , the late Mr. Ravi Gupta was a Mining Engineer from the University of Wales. There are several other examples of people joining the advertising business from seemingly unrelated backgrounds.
Which brings me to Sandy Kundra Verma. Not only did she pursue her passion – advertising, she went one step ahead and plunged into something even more passionate – writing. She has just released her first book, Burnt Toast.
According to the author:
Set in the backdrop of the heady and sometimes absurd Indian advertising industry, Burnt Toast
explores the loves and lives of three different girls as they grapple with undoable pitches, blatant
competitive plagiarism and bullying bosses. Witty at times, hilarious to the core, it’s a true slice-of-life of
buzzing advertising offices and the incongruity of modern relationships.
Recently, I read another book based on the advertising agency business – Ad Asylum by Dan Wald. For us advertising folks, books like Burnt Toast and As Asylum strike a chord for two reasons: we can relate to the goings on and characters even more. More importantly, it reminds us of the reason why we chose this business and inspire us to carry on. My admiration for those in advertising who went on to chase another dream and made it happen is even more. Sandy Kundra Verma’s successful plunge into writing is a testimony – as some of the reviews testify. So why not grab a copy and enjoy a piece of Burnt Toast?
2 Comments
Lucky, nice post. Happy to hear thet you liked Sandy’s book. She gave up a fancy job in Singapore to join FCB Ulka in account planning, in the Star One programme. She was a terrific planner, enthusiastic, inquisitive and well organized. In fact she helped me with my book on brand building, and may be in some way got the idea of a book from our interactions. She had met me a few months ago with the good news of the book. I have not read the book Burnt Toast as yet. I do hope she has not modeled any nasty character after me. But I will read the book soon enough. And Sandy, if you are reading this, our best wishes are with you, always,
Ambi
Ambi
If I ever base a character on you (which I haven’t so far) it would be the most brilliant, eclectic and inspiring character I would have created. But unfortunately you are a tough act to follow!
If you ever want to take a step down to mass fiction, call me- the industry is in dire requirement of someone with your calibre of humour.
Thank u so much for your kind words, Ambi and Lucky. This is why despite everything else ULKA will always be my home (and u all will always be in danger of having fictional doppelgangers;->)
Sandy