Welcome to the Thursday issue of India Edition; I’m Menaka Doshi . Each week, I bring you a ringside view of the billionaires, businesses and policy decisions behind India’s rise as an emerging economic powerhouse. You can subscribe here , and share feedback with me here . This week: A bhajan boom, get ready for a mega trade deal and a state’s big ambitions. ‘Acceptably Cool’ In the courtyard of a...
Welcome to the Thursday issue of India Edition; I’m Menaka Doshi . Each week, I bring you a ringside view of the billionaires, businesses and policy decisions behind India’s rise as an emerging economic powerhouse. You can subscribe here , and share feedback with me here . This week: A bhajan boom, get ready for a mega trade deal and a state’s big ambitions. ‘Acceptably Cool’ In the courtyard of a Mumbai shopping mall, a few hundred young people are seated cross-legged on the floor, swaying their hands and singing a bhajan. Just as the Hindu devotional song crescendos into a chant, Raghav and Prachi Agarwal segue into a Sufi number from a Bollywood film. In another segment of the show, they break into a rendition of Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years.” The crowd sings along without missing a beat. I’m watching Kolkata-based Backstage Siblings and I’m hooked. Raghav, 26, an investment banker, and his sister Prachi, 22, a fixed income trader, have set aside their nascent careers to spark a jamming trend that’s fast catching on across India’s youth (and evidently many boomers too). It’s live performance meets karaoke with a few sketches thrown in, playing at clubs and malls during off hours (no rents), with ground seats, no alcohol and no food. Song requests welcome. The siblings, who started last year with a jam session of 50 friends and family, are already on their third national outing, the India Bhajan Jamming Tour . An upcoming Mumbai performance for 5,000 people with tickets starting at 1,300 rupees ($14) sold out in 14 hours. “Gen Z has forgotten how to look up in a world full of technology, this one hour gives them space to be free, to be themselves,” Raghav tells me in a video chat. Clubbing, dining out, drinking alcohol can become monotonous. Young people are seeking “experiences,” he said. They come with their dates, friends, parents, even grandparents, Prachi adds. I get the search for novelty, but when did bhajans become cool? Bhajans have always been eno...
(RTTNews) - Telenor ASA (TELNF, TEL.OL, TELNY), a Norwegian state-owned telecommunications company, on Thursday said it has agreed to sell its entire stake in True Corp. (TRUE.BK), exiting Thailand after 25 years, in a transaction valuing the holding at approximately NOK 39 billi
(RTTNews) - Telenor ASA (TELNF, TEL.OL, TELNY), a Norwegian state-owned telecommunications company, on Thursday said it has agreed to sell its entire stake in True Corp. (TRUE.BK), exiting Thailand after 25 years, in a transaction valuing the holding at approximately NOK 39 billi