The seventh episode of Talking Point with Ritwika Gupta features someone who clearly defies the notion that creative minds cannot run a successful business. Ratish Tagde, has not only carved niche in Indian classical music as a violinist, but is also the CEO and managing director of Insync, India?s first non-Bollywood music channel.

A strong supporter of Indian classical and independent music, in this episode of Talking Point, Tagde shares how his passion for the violin and music in general led him to give a platform like Insync to his fellow musicians.

So let?s get up and personal with this violinist with triple majors in music, who also holds a law degree and runs a music broadcast channel.

By Papri Das

What can possibly motivate a London based musician with a popular album to his name to to start an e-commerce business out of an animated video made for fun? Pat comes the reply - ?The eclectic taste of Biriyani.? Meet Biryani 360 CEO and founder Shayan Italia, who recently started this delivery-only startup.

?One day, I was fooling around with an animation software and created the video ?Biryani360 ? How It All Began.? It was quite a hit with people, which led me to consider exploring making Biryani360 a reality. The problem was that I had no experience in food and neither did I cook! So I went on the biryani hunt of a lifetime, sampling different varieties from across india. What came from this was a light, refreshing and incredibly flavourful dish that is unlike anything out there in the marketplace,? says Italia.

So what makes Biriyani360 different and better than the many popular choices we have at hand already? ?Biryani360 is not your typical biryani. It is an original recipe created from scratch in 45 minutes flat using the latest technologies and preparation recipes in food. There are no preservatives, no colouring agents or anything artificial in our biryani,? Italia assures.

With its people friendly website and application, online orders too can be done in a jiffy. ?Customers can place an order through our website ? www.biryani360.com and can choose to pay online or through cash-on-delivery. Thirty-one days down the line, over 90 per cent of our customers order online. This is a good start for us, and we are hoping that this trend only picks up more speed.?

Italia doesn?t indulge in the popular belief that Biriyani tastes best the next day, and so the meat in Biriyani360 is not marinated over a day. ?We?ve taken advice from the best nutritionists the world over to create something truly special. Apart from combining three unique grains of rice to reduce the carbohydrates and make it more digestible, we used BlueFlame technology that allows us to cook our meat perfectly in merely 20 minutes yielding the same results as marinating it over 72-96 hours.? 

The folks at Biriyani 360 not only take pride in their unique cooking methods, but in their packaging as well. A delicious portion from Biriyani360 comes in efficiently created boxes of quirky colours of green and red, to denote ?Veg? and ?Un-Veg (their version of Non-Veg)? orders, along with a lip-smacking side-yogurt made out of imported curd.

With quality in affordability being its USP, this month-old venture has managed to garner many patrons, and also received good reviews in online rating portals like Zomato and Burrp.

Exec Lifestyle?s Weekend Watch recommends and previews television shows, films and live events that you simply cannot miss! Check out our recommendations for this weekend (17 - 19 April, 2015)

Movies:

Margarita With A Straw, the film which has already become the talk-of-the-town for having moved many stars to tears (including Aamir Khan), hits the big screen this weekend. This Kalki Koechlin starrer narrates a story of a rebellious girl suffering from cerebral palsy who embarks on a fascinating journey of music, love and self discovery. If you don?t mind a tear jerker, take a break from the usual formula movies and catch this off-beat film by director Shonali Bose, which has won several accolades at the Toronto Film Festival. Don?t forget to carry a box of tissue papers before you walk in.

About Town:

No matter what we say, a good old fairytale can never get too old. Even after many adaptation, the story remains relatable, equally enjoyable and leaves you with a fluffy and warm feeling in the end. Rashmi Sharma expects the same with her adaptation of Rapunzel. A Fairytale Of Rapunzel is an English musical that every fairytale lover must check out this Saturday at Palladium Mall, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel at 2 pm.

By Papri Das 

Corporate lifestyle and meetings go hand in hand. Where there?s a bunch of suited executives, there are bound to be conference rooms. Because it is behind these closed doors where execs brain-storm multi-million dollar strategies for brands and companies. In a day and age when time is money, efficiency is of utmost important and from there arises the question - How does one organise an efficient meeting? This crucial question was posed recently by J W Marriott chief sales and marketing officer Peggy Fang Roe.  Roe went on to introduce a new concept by the hotel called ?Meetings Imagined? - a website and app that assists event planners and organisers in putting up that perfect meeting.

Taking a leaf out of Roe?s discussion, Indiantelevision.com?s Exec Lifestyle decided to ask a few media executives and event planners on the challenges that they face in organising an efficient meeting and how they overcome those challenges. Here?s a list of common but crucial issues faced by executives in calling a meeting and their remedies:

1) Know what you are walking into:

Most executives unanimously agreed that nine out of 10 of their worst meeting experiences were because they were agenda-less. Well known venture capitalist, investor and entrepreneur Mahesh Murthy shares, ?It is very essential to call for an objective oriented meeting, and see to it that the objectives are fulfilled by the end of it.? Now, how does one go about doing that? ?A little planning and exchanging information prior to the meeting is all it takes,? he puts simply. Staying prepared with the content of the meeting will definitely help you wrap your head around the meeting.

2) Technology should be seamless and invisible:

Dealing with technological shortcomings in a meeting is a big ?No? specially when there is some actual ideation happening in it. Just imagine yourself ready to give that perfect presentation and the projector lamp starts acting up. Technological glitches in a meeting shift the room's attention from the agenda at hand taking away from the creative process. It almost leaves you at the mercy of the tech guys, who miraculously come and fix things in a jiffy. To avoid this, one needs to check if all the gadgets in the room are up and running, because more often than not it?sthe minor setup issues that cause the most trouble.

3) Keep a stopwatch:

How often have you found yourself in a meeting where a speaker drones on and on. Five minutes into it and they have already lost your attention. You can?t help yourself from frequently checking the time and asking yourself, ?When will this be over?? Unfortunately, it?s a common practice to let a speaker finish all they need to (or don?t need to) say specially if they are your bosses. However, our execs beg to differ. ?It?s perfectly alright to time the speakers in a meeting, as people tend to make more relevant points when they have limited time,? quips Twitter India head of communications Rohan Vyavaharkar.

4) Bridge that gap:

Another common problem faced by executives in a meeting is to get people involved. When it comes to ideation, more often than not, we find only one person delivering while others hesitate and shy away from sharing their ideas. Several CEOs pointed out that doing away with the podium and hand held microphone is the first step to reaching out to the other attendees in a meeting. This will encourage them to contribute more. SeekSherpa CEO Dhruv Raj Gupta adds that having a feedback session after every meeting, where one shares what they have personally gathered from the experience, is a healthy way to invite opinions.

5) Tickle those grey cells:

?Have meetings without chairs,? says Murthy. ?It takes people off their comfort zone and in turn brings their attention to the matter at hand. It also makes you more alert and attentive.? Games2win CEO and co-founder Alok Kejrival derails himself from the tried and tested measures and suggests something out of the box. ?I see potential in gamifying meetings and even allow jesters and entertainers to come and break the monotony. Honestly, there are endless possibilities in this arena.? Others believe that a little change from the same old board room setting, or simply changing the furniture of the place can be a great way to inspire people in a meeting. So, board meetings on bean bags are more than welcome!

Exec Lifestyle?s Weekend Watch recommends and previews television shows, films and live events that you simply cannot miss! Check out our recommendations for this weekend (10 - 12 April, 2015)

About Town:

Your periodic offering of vibrant pop up shops, experimental and street cuisine, workshops, and live music is back, and in a newer avatar. For their first anniversary edition, The Lil Flea has something special in mind - something philanthropic. For starters, they are giving away free seeds to all, which you can take back and plant in your homes and see them grow into beautiful plants bringing joy to you and the environment. You can also choose to adopt a tiny plant and buy some live art by five - six artists, who will be creating some cool art on the spot. So don?t miss this cultural extravaganza with over 200 pop up shops, at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai this Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 4 - 11 pm.

Live events:

Care for some laughs? Then be sure to catch this night of laughs, giggles and lots of fun brought to you by UK's Comedy Store. With four amazing artists on stage in one night -  Neville Bharucha, Sonali Thakker, Kritarth Srinivasan and Jaideep Singh Juneja - the audience is guaranteed to be in splits. Make sure you visit the blueFROG in Lower Parel, Mumbai for this amazing gig, this Saturday at 6.30 pm.

The sixth episode of Talking Point with Ritwika Gupta features Prasana Krishnan, the business head of Sony Six and Kix. One will be pleased to know that Krishnan doesn?t just deal with sports entertainment, but has a keen interest in the games as a player as well. From anecdotes from his early years in the industry to the cut throat competition he faces today, in this episode, Krishnan gives us a ball-by-ball account of the various phases that sport entertainment in India has been through. Find out about game-changing moments in his life to the teachings that have inspired him to achieve what he has today.