The mega conclave is being organized over a period of 10 days and each day of the conclave focuses on one specialized domain of the Media and Entertainment Industry.

Photo Credit : Kunal Samaddar,

In a rare show of unanimity, stalwarts from all across the events industry harped on the importance of passion in being successful event managers during the fourth day of #MediaNext 2020 organized by the Kolkata-based Adamas University that focused on Events & Events.

The speakers for the day included such iconic names as Roshan Abbas, the Co-Founder of Kommune and the Managing Director of Geometry Encompass; Sanjoy Roy, the Founder of Teamwork Arts and Jaipur Literature Festival; Swaroop Banerjee, the COO and Business Head of Zee Live; Lalitt Gattani, the Founder of Showcraft Productions; Vipul Pandhi, the Founder of Workaholic Event Solutions and Deepak Choudhury, the Co-Founder and Director of Event Capital and Co-founder of EVENT-FAQS Media. The proceedings were moderated by Prof. Ujjwal K Chowdhury, the Pro Vice Chancellor of Adamas University.

The conclave is being organized in association with Sharda University, Birla Global University, DME, AIMEC, Lok Samvad Sansthan, Exchange4media, ABP Education and IndiaReal. The mega conclave is being organized over a period of 10 days from June 1, 2020 to June 10, 2020. Each day of the conclave focuses on one specialized domain of the Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on that specific domain.

Roshan Abbas, who is also the Mentor-Partner at The Glitch and a renowned screen personality, started the proceedings by iterating that the world of events is the world of assembling people. He pointed out that often artists don’t get paid in dollars and rupees for their performances but in applause during events.

Roshan added, “Knowledge is critical in your journey in the world of events and make sure that you are curious to learn.” In an optimistic vein, he said that social events and events in general would never fade out. While talking about the necessary skills in event management, he urged aspiring event managers to know crisis management and plan everything to the last detail.

Roshan also said that any business requires system and structure and event is no exception. On another note, he said that one shouldn’t be afraid to share knowledge with others.

In what seemed like the last say in event management, Roshan said, “The event industry is all about making relationships.” Adding to the point, Roshan urged everyone to explore LinkedIn to pursue professional relationships.

Finally, talking about event education, Roshan confided that event management should constitute a separate course and not only a part of another course.

Sanjoy Roy, who has been instrumental in shaping some of the biggest events in the country, primarily delved on the importance of arts and provided some personal experiences to back his conviction.

In what seemed to be prophetic, Sanjoy said, “Arts create a significant impact and provide economic impetus to the society.” He lamented though that India hasn’t been able to exploit its rich heritage and there is very little that has been done to support arts in the country. He went on to add that Indian don’t value performances.

In another very interesting submission, Sanjoy said that arts are all around us – be it technology, be it design or be it anything else. In fact, we create arts only through the amalgamation of our left and right brains.

He urged youngsters to continue reading, learning, understanding and questioning everything. Sanjoy also vouched for responsible consumption and environmental awareness in the changed socio-economic condition created by the Covid-19 pandemic. In an obvious reference to the sudden change in interactional modes, he iterated that digital presence can never replace the aura of physical presence.

In a parting note, Sanjoy urged the students and youngsters to not be afraid of failures. He, in fact, said that one should use this opportunity to fail and thereby learn.

Then spoke Swaroop Banerjee, who gave some very important insights about the events industry. He started his discourse by pointing out that the term event management means different things for different people. On a personal note, Swaroop said that the Mumbai concert of Michael Jackson back in the year 1996 taught him the meaning of event management.

Swaroop said, “Event management agency is more important than the advertising agency.” He justified what he said by referring to the recall value of events, which is much more than advertisements. For the entire length of an event, the event manager shows the audience exactly what he wants them to see.

Swaroop redefined event management and said that putting one’s passion to creating something is event management. He repeatedly emphasized on the importance of upskilling oneself to be relevant in the event industry. He urged students to do courses and particularly do courses on digital marketing.

In what seemed like something emanating directly from experience, Swaroop said, “Creativity is the most important thing in event management and research comes right after that.”

On a different note, Swaroop made the point that networking is probably the most important element in the world of events.

The powerful talk by Swaroop was followed by that of Lalitt Gattani, one of the pioneers of event management in India. He started his talk by saying that the mothers and women of the country are excellent event managers as they have to manage innumerable events throughout their lifetime. Lalitt interestingly defined event management as imagining followed by dreaming followed by achieving.

He added, “The most important job of an event manager is to bring smiles and happiness to a large number of people.” Lalitt also said that event management is about anticipation and management. Finally, event management is also about passion.

Lalitt iterated that it is important to provide value to one’s client. To put it in simple words, when an event manager is charging, he has to deliver. In a reference to the profession, Lalitt pointed out that an event manager plays the role of 1,000 different professionals. He also said that event management is like a surgical strike and an event manager is like a commando.

While talking about events in the post-Covid-19 times, Lalitt said that we would be seeing a hybrid model – one that would involve both online and offline activations. He said that training in technology is very important to be an event manager.

Next in line was Bipul Pandhi, another name to reckon with in the world of events. To start his talk, Vipul focused on the importance of formal education in event management. He quipped that events constitute one of the fastest growing industries in India.

Vipul said, “Event management demands the event manager to place a lot of importance on security considerations.” He also added that an event manager needs to have the power of observation. Agreeing with other stalwarts, Vipul also emphasized on the importance of crisis management in managing events.

He said, “An event needs immaculate planning and hence putting the event down in paper is critically important before hitting the field.”

Pointing towards the unique nature of event management, Vipul said that event managers don’t have any commodity to sell. Rather, event managers sell dreams. He also said that event management is a conglomeration of multiple professions. At the same time, Vipul also said that one can make a lot of money if everything falls in place.

In what seemed like a commentary on event management as a profession, Vipul said that it is the job of an event manager to understand all the needs of the client and surpass those needs.

The final speaker in the fray was Deepak Choudhary, who is again considered to be one of the most well-known names from the field of event management. He started his talk about the concept of intellectual property (IP) in event management. He emphasized on the importance of three different things – technology, ecosystem and content.

He went on to speak about Edutainment, one of the flagship events that he has launched. He ended the discourse by emphasizing on the importance of education in event management.