The BAIT.
So, I read the tweet from Ambi Parameswaran, where I was one of 14 people/organisations tagged. It was about his latest conversation—this time with Amit Varma. Ambi wanted us to hear ( if possible) and share our review and inputs.
Thanks @amitvarma for the opportunity! Thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. Look forward to the reviews. @WestlandBooks @PanMacIndia @penguinrandom @LabyrinthAgency @DiyaKar73 @SanSip @S_kotnala @thesatbir @bhatnaturally @beastoftraal @nairsameer @VamseeJuluri @rishikesha https://t.co/hKGe6bGK63
— Ambi Parameswaran (@ambimgp) November 15, 2020
Now, at that time, I was unaware who Amit Varma was and what was his podcast ‘The Seen and the Unseen’ was all about. I clicked on the link, just because Ambi is a dear friend and courtesy demands that friends do such things. At least in my books they do.
One of the reasons, I initially listened to the Interviews conducted by Mitrajeet Bhattacharya, Manish Porwal, Raj Nayak and the Thursday short of Priya Lobo. Now, I pick and choose them as per the content and the personality appearing in them.
AMIT VARMA. THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN.
Amit VArma tweet said, “Figuring out what consumers want is pretty similar to figuring out what society wants. Adman and author Ambi Parameswaran (@Ambimgp) joins me in episode 199 of ‘The Seen and the Unseen’ to share his insights from his decade in advertising & his many books”.
This 199 episode did the trick. That’s huge. And if someone has done this much, I will listen to it just for the passion and dedication. I am a sucker for that.
FIRST TAKE.
Now 13 minutes into the podcast I got restless. The conversation was too slow for my liking. I expected it to be 15-30 minutes of talk, wondering what new would be there. I have interviewed Ambi for two of his books and read all of them.
So, I looked at the time bar, and it read something like 2 hours 27 minutes! Wow. Boom. I closed the podcast and Direct messaged Ambi.
FIRST REVIEW.
I told Ambi, “Too long. Closed by the 15th Minute. Slow burner. Not even simmering. So did not know what to expect… More… saw the 2 hours plus bit and closed it’.
Ambi was cool and thanked me for an honest review and input. And added that Amit Verma was quite open to having a long chat!
My response to this input was simple as I was feeling a bit bad. ‘Maybe he has an audience that appreciates it… Maybe knowing you and having read and heard you on the books I am biased against the long format’.
Ambi confirmed in the next DM. ‘Yes, Sanjeev. He has a loyal following who appreciate the long format podcast. I got a few complimentary messages. And they seem to like the long meandering conversation. Ideal for a long morning walk’.
Two things happened. So, people are enjoying almost like a Hindi movie length of the podcast. And as I have been a recent convert (maybe less than a covert) on Audible, I thought perhaps morning walk would be an excellent time to test the podcast.
SECOND TAKE.
So, some 30,000 steps and 10 KM of walk split across two days I finished listening to the podcast, The Seen and the Unseen—Ambi Parameswaran in conversation with Amit Varma.
SECOND REVIEW.
Well, I can now understand why some people love these long meandering unhurried conversations. The extended format allows space to make the speaker-interviewer interaction that much richer. There is enough time to build on, lay down the premises of the observation and the question. And the speaker has his own time to reply. This conversation also added to my knowledge.
I could now appreciate the long format. Not that I will start hearing a lot of long format podcast. I could understand the thinking behind THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN.
I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. There were few conversations on the books Ambi wrote, and a lot more on what Ambi thought. I liked that. Though I expected some more time devoted to his book ‘SPRING- Bouncing Back from Rejection.‘ I have reviewed his book SPONG and SPRING in my blog- Perception Adulterated with reality.
Overall- the experience surpassed expectations. I also believe , it was wrong on my part to trash a format without experiencing it enough number of times.
AMIT VARMA – THE SEEN UNSEEN-TAKE II.
The site tells me that Amit Varma is a writer and podcaster based in Mumbai. He has been a journalist since 2001 and won the Bastiat Prize for Journalism in 2007 and 2015. He writes the blog India Uncut and hosts the weekly podcast, The Seen and the Unseen. I wish him all the best.
Just for the records, as the expectation builds in, I have marked a few of his podcast to listen to- I am reasonably confident that the experience will match it. The marked ones are Episode 197: Storytelling and Conversation, Episode 192: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Trucker and Episode 174: Tawaif
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