Sunday, October 22, 2000		Scene Stealers

Amit Burman at 31 is heading Dabur Foods Limited, makers of fruit juice, cooking pastes.. With these path-breaking products that are market leaders, Amit has proved himself more than capable of being heir to Dabur India Limited.

As the son of G.C. Burman, the owner of Dabur, the role Amit had to play in Dabur was defined. Yet his own enterprise has ensured that Dabur Foods have continued to gain market shares even after the entry of international brands. Not content with just handling Dabur Foods, Amit has recently ventured into the IT business. He’s floated the company called Angelsoftech that has launched a health portal called emedlife. com and a women’s portal, smartbahu. com.

His educational qualifications include degrees from University of Cambridge, the UK, and Columbia University, New York, USA. From 1990 onwards, he has been combining work with education in the USA. He has worked his way up in Colgate Palmolive and the Tishcon Corporation, New York. He was 23 when he joined Dabur, to become the CEO of Dabur Foods at 29.

When he was questioned about where he thought the Indian industry was heading, he replied, "The general economic scenario is good. The petroleum price hike may retard the growth of the economy marginally. Regarding Dabur, there is still very little possibility of price increase in this industry. This only means that the growth is going to come from an increase in volume which is harder to come by. Penetration levels in most of the product categories in which Dabur has a presence, are still low and thus there is a possibility of roping in new users.

Indian industry has not yet explored the overseas markets fully. It has tremendous global opportunities".

Euphoria, ahoy!

"It was an exhilarating experience", says an overjoyed Dr Palash Sen, the latest icon on the Indi pop scene. "We were the only band chosen to represent India at this international music festival called the Beale Street Festival, held on the banks of the Missisippi River. There were 69 other bands, including Bryan Adams, and a 3-lakh strong audience. We wanted to prove that we too can rock ‘n’ roll".

Palash Sen, the lead singer and music director of the group Euphoria, has steadily climbed the popularity charts, first with their album Dhoom and then the second one aptly titled Phir Dhoom. In an era when "different" has become a very overused word, their music is surprisingly original and refreshing. So are their music videos. Directed by Pradeep Sarkar, they consistently stick to the Indian mould.

Palash Sen is a practising doctor, in addition to being a singer, composer, lyricist all rolled into one. He did his schooling from St Columbus before going to medical college. Music was in his blood in the same way as being a doctor was. Both go back four generations. But he’s the first to take up music professionally. "However, if asked to make a choice, I would give up music anyday", says the ever-smiling, friendly doctor.

Half-Bengali and half-North Indian, he chose to do a Punjabi song Maaeri because "there is so much more to Punjabi music than just bhangra". Palash is married and has a child. He attributes his success to honesty and sincerity of purpose.

— Belu Maheshwari