Offbeat: Volvo’s Sudeep Narayan – A reader of life

Adgully’s special feature section – ‘Offbeat’ – seeks to give a peek into the lesser known facets of our very well-known industry leaders. We present, in the industry leaders’ own words, an interesting read on areas that are not usually highlighted in regular media coverage – be it about their childhood days, secret skills that they possess, how they unwind from their hectic schedules, and much more. 

Sudeep Narayan, Director PR & Corporate Communications, Volvo Car India, has successfully driven all marketing communication campaigns in his very enriching, over decade-long tenure with the company. He works very closely with the global teams on their brand development campaigns and he is responsible for the communications initiatives of Volvo Cars India. 

A precious childhood trait that you still possess?
Inquisitiveness and investigative traits have lived with me since the time I started riding a tri-cycle. These traits essentially manifest in my outlook even today. 

Ever wished you had superhero powers?
Never. The power of the human brain far exceeds the strength and the Sci-Fi shown in comics (and now movies). I am just happy to be Archie and Jughead at times! 

What is your biggest fear and how do you face it?
Wake up in the morning and realise ‘I HAVE NO FEAR’. I wouldn’t know how to face that one. 

A secret that you have which no one knows about?
Psst….psst…psst 

What would one find in your playlist?
Good music, varied tunes – Mridangam to electric guitar, Shlokas to grunge. 

Your go-to activity to relax?
My go-to activity to relax is to go to bed. 

What is the greatest lesson that you have learnt from life so far?
The boomerang effect or Karma. This drives me to be (or at least attempt to be) a person with humility and respect. 

A social cause that you are most passionate about?
Sustainability – I have recently started taking cloth bags to market, but I know this isn’t enough. More to come… 

What’s the one thing you would like to change about yourself?
The only thing I want to change about myself is my hairstyle every month! 

If not in your current designation, what would you have been?
Aircrash investigator? Chef? Cricketer? Mountaineer? Architect on Mars? Whew… quite a lot of things. Looks like it is time to quit my current job! 

What are the three apps on your mobile that you couldn’t live without?
Contacts app, calling app and clock – I think all other apps are lifecycle-oriented and hence, not my mug of beer. 

Any content/ film or book you saw or read recently and why?
Reading a book or watching a film to me is a present perfect tense, because I read life and that is a continuum. 

Which two organisations outside your own do you know the most people at and why?
This would be a crazy answer – Tata Steel (because I am from Jamshedpur and I know hundreds of relatives and friends in that company) and Indian Railways or SBI (I am guessing because being among the largest employers, the chance of knowing more people there is more)! 

Two things about this industry you don’t like or don’t understand?
Every industry has good and not so good factors and hence, I will talk about 2 things I do not understand:

  1. Why left hand and right hand drive for cars? It increases costs like crazy.
  2. Why the complications on different grades of fuel across different countries?

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
Home. Nowhere else.

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