Interview with Purva Grover, Editor & Founder, theindiantrumpet.com
What is The Indian Trumpet?
The Indian Trumpet is a bi-monthly e-magazine for Non Resident Indians and we’re thrilled to be blowing the trumpet all across the world and connecting Indians via the magazine. You can visit us at theindiantrumpet.com. We capture the colour, culture and chaos of India that NRIs crave & miss in our 100 pages. The online nature of our magazine has ensured that we are read and followed by not just NRIs but also Indians in India. Interestingly, even non-Indians are loving the visual read. We launched our debut issue on July 1, 2013, and our fourth issue will go live on January 1, 2014.
Who is your magazine aimed at?
The magazine is aimed at an Indian who wants to talk of the past, present and future of the country, or a non-Indian who is fascinated with our colour, culture and chaos. It’s aimed at anyone who wants to be in touch with India, every waking moment. As an individual, it has filled my waking hours with nostalgic, encouraging and exciting Indian stories. We aspire to connect with Indians across the world with one another and give them a chance to read about and indulge in all things Indian. And that’s why we are on digital platform, and have managed to connect with thousands of Indians all across the globe, within less than six months (three issues) of our existence!
How does your magazine stand out against its competitors?
Magazines that cater to the NRIs do exist in the market though they are very small in number but none of the magazines match up to us when it comes to our content, feel, design, staff and availability.
In terms of content, our approach is fresh. When we talk of Bollywood we don’t merely carry interviews with the current heartthrobs but we talk of legends, classics & more. Etc.
In terms of feel, we work on a note of passion and desire to give the NRIs (as well as Indians back home) a chance to connect with each other through the common thread, their love for ‘home’. We don’t aim to be patriots but just aspire to be a platform where we can share anecdotes, get nostalgic, take pride, and express emotions ….all things Indian!
In terms of design, we are contemporary yet traditional, full of colour & life.
In terms of staff, our writers, photographers, artists, designers, etc. are from both India and different parts of the world. And even non-Indians write for us.
In terms of availability, we are available at a click, free of cost for one & all.
While the method of work at most magazines is essentially the same drill of ideation, morning meetings ( we do ours via Skype at times, since our writers are spread across the world!), drafting edit lists, assigning articles and photo jobs, editing pieces, correcting pictures, designing pages, chasing deadlines… and both smiling & stressing at the end of the day!! What’s different in our ‘method in madness’ is that we encourage even non-writers and photographers to contribute, including our readers, for this is their space. Also, we treat each of our members as a celeb! No matter how small or large his/her role is in the magazine, we consider all as members of this expanding Trumpet family.
Where did the idea for the magazine come from?
There is no research team that did the homework for me to start this magazine. When I landed in Dubai (November 2012) and became a NRI (Non Resident India) I felt a strong urge to strengthen my bond with my home, India as strong as my desire to explore my new home, Dubai. Very soon, this aspiration (first expressed through a blog, (http://theindiantrumpet.blogspot.ae/) became a talking point amongst the huge Indian diaspora & the magazine was born.
Here’s a little note for you on the same, which talks about the work that happened behind-the-scenes for the magazine to take shape.
“To all the people I knew, got to know and will know through this magazine.
Big fat Indian wedding. Friends, food, family. Tears and happy tears. Heena and happiness. NRI husband. Packing bags. Saying good bye to home.
The only way a business can work is by following the commands of its clients, readers in our case. An advice to someone who wants to start a similar product would be to resist temptations to fill up the pages with things that the editor likes the most, talk of trends that its writers follow or simply copy-paste press releases to make the job easier. If one can resist these temptations, then one would be on the right track to creating a perfect magazine for the readers. I would say our strength is interaction with our readers. We’re constantly in touch with them through Facebook, Twitter, blogs, events, contests, meet-ups and a lot more. We exchange e-mails with them, share our plans with them and more. They help us decide what is too much or what is too less.
It’s always easy to give up something! But I’d say to every budding entrepreneur there that one should make a start, and a slow one at that. For, there is something about slow starts. The magic, the frustration, the anxiety, the imperfections, the discouragements, the temptation to give in….But the best thing about slow starts is the fact that you made a start! A beginning towards a dream, a change… It’s not about who wins the race, the tortoise or the rabbit! If we had a chance we would all make a brisk march to our goals but our race is different from his/hers/yours/theirs. I appreciate the moments when people give up because the one who tried is the one who can give up! Find your track and start walking, strolling, hopping, skipping… there is nothing better than being on the start line!
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