We had an interesting online program on Sunday 10 January, 2021. Our guest on the program was Kiran Khalap. Kiran started his working life as a school teacher in the Rajghat Besant School in Varanasi. He began his career in advertising in 1983 in Lintas and joined Clarion Advertising in1991. In 1997, he became Chief Executive Officer and Chief Creative Officer (CEO and CCO) at Clarion Advertising. In 1999, he co-founded Chlorophyll, a brand consultancy firm.
Kiran Khalap’s four year stint as a teacher in Varanasi has an interesting background. Even at an early age, Kiran had a strong ‘spiritual’ yearning to know the truth. He read most contemporary philosophers and ancient scriptures but finally it was a J Krishnamurti book which changed his life. After finishing his graduation, Kiran decided to join the Rajghat Besant School in Varanasi as a teacher. In those 4 years, he found himself learning and evolving in his role as teacher, housemaster and more. As a housemaster, he looked after students, who were barely five or six years younger. He taught the students everything he knew including calligraphy, judo, gymnastics, swimming, rock climbing, English grammar, science and quizzing. Kiran wrote an article about his years in Rajghat and the article is attached.
In conversation with Kiran Khalap on the program will be Sayan Mukerji. After a successful career as a Chartered Accountant in various multinationals across continents, Sayan retired as Vice President from Bayer Cropscience at the early age of fifty. One of the major influences in this decision was a talk by J Krishnamurti, which he had attended in 1982. Sayan says he found a new inner freedom and so much more meaning to his daily existence.
