The Bliss CatchersTM is a popular Event Series which is inspired by Joseph Campbell’s awakening ‘Follow Your Bliss’ philosophy. The Event is a live conversation each month between AVIS Viswanathan, and invited guests who have gone on to do what they love doing the most in Life, often giving up the “security” of “predictable and conventional” careers. This event is for anyone who wants to pause, reflect and reboot their Life.
The Bliss CatchersTM, running since January 2015, is hosted by Odyssey Bookstore, Chennai.
The Bliss CatchersTM, running since January 2015, is hosted by Odyssey Bookstore, Chennai.
The Bliss Catchers - Season 3 - August 2017
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Janaki Sabesh:
Story-teller for children. Actor. Her Golpo Tales is a super-hit with kids and she’s known as the ‘Universal Amma’ in Tamil films, having been screen mother to most stars! And she also keeps a high-profile corporate job. She says her bliss lies in her “ability to manage all that she loves doing!” Akhila Krishnamurthy : Arts manager, writer and curator. She quit a predictable career in journalism five years ago to set up Aalaap, an arts management company, that collaborates with performing artists to showcase their creations globally. Her bliss is to “discover and present fascinating human stories from the art world”. Both ladies are from namma Chennai. And both of them have unique stories. Janaki’s is of being able to immerse herself in her multiple passions and Akhila’s is of an unusual path she’s taken – from journalism to arts management! Come, listen to them. You may then be inspired to follow your bliss! |
The Bliss Catchers - Season 3 - July 2017
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Mahesh Venkateswaran:
Traveler. Photographer. Music-lover. In 2014, he quit his top draw job as EVP & MD, after close to two decades at Cognizant Technology Solutions managing over a billion dollars in business, to fulfil the 25-25-25 math he had derived for himself – 25 years to learn, 25 years to earn and 25 years to enjoy! He set up MADRasana at his Besant Nagar home-garden in 2016 to nurture classical art in a different setting for both artists and listeners. His bliss is to “celebrate the joy of being alive and to go see the world, while being immediately available to his family and community!” Ramnath Chandrasekhar : Conservation educator. Wildlife photographer and film-maker. During the last 15 years, 28-year-old Ram has traveled across India to capture inspirational stories that facilitate people’s understanding of our rich natural and cultural heritage. He has spearheaded nature and conservation education programs to reach out to thousands of students. Ram’s bliss is to “use visual storytelling to connect the younger generation to nature and conservation.” Two men. Two different generations. Two interesting journeys of following their bliss. Listen to them – you will leave inspired! |
The Bliss Catchers - Season 3 - June 2017
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Liz Thottan:
Restaurateur. Surfer. Free Spirit. Two years ago, she kicked her corporate job, she walked out of a stagnant relationship, she set up her Café, Eli’s Kitchen, and took to the waves in Mahabalipuram. Her bliss is “to live fully, happily, with no regrets and without wasting even a minute!” Subadra Kalyanaraman and Balajee Ge: Subadra’s an artist and her soulmate Balajee is a writer. Both of them keep day jobs. But they dive deep daily into what they love doing. The world swoons over her wall-art and paintings! His humor blog ‘Local Tea Party’ and the scripts he writes for Put Chutney’s YouTube shows are insanely popular! The couple are in that beautiful zone where they are enjoying the best of two worlds! How do Liz, Subadra and Balajee manage to pack so much into their days; what makes them come alive? Listen to their journeys – you may be inspired to follow your own bliss! |
The Bliss Catchers - Season 3 - May 2017
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“Poochi” Venkat:
He’s super okay with being called “Poochi” – insect! That’s S.Venkataraaman – a sound-engineer-turned photographer-turned entomophile! He finds the world of insects so deeply spiritual and inspiring, that he’s dedicated his Life to protecting them. His bliss is to encourage us humans “to stop squirming at the sight of insects and instead start loving them”! Arun Krishnamurthy: 83 and counting – that’s the number of lakes that Arun’s Environmentalist Foundation of India has helped clean and conserve across 6 states in India!!! In 2011, he quit his job at Google to deep dive into environmental activism. His bliss is “to invite people like us to partner and participate in programs to protect our endangered ecosystem”! Two purposeful men, two powerful stories –– listen to them, you may be inspired to follow your own bliss! 
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The Bliss Catchers - Season 3 - April 2017
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Zakir Hussain: A Bharatanatyam Dancer, Thirupaavai Upanyasam Expert and Founder of SriPaadham Academy of Dance, Zakir describes his bliss thus: “to inspire audiences to soak in the beauty of Andal’s Life and the message of Vaishnavism while promoting secularism.”
Balu Pandiyan: Master Sommelier and an Oenophile. He has given “all that he has” to educate himself on wines. His bliss is “to get people to appreciate the magic and beauty of wine, one sip at a time!” Two wonderful people following their life journeys, one spiritual and one spirited! 
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The Bliss Catchers - Season 3 - March 2017
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Kirthi Jayakumar: Women’s Rights Activist. A survivor of abuse herself, she founded the Red Elephant Foundation in 2013 to make the world a better, safer place for women. Her bliss is “to help women across the world be empowered so that they are not silently suffering abuse, bullying, judgment, inequity or lack of education.”
Indu Divya: Master Story-teller. Founder, The Narrative. Indu found her own voice through a cathartic personal experience. She healed through story-telling. Her bliss lies in “empowering lives by harnessing the power of stories: to help people communicate and connect better - with themselves and with others.” Two wonderful young ladies, two inspiring journeys, listen to them –– you may be inspired to follow your own bliss! 
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The Bliss Catchers - Season 3 - February 2017
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Freddy Koikkaran: A true Bonzer (Australian slang for a jolly good fella)! Born for the stage! 26 years on it and counting. A stage and film actor, theatre director, singer and voiceover artist who runs Stagefright Productions, Chennai’s blockbuster theatre company. A behavioural trainer who uses theatre to help people be more authentic in their interactions. His bliss is ‘helping people communicate more effectively and celebrate themselves through theatre and entertainment’.
Shyam Renganathan: The ‘Runaway’ RJ at Fever 91.9 FM. Had the courage to stop being that goody-goody kid at home and to literally run away from engineering school! Actor and Dreamer. His bliss is doing ‘what his heart tells him to do and what makes him happiest’ – which is, going out there and entertaining people 
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The Bliss Catchers - Season 3 - January 2017
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Pradeep Chakravarthy: London School of Economics alumnus. McKinsey-consultant turned Historian, Heritage Expert and Author. Lives his bliss inspiring people to deep dive into the exotic world of traditional music, food, art and culture from Tamil Nadu.
Pradeep John: a.k.a The Tamil Nadu Weatherman. Pluviophile. (Google the meaning – you’ll get to know the man in a nanosecond!) Computer Engineer. Works for a quasi-government firm on urban infrastructure project planning. His bliss is losing himself while chasing the rains! 
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The Bliss Catchers - Season 2 - November 2016
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Key Takeaways:
Srikanth Chandrasekaran: "The process is more important than the outcomes; I stay detached from the outcomes and thoroughly enjoy the process of doing whatever I love doing!" Sandeep Narayan: "Going with the flow, evolving with the path is important. Avoid all distractions and temptations, stay focused on the one thing you love doing!" AVIS: "Life is a limited period offer and if you don't use the opportunity of this lifetime now, you never will!" Quoting Rumi and distilling the learning: "Gamble everything you have for what you love; half-heartedness gets you nowhere!" 
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The Bliss Catchers - Season 2 - October 2016
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Key Takeaways:
Devika: "As long as I am teaching children, be it art and culture or be it Gandhian Thought, I am very happy. And Life has just kept happening - always serendipitously!" AVIS: "All human beings are embodiments of spiritual energy! We can tap into that energy only if we live joyfully. The Universe is conspiring to make things happen for us when we follow our bliss, but we must take that first step, we must latch on to the first sign we receive from the cosmos!" 
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The Bliss Catchers - Season 2 - September 2016
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Key Takeaways:
Veeru: "You can't do anything about the past, you can't do anything about the future till it arrives, so might as well live fully in the moment, doing what you love doing!" Santhosh: "I don't think my cup will ever be full. I want to live a Life without any regrets...so I always go out and do what I want to do!!" AVIS (sharing from Rumi): "Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth. Come alive and do your own thing!" |
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The Bliss Catchers - Season 2 - August 2016
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Key Takeaways:
Niladri: "Make no compromises with what gives you joy and then just go with the flow!" Mathivanan: "Sometimes you have to learn to strike the balance between what makes you happy and what you have to still do...then you will reach the place where you will be inspired by the environment; Chennai's culture scene is truly motivating!" AVIS (sharing from Rumi): "When you work from you soul, you will feel a river moving in you, a joy; You too can experience that joy! But the key is to not allow the dividing line between what the world wants from you and what you want from Life to grow into a large, unshrinkable band, a gray area a.k.a the rat race!" 
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The Bliss Catchers - Season 2 - July 2016
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From a conservative business family in Rajapalayam to the exquisite wines in France’s Bordeaux region, from panning the insides of a car in Tokyo’s Renault-Nissan plant to counting down to cooking Top Ramen noodles for exactly 110 seconds, both Chinmaya and Satoshi-san have found their bliss! 
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The Bliss Catchers - Season 2 - June 2016
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We called it the special edition of The Seeker (AVIS), The Rockstar (Ramkey) and The Monk (Ramkumar)!!! |
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The Bliss Catchers - Season 2 - May 2016
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An IIM graduate who has been a part of the corporate rat-race, Venky decided to do what gives him joy_quizzing! From running quizzes at various forums to also holding events for learning from Sports achievers, he does it all.
Ramani, a collage artist, chose to do collage although it was an unconventional art-form and difficult to establish oneself and gain recognition. 
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The Bliss Catchers - Season 2 - April 2016
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Key Takeaways:
Sridar: "It is only the music that matters...." Indu: "If you don't like something, run away from it!" 
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The Bliss Catchers - Season 2 - March 2016
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Key Takeaways:
Sujatha: "Self-doubt and introspection are inevitable on this journey. Wanting to be doing what I love doing is what keeps me going - the challenges will be there, but you get the strength to plough on from your love for what you are doing!" Maitreyi: "I anchored within myself and also created an ecosystem of people around me who encouraged me as I made my choice to give up film-making and embrace holistic living. I focused on what made me happy by understanding what had made me unhappy." 
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The Bliss Catchers - Season 2 - February 2016
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Ramnarayan on whether he considers not playing for India as missing his 'bliss bus': "The game is my bliss, not the the prizes or the fame associated with it! I am happy I played the game for as long as I could."
Gowri on how she's been able to consistently follow her bliss through all the upheavals in Life: "You catch your bliss when you are ready for adventure!" Akhila on why she went away to the US and why she came back: "I guess I was searching for who I am when I went away and when I realized that my heart lay in theatre, in music and in the performing arts, here in Chennai, I simply came back!" Abhinav on how you decide on what gives you joy: "You start doing something with a reason but your reasoning evolves over time. You idea of what makes you happy emerges from confusion!" 
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The Bliss Catchers - Season 2 - January 2016
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Rakesh's story was all about equanimity, detachment and choosing to not just follow his bliss - food - but also enjoy it by living it every moment! Rajith's was of pinning down what can be a potential disadvantage - procrastination - and conquering it; also being sure that he didn't want to "go back to Mumbai and corporate Life"! 
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The Bliss Catchers - November 2015
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An engineer who's "first bliss" was Sivaji Ganesan, who gave up his only job, with no other source of income in hand, because he "couldn't take it anymore" and yet went on to act in over 100 films and was the most popular face on Tamil TV, Krishnan's Life exemplifies the perspective that contentment can also bring bliss. 
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The Bliss Catchers - October 2015
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Sriram: "I am doing what I am doing because it makes me come alive. I don't necessarily like to work with a plan of what I am going to be in the future." Nikhil: "What we are doing at Postbox makes us touch the lives of artists, and that is something that I totally love." Madhuvanthi: "I know this is what I want to do all my Life; maybe I will keep finding newer ways of doing it, but I don't think I want to do anything else." 
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The Bliss Catchers - September 2015
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Niyantha told us how much he enjoys traveling and how much joy there is in simply being, traveling, soaking in the sights and knowing the stories of people you meet along the way! He quit his job with Microsoft in Seattle to do what he's doing. Nishant is clear that if you love something, just go for it! He quit his job at ITC Hotels to set up Brownie Heaven a few months ago! "There are no regrets", he said, "I realize this is the time for me to experiment with what I love doing and learn from the experience. I am just going with the flow and I am enjoying every bit of it!" 
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The Bliss Catchers - August 2015
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Bala told us what it means to do what you love doing, how to stay uncompromising and unflinching on the path, how Life must be lived and how each of us has a choice not to let our inner peace be affected. 
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The Bliss Catchers - July 2015
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Anil shared with us how far removed he was from music and his beloved piano just 15 years ago, despite a prodigious start when he was just three. It was Mandolin U.Srinivas who gave Anil "the gift of re-infusing music in his Life" - one night in New York, when Anil was depressed, spaced out and totally lost. He was struggling with a PhD that made no sense. Srinivas asked him to play the piano. And that was it! The most important point Anil made last evening was this: "If you have clarity on what is your bliss, and when you are following it, then nothing else really matters. Nothing else comes in the way!" 
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The Bliss Catchers - June 2015
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Parvathi talked about how the joy of creating art made every challenge and hurdle seem inconsequential. Venket shared why the journey, of "being a student who is still understanding and learning about light", is more important than the destination.
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The Bliss Catchers - May 2015
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Both Preethi and Srini shared their journey of launching their "sustainable goodies" venture, Krya, and, importantly, told us what makes them keep going despite the inevitable hurdles that come along the way. Srini said that they always focus on the "Big Picture" (their Purpose) whenever they are up against a wall and Preethi talked about how it was important to be who you are, true to yourself, to experience bliss!
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The Bliss Catchers - April 2015
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Dr.Srinivasan's practical, focused perspective of learning to "let go and delegate" and Dr.Ambika's insights on how simply "being" allows grace to take over your Life brought in a different dimension to the journey of "following your bliss"!
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The Bliss Catchers - March 2015
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Rithvik's perspective of singing for joy and Satya's meditative outlook to his photography inspired the audience.
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The Bliss Catchers - February 2015
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It was a packed house and Karthik regaled everyone with stories from his Life; especially with his "You Live Only Once" - YOLO - philosophy!
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The Bliss Catchers - January 2015
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Baradwaj inspired everyone with his story of giving up a career in the US and coming down to India to Follow his Bliss of watching and writing about movies. He stressed on his "Go with the Flow" approach to Life!
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