Multi-faceted Leader

Ajayya Kumar is a man of multiple talents and a burning desire to channel his skills into promoting his roots and help people succeed

For anyone not living under a rock, the name Ajayya Kumar rings a bell in the multiverse of management thinkers and authors. He has emerged as a name to be noted and a force to be reckoned with in the past few years, venturing into the arena of writing and becoming a cultural connoisseur.

Apart from being a management thinker, author, TEDx speaker, art curator, Ajayya is also the Chief Operating Officer of Emricom. He has won many awards for being a visionary leader and is based out of the UAE. Ajayya’s business acumen has also helped Emircom create a strong foundation over the past 20 years.

Championing Culture and Art

Despite having moved to the UAE, Ajayya never lost his love for his cultural heritage, making an effort to maintain a strong connection to his cultural background at all times. He was born and raised in Thrissur, Kerala and was exposed to kathakali shows and performers as a young child, which inspired his advocacy and interest in culture. Consequently, he has spearheaded several Kathakali and other traditional arts festivals in India and overseas.

Ajayya is the Founder and Chief Curator of the Sarvamanagala Arts Initiative (SAI), which executes projects under two banners — Sarvamanagala Sabha, a not-for-profit organisation and Sarvamangala Productions, a media production company making conscious interventions in the field of films and OTT content. A cultural foundation that makes deliberate interventions in the fields of art, culture, and cinema through curated events, fundraisers, film production, and artist services, Ajayya started the initiative to promote Indian classical art forms.

A recent project of Ajayya and his Sarvamangala Trust initiative is the cultural mapping of the Peruvanam village, aiming to increase its exposure and economic growth by changing it into a creative economy. The Peruvanam temple and village have been classified as a protected site by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Author, Tedx Speaker and host of podcasts

Ajayya is a voracious reader and insightful author due to his love of art, culture, and literature. He has published three books, ‘Lessons from 21 films for the 21st century entrepreneurs’, ‘Formula-G’, an Amazon number one bestseller and ‘Mindful parenting’. His fourth book ‘Business Gita’, which is set to be released in January 2023, is organised in the form of talks, imparting management lessons via them. He has received stellar reviews from 'The Telegraph and Ashwin Sanghi, the celebrated author.

Through the podcast series named beingajay, Ajayya conversed with several renowned personalities, like NASA scientist, Dr. Jennifer Wiseman, former RAW Chief, PK Hormis Tharakan, noted author, Chetan Bhagat, Metroman, E Sridharan, and Dr. Mukesh Kapila. It is one of several programs aimed at passing on the knowledge of specialists in many fields to the current and the next generation. Ajayya also introduced a rescue code for children for the first time in the world to safeguard them from domestic abuse. His idea was to bring the gaming community to the rescue of the abused children. His short film on the subject was also chosen for the Cannes Film Festival.

Ajayya Kumar’s Tedx speech on Importance of solitude in entrepreneurship went viral and has garnered over a million views. He has been recognised and awarded as the Global Asian of the year 2021-22 by Asia one.

He has also been recently recognised as the ‘World's Best Emerging Business Leader 2022' in the author category. The award, given by WCRCINT, in association with The Malcolm McDonald Academy, recognises the world's best emerging leaders.

Mindful Parenting and conclave in UAE

His interest in parenting and parenting techniques inspired him to co-author a book on parenting with eminent Lifologist, Praveen Parameswar. The book thoroughly explains the issues that modern parents confront and how to overcome such challenges easily and tactically. It’s an excellent guide for new parents and parents who want to raise their children in a better way. The book is a master class in parenting and Ajayya has been a speaker at various events, including the National Guidance Festival by CBSE, Government of India, discussing the need and concepts of mindful parenting.

Mindful parenting is one of his dream projects, and he wants to take it to the next level by presenting a deep session on parenting in the UAE to promote awareness about mindful parenting among the UAE parents. The Mindful Parenting Conclave is taking place in Abu Dhabi and Dubai with Dr. Kiran Bedi, the first woman to reach the rank of officer in the Indian Police Service and a social crusader, being the conclave's primary speaker. The major goal of this conclave is to execute mindful parenting techniques in an organised manner in front of guests from various professions connected to children and their education. This comprises Indian school administrators, educational experts, representatives from Indian parent-teacher organisations, social activists, and other dignitaries. Dr. Bedi will unveil her new book ‘Fearless Governance’ to the UAE audience on this occasion, followed by the book launch of ‘Business Gita’.

Ajayya BharathY Foundation – Initiative for Social intervention

Ajayya is collaborating with a number of non-governmental organisations to promote the notion of mindful parenting. He has established the Ajayya Bharathy Foundation, a non-profit organisation solely committed to the field of parenting. It is named after Ajayya and his mother Bharathy, and he established it in remembrance of his mother, and her enormous impact on his upbringing. Ajayya believes that her advice and lessons helped him become a great parent.

The foundation intends to work with numerous government departments as well as foreign organisations to spread the concept of mindful parenting to the next generation.

Summing it all up

To say that Ajayya is a versatile personality with a wide range of skills and talents in his quiver, would be an understatement. One of his outstanding characteristics is his willingness to share his hard-earned knowledge with the community through his books, articles, and talks. His interest in cultural diversity and tradition is unique for a businessman. The flexibility with which he functions in society is what is even more admirable. He finds time to explore the possibilities of enhancing the communities and the society in which he lives. The growth mindset that he has is an ideal model for developing one’s society. The greater understanding of the needs and requirements of one’s society and considering the society and everyone around him as one’s own is what helps Ajayya to be a person who represents honour and compassion. Even while living amidst a hectic professional life, he always takes the time to go back to his roots and give back what he can to the native community.

— ali@khaleejtimes.com

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