Can this woman become one of India's big-time online talk show hosts?

The infamous 9/11 attack was an unfortunate turning point in human history. On a larger scale, it forever divided the world. On a human level, it left people who were there deeply affected and scarred - leaving them looking for answers. For some like Namrata Kini Radhakrishnan, that answer was to achieve more than flashy careers and cars.

“I was walking towards Tower 1 when the first plane crashed into it,” recalls 35-year-old Radhakrishnan. Those fearsome fifteen minutes changed her life, she says. She was then working in a high profile corporate job with Marsh & McLennen. But now, this job suddenly seemed to lack a purpose. “I did not see what I was doing for mankind,” she says.

Not yet sure what to do next, Radhakrishnan attempted something unusual by her standards. In 2003, she ran the 42.195 km New York City marathon, considered one of the toughest marathons in the world. This changed Radhakrishnan’s view on life, albeit in a positive manner. “Not only does it give you bragging rights for life, but you realize you can achieve anything you want,” she says. In 2004, Radhakrishnan and her husband headed back home to India. It was a time when `India was booming.'

Design desires
In a bid to work towards the benefit of others in society, Radhakrishnan started an art gallery to fulfill her desire to explore the field of art and design and also to empower artists. Kynkyny Art was started in November 2004 in a small space she acquired in one of Bengaluru’s residential localities, though it was moved to another area five years ago.

Kynkyny has worked with 250-300 artists to date, each one handpicked by Radhakrishnan. The financial security that the gallery has brought into the lives of the artists she has worked with gives her greater joy, she says.

Show time
With the gallery functioning in a smooth manner, Radhakrishnan decided to focus her energies to fulfill a dream she had held close for long - of creating a platform forachievers to share their stories. The idea was to turn the spotlight on women whohave made a difference to the community.

“Half the women I know are driven, while the other half have given up their ambitions
for family,” she states.

[caption id=“attachment_80453” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Image: Entrepreneur India[/caption]

Her women-centric talk show - ‘Conversations with Namu Kini’ (CWNK) started as a small event with a mock set at Kynkyny last October and is now a full blown show, filmed live in front of an audience of 75 women at Taj West End hotel in Bengaluru, and broadcast online on YouTube since April 2013.

Radhakrishnan admits to Oprah Winfrey being an inspiration. “I was reading Oprah’s magazine on a holiday with my sister and realized ’this is it’,” says Radhakrishnan, co-Founder and CEO, CWNK.

“I feel the urban Indian woman is left out as everyone is focusing on rural women. An urban woman may have money, but if she does not hold the reigns of her life, she loses out,” she says.

Lights, camera, action
The talk show set is designed to resemble an Indian woman’s boudoir. Particular about details, Radhakrishnan has handpicked every aesthetic element.

In just eight months, she has brought achievers and revealed untold stories on her show.

On any Friday of every month, CWNK rolls out the red carpet for the urban Indian woman. For just Rs 2,000 - inclusive of wine and dinner, a mix of homemakers, professionals and entrepreneurs are privy to three speakers who share their triumphs and trials for 15 minutes each, followed by a rapid fire round of questions and answers. The rest canwatch it online for free.

Sumitra Senapati, Founder, Women on Wanderlust, an eight-year old travel club for women has been a guest speaker at CWNK.

She says, “It’s a little restricted because the show is only held in Bengaluru. However, it’s a comfortable platform and you don’t feel like you are being interviewed.”

It’s an empowering experience, she adds.

Radhakrishnan chose the internet as a medium because it allows her to call the shots including selecting advertisers in the future.

When uploaded online, each conversation is released as an individual piece. “This generates more content,” she says.

Presently, it survives on sponsorship to cover costs including flying down speakers.
Real estate biggie Embassy Group is a primary sponsor among others.

A space for all
“Namu brings in not only the top women achievers but also smaller players who are making a difference to society,” says Archana Doshi, chef and founder, Archanaskitchen.com, a food website, who has been a speaker too.

According to Archana, she brings out their stories on how they used their inner strength and have risen without any external support. “That’s her differentiator,“she says.

Radhakrishnan has just finished the first season and is taking a break before CWNK unveils the next set.

“I want to tweak the format slightly and bring the energy of a live audience to thevideo and add some audio-visual elements into it,” she says. Doshi who has been avivid viewer of CWNK since inception says, “Radhakrishnan has evolved well asa person.”

This article first appeared in Entrepreneur India magazine