Author: Sutun Nayak

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 15: Indian music has lost one of its most timeless voices on Sunday, April 12, 2026. Asha Bhosle died at the age of 92 in a hospital in Mumbai. She was not just a singer; she was a lifetime laborer and a lifelong learner.

Starting Young

Asha started life in misery. In 1933, she was born in a musical family. Her father passed on when she was nine. She and her elder sister, Lata Mangeshkar, joined films to sing in order to help the family.

Her first song was recorded in the Marathi movie Majha Bal when she was 10 years old. Most children were playing, but Asha was in the recording studios learning to be disciplined and to be in control.

To Find Her Own Way.

Asha has been having difficulties standing out. Her sister Lata was already a leading voice, often chosen for soft, traditional songs. The rest of the tracks, fast, complex, and unconventional, were normally allotted to Asha.

She did not stand up against this, but modified. She practiced her voice to sing the jazz-type of songs, practiced speed and breath control to dance numbers, and developed a style that was versatile and unique. Unless she was the first choice to sing one kind of song, she was the first choice to sing lots of other songs.

The World Record

Asha Bhosle was, in the long run, the most recorded artist in history. Guinness World Records recognized her for recording over 11,000 songs across 20 languages.

She sang with different genres:

Classical music

Pop and dance music.

Ghazals (poetic songs)

Devotional music

Staying Modern

Asha could never cease to adapt. She even worked with new composers like A. R. Rahman in her 60s and 70s, and even joined international artists like Gorillaz.

In her extracurricular activities, she opened a chain of restaurants named “Asha’s; in her interests, she loved to cook. She used to say that she would have been a chef had she not been a singer.

A Life in Music

Asha experienced significant transitions both in the first years of post-independent India and in the digital era of music. Nonetheless, her training remained basic: practice every day and get better and better.

Her family (son Anand and her grandchildren) survives her. When she goes away, she leaves her recordings. In her work, you can see that even though you are working in the shadow of another person, you still can create a legacy of your own.

Iconic Songs by Decade

Key Collaborations and Genres

PNN Lifestyle

New Delhi [India], April 15: Pocketful, the fast-growing discount brokerage backed by the 30-year legacy of the Pace Group, has appointed Prateek Singh as its new Chief Executive Officer, marking a significant step in the company’s growth journey. The brand introduced this strategic leadership change to achieve its growth objectives while establishing itself as a major player in the changing investment market of India. 

Prateek Singh possesses 13 years of experience, which he has used to develop digital financial platforms through his work on customer acquisition, product development, and business growth initiatives. Before starting his work at Pocketful, he spent time at Bajaj Broking as Chief Growth Officer, where he helped the company develop its digital presence and improve its platform functionalities. 

Expressing his enthusiasm, Sarvam Goel, Co-Founder of Pocketful, said, “Prateek’s appointment represents an essential milestone for Pocketful, which will help the company expand its operations and strengthen its position in the Indian investment market. His successful history of developing digital financial platforms, together with his focus on user experience, perfectly matches our organization’s future objectives. Pocketful will achieve its next phase of growth through his guidance, which will create new technical innovations and improve our market value.” 

At Pocketful, Prateek will lead the company’s mission to create an accessible investment platform that enables all investors to use its services. The company delivers an investment process that customers can use without any kind of difficulty. 

Commenting on his appointment, Prateek Singh, CEO, Pocketful, said, “I am truly excited to join Pocketful at such a pivotal stage of its growth journey. India’s capital markets are witnessing remarkable momentum, with increasing retail participation and a growing shift towards digital investing. At Pocketful, we have a unique opportunity to simplify and reimagine the investing experience for a wider audience. I look forward to working closely with the team to drive innovation and enable more confident, informed participation in the markets.” 

Pocketful offers zero brokerage on equity delivery trades, along with zero account opening charges and lifetime zero AMC fees, making it an attractive choice for retail investors. At the same time, the platform caters to active traders through advanced, institutional-grade tools built for speed, precision, and reliability. 

The company also provides a Margin Trading Facility (MTF) starting at 5.99%* per annum, enabling greater flexibility for active participants. A key innovation is Pocketful GPT, a custom-trained intelligence layer that allows users to generate trade ideas, analyze portfolios, and execute trades within a unified interface.

With its recent expansion into mutual funds, Pocketful is evolving into a comprehensive investment platform. Under Prateek Singh’s leadership, the company is well-positioned to accelerate growth and capture a larger share of India’s rapidly expanding investor base.

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Mumbai (Maharashtra), April 14: Kalamkaar and SVF have announced The Legacy, a live-format rap reality show, which is courting both opportunity and timing by presenting itself as a verdict in India’s cacophonous hip-hop arena.

While Desi Hip-Hop (DHH) is moving from subculture to industry, the show seeks to fill a void that has been there for a long time: the lack of a credible, performance-first arena that truly mirrors the scene. In an arena that has been dominated by the glossy sheen of studio polish, curated narratives and indulgent entertainment, this show is trying to present itself as a more brutal, audience-facing arena—less circus, more test.

It is spearheaded by Raftaar and KR$NA; artists who have helped shape the lyrical and competitive tenor of the genre in their own ways. It is clear that this is not a show meant for entertainment but as a filter to see an artist who could move beyond a moment of virality.

The main concept behind The Legacy is a crucial departure from reality TV in general. The show is going to be shot in multiple real settings, literally pitting contestants against the public instead of confined studio audiences. It is not a coincidence that in hip-hop, credibility is never negotiated in a safe zone; it is forged in front of an audience that can immediately respond. This is why the show is trying to emulate the culture in question by having its contestants judged by the same conditions in which they will be evaluated in real life.

In a similar vein, the judging system of The Legacy retools itself to incorporate a hybrid model: technical panels will score the contestants on elements such as lyricism, flow, and composition, but this will be balanced against audience voters. In hip-hop, authority is always distributed; the critics can critique any track, but the culture chooses. And The Legacy is trying to formally incorporate this in the show’s structure by giving the audience a voice in the outcome.

And this is not the only place where this understanding of hip-hop culture surfaces; the incentive structure of the show is a testament to that as well. When a winner is offered an album deal, it is not only about exposure; it is about access to the whole infrastructure of a professional career. More interestingly, all contestants will be paid on a progressive scale as they move through the competition. In a genre where artists often perform for free, this could be seen as the introduction of a necessary standard of professionalism.

Access, too, has been a principle that has foregrounded the project. The series is open to all 14-40-year-olds from India, with a submission process that is free of charge. That is a deliberate choice. Many of the pockets of India’s hip-hop talent continue to come from non-institutional spaces, where a sweet addition of fees can, at an unnoticeable level, filter out good talent. The Legacy is widening the funnel to maximize the chances of catching voices that may exist beyond the vista of usual openness.

Applications are currently being accepted via an official online platform, https://thelegacy.live/, to which artists are asked to submit an original rap or freestyle video that shows what the creators call a “pen, presence, and personality.” There is some purpose in the wording here. Skill is necessary, but not sufficient. The show is looking for a composite personality. One who can write and perform, and occupy a space in an assertive way.

The Legacy continues on Kalamkaar’s long-held role as a platform for artist development. The group has helped identify and develop many well-known figures in the DHH circuit. For SVF, it is into music-led cultural programming and showing a new format for their production business. Their infrastructure and credibility lend to a combination that is often missing when trying to formalize an underground movement.

The Legacy’s relevance is greater than that of the show itself; rather, it is what it is attempting to formalize. Indian Hip-hop for the most part continues in its decentralised ways, in cyphers, independently released work, and digital virality. As the scene moves into monetisation and mainstream, it looks like the question is how to scale its growth along a structure.

The Legacy exists at that threshold itself. It is not just a show, it is a framework, an attempt to bring the raw, competitive energy of the streets into a medium that can be sold, that can be televised, that can be monetized, that can be commercialized without stripping it off its essence.

It will decide for itself. Authenticity is harder to regain than to lose. If this balance can be maintained between performance and production value, between judgment and community, the series could be a watershed.

Not only for the artists it discovers, but for how Indian hip-hop discovers them.

PNN Lifestyle

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], April 14: MICA – The School of Ideas, India’s premier institute for Strategic Marketing and Communication, hosted its 31st Convocation Ceremony, marking the graduation of 255 students across its flagship programmes—PGDMC, PGDM, CCC, and FPM. The ceremony was a celebration not only of academic achievement and industry recognition, but also of the unique, deeply personal journeys that shaped this graduating cohort.

The Class of 2026 represents a new generation of professionals who are not defined by conventional paths, but by their willingness to explore, adapt, and innovate. From medicine to marketing, architecture to storytelling, and shared journeys to individual growth, these students exemplify the spirit of MICA—where creativity meets purpose.

Beyond academic excellence, the Class of 2026 stood out for its diversity of backgrounds and transformative journeys.

Among them were twins Aditi Jain and Aditya Jain, whose shared academic history evolved into distinct professional paths at MICA—one exploring advertising and the other fintech. Their journey reflects the institute’s ability to foster individuality even within shared experiences, offering both familiarity and independence.

Dr. Dhruvam Ujjaval Nanavati, a trained medical professional, made the unconventional transition from medicine to marketing. His experience at MICA enabled him to embrace ambiguity, challenge perspectives, and apply his analytical rigor in new contexts, ultimately securing a role within the pharmaceutical industry.

For Moksh Malhotra, MICA was a space to explore multiple dimensions of growth—from contributing to the Placement Committee to performing with the theatre society, Sankalp. His journey highlighted the importance of time management, collaboration, and continuous learning in a high-intensity environment.

Yashasvi Shukla’s journey from Life Sciences to marketing highlights the strength of interdisciplinary thinking. Bringing a scientific mindset rooted in observation and analysis, she found at MICA that marketing was an extension of understanding human behaviour. Engaging in collaborative learning on campus, she demonstrated how diverse backgrounds can offer fresh, insightful approaches to marketing challenges.

Sanya Sethi’s transition from architecture to marketing storytelling exemplifies interdisciplinary evolution. At MICA, she expanded her understanding of human-centered design into the realm of perception and narrative, culminating in a pre-placement offer from IBM following her internship in ecosystem marketing.

The convocation was graced by Sushant Dash, CEO of Tata Starbucks Pvt. Ltd., who delivered an inspiring keynote address centered on the theme “Sparks of Excellence.” Emphasizing the importance of discipline, purpose, and sound judgment in an AI-driven world, he encouraged graduates to focus on long-term character over short-term brilliance.

Director & CEO Jaya Deshmukh outlined the institute’s future vision through the MICA Lens, anchored in five pillars—Creativity, Culture, Communication, Commerce, and Community—reaffirming MICA’s commitment to nurturing creative leaders equipped for a rapidly evolving landscape.

MICA continued to witness robust industry confidence in the Class of 2026, with over 130 companies participating in final placements and the highest CTC reaching ₹45.67 LPA (offered by Google). The summer internship process saw 229 students placed across 97 companies, marking a 31% increase in recruiter participation. 

Compensation trends remained strong, with the highest stipend at ₹5.76 lakh, an average of ₹1.77 lakh (10% increase), and a median of ₹1.40 lakh (17% increase). Additionally, the CCC programme reported 47 students securing internships across 27 companies, further underscoring MICA’s sustained industry engagement.

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