A tale of an author’s journey in the world of luxury, something he compares with Dante’s Inferno. A former Chief Editor and Communications Leader, Prof Mahul Brahma’s fight, through his books, columns, and lectures, has been to break the myopic view of luxury based on price tags and to make luxury inclusive, for all.
“The realm of the unconventional is the space where mythic value is created for luxury brands.”, as quoted from one of his books, in his quest of finding the secret behind luxury brands surviving centuries, Prof. (Dr.) Mahul Brahma started researching on myths. Since The Luxe Trilogy he has been looking at luxury very academically because he was on a mission – ‘to bring luxury out of the bondage of price-tags and democratize it, make it inclusive…for all.’ Hence, he started looking at luxe from various lenses of history, philosophy, sociology, philosophy, and anthropology.
His sixth book The Mythic Value of Luxury is his extensive research that unveils the power of embodying contradictions that create a mythic value in a luxury brand. The greater the contradictions it can house, the greater the mythic value. He says, ‘If you deeply study The Thinker or Le Penseur, you will see its mythic value, embodying the two biggest contradictions of all times – mind and body.’
A strong believer in the fact, “The word luxury comes from the word luxe, which means “dazzle”. The dazzle is the brightest when the mythic value of luxury is the highest. Therefore, the degree of the mythic value will determine the Luxe Quotient and Luxe Factor. The greater the degree of contradictions that a brand embodies, the greater the mythic value, the greater the Luxe Quotient, and the greater the Luxe Factor. This is where perception plays a critical role.”, he has backed it with stunning examples in his literary works.
Related Articles
Ashok Hindustani: A Marked Eminence in the Contradictions of Life
The Concept of VAE VICTIS pervades in El-Dorado
Poetry is a Fusion of Thought and Feelings
For example, the Patiala crown necklace made by Cartier in 1926 had the seventh-largest diamond by De Beers of 234.69 carats and was overall adorned by 2,930 diamonds. The black and white photograph of the Maharaja of Patiala adorning the necklace is widely showcased by Cartier in every strategic boutique of Cartier even today. The photograph is an example of the mythic value of luxury which embodies the biggest contradictions – diamonds are a man’s best friend, and not a woman’s.
“The realm of the unconventional is the space where mythic value is created for luxury brands,” he further elaborates.
Luxury has always been his inspiration. His TEDx Talk on the Mythic Value of Luxury is based on his research towards answering a fundamental question “how do some luxury brands survive the test of time while others perish?”
So, it was Prof Brahma’s research paper on this fundamental quest that led to the talk on TEDx and then The Mythic Value of Luxury. It took him almost a year to complete the book, including research. However, the idea for the same had been conceptualized almost a decade back, when he started editing the luxury magazine for the India partner of the New York Times. In his third book Luxe Inferno, he elaborates on his journey to the inferno of luxury during this period.
While writing books on luxury, his biggest challenge has always been the review of literature, that is, finding references. He says, “The literature on luxury before my first book Decoding Luxe has been, unfortunately, product catalogs. So it is always a struggle and in many cases, I have to refer to my own research.”
During the lockdown, he had written a book called Quarantined: Love in the Time of Corona, which has been lauded by the international media as it depicts stories of people from various strata of the society who were stuck during the lockdown in 2020. The book explores the lives of people who were struck, mostly with people they thought they knew. It is an anthology of dark love stories.
Having spent a decade in the corporates with the Tata group, heading corporate communications, CSR, branding, and publications, he has written a book in his preferred genre, which is, non-fiction, titled, “How to Communicate Strategically in Corporate World”. It is a handbook for CEOs on leadership, crisis, and strategic communications.
The Luxe Trilogy holds a very special place in his heart as well as in the literature on luxury. The Foreword for his books are written by noted Economist and Author Dr. Bibek Debroy, who is currently the Chairman of Economic Advisory
Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM). Decoding Luxe was a book that was able to break the hackneyed profiling of luxury as a product catalog based on “price tags”. It was a story that needed to be told, on the evolution of luxury in India and the love affair between Indian royalty and luxury brands. For example, Rolls Royce’s 25% sales used to come from India alone in the 1920s, the Nizam’s postmen used to ride Harleys, and the Maharaja of Patiala converted Rolls Royce into a garbage collector because his ego was hurt. Through this book, Dr. Brahma illustrates in length how luxury should be democratized and freed from the bondage of prices. The craftsmanship and the stories are for everyone to appreciate and enjoy. Luxury is not about possession alone.
In the second book of the trilogy, Dark Luxe, he explores a very strange combination – Luxury and Crime. It highlights the darkness that hides behind the dazzle, an area that has always been uncharted. The stories are dark and disturbing, but yes, luxury remained a silent witness and sometimes even an accomplice to a crime.
The third book, Luxe Inferno is about his own journey…to hell and back. All in search of the philosophical meaning of luxury. “It is very difficult to write about yourself, to share things you are not particularly proud of, your vulnerabilities,” Prof Brahma says.
Besides writing, he is an avid golfer with a single-digit handicap and a painter who fuels his creativity to generate art that resonates with people. He is also a noted Actor in the Bengali Film Industry. He has acted in a recent release titled, “Aparajito” (The Undefeated) by the ace director Anik Dutta. It is based on Satyajit Ray’s journey in the making of his first film “Pather Panchaali”. The film has garnered wide appreciation and is performing very well, critically and commercially, both in India and abroad. The film was selected for the Toronto International Film Festival. This has been Prof. Brahma’s second film with director Anik, the first one being, “Borunbabur Bonshu”, which starred the legendary actor and Satyajit Ray’s favorite hero, Soumitra Chatterjee. His first short film as an actor was selected and screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016. His micro-short film as a director, “Post-It”, has also received many national and international accolades and was screened at Berlin and Dada Saheb Phalke film festivals.
He advises the budding writers to continue writing with passion. “I write every day from 6 am, for an hour. You have to be very disciplined to pursue a creative field. The work is most important. And if it has quality, it will surely find a way to surface and reach its readers, no amount of rejection will be able to hold it back.”
His upcoming book on contemporary essays about life and times, titled “Mostly Missing”, will be released in August 2022. It talks about the various facets of life that are, as the title says, ‘mostly missing’.
About the Author
Prof. (Dr.) Mahul Brahma is an author of six award-winning books – The Mythic Value of Luxury, Quarantined: Love in the Time of Corona, How to Communicate Strategically in the Corporate World, and The Luxe Trilogy (Decoding Luxe, Dark Luxe, and Luxe Inferno). He has won many awards for his writings. His latest book The Mythic Value of Luxury won Sahityakosh Samman and Non-Fiction Author of the Year in 2022. His books are appreciated by Mr. Ratan Tata and Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. He is a Professor and Dean at Adamas University. He is a Fellow at Bath Spa University, UK. Prof Brahma is a TEDx Speaker on the Mythic Value of Luxury. Prof. Brahma is an Actor and an avid Golfer. He is a Ph.D. and D.Litt., and is an alumnus of St Xavier’s College, University of Calcutta, Sri Satya Sai University, IIM Calcutta, University of Cambridge Judge Business School, and MICA.
You actually make it appear really easy together with your presentation but I to find this topic to be really one thing which I believe I’d by no means understand. It sort of feels too complex and extremely huge for me. I’m looking forward on your subsequent submit, I will try to get the hold of it!
hello!,I like your writing very so much! share we be in contact more about your article on AOL? I require a specialist in this house to solve my problem. May be that’s you! Taking a look ahead to see you.
When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get three e-mails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove people from that service? Thanks a lot!
I can’t express how much I admire the effort the author has put into writing this remarkable piece of content. The clarity of the writing, the depth of analysis, and the wealth of information presented are simply remarkable. His enthusiasm for the subject is apparent, and it has certainly made an impact with me. Thank you, author, for providing your insights and enlightening our lives with this extraordinary article!
Thanks for the good writeup. It if truth be told was a enjoyment account it. Look complex to more introduced agreeable from you! However, how can we keep in touch?
I have learn several good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how much attempt you place to make this kind of wonderful informative site.
I’ve come across that today, more and more people are now being attracted to camcorders and the field of taking pictures. However, really being a photographer, it’s important to first spend so much period deciding the model of dslr camera to buy as well as moving out of store to store just so you can buy the least expensive camera of the trademark you have decided to pick. But it would not end just there. You also have to consider whether you should buy a digital video camera extended warranty. Thanks a bunch for the good ideas I gained from your blog site.
Can I simply say what a relief to find somebody who really knows what theyre talking about on the internet. You definitely know the best way to convey a problem to gentle and make it important. Extra folks must learn this and understand this aspect of the story. I cant consider youre no more popular since you definitely have the gift.
With havin so much content and articles do you ever run into any problems of plagorism or copyright infringement? My website has a lot of completely unique content I’ve either authored myself or outsourced but it seems a lot of it is popping it up all over the web without my authorization. Do you know any techniques to help protect against content from being stolen? I’d genuinely appreciate it.
I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest but your blogs really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your site to come back down the road. Cheers
I’m not sure exactly why but this weblog is loading incredibly slow for me.
Is anyone else having this issue or is it a problem on my end?
I’ll check back later and see if the problem still exists.
You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter to be actually something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complex and very broad for me. I am looking forward for your next post, I?ll try to get the hang of it!
I am not sure where you’re getting your information, but good topic. I needs to spend some time learning much more or understanding more. Thanks for great info I was looking for this info for my mission.
Thanks a bunch for sharing this with all of us you really know what you are talking about! Bookmarked. Kindly also visit my web site =). We could have a link exchange arrangement between us!
I?ve learn some just right stuff here. Definitely value bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how a lot attempt you put to create any such great informative web site.
Heya i?m for the first time here. I came across this board and I find It truly useful & it helped me out a lot. I hope to give something back and help others like you aided me.
Hiya very cool website!! Man .. Excellent .. Wonderful .. I’ll bookmark your blog and take the feeds additionally?I’m happy to search out numerous useful info right here within the post, we need develop extra strategies on this regard, thank you for sharing. . . . . .
Good ?V I should certainly pronounce, impressed with your website. I had no trouble navigating through all the tabs and related information ended up being truly simple to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it in the least. Quite unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or something, website theme . a tones way for your client to communicate. Excellent task..
magnificent points altogether, you just received a new reader. What could you suggest about your publish that you just made a few days ago? Any certain?
Great write-up, I am normal visitor of one?s website, maintain up the excellent operate, and It is going to be a regular visitor for a long time.
Regards for all your efforts that you have put in this. very interesting information.
This design is spectacular! You obviously know how to keep a reader entertained. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Fantastic job. I really loved what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!
The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, but I actually thought youd have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could fix if you werent too busy looking for attention.
I think this is one of the most vital info for me. And i am glad reading your article. But should remark on some general things, The site style is great, the articles is really nice : D. Good job, cheers
I have read some good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how much effort you put to make such a excellent informative web site.
Thanks for your post. I would love to remark that the very first thing you will need to complete is check if you really need credit score improvement. To do that you must get your hands on a copy of your credit rating. That should never be difficult, since the government necessitates that you are allowed to acquire one free of charge copy of your own credit report every year. You just have to consult the right individuals. You can either look at website for your Federal Trade Commission or perhaps contact one of the main credit agencies straight.
This design is steller! You certainly know how to keep a reader entertained. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Excellent job. I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!
you could have an awesome weblog right here! would you like to make some invite posts on my blog?
Thanks for this wonderful article. Yet another thing to mention is that nearly all digital cameras are available equipped with a zoom lens so that more or less of any scene for being included simply by ‘zooming’ in and out. All these changes in {focus|focusing|concentration|target|the a**** length are generally reflected from the viewfinder and on big display screen on the back of any camera.
Thanks for your article. I also believe laptop computers have gotten more and more popular right now, and now are often the only sort of computer found in a household. Simply because at the same time that they’re becoming more and more reasonably priced, their computing power keeps growing to the point where they may be as robust as desktop from just a few years back.
Hey there, I think your website might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your blog site in Opera, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, excellent blog!
Excellent beat ! I would like to apprentice while you amend your site, how can i subscribe for a blog web site? The account aided me a acceptable deal. I had been tiny bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered bright clear idea
I have realized some new points from your website about computer systems. Another thing I have always considered is that computer systems have become an item that each house must have for a lot of reasons. They provide convenient ways to organize homes, pay bills, search for information, study, pay attention to music and also watch tv shows. An innovative technique to complete most of these tasks is with a computer. These personal computers are portable ones, small, potent and mobile.
I have realized that in digital cameras, specialized devices help to {focus|concentrate|maintain focus|target|a**** automatically. The particular sensors regarding some digital cameras change in contrast, while others make use of a beam involving infra-red (IR) light, especially in low lumination. Higher standards cameras often use a mix of both systems and probably have Face Priority AF where the photographic camera can ‘See’ any face and focus only on that. Many thanks for sharing your notions on this web site.
Greetings from Ohio! I’m bored at work so I decided to check out your website on my iphone during lunch break. I enjoy the knowledge you present here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m surprised at how quick your blog loaded on my mobile .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyways, great site!
naturally like your web site but you need to test the spelling on quite a
few of your posts. Many of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it
very bothersome to tell the truth then again I will surely come again again.
Nice blog here! Also your web site loads up very fast! What web host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish my website loaded up as fast as yours lol
I’ve noticed that credit score improvement activity needs to be conducted with tactics. If not, you will probably find yourself damaging your rank. In order to reach your goals in fixing your credit ranking you have to always make sure that from this minute you pay any monthly expenses promptly before their slated date. It’s really significant on the grounds that by never accomplishing that area, all other steps that you will take to improve your credit rank will not be useful. Thanks for revealing your tips.
Thanks a lot for the helpful write-up. It is also my belief that mesothelioma has an incredibly long latency time period, which means that indication of the disease won’t emerge till 30 to 50 years after the primary exposure to asbestos fiber. Pleural mesothelioma, and that is the most common type and has an effect on the area about the lungs, could potentially cause shortness of breath, upper body pains, plus a persistent cough, which may result in coughing up bloodstream.
This is the right weblog for anybody who wants to search out out about this topic. You notice so much its nearly onerous to argue with you (not that I actually would want?HaHa). You undoubtedly put a brand new spin on a subject thats been written about for years. Great stuff, just great!
I?m not sure where you are getting your info, but great topic. I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more. Thanks for magnificent information I was looking for this information for my mission.
Nice blog here! Also your web site loads up very fast! What host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish my web site loaded up as quickly as yours lol
I should say also believe that mesothelioma cancer is a exceptional form of most cancers that is typically found in these previously subjected to asbestos. Cancerous tissues form while in the mesothelium, which is a safety lining which covers a lot of the body’s body organs. These cells ordinarily form inside the lining of your lungs, abdominal area, or the sac which encircles the heart. Thanks for discussing your ideas.
Hi, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar one and i was just wondering if you get a lot of spam comments? If so how do you prevent it, any plugin or anything you can suggest? I get so much lately it’s driving me mad so any assistance is very much appreciated.
This web page can be a stroll-through for the entire data you needed about this and didn?t know who to ask. Glimpse right here, and you?ll undoubtedly discover it.
I have not checked in here for some time because I thought it was getting boring, but the last few posts are good quality so I guess I?ll add you back to my everyday bloglist. You deserve it my friend 🙂
I’ve learned new things through your blog site. One other thing I’d like to say is the fact that newer personal computer os’s usually allow far more memory for use, but they also demand more memory space simply to perform. If your computer is unable to handle a lot more memory as well as newest application requires that storage increase, it could be the time to buy a new Laptop or computer. Thanks
Hi there, You have done an excellent job. I will definitely digg it and personally recommend to my friends. I’m confident they’ll be benefited from this website.
I appreciate, cause I found just what I was looking for. You have ended my 4 day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an really long comment but after I clicked submit my
comment didn’t appear. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over
again. Anyways, just wanted to say excellent blog!