'OIJO' or 'Out There'
'Oijo' is a colloquialism derived from the Bengali words 'oi jay', meaning "out there".
These two simple words define us.
Oijo is a strategic consultancy that brings together expertise in culture, digital technology, governance, policy, luxury and business. We offer bespoke and 360 degree solutions, with a particular emphasis on editorial content and communications. Coming in as external engines, we launch and develop brands, identify and resolve fissures, and take established entities to their next level.
Oijo has worked with governments, institutions, museums, publishing and media houses, multinational corporations, start-ups, individuals and brands, building strategy and synapses. This includes, but is not limited to public relations, crisis communications, internal communications, social media strategy, archiving, podcasting, filmmaking, partnerships, events, design, liaising, marketing, product and policy advisory, and creating state of the art intellectual properties such as Balcony TV and The Big Indian Picture.
The leadership team consists of Pragya Tiwari, Kavi Bhansali and Rishi Majumder. Between them they have decades worth of experience in media, cultural entrepreneurship, law and policy. Additionally, the core team comprises researchers, writers, editors, designers, and strategists. They also work with external collaborators and retainers who are the best in business.
Radio Kalkatta is Oijo’s podcast division and produces podcasts on public policy, international relations, cinema and culture and arts, while the Indian History Collective makes historical knowledge accessible to the youth and builds cutting-edge archives.
Meet the Team
Founders
Pragya Tiwari
Pragya Tiwari has been a journalist for over 20 years. As Editor-in-Chief or Editor, she has led, or founded and led, new media initiatives like the award winning webzine The Big Indian Picture, Tehelka, and Vice India and has been Creative Director of BalconyTV in India.
She was the Regional Director, India, for global arts, culture and heritage consultancy Flint Culture. And has worked as a high-level consultant on public policy and culture with governments and institutions in India, UK and the Middle East.
She is a columnist and commentator on politics, policy, fashion, arts, cinema, culture, books, theatre and cinema for leading publications in India and abroad such as The New York Times, Al Jazeera, Elle, Times of India, Hindustan Times, Quartz, Bloomberg Quint, Mint Lounge, Telegraph, DNA, Wire and First Post. Her pieces are widely circulated on social media and generate readership as well as discussion, often leading the discourse on existing issues or shining the light on new ones.
She is also a prolific public speaker on politics, policy and culture and gives talks and appears as a commentator at universities, conferences, literature, music and theatre festivals, book launches, and on television in India and abroad. She has been part of juries for eminent awards in the cultural sector and program director for think fests.
She is driven by the creative vision of exploring, originating and growing ideas that lie at the cross-section of policy, culture, history, luxury and media. She excels at conceptualising, then founding new ventures and building and leading teams to execute them to their full potential.
Pragya holds an LLB degree from Cardiff University and an Executive Master of Public Administration from the London School of Economics.
Kavi Bhansali
Kavi Bhansali has been closely involved - behind-the-scenes - in a variety of media ventures for over 20 years. As a producer, photographer and content creator, his experience ranges from running digital platforms such as BalconyTV, leading creative design and production for the award winning media initiatives such The Big Indian Picture, as well as commissioning and creating online and video content for mainstream media houses such as Tehelka and Times of India.
He has also led Oijo's partnerships with MTV, NDTV, Mehrangarh Museum Trust, Prithvi Theatre, Pernod-Ricard, Huffington Post, Lufthansa, DLF, Aga Khan Foundation, British Council, Goethe Institute and a range of other brands and clients.
As a documentary and editorial photographer, Kavi's work has appeared in a range of leading publications in India and abroad. He is especially known for his work on performance arts cultures and the ways in which democracy collides with global capitalism on ground.
Kavi is also a Partner at Bhansali & Company, Tea Merchants since 1929, where he looks after marketing and sales.
At Oijo he combines his expertise in editorial content, technology and business to lead and develop projects.
He holds an LLB degree from Cardiff University with a specialisation in Intellectual Property Rights.
Kavi is a firm believer in free and creative thinking to come up with innovative technological and business strategies. His key skill lies in helping brands identify the gaps in their thinking and strategy and finding highly tailored solutions.
Rishi Majumder
A writer, journalist and editor for 20 years, Rishi Majumder has recruited, trained and managed teams, to create and disseminate content, as Senior Editor at The Big Indian Picture, Managing Editor of Vice India and Co-Producer of BalconyTV in India. He has also been Principal Correspondent at Tehelka Magazine and Copy Editor cum Correspondent at Mumbai Mirror (Times of India Group).
As part of Oijo, as well as on his own, he has created content for, consulted and helped set up media and digital content ventures for other media companies and clients.
His journalistic work includes narrative reports, investigative stories, features, video interviews, commentary and breaking news on politics, culture, civil rights, history, crime and business. His work has been cited and acknowledged in Indian parliament and assembly debates, academic papers and books. He has written and continues to write columns, articles and essays for publications in India and abroad including Midday, Newslaundry.com, NDTV.com, The Telegraph (India), The Dawn, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, Yahoo Originals, Dailyo.in, FirstPost.com, Times of India, India Today magazine, Vantage (Caravan Magazine’s online vertical), Asian Age, DNA and DNAindia.com, Catch News, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Scroll.in, Think Pragati, Motherland magazine and News Central 24x7.
He has worked for over a decade as an independent consultant on PR and crisis management.
Rishi has an LLB from Symbiosis Law School in Pune and a Masters degree in Economics from Pune University. One of his consultations involved helping set up a policy magazine called Policy Pulse, as Consulting Editor. He has spoken and been interviewed on politics, policy, business, geopolitical issues and civil rights on various platforms including SAARC CCI (Chambers of Commerce & Industry) meets in Amritsar and Lahore, the PEN International Congress in Quebec and on radio programmes in the US and Canada. .
Rishi is also Secretary and a founding Governing Body member of PEN Delhi, the Delhi centre of PEN International, a worldwide association of writers working for freedom of expression and for the promotion of literature, headquartered in London.
He is currently working on a book of mythology inspired short fiction set in present times and a play, written in English and Italian, which aims to recreate a conversation between two towering intellectuals across the ages.
Rishi is motivated by his faith in targeted audience outreach. He is convinced that this holds the key to creating high value content for relevant audiences, which can lead to a profitable as well as impactful synergy between editorial and business.