iWorld
Gaana CEO Prashan Agarwal steps down
KOLKATA: Gaana CEO Prashan Agarwal has stepped down after heading the music streaming service for five years.
“After an amazing five years of leading Gaana to be the No. 1 Music streaming service in India, I am stepping down from my role as CEO and am extremely grateful to my wonderful colleagues, music industry partners and investors who put so much trust and empowerment in enabling me to deliver,” Agarwal wrote in a LinkedIn post.
He thanked his mentors Satyan Gajwani and Vineet Jain for providing him with a platform to make such a remarkable impact on the Indian music ecosystem and bringing entertainment to more than 185 million users across the world.
Gaana is jointly owned by Times Internet (the majority stakeholder), and Tencent, which raised Rs 3.75 billion in debt last year to help finance the company’s growth.
Agarwal joined Gaana as CEO in May 2016. Before joining Times Internet, he co-founded multiple internet ventures including 19miles.com and PropTiger.com. He is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and the Indian School of Business.
e-commerce
Giant water gun truck rolls through Gurgaon for Holi
Instamart’s oversized blaster stunt sparks viral buzz ahead of festival; premium guns see rising demand.
MUMBAI: Gurgaon just got Holi’d early because when a truck carries a water gun the size of a small car, the only thing getting soaked is everyone’s attention. A massive, larger-than-life water blaster mounted on an Instamart truck turned heads and triggered phone cameras across parts of Gurgaon this week. The eye-catching installation, part of the quick-commerce platform’s festive build-up to Holi, mirrors the premium water guns available on its app and quickly went viral on Instagram and X, racking up millions of views in under 24 hours.
Commuters slowed to gawk, children pointed excitedly from pavements, and social media lit up with reactions. One user posted, “Gurgaon seriously isn’t for beginners. I spotted an Instamart truck carrying a massive water gun. It was like a pichkari that decided to go 10x for Holi.” Another wrote: “Every festival now comes with its own ‘Did you see this?’ moment. Today’s one for me was a giant water gun on a truck.”
The stunt taps into a noticeable shift in Holi shopping habits. What used to be a last-minute grab for basic plastic squirters has evolved into planned purchases of high-performance blasters and premium festive items. Instamart reports strong demand this season for brands like Spyra water blasters, NERF Super Soakers, Police Gatlin Single-Barrel Water Guns, and Toyshine Electric Water Guns, alongside edible gulaal, natural colours, UV colours, phool gulal, organic options, body paints, aftercare products, sweets, flowers, and curated colour hampers.
Last Holi, the platform saw a 5x spike in flower sales year-on-year and rising interest in premium assortments. This year’s festive range positions Instamart as a one-stop destination for experiential Holi prep, with the giant blaster stunt serving as a rolling reminder that the festival of colours is going bigger, bolder and starting earlier.
In a city where traffic already feels chaotic, one oversized water gun turned the daily commute into the opening act of Holi. Consider the streets officially splashed.
