–By Krishnabi Dutta, BCJ, 3rd Semester
The School of Mass Communication, KIIT Deemed to be University (KSMC) hosted an insightful guest lecture featuring Mr Souptik Garai, CEO and Founder of Mark & Muse and Senior Specialist in Marketing and Communications at Udhyam Learning Foundation on 17 September, 2026. The session encouraged students to rethink failure as more than an academic or professional setback. Mr Garai, drawing from his experience across the corporate and non-profit sectors, asked students to explore academic pressure, personal agency, and how the “lure” within fai-lure can inspire individuals to take action and create new possibilities.
The session commenced with warm introductory remarks from Dr Bidu Bhusan Dash, Head, KSMC, who praised Mr Garai’s diverse professional record. Expressing his gratitude to Dr Bidu Bhusan Dash, Garai opened his address by reflecting on his own professional transitions from 2022 to the present, setting a reflective tone to the lecture.
Addressing the modern academic and social landscape, Mr Garai highlighted how heavily today’s generation relies on advanced AI technologies and software. He discussed the immense pressures surrounding competitive examinations, drawing parallels to depictions like 12th Fail and Super 30 and pointed out the stark structural bottleneck where lakhs of students compete for a tiny fraction of available seats. With approximately 90% of aspirants failing to transition into the formal sector, he added that this systemic non-selection frequently escalates from an academic setback into a personal catastrophe.
Rather than treating failure as a terminal outcome or a simple milestone, Mr Garai advocated for analyzing it as a complex subject demanding deep study, research, and empathy. He said, “Touching millions within a population of 1.5 billion reflects a massive, under-discussed gap of individuals navigating this exact friction.” He emphasized that we naturally experience an underlying desire for movement even after achieving success or undergoing transitions.
The core of his address centered on deconstructing the concept of failure itself into “fail” and “lure.” He explained that the term failure carries an inherent “lure”, an attractive force or subtle push toward doing something new. He noted that when individuals feel an issue or an emotion too deeply, it sparks a strong internal desire to act, whether that manifests in raising their voice or launching a new initiative. However, he cautioned that this deep feeling is often clouded by social media actions like sharing and reacting; citing similarities with the “narcotizing theory,” which tricks people into feeling productive without making a real move.
To overcome this trap, Mr Garai explained that true motivation and the lure to act must come directly from personal agency. While society produces millions of stories where target audiences are categorized purely by external needs, real change happens when individuals reclaim agency over their own lives. Even when options do not seem to appear naturally or initial choices fail to work out, taking genuine agency creates the internal drive needed to move forward. He motivated the audience to look beyond passive consumption, embrace the constructive lure within failure, and boldly take the step into their next chapter.
The lecture concluded with an interactive session with the students, after which Dr Rajeev Kumar Panda, Dean, KSMC, KSFT and KSFMS, took the stage to deliver closing remarks. Commending the speaker for his profound and empathetic perspectives on resilience, Dr Panda, along with the faculty team of KSMC, formally felicitated Mr Souptik Garai.
