Reflections

Eyes On The Road... Not On Your Mobile. If Not For Your Sake, Then For The Sake Of Innocent People Around You, Who Pay With Their Lives Due To Your Stupidity And Irresponsibility! I can approach this post in several ways - I can either quote worldwide statistics of deaths caused by Mobile Phones usage during driving, or I can give scientific reasons behind why using mobile phones during driving is dangerous, irresponsible and downright stupid. Or I can quote 2 real life cases of people I knew who died due to irresponsible, and from my point of view, criminal idiots who were yacking on the phone when they should have been focusing on the road. 2 families destroyed. At least one child I know who is fatherless. One dead child, one dead parent in another case. They are dead because some irresponsible idiot thought his career, his family, his friend was more important than the lives of people on the road.  3 lives snuffed out, several hopes dashed, several lives...

THE BACKDROP The title says it all... an event to engage with Pakistani Television actors etc in its Zindagi Jode Dilon Ko Blogger Meet, to be featured on the new Zindagi Channel. The concept seemed interesting - engage culturally with our main enemy, the one nation with whom we are at constant loggerheads, and the one nation with whom we have had 4 wars. To make matters worse, Pakistan is the one nation who we has regularly fomented trouble in the form of terrorism in India. In this backdrop, a cultural exchange seems, at first glance, very strange.  Before I go onto the Meet proper, let us all look at the other side of the picture : our new PM's engagement with the Pakistani PM : the first of its kind in years, and the reciprocation in the form of a visit - which seemed impossible only a few months ago. The focus, on back-channel diplomacy and building bridges seems to be the flavour of the day. And in that, trade and cultural interchanges form an integral part.  ...

It is now almost a month into the working of the new Government, and already, a few noteworthy events have happened, events which seems disturbing from afar - events we could have done without - and yet, paradoxically, these very same events have underscored the power of our democracy. This, alongside with the crystal clear intent and actions that are by-and-large laudable,  topped with the unitary and strong control at the center, is creating a new hope in a turnaround in India's fortunes. While it is admittedly early days to state anything concrete, the signs are very positive indeed, and bode well for our nation.  FIRST The first was the controversy over article 370. It has, as per information and news articles I recall, always been a view of the BJP that Article 370 should be, shall we say, "discussed". To specific, so as to avoid any misunderstanding, let me state that I recall that the BJP has always asked what has the article in question given JK, and tha...

This is the eleventh article in the culture series Recently, I walked into the Inox Theatre at Kalyan for a movie - Bhatukali {Marathi} starring Ajinkya Deo, Shilpa Pulaskar and Kiran Karmarkar . This experience - the mere unlikely fact of me as a person watching a Marathi film in a theater set of a chain of thoughts, leading to what I feel might be a defining change being wrought by Technology and awakening, alongside the spread of economic growth, a change that is seeping into India It has been a strange journey for me so far; when I look back today, it is indeed a strange conversion for a totally anglicized man such as myself, a man who was known for linguistic skills in English, a man who loved watching Santa Barbara & The Bold And The Beautiful, Different Strokes, Small Wonder, Yes Prime Minister, Home Alone 1&2, Die Hard, Terminator 1,2&3, Independence Day etc...; a man who loved listening to Michael Jackson & BoneyM If I look at myself today, I am d...

  "On Strategic Marketing" is one of the Harvard Business Review's 10 must read series. The book contains papers and articles from the 1970s upto the current day, and looks at various aspects of marketing. To the average manager, the book acts as an tool that stimulates thought, and is a delight to read. To the avid strategy student, the book in question leaves one desiring for more.The book covers the following papers : 1)  Rethinking Marketing {Trust, Moorman, Bhalla} This is a research paper that extolls the virtues of direct interaction with customers, and keeping the customer at the centre of all marketing efforts. This is truly a very valuable input - one which all practicing managers can and should internalise. It suggests an interesting and radical refocus of the organisation and its structure which might enable a deeper focus on the customer... 2) Branding in the Digital Age {David Edelman} This focal point of this article is the sea-change th...

The NDA Government has just announced a series of focus area, or a to-do list, if you will. This is a great beginning, a start - at least a roadmap is in place. Reams have been written on this, so I will not write on these 10 points, but rather on what else needs to be done on a priority. But first, let us take a look at these 10 points The 10 Points: Food Inflation Economy Jobs Taxes Reforms Agriculture Reviving Manufacturing Infrastructure Energy Security Urbaniszation Sounds good... if they can pull it off. Time will tell. The key lies in overcoming Centre-State Issues, legal blockages, Public Interests Petitions that will surely follow if proper land acquisition is not done, meaning Land Acquisition law needs to be dealt with. As someone I know  {Mr Mohankrishnan R} pointed out, "Money being no excuse it is the question of speedy planning, land acquisitions, addressing environmental considerations and executing the projects on time. It is not unrea...

This is based on the book referenced below; I have also read one of the books the main source I have referred to, which has also been linked below. This is an unknown part of Indian History... The First War Of Independence in 1857, and how the British won it... This is what I call The Genocide of Indians in 1857 - 59 : This took place in 2 waves - and was planned at the topmost levels of the British Hierarchy. Village after village were targeted in a cold-blooded manner, and emptied of its citizens through murder - planned, brutal and cold-blooded murder. This was not an impassioned outrage {albeit fanned by vested interests}, nor was it done as a result of a conquerers victory in war. What makes it mind-numbingly shocking and stunning is the simple fact that this was planned, and perpetrated as a vicious punishment, as a war strategy to take the war to civilian non-combatants with an intention of defeating the enemy - against a people who were fighting for independenc...

Attitude is increasingly heard to be one of the points to be measured, or appraised or judged while assessing the utility or skills or potential of a person. A number of hiring managers as well as line managers swear by this dictum. A person with a positive attitude is a tremendous asset, and can be far more effective that one with a bad attitude. The statement above is spot-on accurate, and is a manifest truth. A person with a positive attitude is also more receptive to ideas, can think of solutions to problems with a much greater degree of alacrity, that is also a fact. Should we then measure or judge the attitude of an employee or candidate? Or there are pitfalls in doing so? My experience has taught me otherwise... attitude is easy to fake, and easier to destroy for a boss. Fact. First of all, attitude is not a fixed and defined item that is carved in stone. Attitude changes as a response to situations, and a negative attitude is no certain judgement of ability to perform;...

It has always been a cherished dream : wanting to emulate the Developed World, and dreaming of following it in every way. The "Developed World" is nearing the end of its reign in terms of rapid economic growth. While it is, and will remain, ahead in terms of per capita GDP for the foreseeable future; the rapid economic growth will obviously come from Emerging Market Economies. Growth rates are low; inflation is low and interest rates are low as most are developed economies. Some are sitting on huge public debt mountains and are literally ticking time bombs. Money drives money; the combination of the above -low growth, low inflation etc means a slowing economy for the perfectly simple reason that it is easier to grow @ 8% on 100 dollars, which means just 8 dollars. But try the same on a base of 10000 dollars - and you are looking at 800 dollars worth of incremental economic output. This is why Developed World companies are always on the lookout for investment opportunities...

A chance comment I heard   {never mind where}   drew my reaction -when someone obliquely referred to an anti-corruption crusading party as being "sanctimonious". The word sanctimonious means, as per google, "making a show of being morally superior to other people", while Merriam Webster website refers to it as hypocritically pious or devout. Let us get to the bottom of this meaning - hypocritical means "behaving in a way that suggests one has higher standards or more noble beliefs than is the case." as per google and "a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs" as per Merriam Webster... Let us forget the particular panel for a moment, as well as who specifically said it to whom. That is not important in the larger scheme of things. I will make no comment or reflection on the panel member, or why he said it. This is not a reflection on that person,...