its TATA all the way.....

Ever taken pride in something you have never contributed???

I did. Well I guess again then the whole nation should. We shouted in joy when India won the cricket world cup way back in 83, repeated the result in the 20-20 version of the game this year, but somehow I failed to see the kind of pride when L.N. Mittal took over Corus or recently when Tata’s took over the Jaguars & Land Rovers of the world – the excitement was somehow missing in the common man. Yes there was a furore in the media for the last 2 days but then again I feel the Indian media is so inconsistent and adolescent in its principles and functionality and work ethics it was just, “another hot news” for them.

“The man……the machine”, Mr Ratan Tata has somehow managed to transform this famous conglomerate into a global brand in the last 2 decades. One side by keeping the promise and delivering the 1 lakh people’s car, to the other of taking over these iconic brands – delivering something to fit the bills of every man in India.

On a personal note it would be a pleasure to see and breathe these iconic brands that will soon be available in India (Mr. Tata, are you hearing the common man) – I am sure that Tatas will go a long way in emerging amongst the top 10 global brand of the future. And we will all be there to see it happen. Viva India!!!

There is absolutely no point for me trying to write something on which almost every news channel and other sections of the media is rapidly churning out papers on…..so I will leave you all with excerpts from an website I came across…..……the last section brings out the way leaders actually visualize the future…..and act likewise.

The Tata Group has 98 firms and began emerging as a force in the world marketplace in 2000 when it bought Tetley Tea, Britain's top tea-bag brand.

By the time Ratan Tata retires in six years, analysts reckon that international revenues could make up at least 50 percent of group revenues.

The Tata Group, founded in 1868, is a colossus at home, with annual revenues of 29 billion dollars, the equivalent of 3.2 percent of India's GDP, and is the biggest private employer, with 289,500 people on its payroll.

On Thursday it was named the world's third most accountable and transparent company by Britain's One World Trust, an independent research group. General Electric and GlaxoSmithKline were rated numbers one and two.

The Tata Group's founder, Jamsetji Tata, was a strong philanthropist.

He accommodated his steel workers in a model company town in eastern India and his employees worked just eight-hour days -- unheard of in that era.

"He believed the primary purpose of an industrial organisation is to improve the quality of life of the community," declares the company website, a spirit company officials insist endures to this day.

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karma.....the balancing act !!!

Did you ever give karma a thought???

This strange but somehow deep question from my better half a couple of days back caught me on the wrong foot. Well I have tried my level best all my life to ensure that I always had a direct perception of truth and never use it to take advantage. Also whenever I did commit positive deeds, rarely had it been to get ahead in the rat race – it was outcome of the simple fact that the end usually made me happy & satisfied.

But lately I have come across so many people – many my long cherished friends who have somehow lost the way in life, compartmentalizing lives thinking it in terms of boxes. I wish we gave our lives a second thought. We gave karma a thought.

Karma literally means action, whether good or bad, right or wrong. When it comes to spirituality we define it as the fruit of our actions.

Each time we think, speak and act, we are setting into motion the laws of karma. We are planting a seed. The kind of seed we have sown is the nature of the sought, word and action we set in motion; fear, hate, judgment, love, blessing, anger, joy etc. And every time we think and act similarly we are nourishing the seed. The seed eventually grows to a big tree bearing tons of fruits. This is the consequence, our reward or punishment, however one likes to perceive it. We are hated, judged, loved, and blessed many times over depending on what the seed contained when it was first sown. We reap what you sow many times over.

The key to a successful life is the transmutation of karma into dharma. It is the ability to make of the past a prelude to a noble future. Evil is essentially the refusal to move toward the future. The ultimate meaning of karma must be identified with interconnectedness and interpenetration of all there is. Anything is possible because all there is a network of multi-dimensional relationships.

It holds true for every sphere of life even in our careers & every job function I feel – marketing, sales, human resources and so on. Somehow I wish that the present generation can step back and look at the totality of life not at the random opportunities that come their way. It is not the frequent change of jobs, a random increase in pay slip that gives us happiness after all – it is the collective smile on the faces of people we care for, or the number of lives we touch through our actions that ultimately matters.

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heaven on earth....

A globe-trotting tourist decided to write a book about famous churches around the world. So he bought a plane ticket and took a trip to China.

On his first day he was inside a church taking photographs when he noticed a golden telephone mounted on the wall with a sign that read "$1000 per call"

The Tourist, being intrigued, asked a priest who was strolling by what the telephone was used for.

The priest replied that it was a direct line to heaven and that for $1000 you could talk to God.

The Tourist thanked the priest & went along his way.

Next stop was in Japan. There, at a very large cathedral, he saw the same golden telephone with the same sign under it.

He wondered if this was the same kind of telephone he saw in China & he asked a nearby nun why it’s so costly.

She told him that it was a direct line to heaven & for $1000 he could talk to God.

"O.K., thank you," said the Tourist.

He then traveled to Pakistan, then Sri Lanka, Russia, Germany and France.

In every church he saw the same golden telephone with the same "$1000 per call" sign under it.

The Tourist, upon leaving Vermont decided to travel to his last stop India to see if Indians had the same phone.

He arrived in India, and again, in the first church he entered, there was the same golden telephone, but this time the sign under it read, "One Rupee per call."

The Tourist was surprised so he asked the priest about the sign. "Father, I've traveled all over World and I've seen this same golden Telephone in many churches. I'm told that it is a direct line to Heaven, but Worldwide the price was $1000 per call. Why is it so cheap here?"

The priest smiled and answered, "You're in India, Son- it's a Local Call".

This is the only HEAVEN on the Earth.

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Einstein on the eGO...

The fact that man produces a concept “I” besides the totality of his mental and emotional experiences or perceptions does not prove that there must be any specific existence behind such a concept. We are succumbing to illusions produced by our self-created language, without reaching a better understanding of anything.

Most of so-called philosophy is due to this kind of fallacy - Albert Einstein

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BIG fight......the entrepreneurial way

There are three sets of issues that one must consider when thinking about how to become an entrepreneur, particularly if you are born into a middle-class family of professionals like yours truly…….

The first (the most difficult part I must confess) involves getting started, leaving a safe job or career prospects and jumping into the entrepreneurial fray.

The second issue (an equally difficult part) has to do with maintaining and building a viable business, successfully scaling up so that one has not just managed to 'survive' but also to grow the business and create great value for investors.

Finally, there's the issue of knowing when to move on, either by selling the business or handing over to someone who can bring new energy, skills and ideas to bear. Let's take each of these issues in turn, and examine some of the things you can do to address them."

I was reading the latest edition of Outlook Business for Decision Makers. The magazine carried an interesting article on the 10 hottest emerging businesses in India. Here is the list:

-Education
-Private Equity
-Design Services
-Next Wave BPO
-Packaged Food
-Retail Services
-Localized Internet
-Micro-power
-Cold Chain and Warehousing
-TV Content

So anyone amongst you wanting to start your own business/startup - you know where to go.

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nightmare on ROAD street..........

I went to Mumbai for last week and I found an exciting experience to talk about. For the benefit of every Tom, Dick and Harry, visiting Mumbai and daring to drive on roads, I am offering a few hints for survival. They are applicable to every place in India except Bihar, where life outside a vehicle is only marginally safer.

Indian road rules broadly operate within the domain of karma where you do your best and leave the results to your insurance company.

Do we drive on the left or right of the road? The answer is “both”. Basically you start on the left of the road, unless it is occupied. In that case, go to the right, unless that is also occupied. Then proceed by occupying the next available gap, as in chess.

A few rules that usually come in handy:

Just trust your instincts, ascertain the direction, and proceed

1. Most drivers don’t drive. Except for a belief in reincarnation, the other drivers are not in any better position.
2. Don’t stop at pedestrian crossings just because some fool wants to cross the road.
3. Blowing your horn is not a sign of protest as in some countries. We horn to express joy, resentment, frustration, romance and bare lust (two brisk blasts) or just to mobilize a dozing cow in the middle of the bazaar.
4. Night driving on Indian roads can be an exhilarating experience, because you do not know who amongst the drivers is loaded. What looks like premature dawn on the horizon turns out to be a truck attempting a speed record.
5. During the daytime, trucks are more visible, except that the drivers will never show any signal. You will often observe that the cleaner that sits next to the driver will project his hand and wave hysterically. This is definitely not to be construed as a signal for a left turn. The waving is just an expression of physical relief on a hot day.

PS: Pune is no better. Hailing from Calcutta and completing education & the first few years of my job life in Delhi & traveling to the south on business – I can basically comment that traffic all over India is chaotic & people are no different. Only Goa I guess was an exception – no traffic signals and more or less sensible people behind the wheels.

Then again this is India Roads 2.0 (more money à faster cars à same people behind the wheels à same dilapidating roads à Chaos Unlimited)

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the shades of life…….

Recently I was reading an article on an old newspaper that roughly equated every human being’s happiness chart to the English alphabet U, with the narrow tips representing the emotional & spiritual highs of youth and old age and the trough in U i.e. the obvious depression representing the vagaries of mid-life crisis.

Ah! Youth! The age of idealism - when the world was my oyster. I relinquished every luxury in order to change the world and romance, of course, conquered all. When my wife/girlfriend played a major part in my life and I was prepared to spend hours and hours hoping to catch a minute with my partner. At that age it is not possible for me to imagine that a good night’s sleep would become more desirable as age catches up with me. This is the story of life obviously when I was young. The recklessness, the urgency, the extremes of emotions felt. When people are in it, it is often wrenching and tumultuous. But it’s often love felt at its purest and happiness bordering on euphoria.

Again in old age, I believe from observing people around me - people are struck with ailments of old age and stuck with the age old marital partner. But there is a deep contentment among them for having stuck it out so far. They have a sense of achievement and both partners know that one or the other would die soon. This gives rise to a kind of detachment and appreciation for life. Just the thought of being alive is a big high for most of us, I believe.

Finally onto the period that I’m getting into - the mid-life. After reading that I will soon be in the deep flat end of the ‘U’ of happiness - I wallow in self pity. Less comforting is the fact that it would be some time before I start climbing the thin limbs of ‘U’ on my way to serene old age. Middle-age is probably a time when we lose our dreams and begin to accept the reality. We consolidate - we adjust somehow in our lives, careers, jobs, relationships and so on. We try to be happy – somehow trying desperately to pretend to be happy when deep down we know we wanted that little extra in our lives – that could have but did not ultimately materialize. People turn to philosophy and religion comes to the aid of many disillusioned souls who frantically try to mind the meaning of their unexciting lives.

But then again I believe all is not lost. These examples suggest that life eventually comes to a full circle. Or at least a full ‘U’. Somehow this Indian never gives up.

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thought of the day...

Hardly had the time for the last few days to reflect and get original content posted here so.....here it goes - the thought of the day:

"This world is a mixture of two things: the good and the bad. The wise man selects and takes the good and leaves the bad.........."

Hope this thought will make your day more productive.....

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who wants to be a millionaire.....errr

What is soul searching? These days some of my friends are into soul searching. I listen carefully to their versions but never understood what it is all about. One of my friends’s said it is about finding what you really want in life. I feel that if I try too hard to find out what makes me happy and if I cannot get it I will be unhappy.

So basically I guess I am searching for unhappiness.

Yahoo claimed that it has come up with a soul-search engine some time back. They declare that it would help users find what’s deep inside them. I don’t think I am ready to use it to find out what I really want. I feel that as a married man and a family I have some responsibilities. I feel that it is selfish to neglect my loved ones who are dependent on me to find out my real passions.

Firstly the process requires lot of thinking leading to emotional trauma which I am not sure if I can take it with a full time job, and a family. I guess I should take a break from my job and let go of my responsibilities to pursue some thing which I am not sure of. But at the end of it say I found out that I really love to do a certain something which will not fit into my day with my current responsibilities then what? I will be disappointed and that will affect my daily routine.

Then I thought may be I can start soul searching once family is well settled, my wife settles down with her job and I can finally spare some time. But that is optimistic thinking because who knows what is in store in our future. I need to be practical about what I am giving up. I need to have a contingency plan if my search fails.

I feel that if you are single and you did realize that you need to do some soul searching it is perfect timing. But if you are in the age group of 20-30 then you are missing on the romance, dating and all that kind of fun which will never come back later in your life. What if I did find some thing I really like, but may be I do not have any experience in that field and I try it out for couple of years and I feel that I am not good at it then what?

Life is all about being happy. If I can find contentment in what I have and what I do I guess that is enough. Listening to my friends from the past year made me think about soul searching. But I don’t think I want to do it, at least at this point of time in my life!

Any parallels here people??

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india shining........!!!!

Recently an email I received (from one of my juniors from grad school) - one of the myriad emails that are forwarded everyday to my account - stood out starkly from the rest. Forwarded emails have become so the norm these days that most don’t get more than a cursory glance. What struck me about this particular one was not something unusual, but rather a particularly vile example of an attitude that I have been noticing with increasing frequency amongst my compatriots. I will quote the email in its entirety and then try to explain why it bothered me enough to want to write about it:

I couldn't' stop making this comparison..

inches of rain in new Orleans due to hurricane katrina... 18
inches of rain in mumbai (July 27th).... 37.1

population of new orleans... 484,674
population of mumbai.... 12,622,500

deaths in new orleans within 48 hours of katrina...100
deaths in mumbai within 48hours of rain.. 37

number of people to be evacuated in new orleans...entire city
number of people evacuated in mumbai...10,000

Cases of shooting and violence in new orleans...Countless
Cases of shooting and violence in mumbai.. NONE

Time taken for US army to reach new orleans... 48hours
Time taken for Indian army and navy to reach mumbai...12hours

status 48hours later...new orleans is still waiting for relief, army and electricity
Status 48hours later..mumbai is back on its feet and is business is as usual

USA...world's most developed nation
India...JUST A DEVELOPING NATION..oopss...did i get the last fact wrong??? Or am I just being proud of being an INDIAN

It is not possible to explain with mere words how shallow some people can be, and I will not even begin to attempt that here. When I first read this email, I immediately dismissed it as so much nonsense. But even a week later it kept tugging at my mind. I finally went back and reread it to understand the swirling cloud of anger and frustration it had managed to create in me. It disturbed me that someone could find pride in comparing death tolls of tragedies of such magnitude. In one unthinking swipe of the keyboard, the person brushed aside tens of thousands of people made homeless in the Mumbai rains. Entire slums were wiped out in 48 hours. The death toll was 1000 at the end of one week. In the US, entire cities along the coastline of two states have been completely wiped out, with countless people losing all their life's possessions. This is hardly a matter for a game of one-upmanship. Had Mumbai been in the same situation as New Orleans, the magnitude of the tragedy would have been too horrifying to comprehend. A category 4 hurricane with winds upto 250 kmph hitting a city of twelve million, with its average height below sea level and surrounded by high water on three sides ... I don't think I need to do the math. As it is, the severe rains caused floods the likes of which haven’t been seen in a long time. A city built out of reclaimed land with no drainage to speak of, built in an area lashed by severe monsoons every year. It was a tragedy waiting to happen, just like the New Orleans soupbowl. The rains exacerbated the wounds of the city. Old, dilapidated buildings which seemed to cling on to that last breath forever before collapsing have all but given up hope. There have been three collapses in the last month itself. As a gleaming new city rises in its place, the old city is dying and it’s taking its poor people with it. The rains were not good to Mumbai. It is sad to think someone feels the need to twist facts to somehow feel superior, and while in itself this attitude is not unusual, it is more frustrating because this email will be forwarded mechanically by every Indian to every other Indian in their contact list and most of them will read it and feel proud without really understanding what they are feeling proud about.

And therein lies the crux of the problem. It is this overwhelming need all Indians feel to be recognized as superior to all Westerners. After 150 years of foreign rule and the socialist mind-stifling policies of (would not like to take names lest I be held under the IT act) , we are at last finding our place in this world, and this attitude keeps dragging us back. As long as we feel a need to put someone else down to prove our worth, we are lying to the world and we are lying to ourselves. We are trying to win a battle that exists only in our minds. This generation - my generation - is the first one to break the shackles of our self-imposed inferiority complex and take our country through those first tentative steps towards the greatness that all Indians like to see in their motherland. But we don't need false victories in non-existent battles to do that. Today we have Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune as arguably the IT capitals of the world. We are self sustaining in almost all grain and food products. In 60 years we have gone from a country of farmers to a nuclear power. For the first time in 200 years any young Indian has not only the ability, but also the self-belief to stand up to any other person in the world and be as intelligent, articulate, productive and creative as them. There is no need for us to shrilly proclaim our superiority, because we are not superior - we are equal - and our deeds will do all the proclaiming for us. And while it's one thing to point up to the sky and see India Rising, one should always cast their eyes towards their feet and see the 500 million people whose backs one is grinding into the ground to feel as tall as the rest of the world.

Be proud to be an Indian - I am. But don't have delusions of grandeur. No, India is still not a developed nation. But it is in our hands of people like us to take her there - and we won’t let her down. We owe this to her.

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the great divide...

well taking classes on marketing in B-school apparently did not help many of my colleagues who are still plagued by the oddity of failing to differentiate between marketing & sales. Recently a friend of mine got into a conversation with me on this and I had to spend 30 minutes of valuable airtime trying to educate him on the nuances of the business world.

If I try to follow the idiom "Dummy's Guide to Sales & Marketing", then, net-net

Marketing is everything that you do to reach and persuade prospects.

Whereas

Sales is everything that you do to close the sale and get a signed agreement or contract.

Marketing consists of the measures you use to reach and persuade your prospects that you are the company for them. It's the message that prepares the prospect for the sales. It consists of advertising, public relations, brand marketing, viral marketing, and direct mail. To add a few lines for my friends interested in the IT services marketing area, a person handling a marketing area will be responsible for one or all of this for a particular service line or industry vertical.

The sales process on the other hand consists of interpersonal interaction. It is often done by a one-on-one meeting, cold calls, and networking. It's anything that engages you with the prospect or customer on a personal level rather than at a distance. The keyword here (for most of my friend interested in IT sales) is networking, networking and more networking.

It is interesting to note that without marketing an organization does not have prospects or leads to follow up with, but yet without a good sales technique and strategy the organization’s closing rate is usually depressing. Simply stated, marketing takes the long-term view of customer relationships, paving the way for sales to occur in the short-term. One feeds the other. At the end of the day, its about integration and collaboration of both expertise.

PS: This article is also influenced by the fact that apparently 90% on the people I came across & discussed my job profile earlier, had absolutely no clue what IT services marketing was.

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go go GOA

I finally managed too get some time off my schedule to go experience Goa. Well it had always been my agenda to go soak in the culture & tradition of Goa not just a casual visit round the country and a couple of other beaches. And although my visit was well short of what I would have called a decent enough time to fall in love with a place; it was good enough in these times of ready to eat food available off the shelf in a supermarket.

What I realized (like so many others who would have before me), that this little seaside state, with an identity that's a seamless blend of Portuguese influence and Indian tradition, was crackling enough to have been one of the hottest “must-visit” places of the world.

The waters looked safe and temperate (I am sure they were) and the absence of riptide currents making them ideal for learners and novice divers. Whether it were a ride around on a speedboat, a fleeting moment para-gliding over the beach & sea, what struck me was the simple life of the common people apparently untouched by the changes of the modern world. Yes there were happening nightspots like Titos (where 3 am at night seemed like 25^th Dec evening at Park Street, Calcutta), fun beaches in Calungute & Baga in the north or Covlam in the South – what struck me where places like Divar (a small island so serene that the moment I set foot and started exploring, I was so hopelessly in love again).

The three hundred years of Portuguese rule has left an indelible imprint on the collective psyche of Goans. It shows in their music, their architecture and their culture. It's also why Goans make the most wonderful vindaloo this side of the Indian Ocean. While Calungute struck me with its sheer energy levels of people around, it were the golden beaches of Covlam and Candolim that took my breath away.

I really don’t think any travel guide can do justice to Goa – my only advise would be to go and experience Goa in the skin – like the locals say, your heart will beat to the rhythm – go go go go GOA

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