Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Volkswagen India: German Engineering a little Jet-lagged??

Posted: April 24, 2011 in Uncategorized
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It’s been fascinating to own a Volkwagen Vento.

It’s NOT been fascinating to deal with Volkswagen personnel, including the dealer and the service garage.

I’ve had my problems with the VW dealer (VW Mumbai East, located in Chembur). In fact, I would easily call them the worst car dealer I have ever experienced, and particularly the most apathetic. Especially the manager who really couldn’t care less.

But I want to put that behind me, so I will not go into those gory details.

Here’s the fun part.

This is the sweet little handwritten letter that we got, from the VW representative, last week:

In fact, this letter came in a cute box, which also had a gift – an electronic clock:

Really sweet and nice of VW, wasn’t it?

In fact, sometime back, I had also received a similar handwritten letter from the same VW rep, asking me to hang on, as the car was on the way!

Maybe it was being sent by the VW engineers who did not want to let the vehicles leave the factories, as they loved it so much:

SO HERE’S THE MOST INTERESTING PART:

I GOT DELIVERY OF THE CAR ON 14TH JAN, 2011. 

The first handwritten letter that came to me, informing me about the delay, and asking me to be patient, came about ONE MONTH AFTER I HAD ALREADY received the car! 

I laughed it away a a slip on their end! 

But now, when I get this new letter, of course, along with a nice box and a gift, THREE MONTHS AFTER I HAVE RECEIVED THE CAR, I am flummoxed. You can see the date that he has mentioned on the letter (above). 

I should be happy about the gift. And hey, maybe another 2-3 months later, there may be more – perhaps a bigger gift – to follow. So I wonder if by writing this piece, I am losing the opportunity of getting few more free gifts?! 🙂 

But then I realize that I don’t need to worry. 

If their right hand (this CRM piece on writing to customers on account of late deliveries) does not know what their left hand (deliveries) is doing, I cannot expect them to read a blog post like this, connect it to my record, and NOT send me more gifts..! 

So is that perfect German Engineering jet-lagged in India??

Are we really using the advantages that we have?

Posted: April 23, 2011 in Uncategorized
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This is an interesting question that one of my good friend keeps asking? Not just me, but himself too, of course..

Are we really making the most of the advantages that we have in life? Or having taken them for granted, we have ended up abusing those advantages, in fact?!

Let’s understand with some examples.

There is this regular debate with the NRI kinds. Which life is better? In India, or in the US (typically)?

And the things that form a part of the benefits of being in India include the great support system that we have. A retinue of domestic help, chauffeur, not to speak of the friends and family support.

Our NRI cousins do not have all of these. Which means, they need to drive themselves everywhere, they have to do groceries and cooking and cleaning, etc.

Should take up such a lot of their time, right?

And we should have all that time available to us, on account of our system, right?

Then, what ARE we doing with that extra time? Have we pursued hobbies, do we travel more, have we got into interesting social work.. etc.? The honest answer for most of us is “Probably NOT..!”.

If you really look at the typical lifestyles, you would actually find the NRI cousin, in spite of having the lack of support, perhaps having a richer lifestyle in terms of the variety of different activities that he finds time for. In spite of having to cook and clean and buy groceries and the works.

Clearly then, we are NOT really using the advantage that we have, of the support system!

Alok Kejriwal referred to this in the context of Sundays, and the way Indian entrepreneurs do not use these too well.

Let’s look at another example.

Most of the world works 5 days a week.

A lot of India works 6 days a week. Some are luckier and work 5 days a week.

We have 2nd and 4th Saturdays off!

So what DO we do with that additional Saturday that we get? As an entrepreneur, for many years, unless I really had something specific planned at home or with family, I would actually end up working on that holiday Saturday also.

So again I was NOT making much use of that additional day that I had got for myself.

Well, doing more work on that holiday can always be justified for an entrepreneur, because there is always more work than time, and there is always a to-do list to work on. But there are other things in life. If the most creative thing that I can do on that holiday Saturday, is some-more-work, I am clearly NOT using the advantage that I have, in terms of that extra Saturday off!

There are many other advantages that we take for granted.

Not having to drive down to run small errands, because the kirana store will deliver home.

Having help at office, who will deposit your cheques for you, or deposit some utility bills on your behalf, so you do not need to go and stand in queues.

Having carpenters and plumbers and clothes ironing and such help, coming home and serving you, so you do not need to do it yourself.

What HAVE we done to use these advantages? The time we save, on these.. ?

We really need to use these advantages that we have in life, to make more out of life. To do things that we want to do. To do different things.

I am trying to be conscious of this fact. At least try to count these blessings.

And then being conscious of making the most of these advantages.

For example, I have taken the decision that on the additional Saturdays that we have a holiday, viz. the 2nd and the 4th, I should try and do different things. Perhaps travel out, or pursue other hobbies.

Has been going on for a couple of these breaks so far. And I have managed to do fun new things, both times.

Have to keep this up. And to use other great advantages that we have, also.. !

What about you? Do you sense that you need to enhance the usage of the medium at your end too?

Dum Maro Dum: good, racy thriller

Posted: April 23, 2011 in Uncategorized
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 With the World Cup holding back Bollywood releases, and nothing decent coming out thereafter too (I safely passed the ThankYous and the Faltus!), the storyline of Dum Maro Dum was tempting enough to go back to the cinema house after a long time. And I was glad that it turned out to be decent fare, after all.

Rohan Sippy, the new gen Sippy, has been making reasonably good cinema, although nothing close to iconic status just yet. So I guess, he’d be among the good young directors of today, but not quite in the class of a Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra or a Raju Hirani or Farhan Akhtar.

And Dum Maro Dum again fits into that slot. A good movie. You’d feel like money well spent. But not something that would get into any all-time top 100 lists or anything of that sort 🙂

The story is set in Goa, in the backdrop of the drug mafia, international drug cartels operating there, and about how innocents have been getting trapped into becoming unwilling carriers!

Abhishek playing the Inspector on special duty, with full powers to clean up Goa, off the drug menace, does a credible job. The film have a good pace. There are things happening all the time. Few characters are introduced, and their stories are told well.

Assuming the story comes with good research, it tells a worrying tale of how Goa has been made into drug heaven, along with its sun and the sea, especially by foreigners.

The music is very typically Pritam, and suits the story well.

Bipasha Basu and Prateik have small roles, and they do good justice to those. Aditya Pancholi makes a come back as the bad man! And looks like the part!

Abhishek finally has a good performance, and for his sake, I also hope the film does well. He needs that little bit of luck now!

Rana Daggubati got more pre-release publicity for his Bipasha connection, and not as much for his acting. Just as well. He is okay. In a role where we could have seen him do a lot better, he does an okay job. Not perfectly convincing.

And which brings me to Dum Maro Dum. The song. The item number performed by Deepika Padukone.

Well, the late R D Burman does not need to feel threatened about his legacy (not that THAT could EVER happen!). For that matter, Asha Bhosale or Zeenat Aman also have little to worry.

Dum Maro Dum will always till be about the original Hare Rama Hare Krishna!

The song depicted here, does not measure up.

Let’s consider Deepika first.

When in a dance number of this kind, the camera has to shake a lot to give the desired effect, it is obvious that the actor is not able to do her part, and the camera has to come to the rescue.

When shots are short, and there are more close ups, again, it is again only because she is NOT able to deliver long shots, and the camera finds it easier to show her face and body, rather than her dance moves.

They used to do this for Sunny Deol too.

Deepika Padukone seems to be belong to that same league. I guess, it was only for her glamour value, and in spite of not being such a good dancer, that they got her to do this dance, I suppose. And to that end, she might be just fine. But seriously, otherwise, the dance is nothing great.

Kareena, Mallika, Katrina, Priyanka.. can all do a far better job of shaking their hips and moving their legs, and looking good doing so, than Deepika!

All in all, Rohan Sippy has created a good film, and I would recommend that you see it.

Should Tiger Woods also stop playing? Guess not..

Posted: April 17, 2011 in Uncategorized
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Earlier I wrote about my one sporting hero, Roger Federer, and figured that he’d be better off retiring from the game now.

Would I feel the same way about one of my other sporting heroes of all time, Tiger Woods??

We all know in recent years, Tiger Woods has gone through a lot!

Most of it, away from the golf course..

Most of it all being his own fault as well..

But he is coming back to the game. And gradually doing better. Slowly but surely, he is not becoming an embarrassment on the course. And I am really happy for him.

Because whatever else got him into the news in the last couple of years, I would like to remember him always, as the best golf player to walk a golf course!

I am not a golf player. Well, not so far.

But I love to see the game. At the highest level. And I have spent many hours watching some or the other Masters, and most times, Tiger used to be a part of the game. And I have loved some of the mind-boggling shots that I have seen him play. Some of them were unbelievable. Like God came down, took the ball and parked it to where Tiger wanted it to go, as otherwise there was no human way to get the ball there!!

Yeah, that’s the Tiger I want to remember. Not the one with an overactive libido.

So he may not win as many of the biggies now, but then golf was never about dominating and winning all the different championships. The number one status in golf is about being more consistent than others. No one can seriously expect to win them all, in a year, or anything even close to that.

So as long as Tiger is getting into the groove again, and since golf is so much more about the mind and the temperament, and if he manages to get those back, then I do believe that Tiger will be back in the reckoning, as one of the top golf players in the world.

Just as he mismanaged his personal life and had no one else to blame, now, to get back to peak levels also, it is entirely upto him. As unlike most other sports, golf is all about the individual. You are not fighting anyone else on the field, you are fighting your own self. Which is what fascinates me about this sport, than anything else.

I am keen to see Tiger Woods at his golfing best. I want him to keep playing.. !!

Is the average becoming the adequate? And better than nothing, after all..?

Posted: April 17, 2011 in Uncategorized
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Clearly the Indian economy is doing good.

More jobs, more money flowing, more business for everyone.

Growth. For the country, which translates to growth for individual businesses.

And not everyone is able to scale up in terms of quantity and quality. And yet, the products and services that the company produces, continue to be in demand!

So what happens next?

Quality drops!

And yet, the company continues to get business. Because there is nowhere else to go, for their customers.. !

Is this becoming the norm? I am seeing more and more of this. Average quality.

And we are all accepting this.

India topped a $ 1 trillion level economy just last year. And they are talking of reaching a level SIX TIMES that number within the next 10 years!

And EVERYONE’s going to be busy! As hell.. producing, servicing, marketing, etc. etc.

Are we going to see more mediocre stuff, as businesses try to cope with growth? And if a customer is not happy, the customer can go and take a walk. And make way for the next one waiting in queue to be served..??

What do you think? Have you experienced deteriorating service levels, or you think, we are okay??

20-20 and IPL could have a crisis, if they don’t act soon..

Posted: April 17, 2011 in Uncategorized
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Way back in 2007, when 20-20 started getting popular, I had shared my views on how I thought, cricket had finally found its perfect format.

Yes, there’s lot of things that I like about the format.

That its that perfect sweet spot of entertainment, in terms of size, viz. the perfect three hours.

That it managed to engage, besides the men, also women and children. No cricket widows now.

So what do I think is going wrong?

That its become too much of a circus. An extremely one-sided game. now.

Let’s cut to American Sports, from where the 3-hours sports format seems to be borrowed.

In an NBA basketball game, there IS competition. The two teams fight it out. All players have a shot. Some games are won on defense, some on offense. There is all round play. There is balance.

An NFL American Football game is not all about the quarterback. There is throwing, there is passing, there is kicking, there is strategy, there is good defense, there is good offense. Games have a balance again.

And the World Series baseball games have a role for the batter as much as it has a role for the pitcher. Again, a well balanced game.

Which is where 20-20 and IPL are getting it all wrong now.

Its become too much of a slam-bang-thank-you-maam kind of game, with the bat significantly dominating the ball. Its like the bowlers are there, just to throw a ball for the batter to smash to any corner of the ground. It is too lopsided.

To again give an analogy from the USA, the 20-20 IPL game resembles the slam dunk contest that happens in the All-Star Weekend of NBA. While exciting to view, the reality is that the Slam Dunk contest looks good one time in the season. Just imagine how NBA would be, if every game was only a slam dunk contest?!

Well, IPL is headed that way.

And THAT is not right. For the next 1-2 years, they may not even see a dip. In revenues. Or in spectators at stadia.

But there will be boredom setting in for sure. Especially considering the fact that there is too much cricket anyway.

IPL and 20-20 cricket need to take some corrective steps. Sooner rather than later.

Make it a more competitive game. Let the ball be counted for. Let the bowlers not become mere spectators on the ground.

Before people get completely pissed off, from the game, the authorities that be, must take some necessary corrective steps.

Do you agree? Or you think we are fine the way the format is? Do share your thoughts..

Whether Federer does it or not, I throw in my towel for him..

Posted: April 17, 2011 in Uncategorized
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It is a sad day for me.

I have picked many “fights” with friends to defend my hero, Roger Federer.

To insist that he still has few years of outstanding tennis left in him, and that he will win a few Grand Slams before he finally hangs up his boots.

So having done all that, it is indeed a sad day for me today.

When I have to admit that Federer’s best days are behind him, and that there are far too many players today – not just Nadal – who are having a shot at him, and are also succeeding in beating him.

When it was only Nadal, there was stil hope.

That in some final, Nadal may be a bit off color, and Federer may be in top form, and Federer would still win.

Or that Nadal could be injured, and then Federer would have smooth sailing.

But now its no more just Nadal.

Djokovic of course, but many others too, have been challenging Federer. And he has not been able to hold his own many a times.

So unless things change dramatically, I personally will not claim that he has it in him, now, to win more Grand Slams. Or in fact, to win anything of significance.

In fact, I would rather that he retires now, because for die-hard fans like myself, it pains to see him lose against small timers. He is far far bigger to lose like that. He is an icon, a legend.. I don’t want to see him lose badly, to newbies.

For me, Federer will continue to be the best player who ever walked on to the tennis court. With due respect to Samparas (he comes closest to Federer in my book), Federer has moved beyond and ahead. Not just in terms of Slams, but in terms of the range of shots, the consistency, the class.

And no, for all those who talk about Borg or McEnroe or Connors or Lendl or Becker, or Agassi, seriously, they were not close to Samparas or Federer.

As for Nadal, I can see the struggle now. Fitness wise. And which is what has to be admired about Federer. That he remained reasonably injury free to dominate the game thus, and for so long!

I want to remember Federer as no. 1. Please hang your boots, and enjoy the twins, Federer..

So what happened to these cases?

Posted: April 17, 2011 in Uncategorized
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Public memory is short.

Wait it out, and things will be fine.

People will forget. And you will roam the streets comfortably.

These would be words of advise to high profile “criminals” from their lawyers??

So while Raju is still in jai, and so is Abu Salem and Kasab, whatever happened to some of these biggies??

1. Rahul Mahajan – drug abuse, death of Pramod Mahajan’s secretary, in a government bungalow in Delhi?? Rahul serenades women on TV, goes to Big Boss, and what not. All is well, it seems..

2. Sanjay Dutt – destroyed an AK 47, in the midst of Mumbai riots. Phone calls were intercepted. Connections to mafia don established. So what happens? Spent some time in jail. Now Munnabhai entertains the world, remarries, has twins. All is well.

3. Bhupen Dalal, Ketan Parikh, Bharat Shah – high profile names. Did they come out on bail, or were they acquitted? Are they playing the markets all over again? All is well??

4. MAK Pataudi (and also Nawab Junior) – caught red handed, killing protected wild life, in hunting case. Should have spent many years in jail. But the wife protests against Anna Hazare’s “blackmail” and the son continues to do films, while courting the beautiful Kareena. Ah.. all is well again!

5. Salman Khan – knocked over a street dweller and some black bucks too. But he’s the Dabbang, who’s now trying his hand at Being Human. Again, All is clearly well..

Of course, the Kasliwal beta got freed officially. After a heinous crime. I wonder how he will join the dinner table with the patriarchs of the family, with everyone else knowing that he molested an old woman?!!

And likewise, dear old Italian friend, Mr Quatrocchi is free as a bird. Not that he was much constrained anytime that I know of!

So what will be the fate of Mr. Kalmadi, the Commonwealth man? Or the Raja of telecom? Of course, not to speak of the man behind him, or his big fat family?? The Balwa and the Goenka and the Chandra of the space…? And of course, the one with the grandfather of all scams, valuewise, Hasan Ali himself??

Will they too just wait out for some time, let the heat die down, and then walk out on bail, on some technical ground, and then let public memory fade away??

Feel really pathetic about the law of our land, when I think about all these.

What are your thoughts? Remember others that are roaming the streets like this??

Theory of Relativity

Posted: April 17, 2011 in Uncategorized
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How often do we look at a better car and aspire to want it? Or a bigger, more fancier house, and feel that we are living in a small cubby hole? No matter the fact that we may actually be in a comfortable 3BHK with enough space for ourselves.

Sometimes this may manifest as a thought of jealousy, sometimes as aspiration and ambition, and sometimes, just a pining for more.

Not that it is necessarily a negative emotion always. However, the constant feeling that “you don’t have enough” just because there is a bigger, better, larger thing out there, is not such a healthy feeling. In having this constant ire that “I don’t have as much”, you end up not enjoying what you have, and which may be better than what a lot of the world has!

Let me share an example.

I had gone to drop my daughter, mother and few others, who were traveling to Dubai, for a short break. I might not even have gone to the airport, and let the driver take them there, as we did not think as much about the 4-day short holiday that they were taking. We are a reasonably well traveled family in that sense, and while not being entirely trivial, the 4-day Dubai trip was not as big a deal.

But I went anyway. And after the family walked inside, I was hanging out for a bit. Actually waiting for the driver to bring the car.

And I saw this very large entourage of a family, with what seemed like brothers, sisters, parents, grandmother, etc. of a young man, who was also leaving for Dubai. And there was an amazing excitement in everyone’s eyes. A sense of pride and happiness. As he went inside, and then he must have been passing by across the entry gate, the family strained to see him, and pointed to each other “did you see Rasesh – he just passed by..?” etc. And they brought the grandmother ahead, and gave her a glimpse of the son, as he went by.

All awesome scenes, for me.

And I realized that the trip was a big one for that family. Maybe the guy had got a job there, well paying one, and it meant a lot for the rest of the family. Or he was the first in the family to go outside India. Or some such thing.

And that’s when the thought sinks in.

What we took for granted (in a sense) is such a huge thing for someone else.

I could equally feel differently (like I felt on a previous occasion at the airport, when Mukesh Ambani and his family entourage came in about 6 different fancy cars and were on their way to take their personal aircraft, perhaps to some exotic holiday) seeing some other passengers on the other side of the balance.

But then to appreciate that its all relative, and we have a lot that we should be thankful of, even as we aspire for better or more…

What do you think?

Parenting Blues: My Views on Shobha Narayan’s piece in The Mint Lounge

Posted: April 3, 2011 in Uncategorized
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My favorite columnist, Shobha Narayan, wrote one more thought provoking piece, about new age parents, and their new age kids, and the accompanying challenges of bringing up kids in a society getting increasingly prosperous.

She starts with this para:

“The summer holidays are looming. The children will be home. What are you going to do? Send them to camp? Fly off on a holiday to the Caribbean? Ask them to do chores around the house? Or all of the above?”

Familiar dilemmas for many parents in the new India, I am sure.

Not giving them the best that money can buy, could actually make some parents feel guilty. Also working parents worry about what their kids will be up to, at home, all summer. So the challenge of keeping them busy, is also a motivator.

And then Shobha points out to a different viewpoint, that of Michelle Obama:

“One of the first things Michelle Obama did after entering the White House was tell the staff not to make her children’s beds. She wanted her girls to do chores, just like she did while growing up.”

So clearly, one has a choice.

And yet each generation works hard to try and provide a better lifestyle to their children, than what they themselves had. So if they are earning some good money, and it is the kids’ only childhood, they reconcile, then they should make it as good as they can, for the kids. Now that argument also has merit.

So where does the balance lie?

Again, in Shobha’s words:

“Obama’s quest to keep her daughters “grounded” while in the White House reflects a conflict that most upwardly mobile urban parents face today: how to enjoy the fruits of your labour without turning your children into spoiled brats.”

Shobha also points out when realization dawns:

“The realization usually comes as a wake-up call after a question or a comment. Your teenage son casually asks for another iPod because he lost his barely month-old one during a school excursion. You take your Delhi-bred children to a beloved aunt’s home in Dharwad and your nine-year-old refuses to go to the Indian bathroom at her house. Your seven-year-old asks, right in front of your retired relatives, “Why aren’t we staying at a five-star hotel?” It is usually after events such as these that realization dawns: You are raising your children with a warped sense of the world. Not intentionally, but not wholly without fault either.”

This is indeed a tough one to manage.

You value your middle-class upbringing that kept you grounded. And yet you earn enough to give a lot more to your kids now. And yet you shudder at their warped sense of the world.

Would things change with a stint at a hostel? Going out and living alone at a certain age? Living in slightly rough conditions that typical hostels are all about? Fending for oneself will be a best teacher? What if by then, they have become so delicate that they cannot take it? Is that a risk at all?

Shobha makes some great points and shares interesting points of view.

Suggest you to check out her article.

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