Simplify – Layman’s guide to peace & happiness

20 Jun

Its Tax Time and after three weeks I finally managed to compile all the information that is needed to get the job done in a thick 2 inch file. I got wiser after an IT Enquiry a few years back &  play it safe by  compiling every bit of information of the last FY. An IT enquiry can be really stressful – if you are asked in 2011 to provide in-depth detail of all your finances  in 2006 & 2007 – it isn’t easy  to dig out old records & transactions.

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As you start compiling bank account (s) statements , TDS Certificates , Capital Gains & Losses , Property Details , Home Loan statements , Insurance Receipts , PPF scans , Nett Worth calculations, Credit card statements , Form 16………..- you start wondering – What can I do to simplify my life ?  How can I minimize transactions ? A time comes when you say its Ok to earn 1 % less interest but I want to sternly reduce  all the challenges and paperwork. And thats the goal behind this blog – The road to happiness and how to simplify your life.

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Step – 1 : The goal of every human being is to be HAPPY 

I start with a simple Question – What is it that is common to all the 7 B people who inhabit planet Earth ? Other than the fact that they all breathe , need food & water , have desires and  live in communities ? Suppose I get all the inhabitants of the world into a large Stadium and ask  – All those who want to be Happy raise your hands ! My guess is that every person in that Stadium would raise his hand.

Step – 2 : What makes you Happy 

This is a tougher question.  A Big House , a hefty bank balance , a promotion , becoming a CEO , getting elected as a MP or the Prime Minister , a Rich Husband , A pretty wife , fancy holidays in exotic jets……. In short to a vast majority on earth Happiness is defined by two broad parameters – 1. Wealth

and 2. Status & Power. 

What is common to the Bellary Brothers , Satyam Founder Raju  , Rajat Gupta & Sanjay Dutt ? They are just some of the Rich & Famous people who are now behind bars. I doubt if they are Happy. Is a rich & powerful CEO happy – constantly under pressure to perform and facing the axe  from the shareholders if he slips a tiny bit. Partying in a pub with wild friends maybe happiness to many on a Fri evening after a long hard week – but its  similar to the pain killer shot that the doctor gives you , it just numbs your pain for some time. Most people run after wealth , power & status – that is clearly not the road to happiness. So what is the REAL  road to Happiness ? Thats a tough one to answer. But lets keep trying.

Step – 3 : Six Sigma & What makes you Unhappy

Lets apply a bit of Six Sigma Concept here. (Six Sigma became very popular in the mid 90’s when every large India IT company touted  Six Sigma and SEI CMM as their road to growth and the flag to enter the global world of IT outsourcing). Six Sigma preaches that the way to improve is to indetify defects – its easier to identify defects than to figure out a way to improve. If Six Sigma can help GE  & Motorola I am sure we can apply this principle to our life and try figuring out what are the defects that make us Unhappy. If we can reduce our unhappiness then automatically our happiness will go up.   Thats is simple and makes sense.

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Step – 4 : 4 Key elements of Unhappiness 

1. Physical Pain – Headache , stomach pain , hurting knees , indigestion , arthritis , BP , 80 % blocked valves in your Heart and similar physical ailments cause unhappiness.

How can you eliminate or minimize physical pain  ?  A good lifestyle , sleeping at the right hours , healthy food & regular exercise – thats all it takes to ensure a health pain free body ( at least in 99 % of the case where you do not have a genetic disorder).

2. Stress  – Unhappiness can also be caused by Stress & Tension. Meeting deadlines , driving sales growth Year of Year , juggling with multiple balls at the same time , trying to squeeze too much out of too less – all this can add to Stress. A lot of this Stress is driven by trying to do too much in too less a time. You are constantly trying to race against the clock. And why are you trying to do this – because you have too many TRANSACTIONS. One transaction leads to another – and another and all of them start adding complexity to your life.

The trick here is to start Minimizing Transactions. Unsubscribe from all unwanted groups and mailing lists , simplify your investment portfolio from 20 different investments to 2 – 3 , avoid multiple Credit Cards , Multiple Bank accounts , reduce your FB friends, if you have 3 houses sell 2, avoid a role in the apartment management committee, stop trying to solve all the problems of the world   – If you consciously start working on it you can make good progress. Each Transaction reduction starts a chain of events and the chain of Transactions continue to reduce.  Set a goal and work towards achieving it. Each reduction reduces pain and gives you joy.

3. Insult – The 3rd thing that makes you unhappy is Insult. You feel your voice was not heard , your opinion & view was not respected , you were ignored. Your EGO is hurt. You created your own EGO – a small kid does not feel insulted its only adults who create their own Ego’s who feel insulted. With insult comes revenge & vendetta. And a river of negative energy starts flowing.  Its easier said than done – but if you can curb your EGO you will never feel insulted.

4. Unfulfilled Desire – The last and most common element that causes unhappiness is unfulfilled desire. The kid wants an expensive Nike shoe and Dad says NO . You want a promotion and a 20 % hike – Boss says NO. Wife wants a holiday to Switzerland and Europe –  Husband says NO. We all get upset when we don’t get what we want.  But getting what you want never makes you happy – else the people I spoke about earlier would not be in Jail. Again a little difficult to get started – but a conscious effort to reduce desire and can help eliminate unhappiness.

Step – 5 : Starting the journey – Meditation 

It sounds simple but getting started and maintaining it is not easy. A simple tool that can help you and be an enabler is to start  meditating for 10 minutes every day. Human beings consist of a Physical Body + Something Extra (Soul , Life , Prana , Consciousness)  . We are constantly in touch with the Physical Body but rarely do we connect with that “Something Extra” . Meditation is the only way to connect with that Something Extra and just 10 min a day can change your life and start helping you to control the above mentioned 4 elements that cause so much unhappiness. its not mumbo jumbo – but a science that can be practiced by one and all.

 

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God – Fearing, Heaven & Hell : Brainwashed – 2

5 Jun

Adj : god-fearing – deeply religious; “a god-fearing and law-abiding people”

Its interesting to see the meaning of the word  “God – fearing” . A simple word – we have used so many times. But lets spend time analyzing this word.

I start with the premise – Why not “God – Loving” ? After all God is infinite compassion , always forgives you &  your mistakes – so why should we be afraid of God. This brings me to an interesting comment made in the movie “Oh  My God ” by the nakli baba ( Mithun Chakraborty) who says that people come to a temple out of fear. You are afraid of losing money , wealth , happiness – hence you come and take an insurance in the temple in front of God. 99% of the people who go to a Temple go to ASK for something – The student asks for Pass Marks or admission to a college , the young girl asks for a nice groom , the 30 year old for a fast track promotion, the 40 yr old for a VP / CEO posting. Rich industrialists cover temples with gold & platinum to ensure that IT raids do not happen , and Politicians offer money & grants to ensure that they do not lose their position & status.Come Diwali & Lakshmi Puja the stock Broker and Baniyas pray for more wealth & success.  The sad reality is that Few, very few go to a Temple with folded hands for peace & quiet – just to say Thank You. The priests & baba’s like Mithun know this and play on the fear – hence the word God Fearing. God did not create it , the institutions that control religion  under the name of great spiritual beings created them.

Linked to this is the concept of Heaven & Hell. We have all grown up fearing Hell and wishing we could at all times be in Heaven. the sole purpose of life is to be in Heaven !

What is HELL ? A place of  endless torture & pain. Where they throw you in boiling oil & fry you alive. Think of the worst set of cruelties that come to your mind – and they practice all of that and more in HELL. Its so easy to brainwash you from childhood with the concept of HELL.

Detail of Hell from Fresco Cycle by Frederico Zuccaro and Giorgio Vasari

I would like to know who conceptualized HELL ? Only a crazy sadist can think of such a ghoulish place that even with its mere mention can terrify mankind. If God created everything – would God create a place like HELL ? If GOD is infinite compassion would he have the heart to punish someone so heartlessly. Jesus when crucified – in extreme pain & agony said ” Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” – that sounds like God.

And what is Heaven ? A place of infinite joy , apsaras & nymphs dancing , unlimited liquor – some religions even promise their practitioners that on accomplishing their mission ( Jihad) on earth  virgins will be waiting for them in heaven.  I wonder how all that is banned on earth is your reward in Heaven – in  unlimited quantities ?

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In Conclusion – Whats the Point I am trying to make.  I am just trying to make you think . Its time for each person to introspect. To reflect on what we have learnt , how we have been brainwashed. Read what the greatest spiritual thinkers of the last 2500 years have preached  – they don’t talk about Heaven & Hell and being God Fearing. They talk about reflecting inside yourself by asking – Who am I ? What is my purpose in Life ? What is the Material & Spiritual World ? Interesting Questions leading to an interesting journey.  Questions for which you need to find  answers by yourself.

Few other related reading sections 

http://atomic-temporary-14030268.wpcomstaging.com/2013/05/20/am-i-a-hindu-religion-spirituality/

http://atomic-temporary-14030268.wpcomstaging.com/2013/04/27/brainwashed/

Simplifying Home Entertainment – Wireless Streaming

28 May

Indians have limited entertainment opportunities –  eating out , visiting  a Mall , watching a movie are probably 3 of the top entertainment activities for an average Indian metro family.

Movie tickets in India are expensive in most of the new Cineplex – a show at PVR can cost anywhere from Rs 250 to Rs 1000 per person depending on the type of auditorium. So going out with a family of 4 can be a tad expensive.

There is an interesting alternative that is emerging. Most Indian families in Metros have graduated to having large format LED / LCD TV’s and every household has a few smartphones and definitely a Tablet. The broadband and Wi Fi is also a default in over a few million households. These are the existing ingredients that you need to tap into to augment your experience of watching movies at home.

Lets look at an interesting device that Apple launched in India recently.  As you see this is a cute device that fits in your palm. Its small but powerful and can really energize your home entertainment . Lets take a look at a few interesting things that you can do with it.

Apple-TV-in-Hand

Most of you would have a Windows or Mac PC at home. With iTunes you now have easy access to download songs, movies, Videos, games  to your PC / iOS devices. These  can be streamed to your TV . Even if the PC is in the bedroom and the TV is in the front room it works beautifully.

We can make this simpler – if the movie is downloaded on your iPad or iPhone then you can stream it directly to the TV.

The device goes well beyond watching Video. There are other advantage too e.g.  you had a large family function and you want to view all the photographs together as a family on your TV. You can download the photos to iPhoto on your Mac / iPad and then choose a background theme / music and run all the photos like an AV.

Its also a lot of fun for kids as Angry Birds, Temple Run and all the other games downloaded from the App Store can now be played directly on your TV through an  iPad or iPhone.

If your TV is not web enabled and you want to watch movies from Youtube – its easy to do that with an Apple TV.

The device is also of interest to music enthusiasts. All the songs downloaded on your Mac / Windows PC can now be played on the TV , if you have external speakers / Home Theater system attached to the TV the experience can be stunning.

So what does it take to make this happen ?

Existing Systems – LCD / LED TV with HDMI Port , Wifi @ Home , Existing device ( Windows / Mac PC with iTunes or any iOS Device)

New Items Needed – HDMI Cable , Apple TV. Indicative cost for both these is less than Rs 10,000/-

Apple TV

 

Few Additional Points to note 

1. If you need to download from youtube & watch – Wi Fi bandwidth needed to stream is a minimum of 2.5 Mbps.

2. If you want to stream content from your home PC , iPad , iPhone – then all you need is a Wi Fi Network.

3. If you do not have a Broadband at home – you can still crate a Wi Fi Zone by using a product like the D – Link companion DIR – 505 ( Indicative Cost Rs 1700)

4. The movie / video being streamed will be at a HD resolution

Its an interesting project to get your kids excited in the summer vacation , you can get started right away and enhance your experience at home. For more details here are some useful links

For more details on this Innovative product here are some useful links

http://www.apple.com/appletv/

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/AppleTV_SetupGuide.pdf

Airplay mirroring in OS X Mountain lion: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5404
Guide to ports & connectors: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1586

 

 

 

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Perception = Reality, True or False

21 May

Many years back I was fortunate to spend a year at a leading FMCG company on a Brand Project. Coming from an IT world selling PC’s & Servers it was a rare insight into the world of Brands . I carried back two key messages on Marketing from the GM Marketing (who is now the CEO of that company)

1. Perception  is Reality &  2. Familiarity breeds favourability .

This essay will touch mainly upon the first topic – as I strongly disagree with the fact that Perception is Reality.

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Let’s assume  you have a Restaurant that positions itself as a haven for great food , and spends a lot of marketing dollars in communicating that message. If you land up at the Restaurant and find that the food and service is bad – will you ever visit that place again ?  Can marketing based on perception and familiarity deliver results or do you need a solid working product to succeed.  Companies like PCL & Shiva Computers created great awareness with full page Ads and tried to sell very mediocre products – sadly these companies do not exist today.

Linked to this topic is also the topic of making tall promises that may be factually incorrect. What does a consumer do then – given the state of our legal system. Is it morally and ethically right for large MNC’s and Corporates to base their products on such communications. Lets look at some examples from leading companies.

Santoor Soap is one of the largest selling brands in the Country. Its positioned as a soap that has the goodness of Sandal & Turmeric. It sells very well in S India where Sandal is considered a +ve factor to create glowing skin.  I would love to ask a  few questions to the makers of  Santoor (Wipro) – How many grams of Chandan (Sandal) are there in every bar of Santoor ? I thought cutting of Sandal Wood trees are banned – how does somebody run a production line making millions of soap bars every year if there is no regular supply of Sandal ? Wipro being a Green Company would definitely not want to promote cutting of trees. Is there Sandal in the soap or is it just a dot of Sandal essence and color that makes the claim ? I don’t know the answer – but I don’t see anything in the pack that says how much Sandal is actually used / soap ? I have friends in Wipro so maybe I should pose this question when I meet them next.

 

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Complan is a drink made by another large multinational. The drink claims to make children taller. All the ads build on that perception and many fall for it. I never drank Complan and am 6 feet 3 inches – my good friend who drank 3 glasses a day all through his childhood is 5 feet 6 inches. Height is determined mainly by genes – and maybe playing badminton and cycling – yes nutrition also helps , but how can a health drink promise to make you taller and get away with it when the results are not delivered ?

Complan

 

Colgate – A brand used by almost every household. It promises  that if you use Coalgate every day you want get cavities. The ads make you feel that if you brush twice a day with Colgate you never need to go to a dentist. Thats the perception that is built. I have used colgate all my life – teeth , gums , cavities I have problems everywhere. Colgate cant fix it – if I had used a saline mouthwash every night and brushed my teeth with a neem stick maybe I would have saved myself the agony of frequent trips to a dentist – but colgate just made me feel fresh in the mouth for a few hours. It did not even remotely deliver the promise it made . In the era of Coalgate this is another case that the CAG may take up for audit.

 

Colgate-Toothpaste

 

Lets look at one more example – Britannia is a great brand – they make great biscuits. The Britannia Good Day with RICH CASHEW is a bestseller. A 150 Gram Pack costs about Rs 23. If you remove the retailer profit , cost of distribution , Margin for manufacturer etc the cost of production will  probably be half of it say Rs 12/- . One Kg of Cashews costs Rs 600 – so if we assume that 10% of the weight biscuit is cashew ( rest being flour , sugar , milk etc) – that would be 15 Grams of Cashews – how much does 15 Grams of Cashew cost – Rs 9/- . You cant make the rest of the biscuit at Rs 3 – so clearly you don’t even have 10% of the biscuit comprising of Cashews – its probably more like 1 % – that would cost about 1 Rs worth of Cashews in every pack of 150 Grams. How many Cashews do you get for Rs 1/ ? Maybe 1/2 a cashew . My math may be wrong and instead of 1% the weight of Cashew may be higher – the pack does not mention how much Cashews are there , but at best we are still talking 1 , 2 or 3 Cashews / pack of 150 Grams of biscuit . Can a brand make a claim that the biscuit is packed with the energy of  RICH CASHEWS by having a sprinkling of the ingredient in every pack ? Yes in this case the perception works – but its now a matter of ethics and the FDA or an equivalent in India needs to step in and stop this.

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Lets take one last look – a wonderful product called Honey.One of the rare food items that never gets spoilt. Its the gift of nature. Great for health – best cough syrup , build immunity , great substitute for Sugar. But I wonder are there enough bees & Honey Combs for so much Honey to be produced in India. Forests are nearly gone , you hardly see birds and butterflies & bees – so where is all this honey coming from . Is it natural or an interesting formulae made in a lab. I found this report on food safety where they tested Honey in some US stores – and found that most of them did not have any trace of pollen. Most of the honey in the US stores were from China & India .

Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn't Honey

This report gives one a feeling that most of the honey being sold in stores in US may actually not qualify to being natural honey. Given this – it may be worthwhile to dig a little more deeper into Indian Honey brands and see how Pure & genuine they are.

 


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In Conclusion – yes many FMCG companies seem to be getting away with the Perception = Reality messaging , but its time consumers & regulators were more aware and demand that they get what is advertised & communicated by the brands.

 

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Am I a Hindu ? Religion & Spirituality

20 May

What makes you a Hindu ?  Praying to God , visiting a temple , performing rites & poojas, chanting mantras , maybe wearing a  Sacred Thread if you are a Brahmin, celebrating festivals , eating sweets & savories, knowing your mythologies & maybe an attempt at reading the Bhagwad Gita ! Is that it or is there more to being a Hindu ?

Most religions have one holy book The Holy Bible , The Holy Quaran , The Guru Granth Sahib to name a few . Hinduism has thousands – 4 Vedas , 108 Upanishads, Holy Gita , Vedangas, Darsanas , Itihasas Puranas , Upavedas, Agamas , Upangas, Tantras , Charvakas, Manusmriti Puranas and many many more. You can spend a lifetime doing a Phd in Indology trying to figure out the meaning of all that is written in these ancient scriptures

Most Religions are based on the teachings of 1 Spiritual Leader – a person who had visions from God , the Holy Son , a Messiah, Buddha , Mahavira  – a person who was spiritually awakened. Hinduism has hundreds of Rishis who after intense meditation heard the voice of God and were able to narrate their learnings for all and transferred them to ancient scriptures.

What is Religion ?  The teachings of the Holy Prophet that has now been institutionalised. Is it original , is it diluted , is the essence lost ? The goal of every Religion is to awaken you and take you on the path of self realization – has religion succeeded in that mission. To me it looks like Religion is the cause of most of the wars we have seen in our lifetime and before. Its also the basis for caste systems and to demean women.

What is Spirituality ? This leads us a question of Who is God & Who Am I ? How did Life begin ? Why is Man so evolved a animal ? Is God the statue in a temple ?  How come the Holy Vedas never talked about Temples & Deities ?

One of the greatest spiritual thinkers of our time has been Swami Vivekananda – he made an interesting observation ” If you have faith in all the three hundred and thirty millions of your mythological gods, … and still have no faith in yourselves, there is no salvation for you. Have faith in yourselves, and stand up on that faith and be strong; that is what we need ”

Swami-Vivekananda

Shiva may live in Mansarovar & Vishnu may be in the ocean of Milk – and thats a big MAYBE , but history has recorded that Buddha, Mahavira , Christ , Shankara, Vivekananda , Ramkrishna , Ramana Maharishi lived on earth. Its interesting to read about them and understand how they reached Spiritual Bliss and what is their interpretation of “Who is God” ? You will see a common thread. The exercise of connecting their spiritual learnings is a complex exercise but I will at least try and connect a few dots.

The common theme that emerges from all of them and all the ancient scriptures of every Religion is that God is everywehere. There is immense potential in every individual. We are able to utilize only a fraction of our potential. We spend too much time on the materialistic body and hardly any time to know what is that power which gives us life & intellect. The mere act of spending 30 min to focus on your breath gives you so much peace every day. Think of what you can achieve if you are able to meditate for years and get to know your inner self .

Here is an attempt to try and simplify the meaning of how there is a bit of God in every human being – Let us assume that God is the massive infinite Power Grid and this grid is connected to every living being. Each living being is like a bulb with different capacity. Someone glows at 10W while someone glows at 100W. But suppose you had the power in you to increase your capacity from 10W to 100W . another way of looking at it is that we are all a node of a massive cluster of computers connected to a supercomputer , each node has a different power but can communicate with the mainframe , some have a 256 KB link while others have a 4 MB pipe  – then all of life is a connected world. Just like Sun Micrcosystem said ” we are the dot in the dotcom ” – maybe  there is a  dot of God in all of us. And thats exactly what Shankara talks about in his concept of Advaita. And what every Religion spells out  in their holy books

And spiritual awakening is nothing but magnifying this dot till it merges with the mainframe which is infinite God. Vipassna , 8 fold path , Chakra awakening, every religion has a route  to elevate yourself to spiritual bliss. To meditate and focus on this you need to cut out the material world. So when the Taliban says – No music , dance , entertainment – they are not wrong – because these are distractions to the cause of  spiritual awakening , just that the journey is an individual one and cannot be forced on anyone by a bunch of  religious fanatics.

Just spend a few days at an ashram with simple Sattvic food ,  no TV , no music , no Internet , no phone , no talking to anyone and see the calming effect it will have in you. The stress, noise , transactions around us makes it very difficult for us to be in touch with our inner self.

Which brings me back to the main theme of  Religion Vs Spirituality. And Osho explains this beautifully in his book – “Belief , Doubt & Fanaticism“. He says don’t be a Christian, Buddhist , Hindu or Jain   – Try being Christ, Buddha, Shankara or  Mahavira. Follow the journey they took and then you will experience the joy  and eternal bliss they were able to achieve – what  Religion preaches today is no way close to what they practiced in their lives – a little bit of deviation by each set of followers has created a huge divide from the original thoughts of our great spiritual leaders.

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And to be a Christ , Buddha or Shankara you have to ask the question that Ramana Maharishi asked ” Who am I ” – the answer to this can come only from introspection & meditation. Meditation is not easy. The toughest job is to control the mind. Try doing it for a few minutes in a peaceful and quiet surrounding and then slowly you will be able to master the art.

“Doubtless, oh great warrior, the mind is difficult to subdue. It is restless all the time. But oh! Son of Kunti, the mind can be conquered by repeated exercises and dispassion to sensual objects.” — Krishna to Arjuna, Bhagavad Gita 6:34

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As I slowly start questioning and reading the feeling I get is that the core of Hinduism is not about praying to millions of Gods and doing mundane rituals & poojas – it is about finding the road to Spiritual Salvation. A wonderful read that explains the essence of Hinduism is “ Am I a Hindu ” by Ed Vishwanathan. This is a must read for every Hindu –  a well written simple book,  a quick 4  hr read that explains in simple Questions and Answers everything you will want to know about Hinduism. Its an excellent primer for every Hindu to know about his religion.
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A few ideas to start your Business.

13 May

For someone with a little entrepreneurial ability there are many exciting business opportunities. Most people tend to be repetitive & follow existing models that lacks innovation. This Blog lists down a few interesting ideas that can be developed as a successful business – so all the intelligent bored housewives, Gujjus, Sindhis …with business in your blood –  here is something to get you started.  All the ideas are based on Basics of human need around Food , Shelter , Clothing. In the past many of my ideas have translated into big business – hoping some of you pick up these ideas and execute them successfully.

Nuts.com – Simple Trading – but go Online

The Marwari’s have built an empire out of this. Small Investment, Low margin but multiple cycles of business is their mantra. If you invest 1 Lac and make a profit of 2 % in one day by trading in wholesale look at the money you can make in a year. The ROI is obscene !

We were recently in Kashmir and found that the best quality of Walnuts & Almonds are available at about Rs 600 / Kg. At Delhi INA market this becomes nearly 1000 / Kg and at Bangalore its closer to 1200 / Kg.

walnut 1

There are at least 10M Indian families whose daily food intake includes some nuts – its good for health. And then during Diwali and other festivals Nuts are great gifts. So here is the idea – start an Online Store that sells limited variety of quality Nuts, Tie up with a large merchant in Kashmir, depending on the scale and margin you want to make you can decide if you want to run this as a small outlet store in Bangalore or a large online play with a warehouse out of Srinagar. So with Nuts.com – you can actually start a very profitable business – margins in excess of 50%. You can then expand this to get dates from Middle East – that’s another great food item, doesn’t need refrigeration, can be stored for long and its rare to find good quality pitted dates in India. Take a look at what sells online in India eTailing –  everyone is busy selling books , gadgets , apparels .

Online Retail

Once the concept starts , further expansion is possible – create an online store for every unique item you get from different States – yes the concept of State run handicraft stores exists, but its poorly managed. So your online store can have Cotton Sarees from Cal, Kolhapuri Chappals, Pashmina Shawls, Silk Sarees from Kancheepuram, Special Navratri Dresses from Gujarat etc – an online boutique that gets you the best from every state in India at the lowest possible prices. Today this segment does not exist online – so there is virgin opportunity waiting to be tapped both from India and the 15 M NRI’s visiting India.

 

Italian Buffet

Indian’s love Pizza & Pasta. India is the fastest growing base for Domino’s & Pizza Hut. We also consume more Pasta than all of Italy ! Yes we have many Italian Restaurants and Pizza Joints but what we lack is a low cost Italian Buffet joint. Many years back we used to frequent one in the US – CiCi’s Pizza, it was a great success story. Unlimited Pizza , Pasta & Soft Drinks for $6.99. In India you can probably charge Rs 499/- for a similar buffet. Clear opportunity to build a chain with scale.

Pizza Buffet

Theme Restaurants

Many years back we had visited Cancun. One evening we visited a cultural program that included a buffet dinner. It was organized by the Mexican Govt – but it was an excellent experience. In any large Indian city we are starved for entertainment – IPL tickets get sold months in advance, and any good dance / musical event at Chowdiah memorial is a sell out. The only entertainment for Indians in most metros is eating food, visiting malls and watching movies.

National Folklore Ballet of Mexico

How about a Theme Restaurant that serves different variety of Indian food each day along with some cultural program from that state using local artists. So Mon night would be Bhangra & Punjabi food, Tue would be Odissi or Baul Sangeet with E Indian Food, Wed could be Gujju food with Dandiya & Garba & Thu could be dishes from the Malabar Coast with Kathakali Dance. You will need a place in the suburbs (Something like Vishala in Ahmedabad) and could announce the schedule in advance and have all the seats booked ahead of schedule. Given the no of IT companies in Bangalore and the foreign visitors who come every week – this one will be a sure hit from an entertainment point of view both for tourists & locals. ( This one may be a little complicated to execute and would require some connections with a big realtor or politician)

Food for Rail Travellers

Not sure how many of you saw the recent TV expose on how food is cooked in Trains. Most people would want to stay away from that food. There are over 5 M passengers who travel every day on an overnight train. They need food – what you get in the train & station is substandard and not something you would want your children to eat. Cooking at home is an option but it would be a lot easier to get something from near the station.  Renting space in the station is difficult (you need to know Mr. Bansal’s relatives). So what’s the Option ?

Passengers crowd together at a platform after part of a railing from a bridge collapsed at Allahabad railway station

A Saravana Bhawan type joint that is located close to the station – offering packed delivery food. Not too many varieties but clean, hygienic & packed well for travel. Idli Vada Combo, Curd Rice, Lemon Rice, Sevai, Roti Subji, Puri Bhaji.. Over a period of time the good food and hygiene standards will establish the place as a brand by itself. You may even have the option of delivery in the platform so that you don’t need to visit the shop as you rush to the

Store for the Sr Citizens 

We have many stores dedicated for Babies – why not a store dedicated for the old ? A store that specializes in food / medicines / soaps / day to day ingredients that they need most. Maybe extend it to a restaurant like Sanjeevanam that serves Indian food with limited oil , create a menu for diabetics , one for Heart patients , make it like a club for old people who can spend a few hrs every day – a sort of CCD for the elder citizens to hang out.

Sr Citizens

And finally my favorite one – A nice housing complex in Coorg on the banks of the Cauvery 

Water is drying up – in the last few years we have seen how the water table has gone from 30 feet to 500 feet and we survive on tankers. Think of how the situation will be 10 years from now as even more people migrate to the cities. A great opportunity exists in building a good quality medium budget villa complex on the banks of the Cauvery – in case of water shortage you can always go and haul a few buckets in. Land in Coorg is still cheap – less than 10 Lacs / Acre – so its very possible build Villas 1500 sft 3 BHK independent houses for 30 – 40 Lacs on 1/2 acre plots – the right builder with the right pricing can sell his layout in one weekend in Bangalore.

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Brainwashed

27 Apr

During WW II London was bombed , almost all of Europe was demolished, Japan was nuked – yet in  a short span they rebuilt their cities and went to on to become great countries. All this thanks to the leadership of some great people and the hard work of  the common man. Europe has a history that can be traced back 2000+ years to the time of the Romans, Greek’s , Spartans , Vikings , Gauls…. the US has literally no history and is a country of immigrants. The point that needs to be made is whether its a company or a country good capable people  make all the difference. Lets keep this point in mind as we move on.

London Bombed

Whats the history of our country in a few lines. A great civilization , probably the oldest , home to some of the oldest scriptures and holy writings which supposedly have a wealth of information written in such a cryptic manner that only a blessed few can understand them ,  a Religion which is more a way of life , great stories like the Ramayana & The Mahabharata which every kid knows from his childhood. A clear demarcation of what is good (Gods & Deva’s) and what is bad (Asura’s) , Millions of God’s, a strong caste system that is accepted and rarely contested – and then the external invasions and how all the greatness was stomped out and we were relegated to poverty and strife.

I dont know if the above is true or if its a holy brainwash – like every kid in India I have heard the same stories , read the same Amar Chitra Katha’s and as a parent propagated the same information to my children. But I now have a few questions. Every story has two sides to it – the version of the winner that projects him to be the greatest and everything else as evil. Have we tried to find out the other side of the story ? There are hardly any facts and historic data to prove the veracity of the stories we have heard – but there are many questions in my mind.  In the last few months I have visited the Louvre & the British Museum – right when you enter both is the entrance to the Egyptian Section – you will see hall after hall , row after row of artifacts that date back 2000 – 3000 years old.

Egyptian Section

Surprisingly none of the worlds greatest museums have any section of ancient India. What you will get to see of India is mainly the Chola Bronzes that date around 800 – 1200 AD and then the Mughal Miniature paintings. The oldest structure we see in India are probably 500 BC and they represent some ancient Buddhist Temples , Fresco Cave paintings , Stone Edicts . From Egypt we have proof that stone statues can survive over 3000 years , so what happened – did we lose all the ancient palaces, building , structures of the great old days ? Many of them would have got submerged – but excavations could have revealed them like they revealed the Indus Valley Civilization.

Lets step back and look at the story of Ramayana. Yes Rama vanquished Ravana – and since then poor Ravana has been the symbol of a perfect Villain. But was Ravana indeed a villain as he is portrayed. Is there a second perspective to this. Were the Asuras really demons and the “Bad people” and the devas the greatest. The word Asura has a close resemblance to ” Ahura” which comes from the Persian Language and means great warriors. Ravana , Bahubali were all Asura kings who were known for being great administrators and valiant warriors. Ravana is portayed as an egoist with 10 heads  – but maybe he had the valor & the intelligence of 10 people , you just need to step into Sri Lanka and the stores of Ravana there are very different from what you hear this side of the border.

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Was Indra a great king of the Deva’s ?  or was he in charge of a brigand that used to attack the existing rulers (Asura Kings) and the innocent citizens – If he was indeed a great king of the Deva’s how come there are no temples or hymns in his praise that we chant every day.

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Was Kubera the king of wealth or just a shrewd Shylock ? who made money out of others not always with principles.

Was Kumbakarna addicted to drugs which caused him to be drowsy all the time ?  and maybe the poppy plant  grew for only 6 months – hence he was awake the rest of the 6 months

Was Varuna the king of the Seas or just a pirate who controlled the seas thru his power ?

Were the great Asuras slowly but surely pushed back by the terrorists and their women & children slaughtered & raped ?

The Samnudra Manthan could well have been a period when mankind learnt to domesticate cows , horses, elephants – learnt the usage of medicines to prolong life (Nectar of life) and all this could have happened when the three races that existed Asura , Deva’s and Nagas lived peacefully for a few hundred years without any in fighting .

Is there Heaven , Earth & Patala or were they three regions on adjacent to the other starting from deep S to the North towards the Himalayas. And if the Deva’s ruled the Norther most area did that automatically qualify as Heaven and Naga’s of extreme S become “patala”. Was there a land mass where the current Indian Ocean exists that extended almost all the way to the Antarctica ?

Geologists say that the Anadaman & Nicobar islands are actually peaks of mountain ranges which was submerged in the ocean thousands of years back. Was there a land mass there that existed – which sometimes finds mention in old Tamil Sangam Literature ? If Tamil is indeed a language as old as Sanskrit how come the history books at school don’t even talk about it ?  Is the history we know the real History or is the history that was crafted by the British along with the Aryan Invasion Theory

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Nobody knows the answers but we believe what we have been told over the years, they make great stories and there is no need to question them – so we continue to be brainwashed.

If we were a great civilization and world beaters 5000 years back then a short period of domination by invaders would not have changed our DNA – if Europe and Japan could rise from the ashes so could we  – but we haven’t and we still cling to the past as the present is mired in scams & controversies resulting in abysmal poverty and lack of infrastructure.

Last few years there have been many books and discussions on this topic and its good to see questions being asked. Lets hope we see more research on these topics and hopefully get to see light at the end of the tunnel , which will eventually ensure that we are not brainwashed.

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Kashmir Holiday

16 Apr

 “Gar firdaus, ruhe zamin ast, hamin asto, hamin asto, hamin ast.” If there is ever a heaven on earth,

its here, its here, its here. 

Anyone who has seen Kashmir Ki Kali (1964) would have dreamt of visiting Kashmir . We finally translated our dreams to reality and spent 9 days in Kashmir on a family holiday. Yes we were a little concerned about safety especially with the recent Afzal Guru incident  – but it turned out to be a wonderful and memorable holiday and we all agree with what Firdaus & Jehangir say about Kashmir. here is a quick planner with tips on how you could go about planning your holiday.

Day 0, Fri – Evening we departed Bangalore at  1845 to Delhi and  spent the night at a small rustic place close to the airport at Anand Niketan called “ Inn at Delhi”  – its basically a B&B with the owners staying on the 1st floor and about 5 rooms in the G Floor. Its basic and functional, close to the airport, good for a one night transit stop.

Day 1 & 2 , Sat / Sun –  Delhi to Srinagar is a 1 hr 25 min  flight and as you land you can see the lovely valley surrounded by snow capped mountains. We reached at 12.35 and the cars were ready to take us to Gulmarg. Known as the Skiing capital of India its about 60 Km from Srinagar and you save 30 min if you drive straight from the airport rather than the City. We covered this journey in about 2 hrs . The 1st hr was regular road (You can stop at Mirch Masala for lunch , its about 45 min drive from Srinagar airport) the last 60 min was a climb up the mountain – not too many hairpin bends , easy climb to 8830 feet (Ooty  is about 7000 feet). On the way you cross Tanmarg (The drivers may stop here and ask you to rent Snow Shoes & Jackets – but please refrain, there are better shops in Gulmarg). Gulmarg is a small town and is famous for its Cable Car (Gondola) rides. The cable car rises in two stretches  and the final height is about 12,200 feet. Tickets for each section is to be bought separately  and they cost Rs 400 for 1st stage and 600 for the 2nd stage. The cable cars are small and can accommodate 6 people – takes about 8 Min to reach level 1. The level 1 landing point has many shops / activities ( Skiing , Snow Biking etc) and can keep you busy for 60 – 90 minutes.  Level 2 is the peak – windy & cold ( It is closed at times if the wind speeds are very high). Gulmarg has a lot of snow even in April ( we had over 4 feet) and temp is cold – 0 to 10 Degrees, so be armed with thick jackets, Thermals , gloves and socks. Helps if you have a nice shoe with thick rubber soles (Woodlands Type)  – that way you can avoid renting the rubber shoes. Avoid walking on snow in normal shoes.

Holiday at Kashmir

The Q for tickets for the Gondola ride can get very long – we were lucky as our Travel agent had organized for the same. Most people do a day trip to Gulmarg so it gets very crowded from 10 AM to 5 PM. We stayed for 2 nights and the kids spent a lot of time in the snow near the hotel. We stayed at a lovely place called The Vintage – nice comfortable hotel with about 40 rooms. We had selected a suite so it was very comfortable, excellent heating and the food was great (Don’t miss the Kashmiri Pulao packed with dry fruits) . The only challenge was the walk from the hotel to the Gondola ride – its a 3 km walk , you can take a sledge or walk. The sledge is a wooden cart manually pulled and did not look very comfortable. There are good hotels near the cable car (Khyber  & Highland Park) – staying there can save you the walk.

The Vintage

There are limited places to see  – and being an army camp most places are out of bounds for travelers. We had a relaxing easy 2 nights , 1 1/2 days – but I guess a night stay was probably enough to cover the place.

Day 3, 4, 5 , Mon / Tue / Wed 

Post Breakfast we left Gulmarg on Mon morning and headed to Srinagar , reaching the Dar – E – Salam hotel by lunch time. Its a lovely hotel on the banks of the Nageen Lake (A part of the Dal lake) – 14 lovely rooms , a lovely garden , and Shikara rides right from the hotel, it actually looks like a colonial mansion. We consciously decided against big brand hotels and the service and comfort of small boutique hotels was excellent all through our travel.

Nageen Lake

Srinagar is famous for  3 Things  1. Lovely Mughal Gardens 2. Shikara Rides 3. Boat House . We had planned our trip in April so that we could see the famous Tulip gardens. The garden is open for a month every year around end March to end April. Its a very pleasant sight to see row after row of colorful Tulips. They say Amsterdam is Tulip city but in April you can get the same experience in Srinagar.

Lovely Mughal Gardens

Right next to the Tulip garden is the Botanical Garden. Close to this is the Chashme Shahi and Pari Mahal ( Palace built by Jehangir for his daughters) . If you plan well you can cover all these spots in the morning and head for lunch to the newly opened Taj Vivanta that is close by on the top of a hill. Food is good but the view of Srinagar and the Tulip garden from the top of the hotel is better. So yes the lunch may be  a tad expensive but reason with yourself that some of the cost is apportioned for the view. The Botanical Gardens is very well maintained ( would probably rate it at par with the one at Ooty) and during the sunset you can get some brilliant photos.

Taj Vivanta

The other famous gardens are the Shalimar Gardens & the Mughal Gardens. You may get bored visiting so many gardens but do ensure that you visit the Badaam Vari (Almond Garden) – as the name suggests its a garden full of lovely almond trees. Of all the parks we visited I liked this the best , we were there at 930 AM and the park was empty. vast expanse of well maintained gardens and lovely trees and you just felt like lying down on the grass and spending the full day. With such lovely gardens in Srinagar I wonder why they call Bangalore the city of gardens ? Srinagar is a lovely city – broad roads , nice pavements , limited population , fresh air , and a lovely view with mountains all around.

Almond Garden

Talking of Almonds – Kashmir is the best place to buy Almonds, Walnuts , Saffron & Pashmina . They are cheaper here by 50%. 1 KG of Walnut that costs Rs 1600 in INA Market Delhi is just Rs 600/- in Srinagar. And  so is the Mamra Badam . Pure Saffron costs about Rs 200 / gm . So remember to keep some space in your bags to get back a lot of these for you & your friends. The pashmina stoles start from Rs 1000 ( 30% Pashmina) but the pure ones can be as high as Rs 3500. Yet they are a fraction of the price that you will pay in Bangalore – so all the Gujju’s & Sindhi’s reading this blog – here is a great business opportunity for you.

After you have walked around the parks do try out the Shikara. The Dal Lake extends all over Srinagar across nearly 45 Sq Kms. All along the lake you have Shikara – costs only Rs 300 / Hr. It  can accommodate 2 Adults & 2 Kids, but try and stay 2 to a boat gives you that much more space to stretch & relax. The Shikara will winds its way through the lake talking you to floating markets , lotus ponds and many more interesting places. You will also see many houseboats. Most people do spend a day at the houseboats – we decided against it. It does look cramped and damp, its stationery and one worries about how they handle their sanitation – and the only way to reach the boat house is by the Shikara. The boat houses come in different varieties – and rates vary from Rs 1000  to Rs 6000 / night.

House Boats in Srinagar

What else to do in Srinagar – you can visit the Hazratbal Mosque, the Temple of Shankaracharya (Hilltop Temple, that requires a 30 min walk up some 300 steps) , take a balloon ride, and visit the Dargah of  Sheikh Abdullah . Also do visit the Lalit Ashok hotel. This is a royal palace of the Dogra King converted to a 5 Star Hotel. It has lovely lawns and a beautiful garden overlooking the rooms. Its a lovely hotel and we spent some time here over lunch. The weather is lovely – a pleasant 10 – 20 Degrees. Bright & Sunny.

Shankarachariya Temple

Distances in Srinagar are small and you can cover the city easily in two days. The river Jhelum flows close by so you can always venture out for some treks. Shops are open from 7 AM to 10.30 PM – so there is enough time to shop late in the evening. There is a central market area which has a lot of lovely shops. No malls / No Pubs / No bars – so nightlife is non existent. Some people take a day off and head to Sonmarg – but if you have been to Gulmarg , it may not make sense going to Sonmarg.

Day 6, 7, 8 , Thu / Fri / Sat

After 3 lovely days at Srinagar we headed to Pahlgam on Thu morning. Pahalgam is 92 Km from Srinagar and takes about 3 1/2 hrs. Half the ride is thru dusty roads and small villages on the way you will see many farms growing Saffron . After the midpoint (Anantnag) the scenery gets beautiful . The Lidder river flows with joy and purpose and both sides of the roads are full of yellow dancing mustard fields. On the way you will cross two famous points – Avantika which was the capital of the Hindu king in 800 AD , you can see the ruins of a large Shiva & Vishnu temple on the main road. A little ahead a small detour can take you to the Markand temple – one of the rare Sun temples in India. Not a very impressive structure but its unique that the same complex has a Gurudwara and the Sun temple. It also has a natural rapid .

Lidder River Pahalgam

Pahalgam has the best scenic beauty of the 3 places. Lofty snow capped mountains , Lidder river and some amazing spots – its been the scene of many a film shoot. One of the valleys is named Betaab Valley and even the recent Shah Rukh Khan movie ” Jab Tak He Jaan” was shot in Pahalgam. We stayed at the lovely Pahalgam Hotel – a 90 year old hotel that has been the venue of many a film shoot including Khamoosh. The rooms are very spacious (we again had a lovely Suite) and the service / Food is excellent. The Hotel is located on the main street close to the Taxi Stand.

Pahalgam Hotel

Around Pehelgam there are three main areas to visit

1. Betaab Valley & Chandan Wadi – this is the route taken by the pilgrims who trek to Amarnath ( Pahelgam is the base camp for Amarnath Yatra , you can get a helicopter ride from here also). Betaab Valley is 12 Km and Chandan Wadi is 16 Km from Pehelgam – a lot of snow in Chandan Wadi so Kids can have round 2 after Gulmarg. The scenery is enchanting as you see the snow melting and flowing into the river gushing by.  Budget 2 – 3 hrs for this visit. Cab rates are cheap and an Innova costs Rs 1300/-

Betaab Valley & Chandan Wadi

2. Aru Valley – 11 Km from Pehelgam takes about 45 min. Nothing much to see here . the drive  is scenic . One you reach the destination you can take horse rides to see some scenic spots. Innova rents for Rs 800/- for this trip.

3. Horse Ride trek to Baisaran , Dabian & Kashmir valley.  This is a must do. The horse climbs up & down steep slopes riddled with boulders and its scary as it walks on the edge of deep ravines. To cover all the 3 places will take about 3 hrs. This area is called Mini Switzerland and is a must visit. Yes the Horse ride can leave you sore the next day – but its worth it. Priced at Rs 700/- but you will give a very generous tip at the end of the trip.

Kashmir Valley

The Pahalgam hotel overlooks the Lidder river and sitting in the garden  drinking Chai & pakora is itself a moment to cherish. The hotel provides Buffet Breakfast , Lunch & Dinner – but I would strongly recommend the Restaurant right in front of the hotel for Lunch – Called Dana Pani , its a nice restaurant run by a Sardar and serves excellent N Indian & S India dishes. After many days we were thrilled to eat Idly, Dosa & Curd Rice here. Overall food all across Kashmir  was superb – most places were pure veg , the challenge if any was that the food was too rich and towards the end we started requesting for simple dry non gravy Sabji.

Imp to note that in both Gulmarg & Pahalgam you can use only local cars – the cars you get from Srinagar need to be parked in the hotel.

On Sat we left Pahalgam after lunch and headed back to Srinagar, reaching the Dar E Salam hotel by  4.30 PM.

Day 9,  Sun 

After an early breakfast , we headed back to the Airport and reached Bangalore Via delhi by evening. Security at the Srinagar airport is very strict so plan to reach 2 hrs in advance. Security is visible all across – gun toting CRPF is seen every 1 km in the roads , most of the large buildings the forts , cricket stadium etc have been taken over by the army / CRPF / BSF – local residents are clearly upset with ASFSPA.

That concluded a wonderful trip to Kashmir , and we all will savour the sweet memories of this lovely land and its soft spoken beautiful people for many years. Its indeed a  beautiful state and as I read the book on my return flight ” Tragic Hero of Kashmir – Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah” by Ajit Bhattacharjea I could not but help feel sad at the broken promises made to them. What added to the fun in the trip was the company of Jayshree & Family – its always good to have like minded company when on an extended holiday.

wonderful trip to Kashmir

The trip cost us a fraction of what we would have spent if we had travelled to Switzerland ( 9 Nights 10 days for about $ 2700 – Excluding airfare). This included suite rooms for 4 ( always helps to have a suite when you are a family of 4 with lots of luggage), an Innova at your disposal all through the day , breakfast and even dinner in some places. Entry fees for most attractions were a pittance – 5 to 10 Rs / person.

We owe our thanks to Ketki Kapoor from Hopp Worldwide for helping us with all the bookings. We had planned our trip nearly 6 months back – so we got excellent rates. The itinerary was smooth and not rushed – its always good to have some extra time to budget for kids falling sick or a rainy ( snowy) day so any of you planning a similar trip do feel free to reach out to Ketki – contact details are below.

Ketaki Kapur Pantle (ketaki@hoppworldwide.com)

Hopp Worldwide Excursions Ltd

F44 Bhagat Singh Market
New Delhi 110001
Ph- 91 11 43780000
www.hoppworldwide.com
www.luxuryescapes.in

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The agony of being 2nd !

2 Apr

Wed March 28th  – 1984. A day I find difficult to forget. It was the finals of the school TT competition. We were in the fifth set –  the first 4 matches were close, very close , all the matches had run into deuce  : 29 – 27 , 26 – 28, 25 – 23 , 23 – 25 , and now we were locked in the 5th game at 28 – 27. For the 1st time our PT Teacher had convinced the headmaster to extend the tiffin break – the whole school was watching , even the teachers had taken sides. The supporters were lined up on each side of the hall. And then the inevitable happened –  after a long rally the ball nicked the net and my desperate attempt to get to the ball was not good enough – I lost the fifth set 29 – 27 and the championship. As everyone rushed to congratulate the winner  and carry him – I was left alone. Thats always the fate of being 2nd – in sports or in life. The winner gets it all.

Since then my heart has always gone out to the loser – who is so so close but yet so far. Think of PT Usha who missed her medal by 1/100th of a second. I at times even empathize with Ravan & Karna –  the stories are always the version of  the winners , who knows the truth of the loser.

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One would think that the best products need to be winners – but truth is different. There are many cases where the better product gets a raw deal . Lets look at some examples.

Hindu Vs TOI

I have been reading The Hindu for the last 3 months – in comparison to the TOI its a class apart. Excellent english , thoughtful editorials , unbiased and fair , its a pleasure to read The Hindu. Look at the TOI – it feels like 90% of the paper is commercial trash , yet TOI rules on the numbers front. When I looked at recent circulation figures I was happy to see The Hindu slowly but steadily gaining market – and I hope I live to see the day when Quality trounces Crap.

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LML Vespa Vs Bajaj Chetak 

The first scooter that I bought was a LML Vespa . It served me well , strong & sturdy it was indeed a reliable ride. On Quality & stability it  beat the Bajaj Chetak hollow – yet Bajaj survived and LML Vespa had to close shop. I am so happy to see that Vespa has come back with its range of scooters – I hope they do well.

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Windows Vs Mac

No Virus, never crashes, better GUI, faster, integrated hardware & S/W – yet Windows rules and Mac is a distant second – wonder why, it just doesn’t sound fair .

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P&G Vs HLL 

On a blind test P&G always scores higher. Take Dove or H&S or Tide – product Quality of P&G is always superior. But when it comes to units sold HLL rules – just not fair.

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Android Vs iOS 

Thats another Mac Vs Windows example. iOS is any day a superior platform but Android continues to dominate the market globally

ANDROID-VS-IOS

These are just a few examples – all of us could think of many more. And I keep asking myself  the question – how come the best products don’t end up as winners ? Doesn’t sound logical or fair ! Justice Katju says 90% of Indians are dumb – can we extend that as a global paradigm ? Or is the age old marketing rationale ” Perception is Reality ” indeed true . Does massive ad spends result in “familiarity creating favourability” ?

Ever since that fateful day in March 1984 I have stuck to the No 2 guys – they try harder and are definitely the better products, so think before you act next time.

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Are we really a Global Village?

28 Mar

I ask this question after it took me nearly two months to find a pair of cycling shoes. Let me step back and set the background. Spinning  (RPM) s a great group exercise – 1 hr of Spinning can help you burn 800 – 1000 calories. A few months of regular spinning can help you lose weight real fast.

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I started Spinning nearly 6 months back and since then have got addicted. When I travel abroad I look for hotels that have Gyms with spinning stations. And most people in the class are – the morning batch at our gym Zela is sold out 30 min before the class and of the group of 15 women, many come as early as 1 hr before the class, its a cat-fight to get the front row bikes  (I am still not sure what attracts them –  exercise or the instructor)

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After a few months as you build stamina and want to push yourself more you are looking at means to improve efficiency.  One way to do it is get the right gear.  The right shorts and shoes can help you improve performance by as much as 50%.

Ladies Cimson and Creme Shorts

This is where the saga begins. I visited Decathlon at Sarjapur Road in late Jan and bought the right shorts and a pair of shoes with Cleats. The technician fixed it and I was all excited. The next day at class I realized that the Cleats were embedded too deep inside the sole of the shoes and it was not possible to use them in the cycle.

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I went back to Decathlon the next weekend and tried to exchange the shoes – unfortunately the other model with the cleats jutting out was not available in my size. The store manager was friendly and said stocks were expected in a weeks time. I visited after a week – but still it had not come – Decathlon was kind enough to give me a refund.

A few days later my instructor informed me of a new online store that specializes in biking gear. http://www.cyclingboutique.in. The CEO was nice enough to get back with lots of options but unfortunately did not have my size. (Before people think I am a giant – my size is 11 , which is pretty normal). He promised to order my stock from Italy and assured me that it would be available in a few weeks by end Feb. I kept following and finally yesterday they acknowledged they had goofed up and the stock was yet to be ordered.

On a visit to Whitefield yesterday I spotted a Decathlon there and took a chance again. Luckily they had my size in the variety I wanted. But then there was no technician to fix the cleats ( It requires a special instrument to screw the cleats). Going to Decathlon is a challenge as it can take ½ a day – however my enterprising driver figured a way to get the cleats fixed.

So here I am after nearly two months finally with the shoes I wanted. I am hoping it works today evening when I go for my class.

But the question that bugs me – would I have had this problem in any other large city in US or Europe or even Singapore? When it comes down to getting stuff like these shoes or even Mascarpone Cheese, or Halloween Costumes it’s a big challenge even in a Delhi, Bangalore or Mumbai – you literally have to hunt down the few stores which have a remote chance of stocking them (Mascarpone Cheese is a key Ingredient to make Tiramisu) – chances are 9 out of 10 you wont be lucky.

So what makes us say we are in a Global Village  – or do we have to wait for some more years for the Wal-Mart’s & Tesco’s to come before we can truly become a Global village.  Let’s hope that happens soon.

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