How much is Enough to Retire ?

3 Dec

During my brief stint in one of the Big 3 head hunting firms I  met nearly 200 + candidates hunting for a change . There was a common theme cutting across most of them. 80% of them were 40+, bored with their job, felt they were getting a raw deal and that their potential was far higher.  They were all experiencing the impact of the Pyramid Effect after nearly 20 years in the industry.

Once you start talking to them ( and they talk a lot !) more common themes emerge – Should I change Industry, should I start a business (Restaurant & Head hunting firms are top picks!), maybe I left US too early and should have stayed on and finally – How much do you think is a good corpus to retire!

The last question is an interesting one and merits more attention.

Lets look at how life has changed in the last 30 + years.  Rice Rs 4 / Kg –  Rs 40 / Kg (10X) , a Gas Cyliner of Rs 60 is now nearly 600 + (10X) ,  A loaf of Bread that cost 2 Rs is now   Rs 20/- (10X) , Petrol was about Rs 10/L – currently Rs 70/L (7X,  and we thought Petrol had the steepest hike), Bhindi that costed Rs 4/Kg is Now Rs 40/- (10X). Cal – Chennai one way on Indian Airlines was 1K  ( I remember that clearly since that was the first flight a family member took in 1983 to attend my sisters marriage) – Now it varies from 5 – 10K , One USD was = 10 INR and now its 55 ( 5.5X).

Bread

I am not an economist and this may not be very scientific but we can draw an inference that when it comes down to day-to-day expenses the costs have gone up by about 10X in 30 years.

This does not take into account the cost of property. That has grown astronomically – I recollect a relative buying a 5000 sft plot of land with a bungalow in Alwarpet , the heart of Chennai for Rs 1 Lac in 1980. Today that property would cost upwards of 10 Crores ( 1000 X appreciation)

12112012-Consumer-prices-still-high-in-India-equitymaster

The  salary of a Sr executive in a private firm 30 years back was about Rs 5000/- month (Taxes at the highest limit were 90% and the Presidents Salary at 10K / Month was the maximum limit).

So if cost of most items have gone up by 10X – then an corresponding increase in salary to 50K/ month should have been good enough – but that’s not true. Entry-level salaries for engg graduates from Tier 1 institutes are 7 – 8 Lacs / annum and Sr executives with 20 + years are unhappy with 50 Lac packages.

20price1_60

Can you manage a household for 50K a month in Bangalore or BBY or Delhi ? Yes many do – but for people who are my FB or Linked in friends that’s not true. At a very conservative level the monthly expenses for a family of 4 can vary from 1 – 2 Lacs / month. That’s nearly 2 – 4K USD / Month ,

when you look at it that way you realize that not many in the US spend that much every month.

So what has changed? Lets shift gears to the 1st chapter in my class 10 ICSE Economics Book by Khosla & Khosla. The author had beautifully explained two concepts – 1. The difference between Desire & Want (A Desire backed by necessary means and the willingness to partake with the means is a Want) and 2. The concept of Necessity, Comfort & Luxury and how these brackets vary from person to person based on their social strata. 

Lets now take these concepts and see what has changed and then come back to the original question of How much is enough ?

30 Years of economic growth has made Luxuries & Comforts a Necessity . Today a good car, eating out once a week or an annual holiday ( Vs the visit to Grandparents house)  is considered a necessity. Kids Birthday bashes are no longer an evening affair at home. New clothes are no longer events that happen in Diwali or Durga Puja but at every second month or the weekend sale.

It’s a combination of two things –  having tasted blood for the Good Things in life you want more and of course there is peer pressure.  And today we are ready to partake the means to fulfill our wants – even if it means taking a loan and bearing the burden of a monthly EMI.

Hammock

Before we do the math – some questions that bug me

  1. In the next 30 years (say when we are 70) – will the cost of goods be 10X more expensive than today. So should we expect Rice & Bhindi to be Rs 400 / Kg and a gas cylinder at Rs 6000/-
  2. In Countries like the US & UK where per capita income is in excess of $ 35000 (India just crossed the $ 1000 mark) – cost of fruits / vegetables / Petrol is already at par with India. So should we assume that with increasing development the costs will continue to spiral?
  3. Inflation in India which is at ~ 10% needs to come down – Inflation is like rust , will it come down to 2 – 3 % ?  (Which is why I like the RBI Governor who is holding on to pressure from the Finance Ministry and not reducing Interest rates till Inflation climbs down)

Depending on the answers we can arrive at some estimates. One way to look at it is that when you are 70 if you need 10X what you need today – you will probably need 5 Lacs / Month . I am assuming that you are not downsizing and continue to maintain a certain lifestyle that you are accustomed to. Lets also assume that with just husband & wife and lesser needs to impress society that reduces to 2 – 3 Lacs / Month.

At a 10% interest your tax-free income is 7%, to get 2 Lacs / Month or 24 Lacs / Year you need a corpus of  3.5 Crores in a FD. ( Remember if Inflation comes down you will not be getting 10% interest)

With medical costs spiraling and chances of Public Health systems not improving much you need to put away a Corpus to take care of your health in case of something serious. Lets say you put away Rs 1 Crore when you are 50 to multiply over the years so that at 70 that’s maybe 2 – 3 Crore’s + (that may not be sufficient – so ensure that you have good health, exercise regularly , clean diet !!)

You would like to travel and holiday, lets budget another Rs 1 Crore at age 50 to be kept in a Corpus for Holiday & Entertainment & Fun , between the interest and some corpus dilution every year you can manage for the next 20 – 30 with some decent holidays.

So if you are in a position where you have taken care of all your children’s higher education, marriage expenses (at least 1 Crore / Kid assuming they study in India over the next 10 years), have a house that is fully paid off and have no other liabilities then maybe a kitty of 5.5 Crores (That’s 1 Million $) at age 45 – 50 should be good enough to pull you along. This can be a combination of both assets & liquid cash –  rental income for a second house may be a good hedge given the rate at which property prices have risen in the past.

Jackpot

Unless you have a windfall profit from stocks or real estate its difficult for a salaried person to make that money in his 20 – 25 years of career. (In one my future blogs I will share some insights on the power of Compounding – while it may be a bit late for us in our 40’s to leverage this , its a good learning for the future generation )

For all those who are there – enjoy your retirement! For others like me it’s back to the grind for many many more years.

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Goa & The Park Hyatt – Lush Green Luxury

16 Nov

We finally made it to Goa. Thats the irony of life – we travel to exotic places abroad and many a time forget paradise thats right at your backyard.

The Park Hyatt at Goa is truly heaven on earth. Lush green meadows , rooms in lovely Portugese Villas, a huge pool, a great activity Centre for kids – Camp Hyatt , 5 great restaurants (Including one on the beach) and a lovely beach which is as good as private. a lovely gym and a great Spa. ( What else can you ask for !) The only thing missing from this Indralok was the dancing Apsaras (The middle aged Russians & Europeans – couldn’t quite match up to the task) And if you get all of this free (Thanks to Hyatt Platinum Points) – you just say WOW !

The weather in Nov is perfect – warm , sunny and a little humid. And  thats what drives the hordes of foreigners at this peak season. 90% of the hotel guests were foreigners and a vast majority were Russians. Surprisingly almost every guest was a family of 4 or 5 – with kids in the age group of 3 – 12.

The Park Hyatt has 205 rooms & 12 suites and is spread across 100 + acres and extends to the beach. The sand is soft and fine like talcum powder and the water really warm & nice. Right on the beach you have water sports run by private agencies. These are not cheap – a 10 min Para Sailing or Jet Skiing can cost Rs 1000/- , and a trip in the morning to watch dolphins can put you back by Rs 3000/- (But you do see dolphins – we saw 5 of them playing around with our boat)

There are some lovely restaurants in the Hyattl – Indian , Italian , Multi cuisine , Sea Food etc – all of which have a common open area where every evening there is some entertainment happening. The Palms restaurant is located right on the beach. Food is decently priced and dinner for a family can cost up-to Rs 3K (Liquor not included). The Child Menu has a lot of options. The breakfast buffet is extensive – so do ensure that your room rate includes breakfast.

What can you do beyond the lovely hotel at Goa ? A Lot – here are some useful tips

1. Goa is a State – so it takes time to go from one place to another. Most of the resorts are in S Goa ( The Park Hyatt is at the N end of S Goa and is 20 Min drive from the Airport) – but some of the popular beaches like Baga Beach , Anjuna etc are in N Goa. You may hear the oft repeated statement that ” The action is in N Goa” – I beg to defer. We visited Tito’s in N Goa , Baga Beach one night – Crowded , Loud Music , mainly youth in their 20’s , Indian Liquor served in plastic cups – NOT my idea of something Classy, and I would definitely not not go back there again . If you are 40 + and want style and class stick to the entertainment venues in S Goa – Martins, or even the Tito’s in S Goa .

2. If you are staying in a wonderful resort with its own beach you may not want to visit the numerous beaches of Goa.

Some of the other Tourist attractions are

a) The Sahkari Spice Garden – A must visit. A 3rd Generation Family Farm spread across  200 acres. they have a tour that includes a nice homely lunch. You get to see all the spice plants and even buy fresh stuff. Tickets are Rs 400 / person. ( This includes a shot of  Feni which they distill at the farm) – and a lot of useful tips on how Spices can help you in day to day ills. (Maybe I should start a blog trail with some of those recipes – called Grandmas home made remedies)

b) The Churches in old Goa. Do visit the Basilica of Bom Jesus UNESCO Heritage Site in Old Goa , it contains the tomb & mortal remains of  St Xaviers .

c) A few temples – including the 500 + Year old Mangeshi Temple ( This village is home to the Mangeshkar sisters) –  not very impressive unless you are very religious and lord Shiva here has a moustache and looks like Ajay Devgun.

d) You can visit Panjim – the capital and do some shopping, drive around the old Portuguese colony Fontainhas, and then drive to Dona Paula. On the way stop by for lunch at Mum’s Kitchen

(Its a great place for Sea Food – Limited Veg options, thats trues across most restaurants in Goa) . Some other places for food – Cafe Mangii at Panjim ( Italian) , Inafnatria at Calangute Beach – Breakfast , Croissants , Sandwiches etc, Fidalgo at Panjim – Gujarathi Thali.

On the way back drop by at Zantyes to pick up Cashews & Feni. (There are 8 stores  in Goa). Cashews are priced around Rs 600 /- Kg. ( Point to note – You can find equally good quality Kaju at similar prices at Bangalore . They have farms in the Goa Mangalore coast. Achal Cashew Centre , Shop 2, Sri Jayadeva Shopping Complex, 5th Main , Gandhinagar, Ph 080 22385374,22351777, Near the Horse Racing Track)

e) The Dudhsagar Waterfalls is about 2 Hrs drive from S Goa. We did not go there – but thats almost a days trip. Heard that it is impressive.

f) There are Casinos on the River – housed in large ships on the river Mandovi. Having been to Vegas & Macau we decided to skip these.

g) A visit to Fort Aguada (They also have water sports here. The Taj Group has a hotel here – one of the few large hotels in N Goa) )

h) Boat rides on the River Mandovi

i) A visit to the late Mario Miranda’s museum at Bardez

You can cover most of the sites in 2 day sessions from 10 AM to 4 PM and be back in the evening to hit the beach.

So a 3 night , 4 day package to Goa is all you need to cover this beautiful place, and be rest assured that just like Tirupathi , if you have make a visit to Goa you will be back soon.

The little one loved the resort so much that she was very unhappy when we were checking out and we promised her we would be back soon.

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Origin & Evolution of Hinduism – In simple layman terms

1 Nov

It all started a few months back. As we were studying History my daughter wanted to know who was the founder of Hinduism? My initial response was the common answer – Hinduism is a way of life.  But I realized there is more to it.

I consider myself quite religious – What is the concept of Hindu Religion to me ? –  Visiting a temple once a week  (and visiting old ancient temples both for history and grace regularly) , doing a small puja at home on every traditional occasion and chanting the slokas I learnt from my mother when I was 6 ,  calling a Vadyar  for any function – Griha Pravesh, Upanayanam etc , lots of rituals , lots of superstition, listening to Vishnu Sahasranam on the way to office – in short my concept of Religion is what I have learnt from Amar Chitra Katha , TV Serials, Stories told to us as kids. And thats exactly the manner in which I am propagating religion to my kids.

I have not read the Vedas, The Upanishads, The Bhagvad Gita, The Puranas ( But I plan to do so) – and I am not sure how many of my 600+ friends & relatives in FB & Linked In  would have read them. Fortunately the religion does not mandate that I read them – but I ask myself am I true Hindu without understanding what is written in these books ?

Basis a bunch of books I read ( thanks to Flipkart and its excellent collection) , a visit to the Ramana Maharishi & Aurobindo Ashram recently and finally a sitting with a wonderful couple in our complex I slowly started connecting the dots. This journey can be very very exciting and it can take years to get deeper & deeper. Most people start this exercise when they are 60+, but that is futile as you cannot practise the learnings when 80% of life is over. So this blog is an attempt to share some simple information and hopefully some may get interested to dwell deeper.

The first step in starting this exercise is to try  map and the different stages of evolution – a sort of an index that can help one in getting started. Here is my attempt at drawing up a time map. What is interesting to see how the journey moves with time  from Priests – Rishis  – Cult Leaders and finally to Scholars. Along the journey you will see that History , Religion & Spirituality are entwined together.

Phases of Evolution 

1. The Indus Valley Civilization ends around 1800 – 1900 BC. They were highly evolved builders and excavations show large man made structures, figurines of what could be deities, Lingams etc. Nobody know what caused their disintegration – but their decline mirrors the decline of other civilizations like Sumerian & Mesopotamian.

2. Distance from Iran (Persia) to Indus Valley is as close as Mumbai is to Bangalore – so migration to fertile pastures could have easily happened as the nomadic Aryans moved around. In the Rig veda we see many similiarities with Persia & the area around it – Fire God, Sacred Thread , use of Horses , Hymns praising Nature, Ahura the God ( who later probably became Asura)

3. The Vedic Aryans believed in Nature Gods. Fire (Agni) , Wind (Vayu) , Dawn (Usha) , Thunder (Rudra) , Lightning (Indra)  etc – very similar to what we see in Greek Mythology. The mode of prayer was the Yagna – hymns being chanted in praise of Gods and a lot of  animal sacrifice. The Hymns that we see in the initial part of the Rig Veda were mainly in praise of Nature Gods – they were like songs ( Easy to remember Vs prose) – the sanskrit used is very archaic. The Initial part of the Rigveda or the Samhita almost entirely comprises  of these hymns. There is no spiritual meaning here

2. As the travelers started settling down in Tribes they created their own “Gothrams” or Clans and the most knowledgeable person of the Clan was made the Chief. (The word Gorthram is linked to Cows and it could well have been the the Chief – the most intelligent of the clan had the task of sorting out infiights amongst the tribe when the cattle got mixed up)

3. These Chiefs then became the Priests to the Tribal Kings. In addition to the Samhitas now came the Brahmanas around 1000 BC. These talked of different rituals and how they were to be conducted. It talks about how the Altar for the Yagnas has to be set up. The Samhita & The Brahmanas together called the Karmakanda may rightly be called the Phase – 1 of  Rig Veda and the Vedic Religion or the Origin of Hinduism. They were merely chantings with no spiritual meaning as yet.

Unlike the Harappan culture – hardly any construction activity was unearthed from the ancient Aryans. So the fancy Palaces and Towns we read about in Mahabharata & Ramayana may just be imagination. Bull & Horse Sacrifice was common – and meat eating across all was prevalent. (There is more to the Aswamedha Yagna – than just a lovely white horse roaming around !!)

4. The next phase is that of the Aranyakas – or Forest Literature. This is the phase when the Rishis went to the forests & mountains and meditated. Many of them attained self actualization and developed Siddhis or supernatural powers. The knowledge they gained were considered as inputs  directly from God.  This repository of knowledge evolved over nearly 1000 years and was completed around 200 BC. This is called Vedanta or the Spiritual Literature and is a fountainhead of knowledge. 

5. Mahabharata , Ramayana & Gita.  There is reference in the Vedas to a major war that was fought around 900 BC. There is also mention to the Kuru Clan of Tribes. So it is indeed true that a big war was fought and it does find mention in many texts – but a lot of the wonderful stories woven around this war may well be the work of an excellent imaginative writer. Even the Gita may have been written over a 500 year period and reached its final shape around 200 – 300 AD.  The Ramayana is probably dated around 3rd Century BC.

6. Around 500 BC the Buddhist & Jain eras begin. ( Not many know that there was a 3rd religion called Ajinkayas – whose founder broke away from Mahavira).  Contrary to most beliefs Buddha and the Buddhists were meat eaters while the Jains were pure vegetarians. .This continued for nearly a 1000 years and by 500 AD a large part of India was under the sway of these religions, there was a need to Re establish Hinduism.

It was under the Gupta era that the concept of large temples started to develop. These become community centers for social & religious events. Some say that some of the Temples were actually built on top of Buddhist temples.  The concept of deities & temples was unknown to the Vedic Aryans. The original inhabitants of the country (Dasyus – the word Das or servant probably originates from here) had a practise of  praying to Rocks , Figurines , Devis , Shiva Lingams etc. Gods like Mariamman , Ayyappa and Muruga were prevalent in S India as early as 500 BC or earlier.

The oldest Hindu temple functioning today, and  not  in ruins, would be the Ma Mundeshwari  Temple in Kaimur District of Bihar. It has been  restored by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and its construction date is ascribed to . 108 A D. Since then rituals and worship have been taking place at this temple without a break. Thus making it the oldest functional Hindu  temple. So the history of temples in India is just about 2000 years old. 

By 500 BC  the 4 vedas were established – the original Rig Veda , The Sama Veda containing songs in praise of the gods & the Yajur Veda with ritual practise and finally the Atharva  Veda & The Tantras wilth magic spells.   Tantric cult spread to the east and is prevalent in some cults to this day. The Vedas were never written till about 100 AD, it was always passed on from generation to generation by memorizing . When it was recorded it was observed that there was no difference between what was produced in Kashmir or S india. This is indeed fascinating. Caste system which has been prevalent since the ancient Vedic Era became more stronger and sub castes started to develop.

This was also the time when the other Shastras namely Manusmriti, Arthashastra, Kamasutra ,  Brahmashastra & Grihashastra were written. The writing of Megasthenes also helped us to get an insight into life in those days.

7. The Puranas were started around 4th & 5th century AD. They continued to evolve till the 13th century.  The Concept of Bhakti Yoga started evolving from T Nadu after 300 AD. Two sects Vaishnavites & Shaivities slowly emerged – the Vishnu Purana & The Shiva Purana was written. All the existing Gods were bracketed under the two sects. The concept of the Avatars of Vishnu emerged and in some cases even Buddha was incorporated as an avatar of Vishnu. This was in a way a merger of the Aryan Vedic Religion and the Old Religion of the existing inhabitants. An attempt to make Religion easy to understand to the masses.

Between the  7th Century & 10th Century AD the 63 Nayannars wrote passionately in praise about Shiva.

And then there were the 33 Alvars from the Vaishnavite  sect. The alvars came from a variety of social strata; their ranks include shudras and one woman. The intense devotionalism of their poetry and insistence that caste and sex are no barrier to a relationship with the Divine is uncharacteristic of classical Vedic thought, which laid a strong emphasis on the performance of the social and religious duties proper to one’s place in the social structure. Some of these were collected into a definitive canon known as the Nālāyira Divya Prabandha (“divine composition of 4000 verses”), by Nathamuni in the 10th century, and came to be seen as a source of revelation equal in authority to the Vedas in the Śrīvaiṣṇava community.

Around 800 AD Shankara played a crucial role of rejuvenating Hinduism and setting up centres across the country – following in a way the monastic traditions of Buddhism. he played a crucial role in linking the 6 Major Indian Philosophies. he summarized the ten main Upanishads explained the concept of Advaitham & Hinduism.

By 1100 AD  Ramanujam gave a fillip to Vaishnavism & Hindu revival – in the midst of muslim domination. Many gods were merged to be called forms of Vishnu, this  includes Venkata – of the famous Tirupathi hills at his time. A temple that came to prominence during the reign of Krishnadeva Raya.

There have been other famous seers and philosophers who have heard the voice of the inner self & God and reached self actualisation – Raghavendra Swamy , Madhavacharya,  Ramana Maharishi , Ramakrishna , Swami Vivekananda, Aurobindo and many spiritual leaders of today. Each one has evolved their own road to self actualisation. There are but 4 paths to choose from  Gyana Yoga , Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga (As explained in the Gita)  & Raja Yoga. A common link across  all these is the Pathanjali Yoga – Yoga as a form of mediation is said to be as ancient as the origin of the Vedic Religion.

Each area mentioned above is a wealth of information in itself and as I mentioned in the beginning the true meaning of Hindu Religion and its interpretation can be unique to every individual. There is a wealth of knowledge sitting there – and fortunately many Indians & Europeans have done extensive research in this area and created abridged versions – so it is possible to get all the insight you need without knowing Sanskrit.

As I continue to read some of these books will try and share the insights as best as I can. But I hope this relatively long blog has helped answer some questions and create a base foundation for each one of you  to start their own journey in search of  Truth.

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2nd Leg – Pondicherry & the Dunes Eco Resort

25 Oct

We left Thiruvanamalai at 9.30 AM and headed towards Pondicherry. the roads are good (One Track with no divider) but you can zip at close to 90 Km/ Hr . Vast open green fields and lovely tamarind trees line the roads. On the way you will cross the famous fort of Gingee (Which was called the Troy of the East by the British and virtually impregnable). As you cross Tindivanam you need to ask for some help to guide you thru the bypass. We reached our hotel – The Dunes Eco Resort by 1130 AM – so it was an easy drive.

I was disappointed with Pondicherry. Maybe I was expecting the Goa of the South – the two cities have some similarities , both are on the coast , have nice beaches, one was ruled by the Portuguese & the other by the French – but you can spend days at Goa and not get bored , while you can cover Pondicherry in 1 day.

There are 3 Things to see in Pondicherry – they are all located very close by ( Walking distance) – The Aurobindo Ashram, The Museum and the French Colony. All 3 can be covered in less than 3 hours. That leaves you time to walk around the few streets of the French colony and stroll along the promenade adjacent to the sea. The Governors residence is the only impressive French Building. Calve , Le Club or the Promenade a few large hotels and restaurants in that area ( We tried the Promenade and the food was just about OK). Close by on Mission Street Hidedesign has a large store ( the company is HQ’D in Pondicherry) – they have a flagship Red Store and a Outlet both close by. You will not spot any McDonald, Pizza Hut , Dominos etc – but will see many mom & pop shop wood fire Pizza Joints. We tried one and it was a disaster. Best bet is a lovely S Indian veg place called Surguru.

surguru restaurant

This is a chain of 4 Restaurants – and can aptly be called the Saravana Bhawan of Pondicherry . (Most localites call it Satguru).

The next place to visit in Pondicherry is Auroville. Its actually located in TN – and its about 14 Km off the ECR Highway. Its an International Community that is fully self sufficient.  Spread across 40 Sq Kms – the place has been transformed from a virtual desert into a well planned , organized centre.

heart of auroville

At the heart of Auroville is the Matri Mandir – a centre of meditation. Access is restricted. You need to first watch a Video and then meet one of the representatives. Tickets are issued between 10 – 11 & 2 – 3 – and if you are lucky you get tickets for the next day. During weekends you need to come 3 days in advance. Kids below 10 not allowed. If it rains the entry may be cancelled as there are chances of making the place dirty. The message is clear – this is not a tourist spot and chances of someone visiting Pondicherry for a few days to get access to see the Mantri Mandir from inside is limited. From the Video it does look like a fabulous design – and the entire structure has taken over 35 years to build. You can get a visitors pass to see the architectural beauty from outside – its a 1 Km walk from the visitors centre. The other parts of Auroville inside a green cover are far away to walk and see. You leave Auroville a little disappointed – but the the reality is the community wants to be left alone.

So if you start your day at 9AM , complete the City activity by lunch and Auroville by 3PM  – you have covered all that needs to be seen in Pondicherry – which is why you need to stay in a lovely hotel. We stayed at the Dunes Resort – a fabulous place.

greenery cottage

Its over 40 acres of greenery , 40 Villas & Cottages – right on the ocean front. The price varies depends on the type of Villa and its location – ranges from 7K  – 20 K / Night. we had booked 4 months in advance so managed to get one of the best rooms – a huge room with a massive Jacuzzi inside. Called the Artist Studio this villa has two penthouses , we were on the 1st floor and the room below us was equally big with a private pool.

dunes resort

There are cycles located outside every room and its very convenient to drive around on the bikes. The beach is beautiful – almost empty and is very very very clean. Its less than a 5 minute walk from the room.

morning walk in beachIts rare to find in India a beach that is as private as this one – we walked for nearly an hr in the morning and did not spot a single human being. Water can get rough so swimming is not advised.  the resort also has a lovely farm that grows their daily vegetables. Milk is supplied from the cows in the farm – whatever they lack in their farm comes from their other property at Kodaikanal ( Elephant Valley – and we are heading there in Dec). What we liked about the place is the peace & quiet , hearing birds in the morning , chasing some lovely butterflies , the sound of waves lapping on the beach, cows mooing in the farm.

coconut tree

We felt if only real estate companies developed properties like these – there would be a rush of buyers. I even ventured to ask the manager if they were planning a retirement home on similar concept.

The service in the hotel is decent. The staff are  friendly. There are some activities for the kids – they can watch the cows being milked and even try their hand

butterflyat it, a pottery centre where they can make their own pots. A lovely swimming pool and a play area for smaller kids. Whats missing is some water sports and some events in the evening. Its a nice place if you plan a holiday with 2 – 3 families and you can easily spend a few days here enjoying every minute of it.

The manager Mr Umapathi is very helpful and goes out of the way to help you , and the staff is friendly and nice.  The only grouse we had was on the Breakfast Buffet – our experience with food at most resorts Vythri, Destiny Farms , Cicada etc has been fabulous. At The Dunes the food lacked in taste & presentation. The breakfast buffet was sad. When you charge 20K for a night you better have standards that you get in an ITC or Hyatt – the ambience, cutlery , service were all lacking . The Gym & the Spa exist – but nothing great to write about them

So when in Pondicherry The Dunes is a good option ( We heard that Le Pondy is also a good place) .  A 2 night stay is sufficient – if you want to take a day trip to Chidambaram maybe a 3 night trip. Avoid Pondy in summer – it can be very very hot , again Oct to Feb is the best time to travel, but Nov / Dec is NE Monsoon !!

daughters

The Dunes is located on the ECR Road – 14 Km away from Pondicherry city – so when you head to Chennai its one straight road. Again a single track road with no dividers – but you can easily do 100+ Km/Hr and reach Mahabalipuram in less than an hr. On our way to Chennai we stopped by at Dakshinachitra (We have been to Mahabs before hence skipped it – but if you haven’t  don’t miss it , its a UNESCO world heritage site)

daughters playing

Dakshinchitra is located 21 Km from Chennai. It is a museum of traditional S India houses from T Nadu , Kerala, Andhra & Karnataka . Kids will love to see how our grandparents lived – they also have some activities and stores in the complex. You can easily spend a few hrs here , have lunch at the restaurant inside and then head to Chennai.  We had only a day at Chennai and between visiting some relatives – we ensured that we managed to drop by Rathna Stores, Saravana Bhawan and the lovely jewelry & silk sari stores in and around Pannagal Park (Warning – These stores can cause serious damage to your purse).

We left Chennai at 12 Noon and were at home  in Bangalore at 545 PM –  with a 30 min stop at Vellore.

A good compact trip – where the journey was not tiring. From temples, Ashrams , Beaches , Global Community, Shopping – we had a lot of variety packed in the 4 night 5 Day trip.

In the busy schedule at Bangalore we live from holiday to holiday , so we are eagerly looking forward to our next one at the Park Hyatt – Goa around Diwali

Till then Goodbye !

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Thiruvanamalai – Enroute to Pondicherry

23 Oct

Bangalore is surrounded with amazing weekend getaways. Most people would take the Mysore road towards Coorg, Ooty, Bandipur , Kabini or the Chickamangalur Route . This time we decided to head to Pondicherry – but packed in a nice round trip over 4 Nights that covered Blr – Thiruvanamalai – Pondicherry – Chennai – Blr ( If you have time you can actually extend this to a 7 night trip & cover Chidambaram, Mahabalipuram & Kancheepuram)

Thiruvanamalai is 220 Km from Bangalore and a 6 Hr drive. The 1st 100 Km is on the road to Chennai and then at Krishnagiri you take a detour off the highway. ( NH7 , NH 46 & NH66) The 1st 100 Km takes 2 hrs (Including a breakfast stop) and the remaining 120 takes an additional 2.5Hr hrs – so if you leave Blr at 7 AM you can reach by 1130AM – in time for check in & lunch . Best place for breakfast stop is Shri Krishna Inn ( about 60 Min from Silk Board) – other Options are Kamat , McDonalds & Cafe Coffee Day.

Hotel

Thiruvanamalai is famous for two things

1. The ancient Shiva Temple of Arunachalam (Sanctum  is said to be nearly 2000 + years old) – and the 14 Km walk around the temple along the scenic hills helps you redeem you of your sins.

temple

The temple is massive and majestic & surrounded by hills covered with clouds. The 14 Km walk around the Temple called Girivalam is famous and is announced by the temple authorities on certain days of the year. The walk area is neat and clean with excellent footpaths and is designed to cater to the massive crowds that flood  the temple town  on auspicious days.

road

2. The second thing that makes Thiruvanamalai famous is the Ramana Maharishi  Ashram. This is where a young boy of 16 undertook penance in a small cave and reached sainthood. Ramana Maharishi  Ashram

Ramana Maharishi  Ashram

The Ashram is well maintained and has many visitors from across the world who come to understand the simple approach to life and to answer the questions ” Who am I ?  What is  my purpose in life ? ”  – its a small Ashram and can be covered in less than an hr. Do visit the bookstore which has an excellent collection.  If you plan to trek to the cave where he meditated that could take you an additional hr.

You can cover Thiruvanamalai in less than 1/2 a day, the Ashram and the temple are closed after 12 Noon , so even if you start at 3 PM you can cover both by 6 PM. They are both located close by.

The best place to stay is the Sparsa Hotel. This is an excellent property managed by the Aloft Group. (Its part of the SPG Group so carry your card for points)

Sparsa Hotel

It has 38 tastefully designed rooms in an ambience of lush greenery. Its a wonderful place   – peaceful & quiet .

inside rooms

Rooms come with all modern amenities, the bathrooms are big & spacious , they have 24 hr room service and an excellent pure Veg restaurant. (No Liquor , No Smoking)

Dining hall

A lovely swimming pool & Yoga Huts for soothing early morning sessions

Day trip

Trip

They also have a lot of activities for Kids, unfortunately we did not have the time to stay back and enjoy most of them

sparsa hotel

Thiruvanamalai can get very hot in Summers ( 45+ Deg C) so plan your trip sometime between Oct & Feb.

We left after a wonderful breakfast and headed towards Pondicherry (126 Km – 2 Hrs).  Thiruvanamalai & Sparsa is a great break point in your journey to Pondicherry – it breaks the monotony of a day long drive and helps you catch up on some wonderful sights.

We thoroughly loved this break and were fully energetic as we headed to Pondicherry for the next phase of our holiday. Details on Pondy , the amazing Dunes Resort Hotel and how best to spend a few days at Pondy in the next Blog entry

family trip

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Bandipur – Jungle Retreat

11 Oct

If you are in Bangalore you must visit Bandipur during a long weekend. Its just 91 Kms from Mysore. So if you leave Bangalore at 7 AM , stop for breakfast enroute you should reach Bandipur around lunch. (Bangalore Mysore on a good day is 3.5 Hrs and Mysore to Bandipur is another 2 hrs).

Bandipur is on the Mysore – Ooty road and on the way you cross the historical Nanjangud Shiva Temple. (If you are religious drop by , its a small detour and worth it to visit a 1000 + year old temple)

An hr from Mysore you start entering forest area, and vast stretches of greenery that expand. These are foothills of the W Ghat’s and probably one of the finest eco reserves across the world. Bandipur, Waynad , Nagerhole , Madumalai are all one continuos forest  stretch and probably have the best Tiger Conservation in practice.

As you drive past there is a high probability that you will spot many deers and sometimes even elephants crossing the road. We were lucky to see one which got the kids really excited. The jumbo was in no hurry to move and posed for some excellent close up shots.

We stayed at the Cicada.(Now called Serai) A property owned by the Cafe Coffee Day Group. The property is located right at the edge of the forest.

Its a quiet serene place, the architecture blends with the ambience. They have limited rooms, which are clean and efficient. Nice beds, good wooden flooring, modern bathrooms, classy but not soaked in luxury. The rooms have no TV.

Every room has a small portico with chairs where you can relax and listen to the birds chirping and maybe late at night a tiger roar.

In terms of activity there is limited stuff to do. The property runs into a few acres and you can explore it well within an hr. They serve excellent food – breakfast , lunch , dinner , tea. But there are no multiple restaurants. In the evening they play some movies in a small club room which also has some indoor games. DJ & Campfire are prohibited since its next to the forest.

The activity that you look around for is the trek to the forest. This happens in jeeps once in the morning and once in the evening. Its about an hr and the hosts really try hard to spot wild animals. Most of the time the Tigers, Elephants , Bisons are elusive and all you will see are Deers , Peacocks and Wild Fowl. We took 3 treks and finally on the last day were rewarded with a close up view of the Royal Tiger.

If you can get one view of the Royal Tiger the trip to Bandipur is worth it. And the Trek organizers claim that you do spot one every 3rd trip they take (The recent supreme court order on tourism to jungles may have impacted the jeep drives into the jungle , so please check with the hotel before you leave)

These tours are priced separately and when you travel do keep some warm clothing with you.

Other than the jeep tours there are small walking treks that you can take – again organized every morning & evening. But thats about it in terms of activity.

The Cicada is not cheap and we visited during the New Year Eve – a 3 night package in Dec 2010 was 25K, inclusive of food.  ideal trip to Bandipur would be a stopover enroute to Ooty. And if you are going to Ooty do visit Destiny Farms.( http://atomic-temporary-14030268.wpcomstaging.com/2010/06/07/destiny-farms/)

There are quite a few more hotels near Cicada/Serai , check out Windflower Resort also. Jungle Lodges also has a property close by.

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Sale Sale everywhere but not a drop of Service

7 Oct

In one of their bestsellers C.K.Prahlad & Gary Hamel had talked about a framework where every successful company created their core competency from a set of 3 parameters. You need to be good at all 3 but to be truly world-class be the best in at least one of these 3 parameters.

1. Innovation 

2. Operational Efficiency

3. Customer Service 

Being Innovative is hard and in the recent past Apple stands out as the best example of a company that has Innovation as its Core Competency. ( Apple excels in all 3 areas which is probably why it is at a high that no company has previously achieved) DELL did well for many years with its strong Operational Efficiency and Singapore Airlines continues to lead with its focus on Customer Service.

Lets now shift gears to India – and companies operating here. We don’t see too much of Innovation and its more of a Copy culture , Commitments don’t matter so there is limited focus on operational efficiency – the only hope we had was to excel in Customer Service. But sadly that has not happened.

Every company  has hordes of sales people – Insurance , Phones , Cars , Houses, Credit Cards … we are deluged with mails and calls. You walk into a bank and someone rushes out trying to sell a scheme or a Bank loan. 99% of these guys are half baked , don’t know the products they sell and cannot answer the basic questions you have for them. When it comes to after sales the problem is even worse.Let me share with you some experiences from leading brands in India – 4 disasters and 1 Wow.

The HP Printer Debacle 

HP is the worlds leading printer brand. I would assume controlling > 50% market share. We changed our printer 14 months back and got a HP Photo-smart. A month back it stopped working . Reliance Digital the store we bought it from asked us to contact a HP service centre. We checked their website and landed up at Redington – Cunningham Road the authorised service centre.  The hassled busy girl at the counter took an advance of 2000 Rs and said it would be fixed in a week. We called after a week , and she said one more week. After the second week when we called – she said she would revert. The third week when we called she said it would be ready by Fri. On Fri morning she said the spare was yet to come. I was traveling to Redington Chennai on Mon and met the CEO and shared with him details about the incident. Our meeting was at 930 AM , by 3 PM the printer was delivered at my home. The print head had to be changed – and it took nearly a month and almost the cost of the printer to get fixed – and if the escalation had not happened to Redington CEO I wonder how much more time it would have taken.

Cancellation after 6 weeks @ Tanishq  Koramangla 

I spotted Asin wearing a wonderful necklace at Riteish Deshmukh’s marriage  and wanted to get a similar one made. We visited the Tanishq store at Koramangla. Service was great – coffee was served and well dressed men and women sashayed by. They looked up their design brochures and found a design that was almost 90% in line with our request. An order was placed and a sum of Rs 77,000/- paid as advance. Delivery time was 2 weeks.

Two weeks later when I called the salesman, he said work was going on and it would take another week. A week later when I called he said they needed one more week. This went on for nearly a month and finally I did get a call saying that I could come to the store. It was a Saturday nearly 6 weeks from the date of my ordering . The sales man who had taken the order was not there and the manager came up and informed me that they were not able to make the necklace and hence would refund the money. It took some calls to the Regional head and in a week the chk was sent to my house.

TATA AIG – How your Nett Worth can go down ! 

Some years back I fell prey to a smart sales girl from HSBC Bank who sold me a TATA AIG Insurance policy. It was linked to markets and I was assured of great returns. My annual premium was 1 Lac & the lock in was 3 years.  Post the 3 years I needed some liquidity and since the markets had performed exceedingly well decided to encash. By then the lady from HSBC had moved 3 companies and HSBC was no longer servicing TATA AIG policies so I had to meet the TATA AIG folks. After 2 long hrs and trying to convince me not to encash they finally came with a  calculation that the amount due to me was 2.5 Lacs.  Only now did I find out that deep within the 20 page document they made me sign was a clause that stated that the 1st year processing & administration fee was 60K , second Year 30 K & 3 year 10 K – so of the Rs 3 Lacs paid , 1 Lac had gone away in service charges and on the balance with the gains the net worth of my policy was 2.5 Lacs.  I could not argue , took the money – but with the learning that if you need a Insurance policy stick to LIC . Since then I have taken 5 more policies and referred many friends – but none for TATA AIG.

Axis Bank Home Loan 

Axis Bank is a good bank. I have had excellent service from their Privy & Wealth management section. I recently took a home loan. All home loans are serviced by DSA agents (Agencies who work on commission). Having taken a few loans in the past I was wary about 2 things and specifically asked him two Questions

1. Is there any insurance linked to the home loan ? 2.  Is there a limit on how much I can prepay in the course of a year and whats the prepayemnt penalty if any? 

He was emphatic that Axis Bank had no insurance mandate and there was no prepayment penalty. With this assurance we moved fast and within 10 days had the approval letter. The letter clearly mentioned that loan would be sanctioned subject to my taking a 50 Lac Insurance Policy against the property. The DSA tried all reasoning and explanations – but it was a clear case of wrong commitments in a desire to close a deal. I had to speak to some Sr folks at Axis bank and fortunately the matter was resolved – but this was one more example of a good brand delivering poorly on customer service.

All of us have experienced similar incidents and I could go on and on – and its baffling at the scant respect for customer service and meeting commitments from some large corporations which position themselves as great trustworthy brands. Sometimes the smaller mom & pop shops go the extra mile at ensuring customer satisfaction.

The Flipkart Experience 

At the other end of the spectrum is the small online startup Flipkart. It is sheer pleasure to interact with Flipkart. the website is smooth easy to navigate  , payment gateways always work , the choice of products is a wow and most importantly the quality of customer service and response is outstanding. Most people buy from online sites because its cheap – I would buy from Flipkart even if it was at a premium. They exceed expectations at every step and honor all the commitments they make – no questions asked. Flipkart is the gold standard on Customer Service in India. Its setting the standards for online business and lets hope these standards become the norm in the long run.

How is it that in the same country a startup with young CEO’s in their 30’s deliver CSAT experience which some of our largest Corporations are unable to even comprehend. Is it lack of vision , lack of investment , or just the culture of ” Chalte Hai” ?

Whatever it is Young India is going to get more demanding and if Indian Companies don’t fix their service orientation  we will see many big names going down the drain in the coming years. This is both an opportunity & a threat

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The Grass is Green…. the other side

2 Oct

They say that the grass is always green….. on the other side. A very old adage that is very very true. This is a tale of two smart, young men around 30 years old. I have interacted with both  and there is great similiarity between them. Both are  logical, data oriented, great at analysis & number crunching. Trustworthy & reliable. Not prone to job hopping, have spent long stints in the same company. Rare qualities to see in todays middle management workforce. For the sake of convenience lets call them Ram & Shyam.

Both were born in simple middle class families – Ram in small town Kottayam in the midst of God’s own country. Surrounded by serene backwaters and the swaying coconut palms. A land where every second house has an NRI.

and Shyam from Indias fastest growing state,  the land of  thepla, Garba & Dandia – the land of diamond merchants and stock brokers – Rajkot.



Both did well in school and completed their graduation in Commerce. The similiarity ends here.

Ram decided to move to Bangalore and joined a MNC in the finance function . After 5 years he changed his job and moved to a second large MNC . He did well and decided to change track from Finance to Business Intelligence & Product Management – which is what he currently excels in. In the interim he also completed his CA.

Shyam took a slightly different route. He decided to do an MBA from Paris. Took an internship at a large MNC in Paris and went on to become an employee of the same company in London. He has been at the same company since then and is responsible for  Business Intelligence for the entire region . He is on top of his work, and an asset to the organization.

Both have done well in their careers , are respected & valued for their contributions and would be among the top 10% when compared to their industry peers.

Both have bought a house at a young age and have a bright future ahead.

Now comes the dilemma. Given a choice Ram would like to move from Bangalore to London or Singapore or Dubai while Shyam is equally desperate to come back to India. I spoke at length to each of them and was able to empathize with them since I had to take a similar decision in 2002 , when we came back to India from Dallas. Lets look at the reasoning of Ram & Shyam.

 Top Reasons for Ram to move out from Bangalore 

1. Tired of the clutter , chaos & cacophony of Bangalore – Power Cuts , Garbage , Q’s . Not just Bangalore every large city is a mess. Would love to go back to small town in Kerala but there is no scope for livelihood there.

2. Financially I think I may be better of working for a few years abroad. My saving potential will be better.

3. My brother is in Singapore and my wife & me would like the experience of going abroad for a few years. Kids are small so there is no challenge at this stage.

4. The exposure to the work culture & professionalism in UK & Singapore would be a great learning.

 Top Reasons for Shyam to come back to India (Bangalore)

1.  Have done the same job for too long – monotonous, difficult to get a change. People here are expected to do the same job for eternity

2. Professionally feel a little aloof at times, cultural integration is an issue even in 2012 in the global world

3. We have to do everything by ourselves  – no Maids.

4. We miss the family and when we have kids we would love for them to be surrounded by relatives.

But somewhere deep down he does not want to sell his house in London suburbs.He still wants to keep some of his investments in GBP – and he did wait till he got his citizenship before evaluating coming back. In other words a safety net … just in case things did not work out in India.

I sometimes wonder what would happen if there were no Visa Restrictions for Indians. Would there be mass exodus ? Would Punjab , Harayana , Andhra , Kerala become ghost states ? Would 100 M or 200 M or even 500 M people rush out of the country ?

But for every youngster who wants to go there are many people coming back. Yes the folks coming back have established financial security and will probably come back to a world of fancy villas, multiple maids, drivers & International Schools.

What would my advice be to these two people? Tough one since they have compelling arguments to justify the change the seek.

It also makes me wonder which is the ideal place to settle down for the future  – what does one want  – Fresh Air, Clean water, Non Stop electricity, Good roads, Good Efficient Public Transport,  Public Health systems that function, Low Inflation , Affordability , Peace , Good schools, safety and security  – and I ask myself do we have this in India or Bangalore or any other city ? Do we have hope that we will have this in the next 10 – 20 years. Going by precedence things if any have gone worse, there was a time when as kids we could drink water from the railway station tap and cycle down the  road to buy vegetables & biscuits. Our kids today cant even step out of the road to the shop outside. We are lucky to live in a bubble . Education system is messed up and if you don’t have MONEY or POWER life is a struggle.

We need to ask ourselves why would millions of India rush out if there was a Visa free regimen ? So my answer to my young friends is quiet apparent. Think rationally , think of the future of your kids and take the right decision.

These are all Rational thoughts and if  you start bringing in the emotional quotient of family then the thought process does take a different turn. But each person has to do what is right for him.

So whats my recommendation – The final analogy is a harsh one – but truth is bitter. So here I go. You have two choices – Do you  want to live like a slightly underfed, slightly undernourished street pup that has the freedom to roam round in the city  or do you want to be a well fed, well groomed Alsatian on a LEASH. You decide 

All the best Guys !

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Gaining Momentum, Losing Altitude

22 Sep

When my niece was graduating from REC (NIT) Surathkal I urged her to join Wipro or Infosys. Explaining that it was a great place to learn in your formative years Vs joining a MNC. Her response was that MRC (Mass Recruitment Companies) are the last option in  campus and only those who do not get any jobs land up in these companies.

Things have changed a lot for these companies. I recollect in the 1985 – 95 era Wipro & Infosys used to attract  the brightest talent from India’s best institutions. Students preferred these companies to leading Banks, FMCG and at times even Global Consulting brands. Having worked in one of these companies for nearly 14 years I have fond memories of their golden years.

As I drove past Salt Lake at Cal last week and saw a dull, faded, torn signboard of the bright & radiant Rainbow Flower I was reminded of a quote that Scott McNealy made of DIGITAL (DEC) in the height of the dot com boom. We were lucky to have Scott in our induction program at Santa Clara and  Scott is the epitome of  a sharp, intelligent, aggressive CEO –   on being questioned about the future of DEC he said ” DEC was a great company but its now gaining momentum and losing altitude” .  I just hope this is not true of Bangalore’s leading companies.

There are many thousands who owe their first salary, first car, first trip abroad, first house, kids US citizenship, and many more fond memories to Wipro & Infosys. A whole generation has benefited. But sadly the sense of loyalty and passion that was exhibited by employees a few decades back is grossly missing. When you visit any online TOI / ET article about these companies  almost all the comments are negative and downright nasty – and I ask myself what went wrong ? How could the Bangalore Tiger & modern Indias global picture boy take such a beating  and plunge from its global high’s?

Yes the market has slowed and there is global recession, but these are companies that are still growing 15% + YoY and delivering margins in excessive of 20% – both of which when compared to the manufacturing industry or global IT consulting companies are still very very creditable. They employ over 150,000 people each and are juggernauts who even in recession hire in excess of 10,000 employees every year. So what is the possible reason for this negativity both internally & externally ? Is  the 20 year wave  getting over or is there more to it ? I spoke to many old friends in both companies , some who had just left and a few interesting observations emerged. These companies still have amazing leaders and people like TK Kurien are razor sharp, hard working , analytical wizards who are doing all that they can to turnaround, but I hope that some of these constructive suggestions help them in accelerating.

1. Where do you want to go, what do you want to be ?    

20 years back this question had a clear answer, Vision was to be a leading player , get to 1B then 5B and be a global player to be reckoned with.  The thrust was on Quality & Value for Money – Six Sigma , SEI CMM all of this made the mantra work. The dream was realized. What next ?  Most people don’t see the dream for the next 5 – 10 years. Is it just chugging along with Growth , is there a radical change , how do we move from one plateau to the next high ?  This question needs to be answered – not as poster across the company but a clear direction on where you want to be and what you want to be in the future. One needs to look beyond the quarter results, the 1% dip in EBIDTA,  and the fear of losing the 2nd or 3rd position.

2. Applying Thought & Powered by Intellect – is it a ground reality ?

Thanks to amazing visionaries Narayan Murthy & Azim Premji the companies did practise what they preached for many many years. Applying Thought & Powered by Intelllect on the foundation of Integrity & Values was deep rooted. Every employee inculcated it & personified it. At a young age responsibilities were demanding  and the sense of ownership was high. People worked 6 days, long hours and were thrilled and excited. Managers were fair, worthy were rewarded and competition  amongst peers was healthy, attrition was rare.

Somewhere down the line the whole equation broke down – as quality of hires started going down , future managers were weaker, not all decisions were fair , growth slowed down  – while expectations continued to rise , 15% + annual hikes and a promotion every 2 years was demanded. The fear of attrition resulting in many unworthy employees getting pampered and the work culture changed from brilliant hard working to arrogant mediocrity.

Add to this press reports on  misuse of B1 Visas & financial irregularities  have all cast a shadow on the impregnable fortress of integrity & principles which was the hallmark of these companies.            

3. Managing scale – too fast growth a dangerous thing.

When you have 10,000 employees and a 30 % bench its manageable, but when you have 150,000 employees and a 30% bench you are paying salaries to 45,000 people for doing nothing. Thats killing. Thats exactly what is happening to these companies. The scale and size they have reached is unprecedented in India. Only the Indian Railways or SAIL probably have the experience of managing so many employees. Systems have struggled to scale, the personal touch is missing and the juggernaut is indeed huffing & puffing and like my niece pointed out – a MRC that no smart kid wants to join. Whats the solution ? Maybe its time to create smaller companies of 25 – 30 K employees each and allow them the roadmap of growing to 50K employees in the next 3 – 4 years. Restrict the size of each business with a CEO to a max of 50K and create scalable units.

4. Grooming managers with values

This is tough if you have high attrition. But what stops these companies from starting their own colleges in their own campus. Focused on CS & EC – a 4 year program that is geared to get them productive on day 1 , no finishing school training needed. Inculcate not just competency & skills but also embed values. If you do it right people will stick to you for long stints with no bond. I am happy to see that at least Wipro has started a University and I hope that in the near future they embark on a venture to backward integrate and start a graduate school for engineers.

5.The role of Finance Managers

In both companies the role of Finance Managers has far exceeded their scope. The whole purpose of functioning appears to be to squeeze that extra % of profit by cost cutting or innovative accounting. This is hurting and the core business team seems to be quietly resentful but helpless. Partly this is linked to the obsession with the Stock Market & the quarterly results – that obsession needs to wane down.

When Hema Ravichander the successful HR head of Infosys moved on and was replaced by the finance director it started to spell the beginning of the end of good robust people practices. A decline that accelerated over the years.

6. Are you a true blue Global MNC ? 

Or just another Indian company with offices abroad. The desire to hire & integrate people of other nationalities has been attempted again & again but not worked. At a top level the core team of 20 people who on an average have spent 20+ years each in both these companies do not allow outsiders to integrate. Of the total 150K employees how many are Non Indian , if  90% of work comes from outside Indias shores should there not be at least 30% employees who are Non Indians ?

Are you an equal opportunity employer? Or do you have different travel limits, hotel limits, food limits for different levels of employees.

Many Sr Executives from Wipro & Infosys have left and joined Indian IT Companies or Startups –  will say a company like Accenture look at hiring the top talent from these companies at C level jobs ? I doubt – or at least there is no history of the same.

Its time these companies stepped back and took a real hard look on the way forward. For the sake of  Bangalore , for the sake of India lets hope they Gain Momentum & Gain Altitude. Here is wishing them all the best in the years to come as they traverse this challenging journey.

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Shhhhh ! Quiet please Parents

14 Sep

We are very fortunate to have an excellent Bharatnatyam teacher in our complex, Mantri Classic. Amrita is a dedicated, passionate teacher. She conducts classes literally gratis and we would not hesitate to pay her 10 times her fees for the value she delivers. Its rare to find someone like her in todays commercial world. She and her friend Neeta had put together a wonderful dance show by the kids (all costs & effort incurred by them) recently.

This is a letter written to the parents who attended the show from the kids who participated.

Dear Parents,

We are disappointed. We put in so much effort, practiced for months , our teachers put in so much effort, time, money for making this event happen –  Do you know that it took us over 3 hours to get dressed for this show ?  and you folks couldn’t sit quietly for 90 minutes !

Normally its you telling us – Stay Quiet ! What happened today – the roles reversed, we felt like coming up on stage and saying – Parents, please be seated and stay quiet till this program is over !

Most of you seem to be bothered only about your children –  when they are on stage you come to the front row and keep clicking snaps and once your daughters show is over you keep walking & talking all over the place . Not Done folks !

Kids as small as 6 years were performing – most of them for the 1st time on stage – this is an art form that requires so much of practise to perfect – we  hoped you would encourage not just your children but everyone who performed. But sadly you disappointed us

You could have at least maintained some discipline when Kittu Sir (Professor Krishnamurthy – our Teachers Teacher) came on stage to talk a few golden words. But that was the time when there was total commotion – guys some respect for a 76 year old man who has spent his entire life for the cause of Bharatnatyam !

And when the show was getting over not one of you came on stage to thank our teachers – look at the Salsa & Kathak teachers who come to our building – they charge Rs 5,000 from every student whenever there is a public performance – they make a profit out of it – our teachers spent time & money and none of you came and even offered a word of thanks to them on stage ! Thats the least you could have done ( or were you busy pushing your  children’s photos on Facebook)

Guys we are very disappointed – you teach us to be disciplined, respect elders , maintain quiet in public places – and here you were walking around , eating Pizza , talking loudly – shouldn’t you practise what you preach ? What standards are you setting by behaving like this.

I just hope that when we have our next program things are different. Please do not disappoint us.

Thanking you

All the Children who Participated in the show

My daughter – Anvitaa 

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