55 Days@Airtel

I have finally found the time to write something again, and it is a great feeling!

It has been a long time since I got time off for this. The last 55 days have been downright hectic ( a word which figures in most of my orkut or facebook interactions). I have learnt so much from the past couple of months, that somehow whenever I head out somewhere, I have an innate feeling of pride in my knowledge,about my work!

Well, I finished my one month stint at Networks, and besides learning the pain points the technical team faces, I have seen the way the business is impacted by the backbone of the business - the minute making factories. For the past few weeks I have been exposed to the Customer Satisfaction Delivery processes and mechanisms.

What should not have been surprising or astounding for me, is that there is a complete mechanism, a complete well thought out process behind the entire business. Pity, as a customer how less we think about the other side; the people, the work, the intentions to succeed which exist on the other side. The best and the worst part of the entire deal is that nothing is stable, nothing is constant. Everything changes, and that too rapidly. At one moment you are relaxing and thinking about the way your achievement will impact the business, the other you realize that the competition has someone as intelligent who just made mincemeat of your achievement. So its back to square one, and the learning curve just gets steeper and steeper.

Currently I am getting involved in something which is hopefully going to impact my industry in a bigger way,. or at least that's what I think will happen. These are very exciting times, and one can maybe put it down to my in-experience, but I think it is so great that I look forward to every day. I somehow think work, even when I am not around the office, and that itself has given me a great thrill. There is a purpose, a final destination which I want to reach, and these early days have given me the feeling of being on the right path! Sounds philosophical, but who cares!

The power to dream, the power to achieve, the power to will everything is in my hands!

Feels incredible!!!

Meaning or intention of this post....NOTHING!...Just wanted to blog and share the positivism I have been feeling!

By the way, this post could also be put down to the Arthur Clarke novels, which have these immensely well dreamt plots which reflect optimism to the core!!! :)

GOLD GOLD GOLD

WE FINALLY DID IT!!!

Thank you Mr. Bindra!

India Redux: The first objective achieved!

Well, a few weeks back I had posted the India Redux post.

And guess what? The first bullet point has been achieved. Ramayana is back on TV. Mahabharata is coming back. And Star One even shows the old Sword of Tipu Sultan. Now only, if they were on prime time once more.

Hope that the next few points of the post materialise soon as well.

The barber,A murder mystery तमाशा and Subhash Ghai's छठी औलाद!

As usual, I have been contemplating about getting back to blogging. As usual, there were again the umpteen number of ideas, topics, issues on which I felt I should express my views. As usual, I could not structure my thoughts and translate them into words.

Unusually, I thought of penning all of them together in a single post.

First thought: The barber : Maybe an important service marketing lesson

I went to the barber shop today and I had a thoroughly enjoyable time while I was there. I had the usual hair cut and a good hair massage. Hardly interesting, one would say! Well, the reason I had a great time was because while the services were being rendered, there were old Mohamed Rafi songs playing in the background. Just listening to those songs made me nostalgic. During my childhood, my dad used to take me for the usual hair cut (or the usual hair massage) and in those barber shops of Naraina Vihar, Somajiguda or Secunderabad Club, there used to be the old Rafi songs (in my mind, playing out over an old music system). I never appreciated them, for, for me, they were songs for the old. Well, today when I heard them again, I could actually reflect on the subtlety and the relaxing nature of the songs. It made one relax. Don't ask me the reason or the logic behind it, but it just made me relax, and in a way let go.

A possible lesson which I had harped upon in the title was that maybe while rendering a service, we could use tools such as music or the surrounding environment to make one remember the old, or as many say, the golden days of their youth, or even times gone by, the past. Maybe, the customer would relax in such a "familiar" environment. And maybe, this could make him not only a repeat customer, but also a well spending one.

Certainly a thought to ponder over!

Second Thought: A murder mystery तमाशा : Ban the inconsiderate channels?

For the last 35 days, news has been dominated by a sordid murder mystery, or as it is called by some the double Noida Murder case. Time and again, news channels have revelled in revealing the "breaking news", or like today, being the first channel to make a "खुलासा". There has been a trial by media, and every household today, or at least the ones who watch this news day in and day out, talk about the aggrieved family or the victims in the most perverse ways. Every family imagines, discusses what might have happened, and who may have been responsible. And all this is fuelled by the so called आवाज़ of the जनता, the news channels. Some have framed such exquisite stories that it has become difficult for many to separate the truth from the lies.

I have only one thing to say. Bring the matter to a swift conclusion, and let the family grieve or be crucified for the crime committed. At the same time, let there be some civility. The media can not and should not conduct a public trial. News should be reported, not sensationalised or like many do not made into " breaking news" (Maybe watching " Good Night & Good Luck" should be made mandatory for everyone to understand what I mean here!).

The thought to ponder over here is: Can we as viewers, and hence as consumers of these channels, do something to enforce some sense of civility?

Third Thought: The Happening: What happened?

A much hyped up movie called "The Happening" released a few days back. With a superb concept of nature hitting back at the humans, the movie could have been a great one. It could have maybe made us aware of what we may be doing to the nature all around us. Having an Indian production house, maybe it could have made a deeper impact upon our own society. But it never did.

Why?

Because the movie never " happened".

The only possible interest left for many, like my brother , by half time, was how Subhash Ghai's छठी औलाद , the director of the movie, Mr. Shyamalan, would make his entry.

Alas, we were all disappointed once more. He too, never, "Happened".

The thought to ponder: Why was the movie made? What " Happened" Mr. Shyamalan?

I just dump these three random thoughts here. Not that many will read it, but at least I made the effort to pen down my thoughts. Who knows, there may be some pattern in my viewpoints? For the reader, do tell me if you detect the pattern!

"So when are you coming back to India?"

In the year 1994 AD, ...uhmm sorry, too much of Dominique Lapierre/History Channel, etc etc...

Anyways, in 1994, my family shifted from Delhi to Hyderabad, and hence away from some childhood friends as well. With Internet having real low awareness scores in North India, I was not aware of the phenomenon called E-mail, and hence used to write hand written letters to my friends in Delhi. The fact that at the time this was actually encouraged by my family ( I wrote to all my extended family as well ) is redundant now, for my handwriting never improved. Well, during one of the responses from my friends back in Delhi, he asked me a very peculiar question: " So when are you returning to India?".

India...wait a minute... I was very much in India..so what did my friend mean by asking such a silly question?

Now at that time i laughed it off. In fact over the next few years, this tale actually turned into a good dinner time joke to be shared with people especially from Delhi. But today, the innocent question is no longer just a faux paus but is actually made me think of my life ahead.

Today I got my location for joining Airtel. It is Jaipur, the city I was born in. Well, as soon as I got to know about, there was rejoicing by many of my relatives who are in Jaipur. My parents were actually sad that I have to go back to the city they had in a sense escaped from. The fact of the matter was that I was a guy who had always lived in Metropolitan cities, and they were duly worried about me adjusting to a place like Jaipur. On my part, I am quite OK with it, for I can't wait to start work. But, I am digressing here..( blame it on bhasadi skills).

Well amidst the plethora of emotions and the advise which I was getting from everyone, my brother actually asked me with a smirk on his face ," So when will you come back to India?". Now his intention was very much to turn the joke on me, but it got me thinking of how true the statement actually was for many of my Delhi friends, and even to a certain extent for me. For Delhi has always stood for most of my friends as the symbol of India. Even when I came back from a trip abroad or from another city in India, my heart always felt lighter and at home once I was in Delhi. And maybe this is the feeling which we all relate with our country as well. Hence, it is but so simple to equate India and Delhi.

I have been to many cities in India, and I can say that for me there is no other city like Delhi. I do realise that it may be very early in my life for me to form such a judgement, but somehow, I have always visualised myself staying on here, if anywhere in India. I could put it down to the fact that wherever I have gone i have been always characterised as a Delhi-ite ( talk of re-enforcement techniques). But just imagine, how true this must have been for friends, such as my childhood friend, whose family and ancestors have always been in Delhi ? For for them, the world outside Delhi would be an alien environment. Maybe that actually explained the reluctance of many of my fellow B School students in moving out of Delhi!!!

But in the end, as I start out in the next chapter of my life, even I wonder if even after having travelled extensively, would I always equate India and Delhi as one. I am en route to Jaipur by the month end, and who knows where all I will travel, but one question which is sure to keep coming back to my mind would be..." So when are you coming back to India?"

The first lesson: Know your Target Group

Sometimes there are instances which one is reminded of suddenly out of the blue. More than often it usually is about something embarrassing, or something which you were never able to figure out at that time.

A few years back, just before I was going to join IMT, I had the opportunity to head over to Hyderabad for a school re-union. While there, I met a few old teachers, some people whom I really look up to even now. Well, I was all gung-ho about my work experience, and after a few pleasantries were exchanged, I launched into the work which I had done for the past few months. Very soon, I had lost them, and their interest was evidently somewhere else. At that time, I never could figure out why my teachers would not be interested in my work. I was there, showing off my new found presentation making skills, and business acumen, but no one seemed to be interested.

Cut to a few days back, and I had accompanied my mom to a bank nearby. Now this bank has the best policies which they offer to their customer base. And evidently, I thought that with such rates, I could also start banking at the same bank. But a thing which I was not able to figure out was why there were hardly any customers at the bank. Well, I soon found out the reason why.

These two experiences actually made me realise one of the most fundamental lessons learnt at B - School, and the one which needs to be absorbed by every professional --- Know thy Customer; or in B school parlance, Know the Target Group.

While at the bank, the manager and the employees servicing the client, were not aware of the background of the customer, my mom in this case. They had basically never bothered to know the potential of my mom in terms of financial worth. Hence, this led to an ordinary, rather a dismal customer service, and that alienated not only her, but a future customer as well. We had learned about a concept called the Moment of truth at B-school, and trust me, the principle became much more clearer to me that day.

On a similar note, at my school, I had not really understood that for every message communicated there has to be a target group. The group of teachers to whom I was talking about the latest Pre-Sales solutions in the market, was evidently not the right group. And the fault was clearly mine. I should have understood what my audience reacted to, what was their need, and then talked about the appropriate things.

Hence, in both the circumstances, knowing one's target group, or customer, would have actually helped in meaningful dialogue, where everyone would have been in a win-win situation.

I intend to put into practice this lesson ASAP, and I hope that these lessons and many more like these make me learn further.

India Redux

These are some of the things I miss the most from my childhood. I do believe that the re-introduction of some of these would do wonders to our society.

• We need serials like Mahabharata, Ramayana or even historical pieces like Sword of Tipu Sultan back on the television in place of serials like Sujata or (wait till you read this) Waqt batayaga kaun apna kaun paraya...:)
• We need socialistic messages like "एक चिडिया, अनेक चिडिया" back on the television which will ensure that we resist from becoming racist, and selfish.
• We need to ensure that Moral Science is taught as a subject till at least class 5th.
• We need to have more renditions of songs like " मिले सुर मेरा तुम्हारा" to ensure that we have the utmost pride in our country
• We should have the national anthem playing more often, and people should respect it.

Just some things which I feel will make our lives better...

Shaurya: What's that???

A Few Good Men is one of my favorite movies, so obviously a movie which a rip-off or an "inspired" movie would make me highly critical.

At the same time, I expected a lot from this movie. It had a great & intelligent cast, and I finally thought we would see a movie which would highlight one of our country's top national institutions -- the Indian Army. Needless to say, I was very very disappointed with the end result. I would not like to discuss the movie but would rather point out the two issues I felt strongly about.

The first and foremost issue I had was the inability of the movie to showcase the Indian Army and its internal workings properly. If one follows most of the Hollywood movies, one would realise that even with movies dealing with negatives implications concerning certain practices in the defence services, what emerges is that the institution is supreme, and it is the processes, rules and regulation of the institution which come out as supreme. Truth prevails, but not at the cost of an institution. These movies highlight not only their defense services, but all Institutions, like those of their President, Universities, and the likes as being supreme and as the bearers of the best ideals. Somehow this is what a lot of our movies have lacked in showing over the years.

Many would argue that artistic expression does reflect the reality around us. But can our creative expression also not express the ideals that could and in fact should exist within our society? Can we not have our movies reflecting not only the reality but also try to create an aspiration for the viewer, an aspiration to be a part of the best institutions, the best practices to look up to? Instead, we have slipped into this mentality of making fun of our institutions. Ridicule them, lampoon them, but never make them seem to be bearers of the right values. Fault, it is, which we must find everywhere. Reflection of modern times?? Or, a feeling of pessimism. Maybe, an Elsworth Toohey would be at his best here.

One could look upon my suggestions as too idealistic; But if we do not showcase these institutions to our people, never will they respect it; more so, never will people come forward and volunteer to be a part of our national institutions. Coming back to the movie, what infuriated me was that the subject of the film was dealt with such immaturity. The movie had the unique opportunity of showcasing our defence services to the young people, as an institution where you had varying responsibilities; just not shooting and killing the enemy, but also other career opportunities ,like law. But that fact was conveniently forgotten. Technically inefficient in handling of the main premise of the movie, which was the court case ( did I mention A Few Good Men anywhere!), we again lost an opportunity of showcasing how our Army was equipped to weed out the fanatics within the system. Instead, we are subjected to useless plots, and a court case which is won more by a "tamasha" rather an logical thinking.

The second issue with the movie is an issue which almost every post 9/11 movie likes dealing in. Delving once again into the perception of Muslims being terrorists, the feeling of innovative and creative thinking seems to have gone away from our "artistes". Give me a break guys, but has this issue not been done to death already. I mean, why do we need to keep reminding ourselves that we have to combat the above said perception? I think a lot of people have realised that the perception is false, so lets just move on with our lives. Why do we need to get religion into everything? Is it only religion which can make one so passionate that one borders on fanaticism? We,as a society, need to honestly evaluate this belief, which somehow gets perpetuated in every movie these days.

Hence, simply put, lets build the reputation of our national institutions, for at the end of the day that is our identity, and for god's sake, lets move out of the irrelevant posturing which we as a society have come to believe expresses our inner self.

And finally, let us have some original work, and not "inspired" work, which even manages a 3 star rating in The Times of India. HA HA HA!!!

Helping out

Ever since I have been back home, I have discovered a new trait in myself. I actually enjoy helping others out.

Today, I counselled a friend who is doing his Summer Internship, on the possibilities of defining the scope for his project. It gave me a high again to be talking about marketing. The jargon filled conversation, with the marketing lingo just coming out as if there was no tomorrow, was actually quite exhilarating. Discussing promotional mixes, price points, consumer profiles just transported me to another world. I put it down to a return to marketing jargon and the feeling of security initially, but it later turned out to be just the act of being able to help, counsel, guide someone which was the real high!

What made me realise this was the fact that I have been helping my father in a task with which he had been struggling for quite a few days. Why I had not done so before is beyond me, and now that I have spent the last 3 hours helping him out actually gives me a lot of satisfaction. But again, the common thread between these two events is that I applied myself again in a capacity to help or guide a task to completion.

The satisfaction which I derived from these tasks, has made me wonder, why during the last 2 years, I was not doing this on a regular basis. The most simple and straightforward reason which I can come up with right now is that, during the past two years, competition blinded me to a huge extent. I felt I had a point to prove to everyone. Maybe that led to a rebellious streak which could have resulted in bouts of selfishness. It led me to certain acts, which in hindsight I find intolerable. But I rest easy in the belief that at least I did realise the folly, and am now in the process of correcting myself and my behaviour.

In retrospect, I have always enjoyed myself when I have been in a position to guide others, help with my limited knowledge, and help them achieve their dreams, or achieve their targets. Doing it humbly for others, without expecting anything in return is actually a wonderful feeling. I suggest everyone tries it. For me, maybe, it is something which I can explore further.

Why

• Why does India not have a popular War memorial post Independence?
• Why do people get worked up when it comes keeping their words?
• Why does my blog never have the fluidity or the flow in its writing?
• Why do I not possess the will to write about things which keep cropping in my mind time and again?
• Why am I willing to go through other people's blogs and leave sane, intelligent and apt remarks there?
• Why do people maintain blogs?
• Why do we need structure and objectives in everything?
• Why are Indian traditions related to marriage so dependant on exchange of gifts?
• Why can i not put down my inactivity on my blog down to writer's block?
• Why am I writing this post?
• Why does each line Begin with why?

ANSWER:

This is called BHASAD...the biggest lesson I have learnt through Engineering and MBA.

(Added 21/4/08: BHASAD has been explained in the comments section mentioned below, courtesy Jaya S!!!)

The Night of January 16th

Who was Bjorn Faulkner?

That is the premise of the wonderful play written by Ayn Rand. I have just finished reading it in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it. The play asks the audience ( who play the role of the jury) whether Bjorn Faulkner, a wealthy aristocrat, who had swindled millions, been murdered by his mistress or others ( wife, father in law) and for what possible motives. The beauty of the play is that there is no ending to it. The jury/audience gets to hear both the viewpoints, which balance the evidence against the accused, Ms. Andre. And on the basis of such testimonies, the jury is required to come to a conclusion, after which, the author has written the two contrasting reactions of Ms. Andre.

I would not like to go into the details of the case, but would recommend this play to everyone. It is simple, and like past Ayn Rand writings, brings out the individuality of the protagonists and their conflict with the socialist, do good for all, believe in "WE" mentality of the society. And like past Ayn Rand writings, it makes you question the need to follow certain social norms, unless you believe in them. For example, she questions the need for lovers to get married. But do not assume that she questions the institution of marriage, instead, she questions why people accept the institution on face value, and instead not follow it because they believe in it. Sounds complicated, doesn't it? Well, I would say read the play, and maybe these lines will become clearer.

So what is the verdict according to me? The question asked of the jurors is whether Ms. Karen Andre is guilty of the murder of Mr. Faulkner. I think not. I would say that there was no evidence provided in the case. Using the ever popular line, it was all circumstantial evidence, with no character ever revealing the whole truth, as is evident from the convenient revealing of certain pieces of the puzzle by the witnesses.

But is Mr. Faulkner really dead or is he alive, waiting to be joined by Ms. Andre? Now that is a question which would bewilder quite a few now!!! My take is that Mr. Faulkner is alive,but has faked his death not only to the world, but also to his lover, Ms. Andre, with whom the plot was conceived. A man like Mr. Faulkner would not like being tied to anything, even to love. Hence, he would have gone on to re-start his life, away from all the people who ever knew him. Why would he do so? Simple, to LIVE ON!!! And also because all Ayn Rand Protagonist males are supermen. They do not have a weakness, and have a simple mandate...which is to LIVE.

In a nutshell, another cracker of a story from Ayn Rand. Enjoy it!!!

All Corporate Managers should be Physically Fit

The only Group Discussion which I was not able to make it through during Day 0 of my placements at IMT was that of Vodafone. The topic of the GD was the title of this post. At that time, I was mentally tired and almost not able to think about what was going on around me. It did not help me either that my name was being called out for the Bharti Airtel interview while I was inside for the Vodafone GD. But excuses aside, a major reason behind why I did not function well mentally at that GD was a simple one : I was not physically fit!!!

It has taken me a couple of months to realise this truth, and it has been a bitter pill to swallow. But I have decided to move on. I am back to playing tennis almost daily and I am walking everyday as well. Yes, at my age it should have been jogging, but somehow I am just not able to get to that level of physical exertion as of now. So brisk walking for 40 minutes it is every evening. I do about 5 to 6 kms of it everyday ( a rough calculation) and I am feeling really fit these days.

Coming back to the topic of the GD, I totally realise now how physical fitness is so very important for a corporate manager today. It is important to feel fresh both mentally as well as physically, and I am enjoying the feeling of freshness which has come over me due to the physical exertions of the past few weeks.

Needless to say now, all corporate managers should be physically fit, and I am surely on that route now.

जोधा Akbar

It has been only 5 days since Jodha Akbar was released and I have seen it already twice. The movie is certainly a good movie, though as has been said elsewhere by many critics, a tad too long.

A major reason for me seeing the movie for a second time were quite a few. Not only am I a fan of Hrithik Roshan, but I wanted to see the movie again for the apparent hurt it has caused the Rajput clan and as claimed by some Hindu Sentiments. Besides this, I wanted to see exactly why people had gone ga-ga over the battle sequences, which I had found mediocre in execution initially.



Well, Hrithik Roshan did impress me the second time around as well। The actor is one of the few actors today who emotes and communicates more through his eyes, than his actions। I remember my Grandmother saying that this fact was the big difference in the actors of the yesteryear, such as Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, etc and the actors present today। Well, I think Mr. Roshan's acting skills would find approval from my Grandmother as well. He has quite nicely brought out a younger and temperamental side to Akbar, which would be quite a huge differentiation from the Akbar we have all read in history books.

Which clearly brings me to my second objective of seeing the movie again. Hurt Rajput sentiments is what we have all heard about for the past few weeks. Apparently, Jodha was the name of the daughter in law of Akbar. Hence, this distortion of fact by the director had hurt Rajput sentiments. Well, the director did say so in the opening slides of the film, about the liberty he had taken in choosing Jodha as the name, while history had recorded the name of Akbar's wife by many other names. His explanation ( and certainly not apology, as is being construed by some) was that the most famous and common name he had come across was Jodha, and hence used it. I totally agree with him on this point. Now, we have all studied the Mughals when we were in primary school, and our parents have always told us stories about the mughals, since they have had such a major impact on the history and culture of our country. Jodha was indeed the name we all read in our books, and was also the name we were always told of by our parents. So I fail to understand how the critics of the name have suddenly realised that, wait a minute, Jodha was the daughter in law and not the wife! I would put it down to some people/organization unnecessarily trying to attract attention. On the other hand, throughout the film, the Emperor Akbar praises Rajputs to no end. Describing the Rajputs as the bravest clan he has seen, I am sure, Akbar ( read Director) meant all the dis-respect he could show towards the Rajput sentiment. In a nutshell, there is no way this movie has dis-respected the Rajputs.

Also, some organizations claim that the movie has dis-respected and hurt Hindu sentiments. Again, where has it done so??? The Mughal emperor is shown taking off his shoes before entering temples; The Hindu traditions are observed during the wedding; all in all there has been no scene where Hindu sentiments could have been hurt. So my friends, another publicity stunt is what I would conclude.

Talking of stunts, the action sequences which I found mediocre initially, were really anything but. Though people will compare it to the Troys and the Gladiators, what must be appreciated is the scale on which certain sequences have been shot. The opening battle scenes are superb, but do contain a few bad shots, basically due to inattention to the extras fighting lamely. Besides that, the climax/concluding fight between Akbar and his Brother in law, or the sword fight between the emperor and his queen are superbly shot and technically quite sound, from my limited knowledge of such sequences.

Hence, I would recommend this movie to all movie-buffs, but saying that would also warn everyone that this is not a lesson in History. It is a romantic movie, which explores the relationship of the Emperor and his Queen. Try appreciating the differences in the cultures of the Mughals and the Rajputs and what Jodha & Akbar had to adjust to, and I am sure you will appreciate the movie much more.

Like Akbar keeps saying , " हुकुम की तामील हो ".

A new start