IndianMaze

Prompted to post after reading an interesting piece on Indians and recycling from somebody in UK. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Columnists/Sudeshna_Sen/The_biggest_footprints/articleshow/2902630.cms

1984 - reminds one of very many things - a book, famous though - first Apple Macintosh goes for sale - United States President Ronald Reagan , during a voice check for a radio broadcast remarks "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes". - Discovery takes off on maiden voyage..... so what is important about the year in India and/or to Indians - biggest riots post independence happen - Bhopal disaster and now the story unfurls - first Indian in space - new age leadership (in Rajiv Gandhi) - first signs of opening of economy (Modvat etc surfaced as a concept) I am told by psychologists that more than 95% of intuitive learning happens by the age of 7. So, if I was born in 1984 (alas I am much much older), I would have reached close to saturated intuitive learning by 1991. So it is about the turning point in Indian economy in 1991 that most if not all of us know. Wh...

I was foxed when I was told that the meeting is fixed for "sharp" 10 am. There is nothing sharp about either the meeting or 10 am. Habits die hard and as usual I carried my trusted companion which has helped me retain a cover on my head that helps keeping cool in summer and warmth in winter - a book. Does it matter which book is it? I have read more books by default waiting for 10 am than by design. So it was, meeting started with a cup of tea at noon. Great start, I said to myself. Thankfully the biological needs will drive the meeting to a closure before the scheduled duration of 3 hours. Anyways, lunch at 1 is far more critical. I go into time machine and recount the meaning of time across various trips in parts of our great country. Meet at 10 means - sometime in the morning after mid morning tea and before lunch in the seat of power city - after stock market opens up in a fiercely tea loving "dry" city - planning to take 8.14 fast, reaching at 9.44 and then sh...

Over the much touted by management but insipid lunch in the canteen on the 3rd floor of the office, our marketing manager was seriously hot. It, unfortunately, was not because of the special small green chillies on the table. "I hate that bloody b!@#$%^" in a hushed tone. "Swears by A programme but will not advertise on it. DOUBLE STANDARDS." We all hate but practice. The case in discussion is language. Why is that language of comfort amongst family/friends is different from colleagues? Even if so for a valid reason - is one more valuable than the other. English Medium School English comics English novels are all valued and paid for at a higher level than the language ones. English newspapers attract a much higher advertising rate than a vernacular one. Why double standards? How do we price our offerings? How and why Hindi TV channels command a higher price than English ones? Food for thought.....

Sex, greed, dishonesty, lies,superstitions.........DEATH We got to talking of difficult situations arising out of children's' behaviour. My colleague, Panks, narrated a (horror) story. On accompanying his father to a family bereavement, this child asked as a matter of fact what happened. On getting an answer that grandpa's younger brother died, he shouted in the presence of the whole group "That's not right. Grandpa is older and should have been dead first." Normal outcome - shut the child by hook or crook (a spank here and there), shut the mouth with one hand, lift with another and evacuate faster than hurricane evacuation. On another occassion, I was chatting with my South African boss during a long journey in the serene mountainous drive through the Scottish Highlands and the discussion arrived at Indian culture and social behaviour. As usual, provoking is the name of the game in such scenarios. He got on to the journey of testing my limits of mental toler...

There is a great deal happening on the tech front both by techies and more importantly by non-techies. A sms lands on my odd sized and odd shaped but reliable and efficient Nokia (market leader in India), "Pls sms me yr mob no. as I lost all numbers in my prev ph and dont know how to tfr to my E90". I did not know whether to laugh or cry! What is the message about? - to find my mobile no which is meaningless as I received it on my mobile number, or - about change of the phone by the person or - about possessing E90 It also reminded me of a nice conversation with a tall fast growing professional who is a flashy personality (FP) FP - I need an advise from you (with a serious face) D - How can I help? FP - I travel a lot. D - Hmm FP - Can't do without a computer D - Hmm (guessing where it is going) FP - Travelling is very stressful and is back breaking. D - Hmm...hmm...hmm FP - Blackberry does not fully open all attachments D - Hmm...hmm....hmm ...

Over a great looking meal on the table, discussion roamed around the good food that all love. The occassion was to drown ones sorrows after a beating from the boss. Spirits had to be lifted up. Choice was to sit in the room and sulk or better go for a good meal. Decision - unanimous - f#*$ it - lets have good drink and food. Life has its own tales. Especially when you have a group of 15 gathered from various parts of country - chants like "Ekach Lakshya", "Surya Ast - x state mast". Some of them still sulked that they can't enjoy the party as it is a tuesday. One did not drink, a few others did not eat non veg and one claimed to be on a fruit diet. Then the penny dropped. Indians in different parts treat different days differently. In some cases, it is tuesdays (popular in North and East), in some it is thursdays (West) or fridays (South). Consumers have their own reasons to have their behaviors and that effects the markets significantly. Over the pegs of Captai...

Life takes turns..... a little too swiftly in Indian consumers' case. I was having discussions with a close friend yesterday evening while sipping a large cup of Black Assam Tea brewed perfectly by the expert from the pantry (more on that a little later in the post). The discussions went to media industry where both of us have personal and professional interests. He was very interested in niche channels of interest that otherwise get lost in the sea of offerings. He was very keen to move from one DTH operator to another as his favourite channel was not being shown. We got discussing new channels and the future of channels in India. Back to the choice issue after sipping more of delicious tea, we got to look at the comprehensive offerings made by two of the leading DTH operators. It just so happened that none of the two had a full choice of this friend of mine. Now the issue came that actually there are a few of his (and his family's) choices that are not available on either of...