Skip to main content

What's so special about 1984?

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. What we realise less is its impact on a new generation. I call it

A GREAT DIVIDE OF 1991

India before 1991 was submissive, scarce in consumptive resources, dependent, ridden with a complex of being "developing" from a "poor" status, anti America (just as U S of America would not like poor India anyways), hungry for greenbucks or any other colour of currency than Indian and so on and so forth.

India after 1991 is a story of growth, leapfrogging, ambitious, confident, independent.......

It is not only India that changed but INDIANS changed as well. A new experience that has not seen any of the dark side of pre 1991 (at least for a good chunk of population).

Consumption, debt, risk aversion, buoyant, materialism all came to the forefront of this new generation. This generation is coming into a very productive age now and the consumption is booming.

I remember my childhood preaching about sowing a mango tree:-

दादा बोये, पोता खाए

(Grandfather sows, grandson eats)

So the seeds of 1991 are blossoming into a tree that has started yielding fruits. Enjoy all this.....

More on the psychological impact on the weekend.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Power of observation

Mr Topiwala observed his niece being very interested in dressing up. He engaged in a discussion and came to understand a pain point of large number of Indian women. Something that women are very passionate, possessive about and have a very strong emotional bond, almost unbreakable bond. He created a new product that solved a huge effort and a recurring problem. And this was a self sticking, in varying sizes and design and in colours preferred by women, red and maroon. Since its launch in 1985, the brand is a huge dominant one in the market. Almost synonymous with the category. Companies would envy such a dominance. Over the years many innovations were brought about like iodine enriched, dermatologically tested and many more. 'Shilpa' bindis. An amazing story of a dominant brand that solves a real problem through acute observation. Would love to know of more such stories. #bindingmachine   #observation   #consumerneed   #businessmaze   #indianmaze 204-1-20
Post a Comment
Read more

The biggest concerns - how we tackle?

These days, there are two topics of discussion. One about the national security and issues related to it and second, economic scenario and its impacts on individuals (own and in the organisations they work in). Jobs are difficult to come by. Packages are not as great as they used to be. How do students in B schools etc tackle it: - toppers are more worried about how much money will they make - others are looking at beyond placement cells - companies that were shooed away till last year are being treated with great honour - some students have resorted to contacting their freinds, long lost uncles, relatives etc to seek a favour On talking to a few CXOs, it was clear that making contacts to seek favours actually works to the detriment of the candidate. They all agreed that people is the key concern for them to run a business. They clarify quickly that it is all about RIGHT PEOPLE. How many students are actually writing to the organisations specifically demonstrating how they can add val...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mass market opportunities in India

Are there no opportunities in mass market in India? A friend asked me after reading my post on niche opportunities. And the answer is a good news. A large part of consumption in India is still at a commodity and hence, unbranded level. Early enough, brands like Paras in fertilizers (by then HLL) and Parachute in coconut oil (by then Bombay Oil) brought about rhe change by a packaging differentiation/innovation. In hindsight it might appear to be too mundane. Over the years many categories have created brands worth thousands of crores in edible oils, wheat flour (still in early stages), sugar (in infancy) and many others. One such category ripe for disruption is jaggery. Are you ready for it? Both as a consumer and as a business person? #massmarket   #indiabusiness   #indianmaze   #jaggery   #businessmaze   #branding   #hul   #marico 199-1-20
Post a Comment
Read more