IndianMaze

Over the weekend, I was wondering as to how little I have seen the country? Having pondered over the same, I got to my experiences in travelling across India on road. It was nice to recall all the old memories of travel, food and other interesting stuff. In a nutshell, have travelled through 39 National highways (plus 5 NH extensions). These are 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 3, 4, 5 ,6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 12A, 17, 20, 21, 21A, 24, 25, 28, 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 43, 45, 55, 56, 58, 69, 70, 72, 77, 83, 86, 88, 96, 200, 205, 544 and 716. In my cars, I have clocked more than 250,000 kms. Have taken about 2,500 flights and equal number of train journeys. Of the airports covered within the country are: Srinagar, Jammu, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Dharamshala, Delhi, Jaipur, Udaipur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Patna, Siliguri, Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Kolkata, Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Bhopal, Indore, Raipur, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Gandhidham, Bhuj, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Goa, Bangaluru, Hyderabad, Vijaywada, Rajamundhry...

India is always seen as the land of diversity. From high mountains to sea, from world's wettest to driest places, from dense jungles to vast deserts, from thickly populated areas to remotest areas, from -40 C to +50 C. 16 official languages to one common business language. She is simply amazing. This is true of the economy as well. India is attracting the close attention of some of the most expensive brands in the world just as ironically the poor vie for bare minimal calorie intake for survival. This may make people smile with $$$ signs blinking as almost 8 millions earn as much as $46k+, a size that is more than the population of Singapore. Another 16m earn $ 30k+, a size comparable to the poulation of Australia. Paradoxically 748m earn almost 50% of what the poorest zone, Sub Saharan Africa earns...... India produces amongst the highest number of engineers in the world just as much that most number of illetrates are added every year in the world in this very country. ...

It has been quite some time that I penned any thoughts. It has been a busy schedule, some real rest forced and sometimes meaningless. On to other things. I am just back after a four country tour and have realised how lucky we are in India not to face the real heat of recession. I am going to stick my neck out now. Worst is behind us. Talent shortage still exists. All the companies that went overboard will have serious answers to give as talent hunting is going to be a real pain. Worse than before the dreaded R word hit us. Fear will prevent people from taking "logical" decisions. दूध का जला छाछ को भी फूँक फूँक के पीता है. (Once bitten twice shy) I feel sorry for those who lost their jobs and those freshers who could not manage a placement from campus but I can safely say that they will be first ones to encash the change. The real HR work will start now. Finally, sticking my neck out further, I think it all will start happening by September/October. I will write again on this ...

The message was clear. US is facing a financial crisis. Americans need to contribute to get out of "conveniences". But the statements like "it will get worse before it gets better" without a timeline and references to a time of slavery etc are not comforting. American era may be ending faster than anticipated. Obama's inaugration speech was truly indicative of a man under pressure from the start. As any sportsman will confirm, it's all in the mind and followers just follow the leader and Obama has not set the bar high at all. My view is that it is heading south fast...... Contrast this with the situation in India. All that leaders are talking about is security and resolve to protect Indian at ANY COST. Economic issues are tackled with a view, yes it is a slowdown but we will still beONE OF THE BEST IN THE WORLD. No talk of worsening things, less spending by government. News headlines are all talking about shrinking bottomlines for profit and NOT LOSS issues....

Last few days have been Godsend for the economists who love to play the mind games. We have had amazing mixed signals, though the net effect is more sentimental than real. -ves - Satyam fraud - banning of many IT firms by World Bank (more on that in the next post) - strikes by transporters and oil industry officers +ves - better IIP numbers - lower inflation - higher credit offtake - announcement on infrastructure spending by government What is future holding for us is anybody's guess! I still maintain that India will be one of the quickest off the block from this downturn. I see a major positive outcome of the Satyam fraud as most organisations will clean up their balance sheets, if there are inaccuracies, and then going forward good news will be a real one. The euphoria being over, consolidation in various industries will bring in efficiencies. Shedding flab due to the circumstances will mean healthier businesses. A control on spending will ensure that investments will be put in ...

The time change appears very apparent, all of a sudden, around the new year. I woke up to the fact that I am on the other side of eighty and so on. On the first tuesday of the new year, my better half coaxed me out of slumber to get into some action and finish long pending chores. I reluctantly agreed and offered a cup of coffee to her if she accompanied me. She thought of it as a great gesture whereas my motive was to share the "workload" - selfish me! It is only after we got on the road we realised that today is "tuesday" and local malls are all closed in "Gurugram". Once out of slumber, I offered to go on an extended trip to the old market of "Sadar Bazaar". It was, as expected, a flood of experiences. Shops, more shops and even more shops interspersed with street hawkers and crowded with people. On the road a kilometer long, there are at least 1,000 shops, 400 hawkers and probably 10,000 people at that time. Range includes or rather extends f...

There is a side effect of every medicine just as there are always pros and cons for every decision. Coupled with this, excess of anything is harmful. India has perhaps one of the largest numbers who can read/understand English. English is very closely associated with the "Developed World". Hence, our English media is greatly influenced by the "Developed World". It actually goes further from media to individuals. The more "cerebral and globally connected" individuals are all a ball of gloom. R written large on their faces and expressions. There are enough reasons given, even for India. - Current slowdown - Approaching elections - Job slashes - Next monsoons To me it is a clear sign of clouded mind. It is so visible in the English newspapers vs local language papers. Headlines in English media all talks about - losses, layoffs, slowing demand, US companies going down under etc. Language papers talk of recent elections and promises, banks slashing interest ra...

Truth prevails is an old adage that seems to be losing its relevance in the current sentiments. Still I am confident that "Truth shall prevail". Hopefully, sooner than later. The case in point is the investor confidence in the stock market. Indian markets are aping the performance of the stock markets of developed world. In fact, the possible loss in indices is reasonably predictable in the last few weeks based on what happened on the previous day in Europe and US. Are the situations similar? Are Indian businesses facing the same situation as companies in western world? Are Indian corporate giants going bust like crackers in Diwali? Have companies of great repute and history in India have filed for bankruptcy? Has any company in India reported loss of sales (top line) in double digits and evaporation of profits? Slowdown yes. How bad is India? Is it comparable to West? It has baffled me as to how convenient has it been to be infected with "western sentiments" virus ...

Are there buyers waiting to buy things with a waitlist of 4-6 months in the current times? Honda Hybrid's recent action and response both have left me with more questions than answers! A 38% discount leads to a jump in sales by 100 times (30 cars in 4 months vs 100 in 4 days) and that too for a future delivery to be completed by March 31, 2009. Takeouts - - Honda has been able to liquidate all the stocks imported into the market - will have these cars run on Indian roads and give complete inputs on the performance on an ongoing basis - tested the price elasticity for the car - a similar multipoint research would have costed at least 50 % of the cost incurred by this method (assuming hiring Booz or McKinsey or so) But are consumers buying it because it is "cheap" or "value for money" or because there is a hefty discount and so a great short term bargain to flaunt! Time will reveal what is the insight but I am keen to know. Comments welcome.

After a trip to the financial capital of India, Mumbai, I landed in the flashy city of Delhi. Of many people that I met and talked to in Mumbai, the discussion hovered around the difficulty faced by people in stock market, economic issues, tough times, tightening the belt, lay offs (declared and not declared), sectoral impact etc etc. In a nutshell "get into the shell for safety". Then I met Rajan S, a dear friend. I knew that he has lost a good more than 50% of his investments in stock market and was expecting a similar response that I witnessed in Mumbai. I was all set to ensure that I remain as balanced as possible. "Hi, welcome to my newly decorated home" he exclaimed. "I went and bought two easy chairs, 5 decorative pieces, 5 pairs of trousers for myself along with 5 shirts, kids wardrobe has been replenished, wifey has bought some sarees and suits and not to talk of new curtains; all in the last fortnight" he went non stop "there are such great ...

Professional hazard - air travel is certainly one of the hazards. Travelling is considered as one of the high stress activities. However, it also has an aura of glamor and glitz amongst loads of people. What are the bases of selection of a flight by an executive - usual ones - schedule - punctuality - comfort (seat width, pitch etc) - food - "service" (it is black box to put anything and everything in there) not spoken about ones - mileage points - incentives - smarter/attractive pursers/hostesses But is there any customer delight....... I met Alan M on a flight from Delhi to Mumbai and got chatting on availability of alchohol on Indian domestic flights. Since all flights are "dry", I asked him as to what is the reason for chosing Kingfisher? Alan smiled, and then actually burst out in a loud laughter. He asked " Do you really want to hear the truth?" "Of course" was the prompt response. Alan came to India for the first time in October last year ...

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...

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...

It was an amazing experience to visit a small homely restaurant tucked away in corners of Khan Market in Delhi. Menu was exotic to say the least. Italian, traditional British, Mexican, Lebanese, Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese et al. A delight to see such a choice and that too in a city where chaat rules. All this was enough for one to get excited. Food ordered - it was great. Speciality of the food was tampering with Indian spices and to please the Indian buds. Purists may call this "scxxxxxx" the recipe but I call this customisation. On asking, chef did say that he can offer authentic tastes only if you ask. And majority does not ask. Easy to lambast a small restaurant but look around what large multinationals have learnt from The Indian Maze. Aloo tikki burger Paneer Tikka Pizza Chinese Pizza Vegetarian Burger in KFC (I thought C stood for chicken only) Skin White Cream/Lotion by leading global players (Ponds, HUL, Loreal, Shiseido...) The great revolution is taking place. Ca...