Wanted to blog about this for a while............

Now when we went to Aqaba, we are part of the anonymous huddle of covered women no longer allowed to enjoy the magic of the sea. For even on the beaches Islam shrouded us all. It is mainly men and small children who are allowed to enjoy the beaches and water sports. Women would never dare to be seen in a swimsuit. They sit on the shore, fully clothed, and tend to the needs of their men and their children. They are only allowed to enter the water and try to swim if they wear their shar’ia. Sad and ludicrous—but all too familiar—is the sight of a woman struggling to stay afloat while her voluminous black dress billows up around her despite her efforts to beat it back into the waves. It is an act of frustrating futility that now seems an apt metaphor for the lives of Jordanian women.

Words.........

"Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world . . ."

- Buddha

Imagination

IMAGINATION will often carry us to worlds that never were, BUT without it we go NOWHERE....

Farmhouse Effect

This Diwali I went to Kota and a nearby village for five days (nice break from CIDCO project and my boss). It was an awesome experience. First because it was my first trip to Rajasthan and second because I have never been to a village.

The life is pretty slow-paced; people are friendly and hard working. The couple who cooked for us was very jovial and hardworking. They use to travel to our place by their Luna motorbike every single day. They cooked, they did farming, and tamed animals et al. They are so close to nature and very different!! They spoke Marwari, which was sometimes difficult to understand and hilarious to listen to.

Kota, compare to Mumbai, is cleaner. The village is also clean and beautiful. I had a chance to see peacock and this bird which did not sleep much (and even if it did, it slept on one leg). I also discovered that peacocks shed their feathers during diwali and live on trees.

Kota is a good place for shopping when it comes to Indian wear as in sarees, cloth for suits etc. Kota Doria Cotton is well known and inexpensive.

We made Rangoli and celebrated Diwali in a traditional way.

Lesson from the trip: Now I know why all the film stars go to their farmhouses' when they want to isolate/ refresh/ themselves or recharge their batteries.

There is so much to be done..........

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.

Carl Sandburg

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and consciencious stupidity."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Who says elephant can’t dance?

The failure of ASEAN region economies (except S’pore) to become tiger economies of Asia (China, S’pore, Japan and South Korea) lead to the 1997 Asian Economic Crisis. I hope something similar does not happen to India.

The Elephant can Dance in itself is a paradox. Can Brand India make it happen? What is Brand India and how is it different from Brand China?

Brand China:

• Face
• Money
• Sex

Brand India:

• Intelligence
• Intimacy
• Mystery
• Stoicism

I believe a vision, strategy and most importantly a global brand has to be developed in order for Brand India to happen. The correct infrastructure from the government is essential and so is the planning. It could be any product/ service in any industry and/ or sector namely health tourism, TCS, Bollywood, manufacturing et al. It is about time we stop depending on low cost IT services as our competitive advantage because it is not a sustainable one.

India Brand Summit 2006

How effective are celebrity endorsers?

In the past celebrities were rare commodities. Hence the correlation between ads with celebrity and sales was greater. Now the scenario has changed. Ads with celebrity do not sell unless and until the message is clear and appealing. The delivery of the message and the entire concept of the commercial are crucial to the success.

However…………

1. What do Stars know about the quality of the product, the manufacturing process and the like?
2. How ethical is it to give a message about something that you have no clue about?
3. In general customers are better informed and more intelligent now.
4. They know that stars are getting paid to endorse a product.
5. The purchase of the product will depend upon the quality, availability, and price, income of the customer, the willingness, the need and nature of the product.
6. Why are viewers less cruel to celebrity endorsement?
   
7. What happens to the ad when the image of a particular star is ruined?
8. What happens when the image of the product/ service is ruined? Isn't the credibility of the star questioned?
9. Celebrity endorsements evolve with celebrity and vice versa.
10. Isn't it a double-edged sword?
    

• Big B is endorsing 30 products.
• Lux only signs those actors who are likely to become stars.
• Stars do Lux commercials for free.

India Brand Summit 2006

The unreal is more powerful than the real, because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. Because its only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles, wood rots, people, well they die. But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on.

Chuck Palahniuk

"A professional is someone who can do his best work when he doesn't feel like it."

Alistair Cooke

"Feelings are not supposed to be logical. Dangerous is the man who has rationalized his emotions."

David Borenstein

Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results.

Anon

Reservation vs. Qualification

Read and reflect.....

Some do suggest that number of quality schools should increase in order to maintain the quality. NDTV Big fight held a discussion forum on this....not too long.

I guess it's just another political stunt to get more votes (in future) or maybe pressure from some powerful people....power politics....political economics...

Though it seems to have backfired...i guess they'll reduce the percentage....to reach a consensus.

So the management of IIMs and IITs are being sandwiched...facing a dilemma....hmm....

Anyways, it has its affect on each n every individual (the domino effect)...besides...every action has an equal opposite reaction....YOU being a good citizen of the country shuld express your opinion; regardless of its result.

However, I am not implying those in minority should not get these privileges...they should...but with reservation!!!

This is a small effort in breaking the glass ceiling.

Personal Update

Have been busy with an exam, cultural show and ofcourse research!! Last Saturday was the cultural show. India won one prize. I didn't see the performance by other countries.

I have never been so nervous before a solo performance(Indian folk) as I was this time. But neways, its okay cuz I got lotz of compliements afterwards.

Partied till one in the morning….dancing!! It was fun cuz international students also joined us and everyone ended up dancing on Indian music.

Like vs. Love

Back in high school I took this course called Twienth Century Literature, which consisted of literature works from T.S.Elliot, Shakespeare, and the like. We were discussing some love poem and the professor asked the class what is the difference between LOVE and LIKE or rather is there any difference between the two? Most students said they were the same, but one student raised his hand and said that there is a difference. Professor asked him what is it. He simply said: "I LIKE you, but I don't LOVE you." And the entire class was just stunned. But the meaning was clear enough and the prof. took it in a good note.

Cross-Cultural Issues

The other day me and my friend were discussing about cross-cultural issues. Most of the things we happened to agree upon except for one: cross-cultural marriages. She had a more orthodox opinion on it. She didn't think it could work. But I think it’s a beautiful concept, yet there are many challenges that come along with it. Those who enter such a relationship can't just think about themselves; they should also think about their child. They have to put in more effort compare to other parents. There is always a fear that the child might loose its identity. The orientation of the child should be so that it grows up to respect both the cultures. In addition, small issues such as the name of the child can create a problem. It may not be more than a meager issue for the parents, but it could be a big issue for the relatives; the society. It’s best for the parents to live in a host country to avoid over interference of the relatives.

This kind of relationship is very intellectually stimulating and requires "out of the box" thinking. I guess, such couples can accommodate other religions/ cultures along with their own and are very broad minded.

Besides, "Emotions are so stupid, they don't understand any logic", if you love someone, you can't really help it.

However, I do believe that as long as one is not forced to convert into another religion, multi-cultural marriages are fine. Because if you are forced then you are not being accepted for whom you are. Anyways, by doing few rituals, no one can convert anyone into a different religion because religion is not a matter of only following rituals. It is rather something that one believes in; religion is a 'way of life'. It is a reflection of oneself.

Dell Corporation

My first blog ever!! Am not sure what to write about. In any case, I think I want to talk about Dell Corporation. I think it is one of the most unique corporations ever. Its structure, business model and the like are unique. This corporation introduced the concept of direct marketing. Its owner Michael Dell (plz. excuse the spelling), started the corporation in 1984, which is a year after I was born. He totally removed the intermediaries from his business. The corporation sold directly to its customers. In this way it was able to develop a healthy relationship with its customers. This is how the concept of direct marketing came along. In addition, it was able to focus and specialize. Thus came the concept of mass customization. Being able to satisfy individual customer demand. For instance, if a customer wants a silver color laptop with certain specifications, Dell will be able to provide them. I think it totally amazing and a truely unique concept.

It also employs virtual and vertical integration. Its organization structure is now called Value Web. This means that the competition is expected to be between networks as opposed to individual companies. Its all about networking!!