What a wonderful thing change can be and how much we resist it. Last week I met an old friend who had a few months ago given up his cushy job as an investment banker only to pursue his first love, teaching. He had to give up his well appointed Malabar Hill apartment, his club memberships, even his holidays abroad, but the peace and contentment on his face was worth seeing. He walked, lived likely finally he found his ground, his calling, his life. Of course there had been trepidation, would his daughter adjust to the change in lifestyle, school, miss the luxuries of life.
Did he deprive her of it, was he being selfish. Is giving up luxury for love foolish? Once the moment passes by those luxuries seem petty, those friends who didn’t hold on with your status change seem worthless.
If they didn’t support your calling they weren’t your friends. If you cease to be reason enough to your friends, you were definitely treading the wrong path. Change. How much we fear it. And how important it is for us to experience it. And any change, not only when good things happen to us, but also when the bad things occur.
Life is, as any enlightened sage will tell you, is a constant interplay of interconnected opposites, good and bad, happy and sad, kind and cruel. In what doses no one can say, but what s absolutely certain is that nothing lasts forever, and change is inevitable. We are all so adaptable that we will survive and learn the tricks of the new trade. After a while we will also enjoy the new trade. You will survive and then live. Its only a matter of time.
My friend who chucked his job as a banker now has time to read to his daughter, accompany his wife to the plays she longed to see hand in hand and read the book he always wanted. Its not all hunky dory, there are the inevitable lows as well. But he says for 24 years I hung on to my job as a banker and worked myself to sickness and death so frightened of losing it; or not reaching the top, or not performing to my bosses expectations. And then finally when I let go, the relief was so much. I confronted my worst fear and insecurity and found that I had still survived.
Change. See what you hold dear in your life, what you cling to, and hanker for. And be courageous and let go. Go with the flow, don’t surrender to life, be that unpredictable crazy river that decided her own course and is never scared to chase her dreams, her heart. Jump with out looking. And you will see that the safety net will always be there. It might not be the net you wanted. But something for someone will be there to break your fall, and hold you.
Change something. Anything. Remove just one thing, from your life, and see what life puts back in as a surprise.
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Sunday, October 19, 2008
Cardiac Confusion
Half of life's misery comes because of others in your life. Usually (and this is the supreme contradiction) it comes from those you love most. Your own nest becomes a noose; cactus grows in the mulberry bush. And you go blaming yourself. The others who hurt, trouble, torment ought to be the ones going through cause it's because of them that you are going through it, but what do you know – heart hammerer is out on a lucky limb and you are paying with the price of uncried tears.
Not just tears but restless days, sleepless nights and a carnival of cardiac confusion.
Get this straight: you will always be unhappy if you allow your happiness to be determined by other people. You will do your best, you will spray rose petals before they walk, but they won’t think a minute before walking over you or out on you. You give someone the key tp to your piece of mind and they will take your mind. Always the others. Nothing personal. It’s never personal. People hurt you because they are deficient in some way. People don’t respect you because they don’t know what respect means or is. People treat you badly because they don’t know otherwise. People cheat on you and get into adulterous affairs or cheap one night stands because they don’t know your worth – and in all probability their own.
The bad choices people make in their life, reflect on yours, in some divine way those who are out of your life are meant to be out. Don’t march to their doomed drums. It’s their upbringing. Their breeding. Their lifescape. You’re good you’re better than good, why are you raking their sanity? The problem is out there , not in you. If people don’t know who you are, then never mind how much they mean to you, ask them to go walk. Nobody, and I repeat nobody is worth the price of your self respect. In my life, self respect ranks higher than even love. You are a child of god. If god doesn’t treat you this way, who is anybody else to?
People see the world not as is, but as they are. People have their own luggage, their own scars, their own weaknesses, their own misery. Behind their own bravado their own life is falling apart so they try to make yours too. Don’t be fooled or awed by people who have power over you. They only have it because you have given it to them. Usually the biggest bullies are the biggest cowards. The ones who make the most noise are silenced souls. All the banter, swagger, tough-talk chaos a remarkably low opinion of self and life bereft of any joy.
Only unhappy people make others unhappy. Wife-beaters, cheating siblings, ungrateful lovers, rude bosses, callous youngsters, indifferent friends are all a reflection of their own inadequacies. A happy, balanced person will treat you well because that’s how a happy, balanced person is treated.
Today know most of your problems are not your problems but others people’s problems. You’re fine, you’re better than fine and you’ll get along fine. The best part of your life is you, the best friend is god and you’ve been burying yourself and god. God will never hurt you, it’s the wrong people you choose who do.
Life is beautiful, you are beautiful, it’s the outside world that is ugly. Just allow god in, then close the door, change the locks and bring the champagne out. I never feel sorry for who or what I’ve lost, I just feel sorry for the things and people who’ve lost me. Because I know the circle of life completes itself for the faithful. You’ll win in the end, but to win in the end, play your life with some more dignity, play it with grace, play it with gratitude and play it with the awesome love of god that is just waiting to be part of your life.
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Not just tears but restless days, sleepless nights and a carnival of cardiac confusion.
Get this straight: you will always be unhappy if you allow your happiness to be determined by other people. You will do your best, you will spray rose petals before they walk, but they won’t think a minute before walking over you or out on you. You give someone the key tp to your piece of mind and they will take your mind. Always the others. Nothing personal. It’s never personal. People hurt you because they are deficient in some way. People don’t respect you because they don’t know what respect means or is. People treat you badly because they don’t know otherwise. People cheat on you and get into adulterous affairs or cheap one night stands because they don’t know your worth – and in all probability their own.
The bad choices people make in their life, reflect on yours, in some divine way those who are out of your life are meant to be out. Don’t march to their doomed drums. It’s their upbringing. Their breeding. Their lifescape. You’re good you’re better than good, why are you raking their sanity? The problem is out there , not in you. If people don’t know who you are, then never mind how much they mean to you, ask them to go walk. Nobody, and I repeat nobody is worth the price of your self respect. In my life, self respect ranks higher than even love. You are a child of god. If god doesn’t treat you this way, who is anybody else to?
People see the world not as is, but as they are. People have their own luggage, their own scars, their own weaknesses, their own misery. Behind their own bravado their own life is falling apart so they try to make yours too. Don’t be fooled or awed by people who have power over you. They only have it because you have given it to them. Usually the biggest bullies are the biggest cowards. The ones who make the most noise are silenced souls. All the banter, swagger, tough-talk chaos a remarkably low opinion of self and life bereft of any joy.
Only unhappy people make others unhappy. Wife-beaters, cheating siblings, ungrateful lovers, rude bosses, callous youngsters, indifferent friends are all a reflection of their own inadequacies. A happy, balanced person will treat you well because that’s how a happy, balanced person is treated.
Today know most of your problems are not your problems but others people’s problems. You’re fine, you’re better than fine and you’ll get along fine. The best part of your life is you, the best friend is god and you’ve been burying yourself and god. God will never hurt you, it’s the wrong people you choose who do.
Life is beautiful, you are beautiful, it’s the outside world that is ugly. Just allow god in, then close the door, change the locks and bring the champagne out. I never feel sorry for who or what I’ve lost, I just feel sorry for the things and people who’ve lost me. Because I know the circle of life completes itself for the faithful. You’ll win in the end, but to win in the end, play your life with some more dignity, play it with grace, play it with gratitude and play it with the awesome love of god that is just waiting to be part of your life.
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Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Destiny
It makes me laugh sometimes... Is ' Destiny' for real... is Life ruled by RULES ???
I love to discuss about the inevitable! love to think about it, love to debate about it. I sometimes wonder if everything is 'meant to be'.
There are more questions than answers here ... Just pondering... thinking again... wondering... if someone somewhere knows whats going to happen next! Next is a big word, Next is also a mystery for most of us!
On one side, there are all these rules that exist, systems of nature ... there are days and nights, there is logic to existence - we need food to survive, we need to love and be loved, we need to take a dump (well its a reality), Things that are a part of these set of rules that are a necessity to our existence...
On the other side... well there is this Chaos... organised chaos where in Destiny is just a way of blaming our wrongs and hoping for rights to come soon.
But again... we never know ... Life is amazing, it leaves me in sheer appreciation of the Force... Some call it 'God'!
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I love to discuss about the inevitable! love to think about it, love to debate about it. I sometimes wonder if everything is 'meant to be'.
There are more questions than answers here ... Just pondering... thinking again... wondering... if someone somewhere knows whats going to happen next! Next is a big word, Next is also a mystery for most of us!
On one side, there are all these rules that exist, systems of nature ... there are days and nights, there is logic to existence - we need food to survive, we need to love and be loved, we need to take a dump (well its a reality), Things that are a part of these set of rules that are a necessity to our existence...
On the other side... well there is this Chaos... organised chaos where in Destiny is just a way of blaming our wrongs and hoping for rights to come soon.
But again... we never know ... Life is amazing, it leaves me in sheer appreciation of the Force... Some call it 'God'!
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India on Sale!!!
There is just such an influx of fashion in our country. And do not misunderstand fashion as only fashion in its true sense but instead lifestyle, as everything that you do wear, eat, dress, sleep, feel has to be coated with fashion or rather has to have fashion connotations. Tell me if it doesn’t?
India seats itself on the hot seat for everything now. The country that’s basks in the sunlight of brand attention be it in fashion, technology, service. India is the place to be. Everybody seems to find their niche among the 1.2 bn population that this country has to offer.
We see the latest auto cars which may be affordable by a handful of Indians make its presence felt in the country. Last 2 years we’ve seen the Rolls Royce, Porsche all pumping enough money to ensure they capitalize on the Indian boom.
We have magazines from the Condenast group trying to offer luxury reading to a select few who probably can read it but can’t understand it. I mean I read these magazines but in the most complicated formats and with pages galore that there is an information overdose.
The information is irrelevant and indigestible. First it was the great Vogue… synonymous with the bible of fashion and now it’s the GQ which is the ultimate luxury lifestyle magazine for men. It’s great but complicated. It can take you days to read through it. A great title to have either on your desk or your coffee table.
I understand the context of it being niche and luxury but the relevance to the Indian consumer is my question. There is just so much of it for the consumer to even fathom. Where are we even concerned of customizing anything for him? Be it in any genre of lifestyle.
The information that he receives is not customized, the product he receives does not appeal to him in totality either. The brands just believe that the consumer is a genius and will understand and comprehend all the information that brands have to offer. Do you think any human can sieve through 200 pages of fashion. Not me for sure. It’s impossible for any magazine to hold on a consumers attention for more than an hour and even more difficult for you to expect him to pick it up again after he’s gone through it once. I mean try and think hard when was the last time you went through a magazine for more than an hour and any content that induced you to pick it up again, please exclude the business & current affairs magazine. There is information loss due to lack of simplicity.
In the attempt to maintain the international appeal do not forget that the offering is irrelevant to him. Cool summer cardigans do not work in tropical Indian weathers, wearing dull pastel shades in the festive season never does work in this country where bright colours form a backdrop to everything in life. Black will never attain status of being an auspicious colour or Indian women will not suddenly grow tall to wear long flowy Gucci gowns.
Unlike in most countries where one city maybe a representative of the entire country, India is different & diverse and one needs to respect it. Bombay & Delhi are not representative of India.
I think what most brands forget to offer is simplicity. If they really understood India and its potential everything that the brands did would not be so superfluous.
There is such a small population that the brands believe that they need to address that they often leave out a huge potential. Actually the potential that you came chasing. The potential that you showcased in your presentations that helped your management decide that India is now ready as a market for my brand.
Simplify everything for your consumer, its not like he doesn’t understand it but he is so worn off time that he needs you to do it for him. Never under estimate the potential or over estimate your consumer.
India does have tremendous consumption capacity only if you have the right offering.
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India seats itself on the hot seat for everything now. The country that’s basks in the sunlight of brand attention be it in fashion, technology, service. India is the place to be. Everybody seems to find their niche among the 1.2 bn population that this country has to offer.
We see the latest auto cars which may be affordable by a handful of Indians make its presence felt in the country. Last 2 years we’ve seen the Rolls Royce, Porsche all pumping enough money to ensure they capitalize on the Indian boom.
We have magazines from the Condenast group trying to offer luxury reading to a select few who probably can read it but can’t understand it. I mean I read these magazines but in the most complicated formats and with pages galore that there is an information overdose.
The information is irrelevant and indigestible. First it was the great Vogue… synonymous with the bible of fashion and now it’s the GQ which is the ultimate luxury lifestyle magazine for men. It’s great but complicated. It can take you days to read through it. A great title to have either on your desk or your coffee table.
I understand the context of it being niche and luxury but the relevance to the Indian consumer is my question. There is just so much of it for the consumer to even fathom. Where are we even concerned of customizing anything for him? Be it in any genre of lifestyle.
The information that he receives is not customized, the product he receives does not appeal to him in totality either. The brands just believe that the consumer is a genius and will understand and comprehend all the information that brands have to offer. Do you think any human can sieve through 200 pages of fashion. Not me for sure. It’s impossible for any magazine to hold on a consumers attention for more than an hour and even more difficult for you to expect him to pick it up again after he’s gone through it once. I mean try and think hard when was the last time you went through a magazine for more than an hour and any content that induced you to pick it up again, please exclude the business & current affairs magazine. There is information loss due to lack of simplicity.
In the attempt to maintain the international appeal do not forget that the offering is irrelevant to him. Cool summer cardigans do not work in tropical Indian weathers, wearing dull pastel shades in the festive season never does work in this country where bright colours form a backdrop to everything in life. Black will never attain status of being an auspicious colour or Indian women will not suddenly grow tall to wear long flowy Gucci gowns.
Unlike in most countries where one city maybe a representative of the entire country, India is different & diverse and one needs to respect it. Bombay & Delhi are not representative of India.
I think what most brands forget to offer is simplicity. If they really understood India and its potential everything that the brands did would not be so superfluous.
There is such a small population that the brands believe that they need to address that they often leave out a huge potential. Actually the potential that you came chasing. The potential that you showcased in your presentations that helped your management decide that India is now ready as a market for my brand.
Simplify everything for your consumer, its not like he doesn’t understand it but he is so worn off time that he needs you to do it for him. Never under estimate the potential or over estimate your consumer.
India does have tremendous consumption capacity only if you have the right offering.
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Sunday, September 28, 2008
The transcending lord
Someone once told me that in India there are 5 things that can never fail to connect with Indians, religion, bollywood, cricket, politics & humour. But one of these is something that transcends itself even beyond India and that is Ganesha. I have never ever seen any god have so much pull.
He finds his abode not only at the biggest and richest of pandals but also in little huts, to palatial homes of celebrities & industrialists. It doesn’t matter if you are a gujarati, maharashtrian, Punjabi or Sindhi. Then the communalism between Hindus and Muslims appears to cease.
I think its a great idol that has been converted into a great product by people which is marketed in whatever form to generate a lot of revenue.
He hasn’t restricted his presence only to the temples but also to cute idols which one wants to keep with him all the time. In his new car, new home, with a new life partner, while traveling. He is suddenly a mascot of great and cute gifts. He has made his space at all the gift shops from Archies, Satyams, Hallmark or any popular gift store. He transcends across mediums like music,art, television soaps, festivals, occassions.
It’s the faith that he has ignited of being a true vighna harta that we believe in. It’s just his presence alone that will destroy the evil. It’s the faith with which people walk to him after all their problems are accomplished, it’s the faith that makes people of Mumbai walk to Sidhivinayak on every Tuesday no matter where they live.
When is it that this little cute lord made himself so popular.
Is it faith or cult? I wonder!
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He finds his abode not only at the biggest and richest of pandals but also in little huts, to palatial homes of celebrities & industrialists. It doesn’t matter if you are a gujarati, maharashtrian, Punjabi or Sindhi. Then the communalism between Hindus and Muslims appears to cease.
I think its a great idol that has been converted into a great product by people which is marketed in whatever form to generate a lot of revenue.
He hasn’t restricted his presence only to the temples but also to cute idols which one wants to keep with him all the time. In his new car, new home, with a new life partner, while traveling. He is suddenly a mascot of great and cute gifts. He has made his space at all the gift shops from Archies, Satyams, Hallmark or any popular gift store. He transcends across mediums like music,art, television soaps, festivals, occassions.
It’s the faith that he has ignited of being a true vighna harta that we believe in. It’s just his presence alone that will destroy the evil. It’s the faith with which people walk to him after all their problems are accomplished, it’s the faith that makes people of Mumbai walk to Sidhivinayak on every Tuesday no matter where they live.
When is it that this little cute lord made himself so popular.
Is it faith or cult? I wonder!
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Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Global brands in globalization of emerging economies
India is the hot focus of many brands. Last year we had so many brands come in, in all genres of life like food, lifestyle, services, etc. Each year we keep on adding to the brands and the hungama that happens around it.
All international brands claim that they translate the best consumer experience for you from across the globe. But the truth is that brands still haven't been able to do it.
Do Indian brands service better? I remember when Hyundai first entered India while everybody loved the car, the service and availability of spare parts was still an issue to ponder. Maruti beat all the other players on account of best service and its accessibility & availability in the remotest areas in the country.
I am not here to generalize or make statements but the fact is that most of my experiences with global brands have made me believe and translate my beliefs into words. A recent experience that shook me and only strengthened my belief was Mac. Donald's. Promises smiles, fun a great family experience moving away from the platform of great yummy food as that has become a hygiene factor for them. Everybody probably knows what Mac food tastes like. But my smiles at Mac soon vanished when I found a living worm in my burger. I complained at the outlet, wrote to their customer service email address, but nobody heard me or even bothered to write back.
I was so disappointed that it just completely shook me and I narrated my experience to atleast 10 other friends. What amazed me was obviously the hygiene level that a chain of this magnitude operates at and secondly that they didn't even have the audacity to write back. Do they believe that Indians who want a burger for 20 Rs have no right to demand for quality products?
There are a lot of other brands that haven't particularly impressed me in their customer service one of them is the world's favourite Mac. A Mac customer is so passionate that he anyways knows his product and brand well but the store staff can still be atleast a little bit useful instead of being arrogant and having minimal product knowledge. All the customer expects him to do is share his passion
I’m sure all of us can think of lots of instances when we felt that global brands service standards vary from city to city, country to country and continent to continent. I would like to leave you with a question:
Is it because it's India that it doesn't matter?
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All international brands claim that they translate the best consumer experience for you from across the globe. But the truth is that brands still haven't been able to do it.
Do Indian brands service better? I remember when Hyundai first entered India while everybody loved the car, the service and availability of spare parts was still an issue to ponder. Maruti beat all the other players on account of best service and its accessibility & availability in the remotest areas in the country.
I am not here to generalize or make statements but the fact is that most of my experiences with global brands have made me believe and translate my beliefs into words. A recent experience that shook me and only strengthened my belief was Mac. Donald's. Promises smiles, fun a great family experience moving away from the platform of great yummy food as that has become a hygiene factor for them. Everybody probably knows what Mac food tastes like. But my smiles at Mac soon vanished when I found a living worm in my burger. I complained at the outlet, wrote to their customer service email address, but nobody heard me or even bothered to write back.
I was so disappointed that it just completely shook me and I narrated my experience to atleast 10 other friends. What amazed me was obviously the hygiene level that a chain of this magnitude operates at and secondly that they didn't even have the audacity to write back. Do they believe that Indians who want a burger for 20 Rs have no right to demand for quality products?
There are a lot of other brands that haven't particularly impressed me in their customer service one of them is the world's favourite Mac. A Mac customer is so passionate that he anyways knows his product and brand well but the store staff can still be atleast a little bit useful instead of being arrogant and having minimal product knowledge. All the customer expects him to do is share his passion
I’m sure all of us can think of lots of instances when we felt that global brands service standards vary from city to city, country to country and continent to continent. I would like to leave you with a question:
Is it because it's India that it doesn't matter?
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Saturday, August 9, 2008
Mirror mirror on the wall
All that is beautiful is white. It’s not an Indian syndrome alone, so don’t view it like that. It’s not the belief of the past, the roots are strongly embedded that it has its relevance even today.
It’s not restricted to women alone it transcends to men as well. The first black president Barack Obama vs. former white first lady Hilary Clinton. Why did Michael Jackson change his colour then? Why from the black to a white.
It’s not restricted to humans alone it extends to animals as well. The white cat is the cute purr pussy while the black is evil & witchy. The white brown dog finds his place in your lap while the dark black dog at the gate. The grey pigeon is a victim of abundance while the white one is a sight to spot.
To think of it as a matter of past would be closing your eyes to it. Fair has its roots in the Hindu mythology with all the goddesses and lead protagonist all fair & lovely. Be it Radha, Sita, Parvati, Durga, Saraswati or the most worshipped Laxmi. Their imagery in our mind and the pictures and idols we grew up worshipping were all fair & pink.
Kali is probably the only goddess that i can think of who is dark but also is someone whom we are scared of. Why are we scared of her is because she is dark & kills the evil.
Simple things like a day & night, why are we always so scared of the dark. Why do the ghosts & evil spirits come out only in the dark?
The formative years of our life, our childhood, we grew up reading fairy tales of Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast. Fairy tales children’s best imagination was painted with fair is beautiful, black or dark is evil.
Barbie the biggest filament of male imagination and the first girl friend you want is fair, tall and beautiful.
As we grow up and get to know some more the comics that we read beginning from Archie, Veronica was always fair and sexy. Veronica was always the girlfriend and Betty always the friend. Fair always gets you to be the first fiddle.
Do you remember reading any Mills & Boons without the FPB syndrome? Were any of the men’s fantasies sans this syndrome? For those of you wondering what FPB is, it’s Fair, Petite and Beautiful
Venus Williams may be the better tennis player but Anna kournikova & Maria Sherapaova are still the pin up girls.
Films the biggest and truest reflection of our society is so true to this. Halle Berry is the ‘sexy siren’ while Julia Roberts is a fine beautiful actress. Hema Malini was ‘dream girl’ while Smitha Patil was a talented actress, she was never attributed to being beautiful.
Why is it that the fair girl gets to play the leading lady and the dark one only a supporting actress?
There are so many qualities & feelings associated with being fair:
“Colours come alive on the fair”
“Only if you are fair can you wear red”
“Being fair gives me the unfair advantage”
“Gives me the natural confidence to achieve”
“Beta kaisa bhi ho bahu to gori chitti hi chahiye”
“Fair is always right”
“Fair always attracts male admiration” – My Fair Lady
“Fairness opens a world of possibilities”
“Fairness is an attribute I can pass on to the next generation”
“The colour of your skin decides the colour of your clothes”
“Fairness the magnet of envy”
“If I had a wish I want to be fair”
It’s such a desirable attribute that it runs across strata’s of society “from the maid to the memsaab.”
While fair is still a boon the dark will catch up.
These insights are what beauty companies thrive on; there are activists who blame them for creating this discrimination. I would rather say they have just showcased an existing menace in a positive light; the bigger issue is which the society needs to address.
These are only a few instances, I’m sure when we walk through life everyday there must be so many more instances that reminisce us either of times where we felt good being fair or wish we were fair. It will also remind you that it’s not only the step mother in snow white who asks the mirror on the wall, “Mirror mirror on the wall who is the fairest of us all?”
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