Stereotype Theory

Put yourselves in my position: When guys my age are spending hundreds, going to fancy salons to get the hip hairdo, I am going to Dr. Batra's clinic, spending thousands to retain whatever is left on my head! The governing Indian societal stereotype theory "a guy must not loose his crown before marriage". You know what...I love the girls of today, they are so easy going and progressive. There is no dearth of verbal assurance and it goes somewhat like this --> "Vinna don't worry...we care more about what is inside the head than what is covering it on the outside. Even otherwise, the bald look lends you maturity, which you probably don't have otherwise". Aha! the joke is on me, this way or that way.

Somewhere in between job enrichment sneaked in....Meet the Doctor who is treating me at Dr. Batra's. Perhaps she has seen so many middle aged men sit in front of her and sulk over the lost 'crown' that she has become more of a psychiatrist than a hair fall expert that she was not too long ago. She is like "Mr. Aiyer, you must understand, there are seven stages of balding and you are in stage five". I jumped from my seat and said "wow, I am almost there!". Gods must be crazy....as we age, hair grows from almost everywhere else except for its right full place. Don't blame the men, the society puts so much pressure on them and all of us to look young all the time. The pot belly, receding hairline...sigh the list is long.

As for girls, go to any of the PVRs, South Ex., GK-I/II etc. It looks as though the city is under attack, everyone looks the same...dare if I may ask, do you all come in an assembly line from a make up/sunglasses factory?

Psst...I have started working out again.

Dream On

Some months ago I watched this video on you tube titled "Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". I was spellbound...I am ready to die tomorrow if I can deliver a speech like this. Got to thank a truly awesome guy who pointed me to this. Will not reveal his real name here...let me just call out one of his aliases and say thank you "Bruce Willis". Moved, inspired...I copied Randy Pausch's idea and I drew a list of significant things that I have done or I have always dreamt of. On the list there are 36 things. Some are my childhood dreams, some teenage dreams and there are more that I am picking up as I go on with my life. One of them was going to Bhutan. Yes, it is the 9th item on the list and I have put a tick mark against it. Dream scoreline 9 out of 36.

Being a city bum, I am blessed with the energy that only a city can give. This energy is so powerful that I dreamt of Bhutan and back within Rs. 10,000 and I smashed this target by a mile. Travelling 'low cost' was the mantra. I am going to be writing more about the Bhutan trip...and I intend to break it down into small pieces. First piece is about eighty plus hours that I spent on the train from Delhi to Siliguri and back. Travel through Bihar and Uttar Pradesh took lion's share of the hours.

"If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India!" - Romain Rolland

Talking about dreams...let's go back about hundred years and imagine what a freedom fighter in India would have dreamt. When I say freedom fighters, I am not talking about stalwarts like Bhagat Singh, Bose or Gandhi...I am talking about yesteryear's equivalent of me and you. They probably dreamt of an India which is independent, prosperous, has a functional democracy (big words these), where people are educated, there is no poverty and there is respect for everything an independent country has to offer to its citizens. Of course, this is just me imagining and no way exhaustive. When I travel in sleeper class through U.P and Bihar and I feel the heartbeat of India, with authority I can write, freedom fighters have turned in their graves and their dreams are shattered. Indians - we just don't care. Absolute contempt for anything and everything around us. Train is over twelve hours late, ticket less travel is rampant, those who have got the tickets are reduced to idiots by the goons who push their way in and the filth - do I even need to get started about it?

This is particularly heartbreaking for me as I really believe in the stuff world media is churning out which predicts - India's hour has come on the world stage. No matter which way I look at it, our population is the biggest problem and the population pressure on our resources is so severe that over the years we have become billion plus people chasing too few resources. We need at least twenty-twenty five years of negative growth rate in our population backed with educating the illiterate masses. Growth rate of population can't be controlled unless you and I (and million others) decide and execute on some drastic steps. It could be as drastic as deciding to stay single and not get married at all. The socio-cultural stereotype in India dictates, 'kids' as a natural outcome of marriage. But you have the power to make a choice...how about adopting a kid from an orphanage than having a kid of your own? If you can't do this, please do not feel guilty in pressing the 'escape' button and emigrate to a country which has declining population and need young population to form a part of their workforce.

I am stating the obvious, we really have an emergency situation as far as our population is concerned and if we keep going at the rate we are going, very soon we will have civil unrest as fruits of 7-8% GDP growth is unevenly distributed. Don't believe me? Open your eyes and look around...there are plenty of silent indicators to this. Needless to say, I have plenty of doubts whether we will be able to create jobs at the speed of our population growth rate.

Anyone who has spent their precious time reading this post....I want to say, this really is not just another post. And it definitely is not an idle Sunday rant. It is much more than that. Only I know, how badly I want to see my country as a developed country before my time is up. Oh yes, we can dream together....or let's just say, 36th item on Vinayakan's dream list : India - A developed country. This is one dream, I know, I can't achieve alone.

Bollywood-'isms'

Damn...can't get my head around this quintessential bollywood monologue. "Main tumhare bacche ki maan ban ne waali hoon". It is not 'hamarey' (our), it is 'tumhare' (your) and this word is the the bone of contention. It is a monologue as it renders the guy speechless killing all possibilities of a dialogue. It is sort of an ultimate weapon in a girl's arsenal...there is no come back line. Here is my attempt to stand up for the mankind. I believe both the parties had the fun...then why is the blame shifted on to the guy here completely?

Girl speak : "Main tumaharey bacche ki maan ban ne waali hoon"

Guy speak : "Nahin, Main tumharey bacche ka baap ban ne waala hoon"

Give me break...whose baccha is it anyway? Let the kid have a say in it.

Kid speak : "You guys have all the fun and now I am not able to decide whether aap mere maan/baap ban ne waale ho ki nahin"?

:-)

Phone Bill, IQ & the 'S' Word

First up, it's not about Sex. Definitely not.

Intelligence, mobile phone bill & sperm quality - they all are interrelated.

I read this "Intelligent men have best sperms". Taking it a step further, the researcher says "All things held equal, good sperm and good brains go together". In line with this, I have put forward a new theory, which is applicable only to my age group (+/- 5 years), it is a little offensive so please please ignore it: "Lower the IQ higher the phone bill". Higher mobile phone bill affects your brain as well as your sperm quality. Last I checked around 3 years ago, I had an IQ of 126. Not sure which direction it has gone now as I started using a mobile phone about 2 years ago but I have managed to keep the bill low.

In between I compartmentalized and I took time out to lust about Nandita Das and Sarah Palin. What an achievement....Guys and girls please give me feedback on my taste.

Question of the decade for all the movie buffs: What is Sholay's saddest scene? Did you say "Basanti in paagal kutthon ke samne math nachna" : NO.
Or Thankur's entire family getting killed : NO.
The answer : "Thakur ki shaadi nahin hui thi aur gabbar ne uske dono haath bhi kaat diye". Wicked, isn't it?

And how can I forget Kareena Kapoor after her success with Jab we met. Good movie! What really surprises me is, I know at least 5 girls who believe the character played by Kareena is within them but not 1 guy who relates to Shahid Kapoor....no one even wants to be him. Hats off to the script writer.

This is for all the girls. A wise man said "when you are dating, don't get swayed by what a guy says to you, just look for the things he does, and that will tell you volumes about whether the guy truly loves you or not".

Last but not the least, 'thank you' Anonymous for egging me on. I have not stopped writing nor was it a case of 'writer's block'. It was just a question of publishing the stuff that I had written. May be you can call it "publishing block".

Sundry Happenings

The importance of being Vinayakan...is there one? I have not got so much importance in my life like I got on this birthday. At around noon, I even remarked to the girl whom I was on a blind date with once. I was like "it's unbelievable, how many have cared to remember that today is my b'day". She was nonchalant yet didn't spare the chance to enlarge my ego and replied "Vinayakan, you are popular"..Ha!

Online messages (Face book, Orkut & e-mails) : 27. Oh man! Technology is improving our recall ability.
Offline messages : 15+
In person : Could not keep count, pretty much all of my colleagues. What a loser, why should I go to work on my B'day? The good wishes and lots of if compensates.
In person (out on a date) : 1.

E-card : 1.
Total = 50+.

80% of them were from the fairer sex. I repeat I have never got so much importance. From my end...I have tried my best to send a personalised acknowledgement message to everyone.

Then I take my mom to Vasant Kunj to visit our family doctor. Two kids on the bicycle could not hold back their curiosity and they ask "Are you a cricketer?", How long is the pitch? Have you met Sachin? What is your name and more...

Yes, I loved all the attention I got. All of you made me feel special and I really mean it.

The difficulty of literature is not to write, but to write what you mean - R.L. Stevenson

~Mind Smoke~

Yes, I mind if you smoke. I am a selfish guy, I love my well being and I am not particularly fond of passive smoking. I am not going to tell you to stop smoking, because a smoker's mind is so clouded by nicotine that has gone into the system that it impairs the mind from heeding sane advise. Added to that, I am yet to come across a smoker who is sensitive to the non-smokers around.

When I have to just move away from my desk to take my eyes off the screen, I look for someone to give me company. And when I look around, I see smokers. Then it is trade-off time. Eyes or lungs? If it is a bad day for my eyes, I stay put at the desk otherwise a small portion of my lung(s) is sacrificed to rest my eyes.

Every smoker picks up the butt by seeing someone else in action. These days, I see plenty pick up cigarettes once they start working....I feel sad and somewhat disappointed because usually a person is past 20 years of age when going to the workplace for the first time. And at that age, you are easily past 'young impressionable age' category. Is it peer pressure? Probably. Peer pressure can make people do some really shocking things..why..even I picked up blogging to tell one of my journalist friend that "you don't really need to go to the journalism school to take up writing". She writes far better than I do and the fact that my blogging has evolved into an idle Sunday afternoon hobby are separate discussion points.

Post is under construction. This cartoon was on 'The Economic Times' sometime ago.

A for Ass, A for Analyst!

I am going to explain a scene in a blue chip company.

CEO of a company has just lead his company to year over year double digit growth in an extremely tough economic situation. Board of Directors tell him to recognize all the key employees at a gala event where all the important members from investor community will be present. At the venue, big boys from marketing, supply chain, sales, service delivery are there and there is basically a procession of suited and booted smart business people.

Suddenly to the CEO's surprise, a bunch of badly dressed, unruly bunch makes an entry. Sensing trouble, he goes to the company's major shareholder and says "I have no idea where this bunch has turned up from, I will ensure they are out before anyone notices". To which the shareholder remarks, "I know who they are and I have intentionally left them that way. They are the analysts and you have no idea the amount of damage they can do on the balance sheet. So let them be, they like being the uninvited guest and gate-crashing is their hobby. Keep in mind that serves our interest as it will keep our slate out of trouble!"

------------

My take:

Analyst - they have this really odd form of intelligence - typically make very boring company and they really can't pass of as party animals. I used to be charmer but not anymore, it seems I have lost my edge and that is particularly pronounced over the last couple of years..since I turned an analyst. 'Turned' sounds like the key word here.

Last time I was out on a date with a girl (very pretty), she was talking about sale at Sisley and I was thinking about what is Boeing going to do, now that it has run into delays with delivering its 787 dreamliners on time to airline companies that had banked their future expansion plans on it!

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Updated on April 27, 2008.

After fielding plenty of brickbats from the analyst community, I have decided to add this update. I mean no harm, I have no affiliations and I don't intend to please anyone directly or indirectly through my blog. I am an ordinary 'information hound' and I like commenting from the sidelines by being completely neutral. Do whatever, the title of this blog ain't changing. And yes, I want to shout it out to the world - "I love my job". That said, I feel compelled to come out with something which will resonate with my clan. So here it goes..

"Behind every successful balance sheet (not necessarily a popular balance sheet), there is an extremely capable analyst"

- Vinayakan Aiyer

Plunder, Down Under!

See below..under normal circumstances I will not give these faces any space on my blog. But when they are wearing a defeated look, it just gives me such a compelling reason.

An epidemic that was spreading fast in Oz cricket team. Worst case of foot-in-mouth disease. Indian team has cured the epidemic and how! Foundation stone of this cure (read victory) was laid by Anil Kumble in Sydney after the second test. He chose his words carefully, was dignified and still conveyed what he wanted to.

Everyone who has played cricket in India has played gully cricket at some point in time. I can tell all the people this much...when we guys played cricket, we exhibited the highest possible spirit, much higher than what the best international team put on display at Sydney. For example, we would never claim a catch that was not clean enough.

To my mind what happened in Sydney was not cricket, it was organised crime in its purest form. If there is something called 'sports terrorism' then the 2nd test at SCG was a perfect testimony to that. As for Symonds, I feel for the monkey! It took me sometime to come out with this...simply because I was thinking all this while, did Harbajhan call Symonds a 'Monkey' or called Monkey a 'Symonds'. I am still thinking, please help :-)

Lets recall some soundbites given out by Aussies in the recent series (before & during the series)

Oz media - Indians will be walloped 4-0 in the test series; CB series would be a cakewalk...

Michael Clarke - It is always important to beat India.

Hayden - Invitation to boxing bouts, obnoxious little weed, number of matches Indians are losing and the like.

Collectively Oz team has used words like integrity, commitment, gamesmanship, mateship so frequently and so loosely that by now these words do not have a meaning.

Take a look at the victims we have claimed

Shaun Tait : He was going to give us chin music, wasn't he? And the Perth test was going to be wrapped up within 3 days....Where is he now? Last I heard, he has taken some sort of temporary retirement from cricket!

Adam Gilchrist : He decides to 'walk' from international cricket after flooring a sitter from VVS Laxman's blade.

Brad Hogg : Poor thing, got his timing wrong. Couldn't even make it to the playing eleven on his final one-dayer.

Ricky Ponting : He is reduced to a pale shadow of his former self. I still regard him very highly as far as his skill with the bat is concerned. After this series, it is quite evident that he has a character flaw. The kind of flaw, which will never let you trust him and the kind of person from whom you do not want to buy a second hand car. He played some awful shots all along the series. If his poor run with the bat continues, he is just one series away from losing his captaincy. And if he looses his captaincy, I do not think his big bloated ego will let him play as an ordinary player in the side.

It is an open secret that Aussies always used off-field tactics, mental degeneration and on field abuses to be world beaters. Along came a team which stuck these to them on their rear so bad that it hurt. I can't help but recall this exchange of verbal volleys between Ramnaresh Sarwan (West Indies) & Glenn McGrath (Australia) in a Test match. After Lara's dismissal to McGrath, Sarwan came in and he was taking guard.

McGrath : How does Lara's dick taste?

Sarwan : Ask your wife!

At that point McGrath's yelled a lot of unmentionables to Sarwan. Umpires had to intervene to sort it out.The point is, treat the world the way you want to be treated yourself.

Chanderpaul once said "If 50-60% of debatable decision go the other way in any Test series in Australia, Australia will not be the same invincible team it looks like. And this is exactly what has stopped us from taking the test series 2-1.

While deciding the title of this post...I was spoilt for choice. I thought about "Winds of Change - its blowin' then I switched to "Higher you are the farther you fall" and then "Victor and the Vanquished"

Last but not the least, how can I forget Robert Ogilvie, wondering who this guy is? The Brisbane streaker who ran in and Symonds did the rest. When asked "do you regret, what you did"? His answer just takes the cake and candies "No, you live only once, don't you?"

Choice is Yours

I can't see people in pain even if it is out of their own making. Ha ha... do I sound like Father Teresa?

Often we all run into people who just complain. Complaints about relationships, complaints about jobs/careers/colleagues, complaints about power cuts, potholes, corruption. When face-to-face with these complaints, I am helpless and I really have not succeeded in doing much other than being a patient listener/friend. These complaints, to my mind stems from some sort of dissatisfaction. Will we ever realise, we have the power to change, we have the power to choose and turn things around big and small?

The most common complaint I hear is about an 'inefficient system' because of politicians. A wise man once said "A government is nothing but a mass reflection of the people it represents". I am surprised how such an off-the-cuff remark can can be so true! There are so many people I know who just complain about the government and don't ever go out and cast their vote. I was hardest hit when one of them turns out to be my best friend. His refrain being, "I pay taxes so I have every right to complain, whether I vote or not is irrelevant". I am so sure he is one of the many millions out there who say the same thing. It is like saying "I will have sex and produce kids but their upbringing is not my responsibility". I am definitely not trying to equate sex with paying taxes but I am just making up an extreme example. Friends - this one goes out for you all > imagine, if your parents said this to you when you were born...

Point being, you don't have the moral authority to complain about the 'system' if you don't vote. To set right the 'inefficiency in the system' you have to contribute and the contribution is your vote. When it comes to voting, I have been voting for only one party. Over here, my thoughts do not have any tilt to any political party. I am just requesting all of you to go ahead exercise your most basic choice in a democratic country. And that choice is to vote. It is important because your 'choice' decides whether India is a functional or a dysfunctional democracy.

REALISE ---> It takes two to Tango. Pay your taxes and cast your vote. Voting is important because it determines how effectively your tax money will be spent. At the risk of over simplifying, the tax you pay is your hard earned money. You obviously don't want your hard work to go to waste.

Below are some common lines I hear from my 'educated-yet-will-remain-illiterate' friends and acquaintances. Goes without saying, I am not the one to keep quiet after hearing it.

* "I don't vote because there is no one worth voting" -- [I say] This so reeks of lack of willingness to take responsibility of the situation. Isn't it?

* "My single vote is not going to make any difference" -- [I say] "Little drops of water makes the mighty ocean" anyone?

* Corollary of the above "India will not become USA or a developed country by just me voting" -- [I say] USA is USA and developed countries are developed because at some level they have more people who don't think like you. They have more 'do-ers' than 'talkers'.

Call me names, accuse me of having a loudmouth. I openly challenge anyone who can convince me why voting is a bad idea and why one should not vote.

Sun is Sun, Earth is Earth and India is India, but my dying wish - We must not be a country full of people who keep moaning and do nothing.

"Ask not what your country can do for you

ask what you can do for your country"

-JFK

Rolled Over By

As the holiday season rolls by every year, I am sure most of us are bombarded by Happy Diwali, Merry X'mas & Happy New Year et cetera messages (particularly SMSs). I have been waiting since 31st December morning hoping against hope that someone out of the 150 odd people I have in my phone book will send me a personalised message. Nobody did. I concede, sending one general message is the easy thing to do and typing a personalised message can be extremely tedious for everyone. I can't help but get the feeling that we all are becoming increasingly impersonal and technology just compounds the whole thing. That said, all the messages wish me good health, success & happiness. I am surprised to learn that there are so many well wishers for me out there for me.

My New Year Resolution : Spread happiness, love & never type *one* message and send it to all the people in the phone book.

Just Personalise IT.

Stung My...

I consider myself an extremely warm person, but when you go to a compact place like Shillong where everybody knows everybody and you are never a nobody, I realised how cold I have become. Visit to Shillong was my first to north eastern part of India and the agenda was to sink in the culture and lives of people tucked in a corner of our country and experience the mountain's clean air (there isn't any inside the city).

Catching SCORPIONS live on Dec 12, drove the whole agenda. What a show. Klaus Meine still stings and stings hard with his high octave vocals at a ripe young age of 60. A banner read "SCORPIONS : Sting Our Ass". Very creative! Sting they did - and how? I have always respected Germany for their precision tools, automobiles & Scorpions. Post my visit to Shillong I have started liking all musical expressions from Germany. I just can't get enough of Rammstein's brand of industrial rock. Rock bands perform, Rammstein just burns. And their vocalist, he does not sing, I call it some kind of 'subsonic booming growl'. And yes if there is anything called the 'ideal' language for rock music, it has got to be German.

Going back to being *warmth* bit, I guess it is possible only in small cities. If I start spreading warmth here, I have serious doubts whether I will succeed in doing it for a long time to make an impact. Further, do people have time to appreciate it? Everybody is busy chasing something. Some chase money, some chase power, some chase happiness, some chase anything that moves on two legs and some don't have to chase anything as they are born with a silver spoon right up their rear and they are busy enjoying it.

In a nutshell..listen to good music, travel whenever one gets an opportunity and enjoy life. Winter chill is here and please don't tax your brain with warm thoughts.

Misdirected

Customer is always right : That is probably the only thing I learnt in my hotel school. It spills over and it holds true for all businesses.

Lets take this case: A customer wants to buy an aircraft but goes to a sanitary ware shop. Going by the rule of "customer is always right", can the sanitary ware shop owner do anything about getting the customer an aircraft? What if the shopkeeper directs the customer to the appropriate location than wasting each others time by sticking to "customer is always right" philosophy.

Help is just a blog away.

Aging Gracefully?

"Taut, Toned and Non-Botoxed" - I read this as a headline somewhere for a news item. I meet my friends after a gap of 2,3 or 4 years...they say "Oh you have a receding hairline!" I wonder whether it is for real or its just a conversation starter. Anyway, my nonchalant attitude towards it helps me to sidestep it completely.

Flashback

About five summers ago, I was walking along a neighbourhood park, the ball with which kids were playing was out of the playing area as a result of a budding Sachin Tendulkar hitting out. Others in the game gave me a shout "bhaiyya, ball dena" (brother, just get the ball back to us). I threw it back in.

Fast forward to today

Same situation, same shot, I threw the ball back in. *Shout* this time was, "uncle, ball dena" (uncle, just get the ball back to us). First I looked around, there was no one but me. Then the new Pepsi commercial that is doing the rounds dawned on me. And I realised, I am aging....gracefully I hope!

While Sun God Looks Over

The debate about global warming rages on. How can the earthlings do the right things so that we do not accelerate this warming? Answer lies within and like always, it is pretty basic.

Real estate companies (particularly DLF) have maximum buildings in the NCR region and because of that they are in a unique position to make the maximum contribution. That said, I have serious doubts whether they have even thought about something like Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), global warming and the like. For sure their buildings don't convey a strong commitment to the cause.

The other day on my way to work, I noticed most buildings in Gurgaon have a glass exterior. Question remains, what are glass buildings doing here which is hot for eight out of twelve months? As far as I know glass building were conceptualised for places which were cold for most part of the year. 'Glass' as a building material was particularly useful for its ability to trap heat inside. For any building, the highest bill is the energy bill and the lion's share is cornered by air-conditioning system. When real estate companies build glass buildings from a vanity standpoint, all they are effectively doing is increasing the power consumption of the building for its lifetime. Aha...beauty is only skin deep. What a blunder in a country which experiences shortage of power everyday.

Think about this : What if, the real estate companies chose to put solar panels on the terrace of all the buildings that they are constructing (minus the glass exterior, of course)? I concede, the cost of setting it up initially would be high but it will pay back within 4-5 years in terms of the saves on the energy bill.

Sun God is looking over us. We just need to learn how to seek his blessings - I am Vinayakan Aiyer and I call for a real estate + corporate suryanamaskar!

Mine Is Bigger Than Yours

Did you measure it...how jobless you could get? Is that what competitive spirit all about? Lets see how a middle class stock like me grows up. Wishlist of parents - get good grades in school > keep yourself active in sports but don't you dare think of making it your career. Go to a good business school > work with a blue chip company > ride on shit load of greenbacks, buy a house and then find a nice girl > settle down. What is the definition of a nice girl here? It so reeks of Indian societal stereotype...I have not done all of the above but some of it > HELL yeah. Did I ever have an option? In doing all or probably even 60% of these, a non-descript guy like me plays the game, gets fairly good at it (or so I belive it to be!) and then brushes everything under the carpet by saying "Oh, how I love competing".

Along came alcohol > some extrenmely beautiful women, wherever you all are > I love you all. We have fought but no problem lets just kiss it away. Work came along, where you say, I created this idea before him. I am faster than him/her. I am the youngest to have done this. I conceptualised it! The only idea of going up is to pull others down.

Along came mobile phones and we started saying for the first time "mine is smaller than yours" (not in so many clear words). Technology development killed this urban mega trend, but the competitive spirit never died. Then came reservations, where for the first time there is a mad race to the bottom - WOW what an idea to build a progressive knowledge economy!

Keep moonlighting, because we want a society mired in "mine is bigger than yours" syndrome.

OK I quit. I am unhappy about something that I am not able to put my finger on.

More on Branding

When I read the above title in one go, it reads like "Moron Branding". That is not how I want it to sound, but my crippled vocabulary can't conjure up anything better. I truly believe in the power of brands, for the uninitiated my understanding of the word 'brand' is not limited to the label I sport or the ones those are brandished on the sidewalk. Brand to me is an *intangible psychological undercurrent* it just lives in people's mind. I am yet to meet someone who knows the 'whys' and the 'hows' of this equation.

When I was 13-14 months old in my career, I was meeting one of my very close friend after a long time. During the conversation my passion for brand brimmed over and I remarked "it is so important to be associated with a positive brand in all walks of life". Corollary of which is, your personal brand should always have a positive ring to it. Considering she was a student of MBA in Brand Management, I expected her to echo my thoughts but I should have known better. BOOM comes the retort "see Vinna, I know you are passionate about certain things but you got to explain". Ha ha.. vivid examples are my forte :

Example #1 : You walk into a store to buy a loaf of bread. On the shelf there is a nameless (read un-branded) loaf and then there is Britannia...which loaf will you pick up? Britannia is the answer.

I ran into a similar situation sometime ago where one of my colleague exhibited a nonchalant attitude towards the word "brand". Now, I had to come out with a really solid example because she has got a really thick skin (Kaziranga Rhino anyone?..).

Example #2 : Your parents are looking to get you married off to a nice guy. Parents always wish good things for their kids...right? After passing all the gruelling tests of their daughter's likes and dislikes, they have two potential matches for their lovely daughter. One works for Microsoft and the other works for 'Notsosoft' making lot of hard money. I asked her, "do you want to take a guess whom your parents would choose?"

Just four alphabets, that is all it takes! Rest assured I can give more extreme examples.

Blog number 50 UP! The regulars - Please leave a note and enlarge this wannabe writer's ego.

Missing the Woods for the Trees?

Hutch bought over by Vodafone > Vodafone engages itself in a high profile nationwide branding excercise. Fair, any business worth its existence should care a lot about its brand, end of the day it is their image! Lot of money spent but the exercise is worth its while.

Call their customer service, visit their website, check them out on mass media, billboards in the city you name it > all re-branded. But, the name of the network/service provider that is being displayed on my phone still reads 'Hutch'. Someone, somewhere in Vodafone has not done his/her homework right.

Find Mr. Fixit..sooner the better especially when you are entering a new market as big as India. I concede we don't live in a perfect world. But then one should stick to the basics and do the basics right.

Opinionated Rules

What I like about rules : *Rules* bring in discipline, *Rules* reinforce a structure, *Rules* are like the guiding light and *Rules* are needed.

What I loathe about rules : Oh man, I am going straight for the jugular. Human beings are far too resourceful and they will find a loophole in any *rule*. We are error prone and we can never write a 100% loophole proof *rule*. Loopholes are important as well, as they form the basis for refinement of the existing *rules*. More than anything, I would just want to see if I can get away with finding loopholes in all the *rules* that I have to follow. The sketch that you see on top right of this page is my attempt at finding a loophole in one of the many *rules* I have to follow.

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I work for this brand conscious company - Freeze moment : 'V' for Vain, 'V' for Vinayakan. This company is just hyper sensitive about its brand value getting tarnished. Something like, if you fart in public - do whatever - we don't care, but don't tell anyone that you work with us! Sorry fellows, I have to make this *rule* up as I can not let out one of your original *rules* because I have to comply with your other set of *rules*. All employees are bound by *rules* to not write the company name, use its logo in any of their personal blogs. What if, one fine day this company decides to let loose all of its passionate employees on cyberspace. Aren't they are off to a flying start, 50,000+ brand ambassadors straight away. If the company isn't sure whether its employees are passionate or not , it is a different story altogether.

In a globalised world (we have just scratched the surface) two things have to move with complete disregard to the boundaries that are created by *rules*. Those are People & Thoughts.

*Rules* are important so are policies but don't be paranoid about the whole damn thing. Ironically, the spanking new state of the art building that I have moved into couple of months ago is not branded yet! So much for managing the brand image on cyberspace with some *rules*.

One Up On Twenty20

Last time India won the World Cup I was 11 months old. Hell yes it has been a long wait, so what if it is in the newest format of the game?

Days of Fifty50 cricket are numbered. Twenty20 is the way to the future and if ICC is looking to globalise the game then they have got their formula right. India has a head start in this format and that makes me feel pretty damn good.

Is MSD a good captain? Is this side fielding like hungry tigers? Perhaps too soon to call.