Teaching the world to sell

I along with a few other friends went on a road trip during the US Labour day weekend from Colorado to Dallas and back. The trip was great with awesome views, thrilling rides and experiences. We clocked a little above 2000 miles in less than 72 hours. Rafting, visit to the caves, the sky coaster ride, all was really thrilling. It send shivers down our spine and we had our moments we would pay a fortune to frame.

The rafting trip was 10 miles in length spread across 3 hours. We had our moments like the one below.



It was impossible for us to capture this moment in a device. We had the rafting company do it for us even before we ordered for it. At the end of a rafting trip all of us are invited to a bar and this clipping was played on a giant screen. This created a buzz at the bar and people started discussing about the rafting experiences.

This kind of an experience triggers any consumers mind. It creates a desire in him to own that video and therefore he's ready to pay the quoted price without much thought. And, that's exactly what we happened, we payed 70 dollars for a CD with 30 snaps from the rafting trip. This happened not just at the rafting site, but at every ride we went on. Is there a lesson for marketers in this American way? This is incredible since you are never engaged in a price war. As a seller you have instilled the desire in the consumers mind which makes your job so easier. On a closer observation this is true to most American brands as well. They have packaged the brands so well that they have made it desirable.
Nike, Coke, McDonalds, Subway, Dominos, Pepsi,

In sharp contrast a photographer who takes your snap at say for eg:-, the Taj Mahal, will haggle over the price and come across as someone desperate to sell. The consumers mind also reacts in the negative most often since the seller is trying to force something on him.

Am I true in my observation that America has taught the world to sell !

Happens only in India !

There are few things that make us uniquely Indian...........here's one of them.

It was heartening to see 25 year old Bindra grab a gold at the Beijing Olympics. It's a great achievement given the country he represents. Yeah the debate I want to open up is, what's India's contribution in his achievement. Does India deserve the laurels he's bringing to the country.

In a country of a billion people or more, we struggle to create sportsmen who can rub shoulders with the world's best. India lacks the set up required to create Olympic heroes who can go for gold. The system is skewed. The sports authority of India is a laggard unit crippled with inefficiency, lack of funds, foresight and infrastructure. The people who run it are even worse. With due respect, Mr Kalmadi who has been warming the seat of the president of the Olympic association deserves to be shown the door for poor performance. Add to it the fact that India does not have a great sporting culture. Unless you become a Sania or a Bindra or a Paes your future is bleak or unsure. As a result most parents discourage their wards from taking up sports as a profession.

Here we have Bindra who was fortunate to have the resources required to take up a sport as expensive as a shooting. All credit to him for the hard work and results he has produced. How many people in this country have this opportunity. The moment Bindra won the gold, the who's who of Indian politics jumped in to grab some eye balls.

As I researched the internet I found this

Punjab - 1 crore - home state hero
Harayana - 25 Lakh - neighboring state hero...Phew
Chandigarh - 5 Lakh - city's sporting hero, state wasnt enough
Karnataka - 10 Lakh - country's hero
Madhya Pradesh - 5 lakh - no clue why they announced.
worst of all...........
Indian railway's, rather our very own Lalu Prasad Yadav - Free AC rail travel for Bindra and a companion for life.

I am still waiting to see what rewards the other states are going to announce.

My senses tell me that a man who could afford a personal shooting range at home, travel to Germany on personal expenses for training will never travel on the Indian railways.Bindra hails from a successful business family and received a 5 star hotel as a gift from his dad.

Now when Bindra tasted success everyone wants to hand out people's hard earned taxes to Bindra as gifts. More like "Chance pe dance" as if they had a role in his success. Most of these jokers occupying prominent posts would have dismissed shooting as a casual sport had Bindra approached them for some funds to train.

I would be glad if the government spent this kind of money in cleaning up the sports establishments in the country and let the corporates handle the successful heroes.Corporates follow eye balls and today it is on Bindra, tomorrow on some one else. This way we'll be able to create more Bindra's in the country. It's time to instill some senses back in the brains of decision makers to create a strong system for sports and sportsmen to thrive. Otherwise it'll probably take another 25 years to grab the next gold at the Olympics.

Also read http://www.rediff.com/sports/2003/sep/04spec.htm

in Telegraph I came across this article where the writer echoes my sentiments !
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080821/jsp/opinion/story_9718064.jsp

Know thyself !

I was inspired to write this after reading an article on rediff ! (yeah I somehow still like rediff ). The link to that article has been provided at the end of the blog.

The moment you meet someone for the first time it's common practice in our country to ask "where are you from"............that's been a tough question for me. I have had to go through this routine.

Stranger/friend: So elli, Bangaloora
me: No, I am from Palghat, Kerala
stranger/new friend : So you are a mallu.
me: No I speak tamil at home and have been in Bangalore for 9 long yrs and so I know Kannada

This has been a routine conversation each time I meet someone at Bangalore.

The fact of the matter is my roots or so called origin is Palghat, Kerala and I belong to this community commonly referred to as Palghat Iyer's, but I have never lived there. I was not even born there.My parents were not even brought up there but I still claim that I belong to Palghat. My grandparents moved out of Palghat in their teens probably. It's getting a little dizzying right now.

I had my schooling at Trivandrum, college at Bangalore and working in Bangalore/Dallas. Yet I speak a language that is not a part of any of the three places. Every region I have lived in has left an impression on me....my lifestyle, food, dress, language etc.

As the article says life has become a nomad of sorts where in constant quest for economic prospects ( job is an economic factor) people (in fact Indians) travel to wherever there's an opportunity waiting. They start living there and modifying their lifestyles to suit that place. They start drawing influences from that region and start undergoing a change. Imagine a person who has lived across 3-4 regions in his life span.

For me to trace my roots has been easy since my parents constantly remind me about the place, the culture. My food habits and customs followed at home are still authentic to Palghat.
The article also makes an interesting mention about the challenges this pose to new generation kids. They have a tough time tracing their roots.

The same question........"where are you from" might be daunting for a kid. For e.g: my niece who is 2 yrs old might have a tough time accepting the fact that she's from Palghat, forget telling others. She does not even remember India forget visiting Palghat. Imagine the challenges that she would have as a kid or my sister would have explaining it to her. My sister tells me that the little one is learning English faster than it's mother tongue !

As more and more Indians make the world a "flat" place and migrate such cases are going to increase. Will smaller communities cease to exist, will unique small cultures, customs fade away ....I don't know just yet, ASK THYSELF !!!!!!!!!

also read : http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/aug/07guest1.htm

Pappu pass ho gaya

Haan........pappu aaj pass ho gaya. I cleared the road test today.....luckily without much trouble at the first attempt. For the same exam back home all it takes is Rs 200. But over here the exam is well organized. The examiners are trained to observe every move of yours. Their feedback left me speechless. I was amazed at their ability to observe every minute aspect.

This is just one of those few steps that contribute to making driving a pleasure in this country. I am looking to hit the road armed with the license to push the car to it's limits....hope cops aren't watching coz a ticket could find it's way home.

Recollections

I turn 25 today and thought it would be interesting to publish this blog where I recollect 25 years of my life. I plan to list down snippets/milestones/interesting incidents from my life. I dedicate this blog to myself. This one's for me to look back, later in life, when my "database" becomes overloaded and it becomes difficult to retrieve all the information.

Early days
July 22nd 1983 - I entered this world as each one of us here did.........crying! All my memories of those infant days are "hear-say" courtesy, mom and grand mom. The "Creator" got tied up in couple of other things that he tweaked my immune system making me prone to the attack of all the germs that existed. My parents tell me that there have been very few months without
doctor visits. That trend continued until the first few years in school.

School
1988 - Parents were thinking about school admission for their "brilliant" ward!!! Brilliant or not the disease prone body was lacking confidence, never felt secure, safe or comfortable except in the company his mom, the late chellam akka (technically house maid but a sister to me) or dad. Out of the blue one of mom's bengali friends in TVM secured the Loyola Kindergarten forms which were sold only for a day in the entire calendar year. My parents never thought I'd make it to Loyola. It was destined that I walked the steps leading to the Kindergarten class room in Loyola holding Varghese uncle's hands(He managed bus route no:4 in the school and took great care of the children. It's a sight to see the way he escorts the kindergarten kids to their class everyday.)

The next few years were really crucial in shaping my character. Loyola helped me break barriers. From an socially awkward kid, I started taking part in all extra curricular activities. The kind of encouragement the teachers at junior school gave me was incredible. I became asst class leader for first time in class 2. Mrs Murl Murray deserves a mention here coz she was the probably the first one to spot that this lad deserved a leadership role. There was no looking back since then and was fortunate to be elected to leadership roles right through school.

In class 4 as I stood on the stage to deliver my speech for selection to the post of Junior school leader my legs shivered, but once I started to rattle the lines that dad took trouble penning down all fears vanished.One line in the speech goes like this, "Let my actions speak louder than my words". Teachers who made the selections were floored by those lines probably. Today as I look at these lines, I think I sounded like a budding politician.

Class 10 was another milestone when I was elected as the Asst General Captain.....but ended up faring miserably as I rarely went to school. Cricket, sickness ate away a good 3-4 months of the academic session.

I left in Loyola in 1999 after wonderful 11 years of my life. My alma mater continues to influence me till this date. The school and the wonderful teachers who taught me have left a lasting impression on my life. I have made great friends along the way.

This post on Loyola would not be complete without the mention of Mrs Eleykutty who taught us in class in 10th. In the first few days in the class she was like a nemesis taking special classes and spoiling our weekends. The worst was when she ate away our games periods in the name of completing the syllabus......that too, of all subjects "hindi". She later on became one of the most favourite teachers of the whole class. I wont forget the initiative she took in arranging special classes for me after I returned to school after the state camp. She would walk that extra mile to make sure her wards achieved success. The confidence she instilled in me when I was down with chicken pox few days before the exams was remarkable. She came all the way home to meet me before I left trivandrum for good. Her advice still lingers in my mind, she said " No matter how successful you are in life, learn to remain humble". I have come to realize humility is a great quality and see the relevance of that advice in recent times.

Academics
Right from school I was always average or slightly above that. I never remember having taken the pains to study the complete syllabus for any examination. It's true habits die hard and the practice is prevalent to this date. Minimal effort maximum results has been my motto.
Probably why I am still a CAT aspirant......and not the one who's belled it.

I surprised my parents when I got selected to the ICSE section during the decisive 7th grade examinations in spite of being away from school for couple of months due to cricket. I never felt a sense of achievement since I was keen on doing the state board syllabus. I was looking for an easier way with books there too.

Focus on cricket had it's negatives......grades didn't matter but my language abilities and other aspects began to diminish. I always depended on the lecture to clear exams. I was very attentive in class but seldom opened books at home. Later on I started getting carried away with cricket and losing interest in the subjects taught in class. Those habits caught on and have never been able to get rid of them till this date.

On a serious analysis I feel it was because I lost interest in the subjects that I didn't feel like studying. I have always studied for the sake of studying and never ever done it out of love for the subject. There are some difficult questions to answer here about the way subjects are taught in our schools. I'll reserve a discussion on them for another day.

After school, college , entrance coaching and engineering, the software industry came calling like most people out there in India. I took the road traversed by all and hence didn't make a difference ! Given another chance will I take the one less traveled..........I'm not sure. (Remembering Frost!)

Life at St Joseph's college was uneventful. I was coming to terms with the cultural shock Bangalore and the crowd at Joseph's had to offer. It was those days when an engineering seat in a decent engineering college was "the" thing on mind.

After Joseph's and the grind of an entrance test, I took up admission in this "school" (nick named school for the strict discipline they had enforced) called PESIT. Again mechanical didn't interest me. Come to think of it I took up mechanical engineering due to lack of interest in computers and electronics and not due to the interest in the subjects mechanical engineering had to offer.

Sports
My first tryst with sports was in class 2 when dad enrolled me for table tennis coaching at the Jimmy George stadium. He used to play badminton with friends when me and sis used to sweat it out at the TT tables nearby. Oops...did I say sis and I, sorry, my sis was keen on a sport where you don't have to move a muscle. I still remember she used to make me pick up the ball even if it was hit on her side. I was so keen on playing that I used to do it without a hint of hesitation. After few months of regular training we moved into our own new house in a seemingly distant place and that ended what could have been a bright start to the career of a TT pro. Technically speaking......logistical constraints was the culprit.

Cricket
As I moved to middle and high school, cricket came to the fore. During the summer vacations dad thought that his son had to do something "constructive". He enrolled me for the summer cricket camp in Kids Cricket club in Trivandrum. Probably he was living his dream of making it big in cricket.

On the day prior to the selections for the U-13 cricket team, a 11 yr old pace bowler was converted to a spinner and he returned with figures of 11 -5-7-5 (O-M-R-W) to seal a place in the zonal team. At the zonal stage the lad was neglected and given 1 over to prove himself at the fag end of a game where the team had lost all hope. That was my first hand experience of the wicked world outside. The next year I made it to the Kerala State cricket team thanks to the prayers and wishes of lots of people. My first camp was in Palghat district at 12 years when I spent a month away from home. I wasn't complaining since I could stay away from school still get full attendance.

Subsequently my life started revolving around cricket matches,leagues, tournaments and selections for the next 3-4 years. I had my share of up's and downs. Up's were selection to Kerala State cricket team, captaining the Trivandrum Cricket Academy team and scoring heavily in the league and the matches against the SriLankan Schools team. Downs was 2nd academy tour to Bangalore in the tenth standard and the selectors ignoring me to for the state team despite a good performance for the '97 season.

After the 10th standard I moved to Bangalore and there was a long gap in cricket. It took me a while to join a club and start playing again. The kind of encouragement and match practice I received at the club was immense. The quality of my game improved manifold and I was thinking about going back to Kerala for selections. It was a crucial academic session at that time too. I had 2 options before me........one was cricket and the other was to focus on acads and continue cricket as a passion. I had a good discussion with parents where I weighed the options before me and took the tried and tested path. So from there on I restricted cricket to college level and club level.

Cricket has offered great lessons at early stages in my life. Apart from the pros of playing a sport it has taught me to adjust and adapt to surroundings without any hand holding. I am not sure how many people would be as fortunate as I was. I had license to play cricket all days, even on days prior to exams. It's a sharp contrast to many parents who look at grades as the end all for all things and any threat to that was a strict no. There have been very few instances that I can recollect where my parents have asked me to actually sit and study!

Extra curricular activities
The youth festival at school used to be a wonderful experience. I used to get all excited about the event coz it used to be 3 days of absolute fun and severe competition amongst the four teams. I was part of the GG house (Gemini Giants) and it was a well balanced team. We had a good bunch of sportsmen and artists.

There are few people who deserve a mention.......pradeep was versatile with his ability to handle instruments, dattan was fabulous on the keyboard, renju's poetry recitals had great expression.

I had very average talent......but when it came to participation I was there leading from the front. I used to make use of every opportunity to take part in competitions.

Declamations - All I knew was screaming my lungs out. Once it so happened that I chose "Swami Vivekananda's speech" for malayalam declamation...little did I know that he was a very gentle speaker. I marched to the stage and rattled the whole speech maintaining very high decibel levels. Realization hit me when the results were declared. I secured the third place. From there on I carefully chose speeches to my strength and ended up with few awards.

Drama - Started a career in acting by dressing up as a "donkey" (of us were dressed up as various animals {Sreedhar (Hen), Arun(Honey Bee), TC (Tiger/Cat) }. From there on tried and tested various roles, once as a convict in a play titled "The Bishop's Candlesticks", once as a college brat in a malayalam play, as an old Englishman in another play, as Jesus Christ in a musical.

Dance - I lacked the grace needed for dance, probably the worst around but never gave up a chance to take part. I have danced holding candles, a ribbon dance and finally dressed up as a "Kerala gal" in Thiruvadirakali (t's a traditional dance form performed in Kerala with women dancing in a circle around a huge lamp.........and yes since I was in a boys only school all of us dressed up as women!!!!). Those were real good days. The incentive for taking part in these events was the approval to abstain from the class

I have tried everything possible; extempore in malayalam, Hindi recitation, singing (yes! sang a group song during the Onam celebrations and unfortunately the mic was right in front of my mouth), drama, dance, declamation, fancy dress...........etc. This was at a time when my Hindi and malayalam and Hindi diction was below average.

When I look back I feel Loyola was like home and I didn't have any inhibitions as long as I was there. After I left school I have never again participated in a cultural event. I find it difficult to shake a leg at a party these days. All of a sudden I am a conscious guy constantly worrying what others think of me and my performance. I wish I am able to transform myself to those good old days when I had the courage to face the biggest of audiences and perform without the slightest fear.

Work
Experience at Infosys has been mixed. The more I tried to run away from it the more it chased me. For more read my last blog.........
http://theoriesofranga.blogspot.com/2008/06/its-been-long-while-since-i-blogged-for.html

Life
It's been a roller coaster ride so far. I have had my share of up's and downs much like many people out there. It's been the people around me who have made the difference at all times.
Thank you all out there who have been an influence in my life. There are great lessons to learn from each one of you and I hope it helps me become a better human being at every step.
It's difficult to conclude this blog without a mention about my parents. My life is a result of their sacrifices and efforts.

This blog is getting published without my customary edits and revisions.....due to some fire fighting at work. The context is such that I cant wait any longer to publish .....Maybe I'll come back after another long gap to continue on this one.....to write abt career, life...again! and lots more. Till then adieu !!!

P.S - On an after note this blog will be good with some old snaps...........will try and update that when I lay my hands on them.

Dealing with crisis

It's been a long while since I blogged, for various reasons, but I don't owe an explanation to anyone out there. I took to blogging inspired after reading some really wonderful blogs and am back at it for the same reason.

Well as always this blog is just a representation of my thought process........
It's been a couple of months in US of the A and all of sudden I have started thinking about what I want out of my life, well you know, defining goals and all that stuff. As a friend had suggested the QLC has come to haunt me again!!!!

First I want to start of by tracing my past especially the last 3 yrs of my life.

In September 2005, with a hint of hesitation I walked into the Infosys Mysore campus. Well at that point I was aiming at making a mark in whatever I do........be it software! You can call it the confidence (or over confidence) in my abilities. Through the first half of training I struggled, C was a monster I just couldn't handle. I struggled endlessly with the nuances of the "if's" and "for's" it had to offer. But you know, there are always good friends to bail you out.

I started enjoying life at Mysore, used all facilities the campus had to offer and things started to fall in place. I managed to find my feet in the Java module and went to on complete the training successfully. I was getting sick of the routine at Mysore and was waiting to grab a posting at a desired location and move on.

Scene shifts to Bangalore, Electronics city, Infosys, Home, 2006

My first project at Bangalore turned out to be a nightmare...churning out endless weekend shifts and night outs for 3 months on the trot. And at the end of 3 months I got the welcome break. That's probably the first time when the crisis hit me. I started thinking about my shelved dream for an MBA. I traced the steps that any CAT aspirant would do.......enrolled for mock cats, revise quant, practice DI case lets.

The 6 month ordeal ended in March'07 when I realized that it's another torturous year ahead in Infy before I take the exit route. Focus shifted to MBA'08 and all steps turned in that direction. Classes, mock cats, absence at work...all followed and on the other hand the US visa was waiting for me at work. But I was undeterred, constantly reminding myself that MBA is my destination.

It took 2 calls and an equal no: of interviews to deliver judgment that I didn't make the cut. There were quite a good no: colleges that decided that 98.5 was not worth looking at in comparison to a 98.7! Cant blame the colleges though, they had to apply the filter somewhere.
I had hit the roadblock....or so I thought!

The last 2 years...........cost me time and loads of money. Of course I learnt a few things too! There are certain advantages of having played a sport.....you learn to shrug off your defeats and look forward to the next game. Well playing cricket in my early days has paid off !!

At around the same time Dallas came calling and my focus shifted in that direction and it helped me take my mind out of the minor setback. I landed in Dallas, USA on May 10th to kick start another phase in my life. I must confess that USA was never on my mind and I cried the night I boarded the flight for having left behind a goal I set for myself.

It's been 2 months in Sam's club and again I can see the crisis haunting me. I am faced with lots of questions and each time I end up with a different answer! At times I feel it's best to stop thinking and live the moment. And for that, I guess sports works best, it's ideal to shut out the thoughts and sweat it out. I am glad dad instilled some interest in games during my early days.

Sports is my way of dealing with the crisis........not solving it. Have you found your way?

Living life out of a laptop

I am currently living a good part of my life out of a laptop.

I use the laptop for

• work - priority, of course, and uses up good 10-11 hrs of my weekday
• entertainment - music, movies, news practically everything
• information - google maps is quite popular out here, I am wondering what people did before google maps came into existence. I cannot imagine finding my way in a paper map.
• cooking - Yes, I use it to search for recipes and english names for some desi ingredient.
• communication - email, chats, scraps.........u name it.
• Online transactions - order phones, pay bills

So effectively my laptop never sleeps..................or it does only when I sleep.

Anyone out there who can stretch the scope of a laptop, please let me know. I'll be more than glad to explore.