Of Dubious TRPs and Celeb Justice!!

Public undessing of deeply private lives has become a rule today. Switch channels and there are these self proclaimed messaiahs doling out "justice" in a jiffy! People bing ripped apart, their lives blared in multicolored layers, their emotions bought and sold and we are expected to gulp all this down as these are supposed to be in response to huge public demand - and how do we say that, why, we have this one stop solution called TRP!
I have been trying to understand this whole phenomena of TRP for a while now but to be honest, its a difficult nut to crack. Some households in some corner, supposedly representing different levels of viewership are being monitored and their choice imposed on the large majority. I have very basic questions. Understandably, the rating agncies will not reveal the details on where their monitoring system resides but are they being evaluated, how often do they shift and expand, coz public taste is not a static thing. Secondly, are they open to third party audit? How do we believe their summary is correct, accurate and unbiased? How come pople like me, and I am sure there is a large chunk of audience who is avese to vouyersism, don't count. Are we represented? Another major issue is given India's demogaphic and diversity is the sample size exhaustive enough?

Now the biggest qustion, who is supposed to monitor the monitors? Are these agencies answerable, is their data open to scrutiny. This whole business of mass appeal has been on for long enough, has there been any review? By default raunchy, sultry, downright deploable content is being passed on as popular choice, isn't the approach itself pervesive in nature?

I do not undestand who gave the authority to C grade celebs to dispnse "justice" like a coffee vending machine? Who decides which family is thrashed and debased in the name of reality show? You have loyalty tests being peformed on live TV, you have superstitious and dubious techniques being justified in the name of reliving your past, blind dates being arranged... what next? Escort Service? Pole Dancing lessons? Kam sutra live and exclusive?

I have truly found justification for the term idiot box. But then why should those sitting in front of it need to behave like idiots and take all insults lying down? Does our voice count? And, if not, why? It is high time the myth of TRP is broken and som sensible measuring metrics brought in. Any votes for it????

Bang Bang Bangalore, Mr Obama?

This morning I heard in one of the news channels that the latest census in US reveals every seventh person in their country is poor. There was not much detail given in the news story except that White House is worried. This coupled with the noises Mr Obama is making about outsourcing taking away American livelihood, and more recently, chiding students to be enamoured to take on ChIndia challenge, point to one core issue – there is a rising paranoia in the developed economies, especially America.

America, supposedly reached a pinnacle in economic terms - way ahead of population heavy India and China and, of course remained unchallenged for long. It was like the story of rabbit and tortoise; in this case rabbit and tortoises. As the tortoises come closer to finishing line, the rabbit is getting restless and instead of focusing on using its conserved energy for better use, it is busy raising alarm and creating an atmosphere of undue concern. The world has changed, and naturally the world order would change too, sooner or later.

Rhetoric against India or contempt for Bangalore is not going to solve the issues Mr Obama is juggling with. If his country is facing poverty, obviously a novel phenomenon for a hitherto rich economy, the reasons are to found within not without. Making entry for Indian technocrats expensive will not ease these burdens at all. World is a small place today and geographical boundaries do not matter much beyond political hegemony. Indians have not snatched American bread, they have merely ensured they have more rotis on their plate. Outsourcing is a business tool, devised to save not only money but also to free better talent from less crucial task and employing them for greater good of organizations. Indian IT companies have risen from being mere body shops to value partners, helping outsourcing organizations in doing better business and bringing forth worthwhile innovations. Its much more than tax holidays and operating profits.

If outsourcing of call center jobs is deepening creases on Mr Obama’s forehead, the fact that Americans consume almost everything made outside America should keep him awake at night, but does it? From food to medicine, from clothes to machines – Made in America is becoming extinct in its own soil. Now, isn’t manufacturing a bigger source of employment than poor call centers and technology captives? It’s a simple funda, business runs on a straight logic- if cost of production is high, its better to source it from some other place. And what has made cost of production of simple stuff sky rocket in America, surely its not something Banglore can be held responsible for!

Today America outsources to India, India does the same to Bangladesh and Srilanka among others. Its inevitable. Historically speaking has not the whole civilization expanded itself on the basis of exchange with people across continents, and how did this exchange happen? Was not trade a major connector, the biggest propeller in making new discoveries, finding newer, shorter routes, ever expanding the list of merchandise – economic interests it were that built political empire. The developed world developed on this plank and built much more than economic stability. Today when those who were exploited by economically superior nations are trying to put their act together, some people are getting alarmed, but why??

Much as Mr Obama is becoming paranoid of ChIndia rising, Indian IT sector is sweating unnecessarily too on, if I may call it, hostile posturing of White House on outsourcing. It is no more only about throwing menial jobs at us on discounted rates. From NASA to Ivy league B-schools, from healthcare to security, from war against terror to technology, there is a little bit of India, in everything America does. It is no more about dictating terms, its about partnership. Today Microsofts and Yahoos of the world are not looking at a cheap Indian workforce- for they are no more cheap, for one- but for mission critical support, and of course how can we forget the huge market potential. It works both ways Mr Obama, we not only help you churn out better products at competitive price, we also consume a huge amount of produce that keeps your companies making bigger profits.

Its time we looked at things in proper perspective. Bangalore and Beijing are not challenging Buffalo, they are merely themselves a better choice for business by fulfilling the requirements of industries. Drawing smaller lines to keep my line once traced is no more a better option to cling to the throne (if there was one ever). It is time the once traced lines are given a second look and evaluated afresh in the light of the new emerging lines.

Don’t loose sleep over Bangalore Mr. Obama, find the bug in your bed,  it surely is homegrown – completely Made in America!

Manila Crises - Violence rules!

How easy it is to play with people's lives! You have a grievance - just, unjust or otherwise- well, you can just settle the score by other people pay for it! Around the world grievance redressal has taken on a bloody public route and caught in the middle are innocent civilians. As we all saw the Manila hostage drama live on our TV screens, one thing played over and over again in my mind- how helpless law and law enforcers are when faced with such crises! Now, after hours of high drama and a few innocent lives later would begin the postmortem- should the SWAT team had done instead of that or were they using right equipments or were they having a plan... so on and so forth... but to what avail?

Incident after incident, be it bombing, taking hostage or any other form of violence unleashed by those on the other side of the law, anywhere in the world, exhibit only one thing - helplessness! No matter the country or hue of its government its the common man on the street who pays, and pays dearly for the anger of the few- the few who are anyday more lethal than the many.

You may catch the perpetrator, take him to court, show him the gallows or in many cases allow him long drawn legal defence in the name of human rights- but what about those who have lost all they had for no fault of their own? Till now there has not been one instance where a perpetrator of such inhuman terror been taken to task in a manner that inspires dread in the mind of those planning such heinous acts. In most of the cases they have either died a martyr or faced courts, trials etc. Too little, I think. Human Rights applies to human beings - it cannot apply to people who have no humane thought in their entire being.

And, what about pre--empting the trouble? Preparedness? Forward Planning? Proactive measures? Fancy words and means of livelihood for many a diplomats and civil servants across the globe. On ground - nothing. Now, for instance, post the Manila crisis, there will be hightened security worldwide, advisories from various government, mock drills in many a cities etc etc... and the noise will be there for a few days and then the dead will be buried as we move on to yet another incident of mindless violence. Is there an end to this? does not seem so....

oh Calcutta!

Longtime back I had written a poem, in an emotional outburst on the thought of going away from my city- Calcutta, मैं तुझे छोड़ के जाऊं भी तो जाऊं कैसे, तेरी याद तो मेरे साथ चली आएगी / ढूँढ़ते ढूँढ़ते अनजान शहर में राहें, यह निगाहें फिर तेरे पास चली आएँगी! ( how do I leave you and go way, i will still me carrying you in my memories / searching for paths in an unknown city, my eyes will return to you again and again) Well with four plus years away from my city of love, I actually live these lines today. And this weekend, it got manifest with quite an aplomb.

As a recurring dream, wherever I go I find a little bit of Calcutta, in some form or the other luring me. And well, I do look for a touch of Calcutta almost 2000 miles away from it! So you would find me frequenting the Oxford Bookstore in Leela Galleria, trying to relive the moments at Oxford at Park Street... And it is here that I get the flow coming for me to pen down my thoughts! So it was with this intension (and also to check out the monsoon sale on books) that I went to Oxford Book Store inside Leela this weekend. As soon as I sat down heavy with words to pour, I heard two gentlemen on a table beside mine discussing Calcutta... The first words I heard were, Priya Cinema and Deshpriya Park and all that I entered the Cha bar with went off in a huff... Pictures of busy pavement circling Deshpriya Park and  lifesize posters of cinestars outside Priya cinema, complete with marigold garlands and crazy graffiti float in front me! The purpose of my visit to the cafe was forgotten and all I wanted to do was to hop to the other table and talk Calcutta!

Of course, I could not do so. The decency would not allow that. So, i did the next best thing, chew on my thoughts on Calcutta and tried to explore what is this phenomenon called Calcutta. Here I share with you all what I noted in my scribbling pad that evening sipping my favorite Kahwa and listening to bits and pieces on Calcutta, floating towards me...

Calcutta- what is it! An enigma or just an old sweetheart, or a throbbing that is simply too sweet to be done away with! Now that I am away from it, and for good, honestly speaking, I would not like to go back to its humid, sweaty, congested neighborhood. But then can I really move ahead, leaving it behind me? Perhaps not. I cannot because it runs in my blood, too poetic, maybe, but true. It lives with me, as perhaps with every Calcuttan who moves away from it for some reason or other. Calcutta is a fragrance that follows me in mind and spirit, in thoughts and action... in dreams and wakefulness...

Calcutta is a romance - a nostalgia - a beleaguered first love that one has long outgrown but whose face one still looks for in every friend one makes! Yes, I look for a touch of Calcutta in every place I go, every food I eat, every face I see... In books I look for authors from Calcutta or those writing on Calcutta, in bookshops I look for the inexplicable lure of  dirt smeared old copies lined neatly on pavements outside Presidency College on College Street, in cafes I look for the old world charm of Flury's... and when I look at the sky and feel the caress of stars as they touch Calcutta with the same intensity, reinforcing the connect...

Oh yes, there can be a sociological and political debate on how Non Resident Calcuttans (NRCs) only see Calcutta in their past and not in future. But this is not the occasion for it. Lets save it for some other day. Today, I am trying to understand what is Calcutta to me... its inevitability in my life, its all pervasive and sometimes annoyingly intrusive presence in every nook of my thought and being - a presence that irks and comforts at the same time. Its like enjoying rain with its drops caressing you in soft breeze touching your face but your head under the shelter of an umbrella!

Every time I hear the word Calcutta, i feel a tug at heart, a pull, a sense of belonging, and unknowingly a smiles comes on my face, a feeling similar to that of the pat of an old friend on your shoulders! Sometimes I feel i am closer to Calcutta today, than I ever was, living there. I look at it from distance, savour its memories and thank my stars that I came away before people could take Calcutta to the stooping level of anarchy that reigns there today! It also makes me think how ironical our thoughts can be - how one can love and hate someone with equal intensity at the same time - how one longs for and runs away from the same thing simultaneously. To put it bluntly, Calcutta is a place I am indebted to, it made me what i am today, but it does not become a part of my tommorrow... it is an inseparable part of my life - that now lives in remembrance!

Sanskar – the corner stone of a successful organization

Sanskar – an unmistakable part of every Indian family is a strong and potent force in shaping the personality of an individual. There is no synonym of the word in English, it can be explained as a mix of values, culture, tradition and belief – something that you inherit with your genes and imbibe on as you grow. It is this sanskar that distinguishes a person – positive or negative as the case may be. From family to society to business that flourish in the society– as the cycle goes the sanskar remains an indelible mark of being your own self. Thus what distinguishes Indian companies with their counterpart is their personality shaped with a culture that respects traditions and is bound by belief to create value.

While going through Peter Cappelli’s The Indian Way what struck me was what people looking from outside notice and analyse while we who are part and parcel of a path-breaking phenomena simply live it without appreciating the enormity of it – just like the deer enchanted with the fragrance that actually emanates from its navel. Indian organizations thrive on a culture (or perish, as the case may be) that they build. Given the nature of GenY Indian business class, whose balance sheet weighs heavily on how its human capital performs, people centricity but naturally becomes the core. And, if its about people, it has to be about culture and tradition and belief and values – the sanskar that an organization gives its employees.

My initiation into the world of management was late, having born in a Red environ fraught with conflict between the workforce and management. Management back then was a bad word almost an abuse, symbolic of all the differences between the men sitting in revolving chairs behind glass doors and the sweat smeared workers toiling in furnace like factories. The glass doors too were smoked, not transparent. The divide -pronounced and distinct. There existed two different sets of people within most organizations. Hands were dispensable as they were in abundance and therefore belonged to lower strata. The class struggle was thus the order of the day. And many thrived in keeping the struggle alive. A divided house could hardly give a sanskar worth its name to its people, especially when it looked on them as mere tools.

But it was a different economy altogether, a different era. In this era of knowledge economy people being the core can no longer be made to toil in indescript quarters. They are the fuel organizations run on. The cabins could no more be cut off, nor remain smoked– maybe the modern day transparent glass buildings are symbolic of the clichéd ‘paradigm shift’ in the way businesses are conducted.  With people seen as one, all working for the same goal – of creating shared value – a family is born and its sanskar incepted.

Taking liberty to quote the answer that a NASA truck driver reportedly gave when asked of his work “I am helping to put the man on moon”, it’s the significance of the role each individual plays – and his realization of it – that makes an organization thrive. Indians used to the concept of joint families and shared resources are easily able to extend the same to their businesses. With the entire workforce - top to bottom- seen as one people one family organizations step into a different realm – of managing varied aspirations, personalities and priorities. Unless these diversities are made to unite under one umbrella the walk on the growth path was fraught with stumbling blocks. And, what better way to bind these distinct people than a common culture, a shared belief and a shareholder and co-creator of value.

When the CXOs to the grass root employees of the organization are bound with a common goal and see value in their delivery, there emerges a strong bonding.  When the Chief Editor and Chief Executive Officer of a start up News Broadcast organization sit cross-legged on the floor at a work in progress studio along with the 200 odd  team(all the recruits from across the country) , deciding on what to call the new venture, a different bonhomie is formed. The passion is contagious and the spirit to excel is felt in the air. This is what happened when the current numero uno English news channel in the country, Times Now was being born way back in 2006. At that instance in a rainy June day in monsoon drenched Mumbai, employees across the country built a new culture, a sanskar was given that made it stand tall among its peers.

Emotions have the strength to move mountains and cross the sea of fire barefoot. It is this emotional bonding that makes an organization succeed as an entity. Applying the same theory Subroto Bagchi, one of the more thinking minds in Indian IT spectrum, Gardener at MindTree and his collaborator, Vijay Govindarajan of Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, concentrate on what they call "emotional infrastructure," an aggregate of the positive feelings employees have for their company and for one another. It is distinct from the physical and intellectual (skills and knowledge) as it is difficult to replicate. As, they put it, the emotional infrastructure – culture and values- of a company that makes it immortal and makes an organization stand apart. In 2009 on the basis of sociological research on groups, they came up with a paper titled The Emotionally Bonded Organization: Why Emotional Infrastructure Matters and How Leaders Can Build It The framework and ideas for this paper were developed based on in-depth studies of corporations such as Nucor, Deere, Hasbro, FedEx, MindTree Consulting, Southwest, Tata Motors, Lincoln Electric, eBay, General Electric, and McKinsey.   

Back in September 2008 when most CEOs of Indian IT companies were busy ‘standing by’ their US based clients in the wake of Lehman Brothers collapse, Vinit Nayyar, CEO of HCL Technologies was busy speaking to his employees in Bangalore in an exclusive event that the company organizes as an interface at regular intervals. This was part of his effort to connect people across all levels to the collective vision.

His logic: it’s the employees who create value and keep the client coming back for more, therefore its Employee First. “The recession has sent us a signal: Size does not matter. Big companies are often slow, lethargic, and arrogant. If innovation has to drive us out of this recession, the best brains must come together to create value. That will happen only if we start believing in the power of Collaboration 2.0.”, says Vineet in his HBR blog in Sep 08. At the time of crisis when most companies were looking too be lean and cutting down the bench, this CEO found an opportune moment to build team moral by decreeing “no one left behind”. “As each of us renews our determination to achieve our goals within the downturn, what we see immediately ahead can best be described as a bend on the road. Most organizations are applying the brakes to navigate this bend, and I am sure there is merit in their reasons for doing so, keeping in mind their circumstances. However, for an aggressive company that is hungry for growth, there is opportunity beyond the bend and stepping on the accelerator at this time makes perfect business sense.” says Vineet in his scrapbook.
Further in an interview to a leading financial daily in the recession hit year he elaborates, “As any athlete might tell you, a bend on the race-track represents an opportunity—a chance to move ahead, to step up the speed and overtake those ahead. This is particularly true if you are a middle or long distance runner.”  He saw opportunity in crisis, but he made sure he was not alone in his vision. All his team, the extended HCL Technologies family was made to be a part of this thought process. The result was the company did exceptionally well in the troubled times. When other ships sank, it did not only sail, it sailed better.

Talking of family bonding and sanskar is easy but the critical question is how to build it. Tools and processes, systems and procedures must be laid down and followed. But these are common to any organization. What is that special ingredient that will form a lasting impact, take people along to a shared vision? While narrating his experience of setting up MindTree, a distinctly placed technology company in the crowded IT spectrum in an interview to India Knowledge @ Wharton in 2007 Subroto Bagchi says “Process is not a substitute for building an emotionally rich organization. Process without emotion can quickly bring you down to the lowest common denominator. It is very important while dealing with human situations, dealing with customers, suppliers, investors and with our own people. We must balance process with empathy. We must build on process but be led with empathy.”

Building empathy and connecting a diverse range of people with a common thread is not a day’s work. A large part of it depends on the communication system that the organization puts in place. Another more critical aspect is leadership. A leader must be inspiring and accessible. While it’s the leadership that will set the sanskar, it’s the bottom up view of theirs that will sustain it. As Mahatma Gandhi, a leader unmatched in his out of box thinking once said, "I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people”, and if I may add, taking people along. Its more about eye level contact, making your people see eye to eye with the company vision. It also requires the strength of character, of being able to provide a leadership that has the personality of a being who can mix with the commonest of commons and yet stand apart.

A routine mail from CXO to every employee’s mailbox every now and then is not enough. It is important to make each one feel important and proud of his role. It is important to make sure even the routine work within the organization has a larger buy in. Employees must feel ‘insider’, privy to strategy decisions. There has to be trust and transparency. In a flat world having a hierarchical pyramid as far as approach and accessibility is concerned, is obsolete. Each voice needs to be valued, each query needs answers. Ahead of every “All Minds Meet”, the employees open forum at MindTree, Asok Soota, its CMD, would remind his leadership team that “no question is ever stupid, the answer you have for it might well be!”

Keeping employees engaged and connected is no longer the responsibility of HR alone, it is core to company’s strategy, vision and action. Newborn organizations, start ups, deal with the critical issue of building their own sanskar among people already entrenched in different cultures, carrying the baggage of their past connect. Those who come on board would both be excited and somewhat sceptical as well. But if from the very first step they assume the role of founding fathers, the sanskar takes shape on its own. There is no greater bonding than the feeling of giving birth to a new baby – a new future. Each aspiration gets aligned to a common goal seeing the baby stand up and run. The second generation by the time it comes on board sees a personality already shaped and seeped in. It is then the job of the founding fathers to include gen next as partners in future of the organization. Again, it’s the culture that gets to you before the first pay check at the end of the month.

An organization is what its employees are. For organizations that bear a dual personality, a different persona to the world outside and another face for those within, long term growth and sustenance would be a constant worry. It would not be able to foster in its family a camaraderie, unison of purpose. Most organizations do not do it consciously, no one would. But it still is the case with a large majority. The reason behind is lack of communication culture. Its communication, communication and communication alone that builds, strengthens and transports organization’s personality to all its constituents. Its culture, values, beliefs, traditions – all get metamorphosed in one unique sanskar that is imbibed by all who are part of it. But if this fails to reach the man at the end of the line, its lost its touch and renders the company incomplete.

Companies today invest more in their employees and set up infrastructure to keep them connected and in the know of things. Communication strategy that till the other day was more an after thought is today a key agenda in CXOs priority list. Indians talk, and talk a lot. We are known to chat up the strangers, reveal the deepest of personal secrets in the space of minutes in the moving compartment of a packed local train and be friends for life with whom we jump on the ferry each day. Its perhaps this openness that is reflective of Indian mindset. For others a personal tragedy might be something to be kept strictly outside office, but out here each one feels the need to share, console and be consoled. The same applies to organizational issues. A new venture, a line extension or even a change in the paint on the campus façade becomes an emotive issue. And, each would like to feel ‘consulted’, ‘informed’ and part of ‘decision making’. While in actual terms this might not be possible in letter, it must be done in spirit. This is where the communication culture of the organization figures high, for its how you communicate will decide how much buy in you get in your decisions.

Same size does not fit all but then its imperative that an effort is shown to have made to cut cloth according to each size. In knowledge industry the brains that bring fat revenues can also bring stagnation and loss of repute. In such instances sanskar of the company comes to rescue. It’s the collective spirit that steers the growth vehicle and keeps the organization steady even in rough weather. While we have learnt a lot from the west and still gape at the way some of the world leaders run their businesses, a culture, a sanskar of our own distinguishes India Inc. Its not only the sons of the soil that have come to respect the sanskar, but also those who set up houses here and want to reap harvest on this fertile soil have accepted building an organization culture distinct and indelible is what will decide how long you sustain and how far you go in the race.

Reference:  

MindSpeak, MindTree Newsletter June 2008 http://www.mindtree.com/newsletter/june08/media1.html

www.vijaygovindarajan.com

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/article.cfm?articleid=4188

http://blogs.hbr.org/hbr/nayar/2009/09/the-collaboration-imperative.html

 http://www.vineetnayar.com/the-thrill-of-rafting-upstream/#ixzz0rE2SzrYb”

Quiet that rings louder...

Its not long ago that we were hearing a lot of noise on the injustice that Union Carbide did to the people of Bhopal, killing innocent people and maiming their gen next by criminal oversight. Facts were dug out of dusty files, people were chased, point of views flashed and "new perspectives" on the entire episode were found, displayed, discussed, debated.... For a while now there is quiet. A quiet very similar to what was there for almost one quarter of the century- pregnant and holding on to hope amidst overwhelming despair. And now, the quiet rings loud, much louder than the humdrum of all the voices across media - broadcast, print, web and otherwise- that collectively made a din of noise.
And, this is not the first time that this quiet is heard. Quiet is as compelling, or even more, than all the noise ever can be. We have been witness to the quiet after every "high profile" story. A quiet that is sometimes a relief from fatigue of witnessing whipping of a story till all we can see is froth. When the froth spills and the glass falls empty, the "eye ball" catchers move on and so do we.
We are used to quiet as we are used to the noise. Both trigger conditioned response from us - some "sms" sympathy or rage as the case may be, hot and juicy discussions over a drink, posting a few blogs, some "status updates" in social media network and then... the quiet seeps in.
Like a multi-tasking OS, our minds have become accustomed to keeping a number of windows open simultaneously, albeit most of them have long gone into sleeping mode. We are used to non-closure. We can live with inconclusiveness. We have strong belief in justice of time (if it ever came)...
Lalit Modi, Ruchika Ghelotra, Union Carbide, A Raja... all these windows are still open, though gone to the sleeping mode. We have moved on to Dhoni's marriage, the breaking news around 10 pm tonight was "varmala exchanged : MSD and Sakshi Rawat exchange varmala"... nothing can get any sharper than that! We have minute by minute update - from varmala to bidai and beyond... We consume all information, required, not required, with gusto and fill the eerie quiet with noise that really does not matter.
Shuttling between noise and quiet, shifting between windows on a lappy or now on a mobile, we pride ourselves on being the "multi-tasking" generation. We pride ourselves in starting off early, but reaching a conclusive state - well there is time for it.
Right now the noise is from sports - Football, tennis, our own Dhoni being stumped for life! Tomorrow we will be crying hoarse on life coming to a standstill in opposition ruled states and how the ruling coalition fares under the collective attack. Tomorrow we would hear a lot of noise on whether the ruling coalition partners gave in to their local priorities and supported the bandh. There will be huge demand for spokesperson from political parties, NGOs and intelligensia. A ritual peeling off of all posturing on live TV! But we will be witnessing a very loud quiet on the issue of bandh itself  - the price rise.
So, we are used to selective noise and inevitable quiet. A quiet that rings louder than noise, and a quiet that affords us the luxury to look the other way and gives us a break from all the lip service we do during the noise period.
Well, now that I have made all this noise, its time I kept quiet!

It Must be Economics over Politics in Bengal

Politics rules and politicians call shots. It is true for every country, every region. But then there are times when trends need to be reversed. In Bengal, the time has come.

The writing on the wall is change. "Reform, perform or perish" - the self proclaimed market marxist chief minister of the state is fond of saying. But his words have hardly been heeded to, the party and its cadres did not reform themselves, the babus and even his ministerial colleagues did not perform and hence perish, they will. However, the question would still remain, will the coming forces of power "reform, perform or perish"?

A lot has been lost, there is hardly anything more to loose. And, this hopelessness gives a ray of hope to the state. There is no other way to go but forward, provided the wheels of change do not get stuck in the same quicksand.

For decades a squinted view of society and an utter hatred toward anything economically prosperous has reigned in Bengal. Power to proletariat, voice to working class, prescriptions for classless society - all euphoric ideals were dead for a long time, their carcasses were being carried on sagging shoulders. When ideas do not sustain ideals and destination is lost in a maze of conflicting paths what prevails is chaos. So it did. But to be fair, those out of power were as much to blame as those ruling the roost. Anyway this is no time for blame game, its all too obvious. It is time to act and act fast.

Politics, that too of an endangered (also dangerous) variety had ruled over economics in the erstwhile capital of British Indian Empire for long thirty years. Its known that good economics is often considered bad politics, but in Bengal it was both bad politics and bad economics. Red ruled till economy saw red. The green harvest burnt to red chaff and eyes filled with hope shed tears of stiffled aspirations till they turned red. And, those who should have taken up cuddles against the red tyranny scurried off to cocoons of political ignominy.

If those who ruled had no vision, those opposing them too were not seeing too clearly. But today this short sightedness will not do. A whole generation has been brought up on nightmares, its time to dream and make dreams real.

What Bengal did all this while was to believe in a doctrine and to exhibit a different ideal altogether. While the inherent character of the government and the ruling coalition is always opposed to anything that has a market orientation, Buddhadeb flew in on a chariot of "market socialism"- a doctrine neither understood nor accepted by his colleagues. This can be explained by the fact that though back in 1996, under Jyoti Basu, Bengal adopted the New Economic Policy in line with the reforms wagon let loose at the center by Dr. Manmohan Singh, nothing concerete happened on ground. Look at Haldia and the tussle with The Chatterjee Group for example. A haphazard and ad hoc kind of economic strategy was what one could see.The result was chaos and misguided action. The 'reformist' CM wanted trade unionism and business prosperity to coexist, and like all Marxist doctrines (though it was not one of them) it too turned out to be utopian.

The worry now is what next and how. If the writing on the wall is to be heeded those marching towards power have a dismal track record as far as administrative acumen and consistency of ideas and ideals is concerned. We all know how Ms Banerjee has been storming in and out of alliances, how she has been throwing papers on the Chair at the Lok Sabha, how she has been running her ministerial duties and most importantly how very unclear is her vision for Bengal. She has proved to be a credible opposition to the ruling left, atleast ballots say that. Now she has to prove she can do to Bengal what Nitish Kumar has been doing to Bihar.

As I said earlier, its time economics took precedence over politics in Bengal. And, here economics does not mean project clearance and land allocation to the chosen few. If CPIM had red mark all over in their economic and financial score card, Trinamool too does not have any better credentials. Its agitation threw off TATAs from Singur and with that industry's confidence. The way Didi has been running the Indian Railways- giving sops after sops, adding new trains without sprucing infrastructure, adding to losses by refusing to increase fares year after year- it all raises one single question - will she be able to take strong decisions to bring Bengal back on track or will she busy herself in settling political scores?

The state of Bengal will prosper if investor confidence is restored and its best brains make it their home once again. For this to happen there needs to be huge corrective measures in governance, in administration, in financial decisioning and economic outlook. With Maoists digging their heels and demanding their pound of flesh for supporting Trinamool in shaking up the Red regime, how far would the reforms be taken becomes a question mark.

From cities to country side business has to increase penetration. The perennial conflict between the farm and industry needs an amicable solution with long term interest of the state in mind. Rhetoric has rang loud for long - its time some sane voice is heard. But whose? With conflicting interests and mutually exclusive goals high on agenda, coming to a shared vision for the state seems difficult. Its time for all to come together - politicians, industrialists, intelligensia, administrators and common people- and build a common minimum program, a shared vision of a prosperous Bengal. Let the differences rest for a while, there will time to settle scores or prove a point later, now is the time to change - change not only in the hue of the Writers Building, but change of mentality and mindset. For once lets come together for Bengal, the soil that made us all we are today.

Marketing the Need – way to consumer’s pocket and heart!

Selling is out. A sales pitch is more likely to drive the consumer away. Creating the need is what drive sales and all marketing activities are today focused on making the consumer feel a pang if not having the product or service on offer. You maybe completely satisfied with your old refrigerator, a faithful companion for a decade or more but suddenly you realize that your fruits and vegetables are loosing their nutrition, that the food stored in overstuffed compartments is not fresh enough and that you must spend afresh for the sake of fresh and crunchy veggies that you want your family to savour. Not that your family complained of any loss hygiene or nutrition in the way of storage of foods – for now you know a better (?) option is available, one you cannot do without.

As the old saying goes need is the mother of all inventions – today need is the prime force in getting a consumer hooked. A service that hitherto was never thought required suddenly becomes essential – your organizational newsletter for example. Someone points out what it lacks and how you fail to engage your employees and stakeholders with the religiously sent out drab looking formal email every fortnight, reveals your pain points and the success factors of your competition in the same space and your need for a better communication strategy is exposed. And, once the need is established sooner or later the service will be consumed.

Today a push marketing – spaming mailbox with unsolicited mails or sending unrequited sms – is more likely to be discarded for most products and services without even a glance. How many mails and messages you delete without even reading the content? Marketing an event or a service or even an academic program rides on generating need and create aspiration. For an event, the participant must aspire to be seen there. Building this aspiration depends on a lot of concerted effort other than advertising. Creating a talking point and then projecting the program / product / service as a niche one that takes you to a level above where you stand today is what every marketer sweats at.

For a brand in the making selling the need for its offerings to compete with the established brand is a more strategic approach. While the market leader will play on the loyalty and long established repute, the new entrant can always entice the end consumer with its different approach – old wine in same bottle may not sell, but the same wine in a tetra pack might – don’t you need a handy tetra pack over the old fashioned bottle! Also, for the uninitiated consumer the new brand can offer a bridge to reach the position he always aspired. Say for instance an established automobile brand can be given a run for its money once a new entrant offers more features, affordability and easy accessible finance options – giving those who always dreamt of owning a four wheeler, needed it over their old bikes, an opportunity to move a step ahead. Create the need and then be the one, and if possible the only one to be able to fulfil it.

The marketing effort today is not only aimed at selling the product or service but to establish the organization as an innovator, a thought leader. Social media as such plays an important role in this game, opening up whole new avenues, bringing the marketer and the target audience on the same platform, affording greater connect facilitating wider interaction. The marketplace today is a different turf, rules of the game are changing and so are the referees! What worked yesterday will not yield today and tomorrow is another story altogether. Its challenging, its exciting, it’s a whole new experience everyday.

Bengal - a decending gloom

It was 2000, the abandoned village of Choto Angaria in southern Bengal had embers of a burnt down mud-house still warm and livid. We, the TV journos were looking for eyewitnesses, people to recount the killing of 14 men in mysterious circumstances. While Trinamul Congress claimed the dead to be their sympathizers extinguished by the tyrant CPIM, a counter claim was laid by Janajuddha (People's War) a group gaining ground in the area, waging ideological battle for the rights of tribals and marginalized. This People's War was different from People's War Group active in Andhra. We managed to catch hold of an eye witness finally - a frail, dark, young tribal girl, scared and running. Her family has been cautioned away from the village as the rest of villagers by "party". She had seen people with red flags surround the charred hutment a few nights before and heard an explosion followed by a devastating fire that killed those inside. Her account was laced with anguish and fear. And it said more than the authorities wanted to admit. A number of enquiries later, the issue of who died and who killd is still a mystery, or is it?

Back then ideological opposition to left by the left minded revolutionaries was on rise. I had flowed number of such meetings in undisclosed locations in parts of Midnapore and Bankura. These meetings talked of bringing about social justice, freedom from tyranny of goons and repressive Police. The approach, however, was still not violent - the battle was ideological. But then the issues discussed were potential fireballs - starvation death of tea-estate workers in north, that had already crossed 1300 by a non-governmental estimate, deprivation of tribals in south, plight of refugees in border areas and influx of immigrants eating into the precarious resources. Issues that the government or opposition should have lost sleep over, but both were in deep slumber. And thus, Bengal was having one of its first brush with extreme left uprising all over again, after 3 long decades of Naxalbari movement... But back then political quarters as well as administration was busy maintaining the stability of the state and carrying forward the Left legacy - there was hardly anything to be seen beyond red.

Today after almost half a decade of being away from following the political calculations in the state when I look at the blood bath in Bengal, the equations become more pronounced. What brought Left to power back in 70s will again push them out in the second decade of the millennium. But the matter of concern is -will Buddha try what Siddharatha Shankar Ray did and failed? Will Mamata ride on Maoist terror to break in to the weakening Red fortress? And, will the innocent lives, the tribals, their plight - the pawn in this large political game, remain undefended?

The champions of the Proletariat did some good work in some quarters - Barga - the land reforms- an investment that paid returns for long 30 years. The Red regime reinforced the political awareness in masses, specially the rural folks - voting is important and your affiliation, your identity. As I traveled in deep pockets of starvation and penury in parts of Purulia, or strife driven Murshidabad or northern districts of Malda, Kochbehar fighting erosion of banks of Ganga for ages - one thing was clear, Red was everywhere, in every nook and corner. and this presence was their strength- good, bad or ugly, they were the only one. Life began and ended with "party office". A penetration so complete it was almost unbelievable. It was an iron rule and we all know left unprotected, iron does catch rust sooner or later. In Bengal, it did.

I cannot think of a single incident when the opposition ever measured up to the ruling czars. They fed in the people's gloom - acceptance of the prevalent as destiny, one that can never be reversed. And when some whiff of change did appear, it looked too flippant, too immature and completely lacking in conviction. The empire however did start caving in - not because of attack from without but from weakening foundations within. Loss of strategist Comrade Anil Biswas in a sudden ailment was a death blow to the Left. The new leadership was busy building new grounds, almost leaving the position of strength to chance and a belief - the soil has been tended red. But the red soil was in turmoil and those who were there to ensure that the hammer and sickle prevailed were left without direction. For a centrally controlled regiment, this lack of direction was both disillusionary and devilish - they strayed and gradually went out of control.

Bengal today looks like a spent, tired and disillusioned state - sitting over a storm, that it knows will be unsettling but the calm rings of doom. The land of renaissance needs one more revolution. A sincere effort at undoing the wrong and taking some decisive steps. But again, the question is who would lead the kindly light? Somehow the emerging waves seem too shallow and those holding sail too weak. Boasting of a cultured past, the land of Nobel laureates and intellectuals, of poetry and sensitivity, Bengal today is at a crucial turn. Will it move ahead? Will it cave in? Who will decide? One would say, people will, through ballot... but isn't it already late enough and where is the choice anyway?

Of Guns and Roses

How strange- show of terror is justified but expression of love is not! Its ok to move around with a gun, flash your Rampuri or carry an acid bottle in your back-pocket, but if you happen to hold a blooming red rose, you are courting trouble. Great. Well, what else can be expected if perverts and frustrated blokes are allowed field day... Moral Guardians let loose to corrupt innocent minds!

But then if the perverts and frustrated are out to mar some simple fun, there are thousands and thousands who simply enjoy their feelings and emotions without giving a damn- and not only on a particular day, all through the year, whole of 365 days!

Let me share with you one of the most romantic scenes I have ever seen, and it is playing out right in front of me as I write this blog. Its display of love for all to see and understand. Right in front of me is the central park of my apartment dotted with trees and terracotta shades where sun plays hide and seek. And, under one of such shades is a couple, obviously engrossed in themselves sharing much more than a warm afternoon sun. The husband, sporting a white mundu and green shirt, holding a Cornetto, while the gap toothed wife, wrapped in orange south indian cotton saree, is biting on the chilled cream concoction lovingly.... its a sight that holds you. The salt in their hair has outgrown pepper but the sweetness of their smile has simply surpassed the tang of the growing age. A couple in the twilight of their life, display a bond, a love that has stood the test of time! This couple, like many others, are from small towns now living a new life of sorts in the IT capital with their "working couple" children. Today, they are free to share a smile and hold hands uninhibitedly - something they longed to do all along perhaps but could not.

I am sure in their prime they would hardly ever have had the opportunity for such luxury, of enjoying each others' company so freely. There would have been hundred and ten different priorities and then the poking nose of family elders... the generation of our parents enjoyed Shammi Kapoor movies but still had to manage with Lalita Pawars at home! They would definitely have wanted to dance to "Yahoo!" on snow peaked Kashmir or do a Rajesh Khanna jig in one of the Vrindavan Gardens miniatures in theor respective towns... but the show of love and exuberance was restricted to hushed bedrooms - and despite near-ban on public display of feelings, our population boom was at an all time peak!!

Today, if a couple- age, caste, religion, class- notwithstanding is happy to enjoy a little sunshine why do Moral Guardians object? And, by the way who appointed these perverts as our moral guardians? Ask them are they virgins? Don't they enjoy romantic bollywood flicks? Are they allergic to sweet-nothings and loving touch? Grow up man! Even a ten year old knows babies are not made of boiled egg!

So, gun wielding love-haters find some other way to gain publicity. Do not cut your nose to spite your face - enjoy togetherness while you can. Believe me a rose is much safer and cheaper than a gun any day. Ask hundred billion plus Indians what would they choose - Guns or Roses? I am sure, I need not tell you what the answer would be.... :)