Killing us softly
Asha Bhonsle, that amazingly versatile singer finally signalled the beginning of the end when she sang "One two cha cha cha" in her uniquely prim maharashtrian accent, effectively murdering the spirit behind the song. Till that time, I was a fan, as I still am, though now I just wish she would just take a break.
Why is it that singers, the moment they cross the point of zero criticism, do such silly things?
Himesh Reshammiya , after repeatedly frustrating critics with his seemingly endless hits, might have hit the 'Bhonsle moment' of fallibility. I refer of course, to the lead song of the movie, shaka laka boom boom. Sung in by Mr Reshammiya, you can't help wondering if the man's singing or giving an energetic demonstration of an effective gargle.
It's a strange feeling listening to words like these come out of a mouth, where I suspect the disconnect happens simply because of this vague sense that the singer doesn't really understand what he is singing. Hence, Asha Bhonsle's rendition of cha cha cha as something approaching a nursery rhyme, and now, Himesh doing his mouth wash version on the words shaka laka laka boom boom.
Someone tell them, please.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
The 'emerging rich'? Will we be as bad as the early ones? nah!
Just read this 'interview' with the marvelously talented Arundhati Roy, in the magazine, Tehelka. Using a style that is uniquely her own, Ms Roy has poured scorn and just about every little ounce of disgust at the new 'elite' in India. She describes it as the most successful secession movement in India, the secession of the elite from the real India. All very stirring while you read it, but like much of what Ms Roy writes, on careful thought, especially after a night's sleep, not very convincing.
She starts off well, mentioning how the rich countries became rich simply because they had colonies to exploit, slavery to go by, and the option of exterminating whole populations in 'other' places. Ergo, today's new elite in India, with no foreign 'colonies' to explot to reach where their developed counterparts are, will do to their own underpriveleged countrymen what the colonial masters did to us earlier. Despite our being a democracy, about which she has some more suitably acidic words to say.
I have none of the mastery on words she has, but know this. Even the most moronic calculation shows us that to expect to reach 'first world' levels of consumption for material consumption would be foolish and doomed, to say the least. In fact, funnily enough, this apparent disparity is something the developed countries have used frequently to talk about our potential, rather than Indian's, or Indian companies. Thus you have a chocolate major comparing Indian's per capita consumption of chocolate with Europe (a difference of 54 times) , while the soft drink majors never tire of the difference in consumption of soft drinks servings India had as compared with the US. And how an increase of just 5 servings per capita would be this humungous opportunity..
Now I am partial to chocolates, and confess, that on that one scale, I am probably on par with developed country slobs. But on every other parameter, be it energy, consumer goods, or mineral resources, I doubt we will need to get any closer than a fifth of developed country levels, to achieve qualified success in our attempt to be called a success.
A lot of the reasons are cultural, in the form of our eating habits, an innate culture of being savers in everything, an abhorrence of wastage beyond a point, and the simple fact that deprivation is till high enough to make anyone think twice before doing really 'conspicuous consumption', as we call it. A very thin minority might indulge themselves, but it shd remain that, a very narrow minority.
Sure, even getting to a 1/5th level of consumption of the developed nations will take a terrible toll on the environment, but I really don't see how much we can pay for that anymore. I mean, first, as Ms Roy pointedly writes, we get our ourselves exploited to help the other half get rich, and now we keep ourselves poor to keep everyone safe? Sounds like a pretty poor slogan to me.
Luckily, I think it would be a reasonable hope to estimate that things could pan out differently. As in, developed countries consumption actually comes down, while ours goes up. The keenness with which energy conservation is finally catching up everywhere, and of course the fact that we will be increasing our own consumption much more efficiently as compared to the other half, means that things donot need to get as bad as they might have.
Giving Ms Roy a very good reason to write about a suitable world accordingly.
So here's hoping to 'inclusive' growth for all.
Just read this 'interview' with the marvelously talented Arundhati Roy, in the magazine, Tehelka. Using a style that is uniquely her own, Ms Roy has poured scorn and just about every little ounce of disgust at the new 'elite' in India. She describes it as the most successful secession movement in India, the secession of the elite from the real India. All very stirring while you read it, but like much of what Ms Roy writes, on careful thought, especially after a night's sleep, not very convincing.
She starts off well, mentioning how the rich countries became rich simply because they had colonies to exploit, slavery to go by, and the option of exterminating whole populations in 'other' places. Ergo, today's new elite in India, with no foreign 'colonies' to explot to reach where their developed counterparts are, will do to their own underpriveleged countrymen what the colonial masters did to us earlier. Despite our being a democracy, about which she has some more suitably acidic words to say.
I have none of the mastery on words she has, but know this. Even the most moronic calculation shows us that to expect to reach 'first world' levels of consumption for material consumption would be foolish and doomed, to say the least. In fact, funnily enough, this apparent disparity is something the developed countries have used frequently to talk about our potential, rather than Indian's, or Indian companies. Thus you have a chocolate major comparing Indian's per capita consumption of chocolate with Europe (a difference of 54 times) , while the soft drink majors never tire of the difference in consumption of soft drinks servings India had as compared with the US. And how an increase of just 5 servings per capita would be this humungous opportunity..
Now I am partial to chocolates, and confess, that on that one scale, I am probably on par with developed country slobs. But on every other parameter, be it energy, consumer goods, or mineral resources, I doubt we will need to get any closer than a fifth of developed country levels, to achieve qualified success in our attempt to be called a success.
A lot of the reasons are cultural, in the form of our eating habits, an innate culture of being savers in everything, an abhorrence of wastage beyond a point, and the simple fact that deprivation is till high enough to make anyone think twice before doing really 'conspicuous consumption', as we call it. A very thin minority might indulge themselves, but it shd remain that, a very narrow minority.
Sure, even getting to a 1/5th level of consumption of the developed nations will take a terrible toll on the environment, but I really don't see how much we can pay for that anymore. I mean, first, as Ms Roy pointedly writes, we get our ourselves exploited to help the other half get rich, and now we keep ourselves poor to keep everyone safe? Sounds like a pretty poor slogan to me.
Luckily, I think it would be a reasonable hope to estimate that things could pan out differently. As in, developed countries consumption actually comes down, while ours goes up. The keenness with which energy conservation is finally catching up everywhere, and of course the fact that we will be increasing our own consumption much more efficiently as compared to the other half, means that things donot need to get as bad as they might have.
Giving Ms Roy a very good reason to write about a suitable world accordingly.
So here's hoping to 'inclusive' growth for all.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
The joys of being mathematically challenged
Just read` a news item announcing that according to IAMAI, almost 40,000 brands in India tried online advertising, as compared to ‘just’ 9000 in television.
A little shocked at this amazing success, I tried to do the number on spend per advertiser. The numbers are Rs 7500 per advertiser for the net, and Rs 66 lacs per advertiser on TV. Yes, you read that right.
Making your typical TV advertiser about 888 times the size of your typical net advertiser. Makes you wonder just precisely what sort of entities have been clubbed as advertisers, when it comes to the net. In fact, experience dictates that advertisers who would be considered good by TV standards are not over 75-80 on the net right now, with an equally large number threatening to become big in the coming 18 months or so. Some way off from the at least 1000-1200 entities of comparable or much larger size on TV.
While one can understand the need for the IAMAI to be the industry cheerleader, one really wonders if they have to get into comparisons with other media at all, especially for attention grabbing headlines.
One could write tomes on the number of times journos screw up on numbers, mixing up the millions for billions and what not. But I think doing simply number crunching on the handouts they get would make reading so much more of a pleasure for us poor challenged guys…
Just read` a news item announcing that according to IAMAI, almost 40,000 brands in India tried online advertising, as compared to ‘just’ 9000 in television.
A little shocked at this amazing success, I tried to do the number on spend per advertiser. The numbers are Rs 7500 per advertiser for the net, and Rs 66 lacs per advertiser on TV. Yes, you read that right.
Making your typical TV advertiser about 888 times the size of your typical net advertiser. Makes you wonder just precisely what sort of entities have been clubbed as advertisers, when it comes to the net. In fact, experience dictates that advertisers who would be considered good by TV standards are not over 75-80 on the net right now, with an equally large number threatening to become big in the coming 18 months or so. Some way off from the at least 1000-1200 entities of comparable or much larger size on TV.
While one can understand the need for the IAMAI to be the industry cheerleader, one really wonders if they have to get into comparisons with other media at all, especially for attention grabbing headlines.
One could write tomes on the number of times journos screw up on numbers, mixing up the millions for billions and what not. But I think doing simply number crunching on the handouts they get would make reading so much more of a pleasure for us poor challenged guys…
Monday, February 19, 2007
The origin of the Royal Bengal Tiger: An untrue story
Once upon a time, long long ago, there lived two tigers together, in a vast jungle in central India. Both the male, and the female tiger were big, strong and widely feared for their hunting prowess. Not surprisingly, they were proud of their reputations too.
And then they had a cub. To their shock, their cub was all white! Being smart hunters, both the parents realized that with his different colour, their baby would not stand a chance, when it came to hunting his prey. For, the white colour ensured that the cub would be visible to prospective prey, and not well camouflaged by the jungle vegetation as his parents were.
The female tiger was extremely sad, and despite the poor odds of her baby surviving, set about trying to do her best for him. Thus, for far longer than normal, she hunted for him too, ensuring that the tiger grew well. Thanks to the many streams criss-crossing their territory, she even tried to make her baby learn to wade, and lie low in water, if that could give him an advantage while hunting. However, it was a tough battle for her. The young tiger increasingly realized the limitations his colour had placed on his chances of long term survival in the jungle. He grew increasingly sad at his plight, a sadness that increased with every failed attempt to hunt a prey the way his parents could.
It was in this mood one day that the young tiger set off on his own, determined not to be a burden on his mother anymore. After a day’s journey, he grew very tired, and despite his best attempts, failed to catch any prey to eat. Thus, hungry, tired and too far away to call for help from his parents, the young tiger slept.
In the morning, it was the rumbling walk of an elephant, along with the tinkling of bells that woke him up. Surprised at the sound of bells, which was completely new to him, the young tiger walked towards the sound. Suddenly, the elephant burst through the clearing.
Surprised at seeing a white tiger in front, and perhaps it’s tired condition, the elephant did not rear up in fright as one would expect. Instead, it just looked at the white tiger.
Finally the white tiger asked ” And who are you my friend, making this new sound which I have never heard before on an elephant?”
To which, the elephant replied,” I suspect you have never heard this sound because you have not seen a domesticated elephant in your life. I stay with a Circus, and prefer the company of humans now to wild animals, as my human master takes good care of me. He has tied this bell, whose noise you find so appealing, around my neck, to warm wild animals such as you of the repurcussions of tangling with me”.
Surprised at this rather aggressive response, the tiger replied, “ But I have no plans to attack you, dear elephant. I am tired of the wild life myself, and almost wish I could have a life such as yours”..
At which, the elephant replied, “ Well, tiger, your wish could be more easily fulfilled than you imagine. My master is looking for a good tiger to add to his troupe, and your colour will certainly make you more attractive to him. Alas, you are too old perhaps to be domesticated, as we usually get our tigers as cubs”.
At which, the tiger replied, “ Now you have me interested. Just what does one have to do to be domesticated”.
The elephant replied” Not much. You just need to ensure that you never, ever attack anyone, humans or animals. Even if they tease you, touch you, or make noises around you”.
The tiger said, “ That sounds easy enough. I am willing to control myself thus. Tell me, can we go to your master right now?”
To which, the elephant said” Yes we can. But having never seen you, my master will assume you are wild and might even kill you before you have a chance to show your new manners. But I have an idea. Climb on my back, and behave yourself. When I carry you back to the circus on my back, and everyone can see you are not hurting me, they will not kill you. “
To this suggestion, the tiger agreed immediately, and soon, off he went with the elephant to the circus, riding gingerly on his back. The tiger had reached near the edge of the jungle in any case, and as he soon realized, the circus was not too far away at all. Soon, people spotted him on the elephant’s back, and ran in terror away from them. The news soon reached the Circus owner, who fearing for his elephant’s life quickly grabbed a big gun and rushed out. But before he could raise it and shoot, the sight of the white tiger and the elephant convinced him that the elephant was in no danger from the tiger. In fact, the elephant, on spotting him, came near him, and the white tiger jumped down and sat down at his legs, with no malice whatsoever. Shocked at his good luck and the miracle in front of him, the owner quickly called his men back, and bade them make a very nice and big cage for the tiger. While the cage was being made, his men also fed the tiger the choicest meat and water, which the tiger gratefully ate and purred in pleasure at the end of it all. Once the cage was ready, he dutifully went in too! The men were spellbound, and quickly realized that this must indeed be a lucky day for them and their owner.
And surely, news of the amazing white tiger spread far and wide, who had come riding on an elephant’s back, and behaved tamely with all. Soon, the circus also had an act for the tiger, where he would ride in precisely as he had done when they first saw him, on the back of his friend the elephant and proceed to sit in the middle of a group of dogs and sheep who would perform around him. As the crowd applauded, the tiger loved it.
Soon, the Circus moved to a new town and area, with the same results. The tiger was truly popular and couldn’t believe his luck at having met the elephant. So much so, that he forgot everything the elephant told him about being domesticated. Then one day it happened.
The tiger was sitting in his cage, eating a lovely piece of goat leg, when suddenly something hit his ear. Now, no tiger, white or yellow, small or large, likes being hit in the ear. So when the tiger looked around to see a young kid throwing stones, he growled, to warn him . The kid refused to budge. In fact, the tigers docile behaviour earlier had emboldened the kid so much that opened the cage and went inside. Soon he was standing near the tiger and touching him with a small stick, something the tiger bore quietly, even as he continued to eat his food. Finding the tiger unresponsive, the kid tried to go around the tiger and in doing so, stepped on his tail. Now this was an indignity no animal, much less, a tiger will suffer. In a trice, his wild instincts returned, and the tiger pounced on the kid and broke his neck. This obviously killed the kid. And with that realization dawned on the poor tiger. With no other option available to his mind, the tiger decided he would simply eat up the kid, to hide any proof of his mistake. But before he could finish, his minder suddenly dropped in to clean his cage, and was horrified with what he saw. Namely, the remains of the kid which had still to be eaten by the tiger. He rushed back, raising a commotion. The tiger quickly got out of the cage, and realized that he would have to run for his life now, as he had no doubt that he would be shot now. For he had seen how the ‘master’ had shot a wolf, who had bitten two visitors earlier.
Thus, the tiger ran again, not for the first time in his life, but this time to save his life. He ran and ran and ran, along the way, being sighted by the odd villager who quickly rushed out of his way. Soon, he came to a narrow river, and thanks to his mother’s earlier attempts to teach him to try and hunt from the water, managed to cross it with some difficulty. Once on the other side, he ran deep into a jungle, the likes of which he had never seen before in his life. For this was a jungle with not many really tall trees, where the ground seemed to be wet everywhere, and it was criss crossed with streams with slow moving water. The biggest surprise was that the water was salty, and not the sweet water of his childhood streams. For now, thought the tiger grimly, this would have to do. Our tiger didnot know it at the time, but he had reached the Sunderbans.
The Sunderbans, for those of you who don't know, are forests comprising one of the the world's largest delta/riverine systems, with a mesh of naturally occuring canals spread through out a vast area festooned with countless 'islands'... The water levels move up and down with the sea tide, frequently submerging some of the islands, while depositing soil on others.
And this is where our tiger found himself after all his travails. After resting a while, he naturally felt hungry. His heart sank as he looked around at the wetness around him, with nary an animal worth catching. Tired and dejected, he decided to look for some water to drink at least. As he moved from stream to stream, the tiger was surprised to see that some of the streams were rich with aquatic life, including some really big, and interestingly, slow moving fish. Having rarely tried fish before, the tiger decided to try his luck in the water. Call it beginners luck or whatever, soon, he had caught himself three big, fat fishes to eat. As he dug in, he realised that the fish didn't taste bad at all, and in fact, better than some of the animals he had eaten in his time. As luck would have it, the tiger soon learnt to identify sweet water sources by the trees that grew around them. He wasted no time in marking those as 'his' territory. Not being used to the wild anymore, he decided to do it by making paw marks on the bark of these trees.
Water problem solved, the tiger set to work, to improve his skills at catching fish. Maybe it was knowing that this was his best chance of survival, or maybe it was simply easier in the Sunderbans, but the tiger learnt fast, and soon acquired quite a proficiency in catching fish. While doing so, he naturally became a good swimmer too, in the process mastering another art skill that tigers normally donot take to. Thus, the white tiger had become truly different now, and not just in colour.
The only time the tiger really had a tough time was when the tides would rise high, with storms to go with it. At these times, even the tiger didnot dare swim too far off from the coast from fear of drowning, and then, he had seen some large crocodiles in the water sometimes. It was on one such stormy night that he made his most joyous discovery in the jungle. The jungle had deer!
Indeed, the deer had always existed in the Sunderbans, but they were just quiter, and smaller groups than the typical deer hers in drier areas. By a stroke of luck for them, they had not really been seen by the new predator in their midst. Thus, on a stormy night, the tiger literally stumbled on a group of 5 deer, resting in the shade of a few straggly trees. Both the deer and the tiger were surprised, but the tiger, by now well used to his new found strength and abilities, recovered faster, and pounced on one of the deers.
A hearty meal of deer later, the tiger realised that he had been truly blessed. Not only was he the biggest predator in the Sunderbans, but he also had plentiful supply of food and water. And so began his reign in the jungle. But the tiger's tale is not over yet. As time went by, more and more people started living near the Sunderbans, and eventually, some of them spotted the tiger too. The tiger too, didnot miss the new visitors in his territory. For now, he was truly wild, and unlike most wild tigers had already tasted humans as food. Thus it was, that one day, on a whim or a warning to humans, depending on the point of view you take, the tiger decided to treat himself to a human again.
In the end, its wasn't so difficult for him. Humans had been getting incresingly desperate to catch thr big fish inside the sunderbans, and one day, the tiger spotted a man and his net, gradually moving in a stream. In no time, the tiger was stalking him, as he remembered his mother doing. The man, perhaps not used to being stalked, didnot realise the tiger was on him until he was virtually on top of him. It was a quick meal for the tiger, one that was going to make his reputation in the Sunderbans. Soon, the hamlets around the jungle were rife with stories of the giant white tiger who could swim, catch fish, as well as hunt down humans for food.
As the news spread, it reached the original circus too, where the tiger had begun his journey with humans. Of course, the circus owner guessed, that this was indeed the tiger he had kept. But he kept quite, for he was fearful that he would be punished for the new terror in the Sunderbans. Plus, he was not really unhappy about the tiger's crime, as, he justified, any child who refuses to listen to his parents and enter a tiger cage AND disturb the tiger was asking for trouble. But his experience told him that the male tiger, much like the human male, might become a little better if only it had female company. But like I said, he kept his thoughts to himself.
But his animals certainly heard, and wished the tiger the best of luck from their hearts. Because all of them were fond of the tiger actually, especially as he had been so nice to all of them, and told them such amazing stories of his own childhood, when he was wild, something none of them had ever been. Among these was a new tigress, with stripes like a normal tiger, who really began to wonder what life would be with the Sunderbans white tiger. She had been separated from her parents when she was just a cub, and she really felt that the Sunderbans life would be the right place for her to set up a family. After all, not only were the other tigers in the circus too old for her, most of them also had very bad breath and worse, some of them even liked cooked food! Cooked food! Our tigress may have been domesticated, but she had enough sense to realise that cooked food was not meant for tigers!
So she lived, ever watchful of amy news of the exploits of the Sunderbans tiger. And then one day, her wildest dream came true. The circus owner announced to his team that they would be performing in a town, very close to the Sunderbans. The tigress decided she would not miss this opportunity to escape, and join the white tiger in the Sunderbans. To do this, she decided to enlist the help of the elephant, who had originally brought the white tiger to the circus. The elephant readily agreed, because he had not been treated well by the owner after the 'accident' of the white tiger, and felt he was unfairly blamed for it. IN fact, he decided, if possible, even he would escape to the jungle, as he was sure that the white tiger would not hurt him if they met.
So it was, on a day when it was raining lightly, the elephant went across to the tigress's cage, and opened the latch from outside with his long trunk. And together in the dead of night, they set off towards the distant jungles. However, despite the darkness and the rain, the owner's son, who was searching for grass snakes outside, did see them. He ran to tell his father about what he had seen. Luckily for the animals, the oener's son was a big liar, and because of that, his father would not believe him initially, wsting precious minutes. Finally, the son had to threaten to rush into the tigress's cage to convince him that he was telling the truth. Shocked, the owner quickly grabbed a gun, and they ran off into the night, following the big footmarks of the elephant. Meanwhile the elephant and the tigress had reached the edge of the Sunderbans, and were confronted with a fast flowing stream, to enter the jungle proper. The elephant of course could handle it, but the tigress couldn't. And then, in the distance, they saw the owner and his son, coming at them with a gun. The tigress howled in despair and frustration, roaring loudly in the process. The elephant, being a quite animal and unable to bear the noise, decided to do the obvious thing for the tigress. He asked her to hop on to his back, and he wuld carry them both across the river. The tigress didn't think twice, and just jumped on his back. The elephant waded into the water, and started swimming slowly to the other side. Halfway in, three things happened. The owner and his son, reached the water's edge, and he started to take aim at the elephant, deparate to stop them from crossing. The white tiger, who had somehow heard the tigress's roars, appeared out of the jungle. And horrors, a crocodile in the river grabbed the elephants foot, to try and drown him, so he would have food to last him for a month.
As he bit into the foot, the elephant howled in pain, making the owner stop from pulling the trigger of his gun. The white tiger also roared in frustration, for he dared not enter the water with the crocodile in it. The owner guessed the situation very quickly, and then, he did something remarkable. He changed his aim, and fired instead at the crocodile. The bullet hit the crocodile, but didnot pierce his thick hide, doing just enough to make him lose his grip momentarily on the elephant's foot, enabling the elephant to make an attempot to speed up. In fact, he got cloe enough to the shore to enable the tigress, who was by now thoroughly terrified for her life, to jump across to the shore and be with the white tiger. But the poor elephant, before he could make it himself, was bitten badly by the angry crocodile again. As he floundered in the water, the owner, who knew he could never recover from his wounds now, took one last look at the tigers together, and shot the elephant, hoping to cut short the pain for him. Thankfully, he hit him on the head, and soon, the elephant was dead, and ready to make the crocodile's family very happy, as they would not have to bother with looking for food for a whole month now...
The tiger and tigress looked at the circus owner one last time, and went into the deep jungle, where noone would dare follow them. The owner knew that now there was no way he could tell people about what had happened, as he would be blamed for the whole thing. He decided that he would get out of the circus business altogether, and sell security equipment instead, to protect people from wildlife. Because he knew, that in the Sunderbans, people were going to very worried about their security in times to come.
The tigers duly had cubs, two white and two yellow, and like their father and to a small extent, their mother now, these cubs also learnt to hunt by fishing etc...
Soon, the population grew further, and their territory further. Word of the Elephant's sacrifice also spread, and to this day, Elephant's never roam in the Sunderban's, with all elephant's hating the crocodiles with their heart too. And the crocodiles? They live on too, in the vain hope that someday one of them will also bring home an elephant to eat, like their ancestor, who became so famous for a deed which he truly didnot accomplish on his own. And the circus owner's son? He reformed after the whole experience, and now sells masks to the people in the Sunderbans, which they wear at the back of the heads, so a tiger will not attack them from behind....
Once upon a time, long long ago, there lived two tigers together, in a vast jungle in central India. Both the male, and the female tiger were big, strong and widely feared for their hunting prowess. Not surprisingly, they were proud of their reputations too.
And then they had a cub. To their shock, their cub was all white! Being smart hunters, both the parents realized that with his different colour, their baby would not stand a chance, when it came to hunting his prey. For, the white colour ensured that the cub would be visible to prospective prey, and not well camouflaged by the jungle vegetation as his parents were.
The female tiger was extremely sad, and despite the poor odds of her baby surviving, set about trying to do her best for him. Thus, for far longer than normal, she hunted for him too, ensuring that the tiger grew well. Thanks to the many streams criss-crossing their territory, she even tried to make her baby learn to wade, and lie low in water, if that could give him an advantage while hunting. However, it was a tough battle for her. The young tiger increasingly realized the limitations his colour had placed on his chances of long term survival in the jungle. He grew increasingly sad at his plight, a sadness that increased with every failed attempt to hunt a prey the way his parents could.
It was in this mood one day that the young tiger set off on his own, determined not to be a burden on his mother anymore. After a day’s journey, he grew very tired, and despite his best attempts, failed to catch any prey to eat. Thus, hungry, tired and too far away to call for help from his parents, the young tiger slept.
In the morning, it was the rumbling walk of an elephant, along with the tinkling of bells that woke him up. Surprised at the sound of bells, which was completely new to him, the young tiger walked towards the sound. Suddenly, the elephant burst through the clearing.
Surprised at seeing a white tiger in front, and perhaps it’s tired condition, the elephant did not rear up in fright as one would expect. Instead, it just looked at the white tiger.
Finally the white tiger asked ” And who are you my friend, making this new sound which I have never heard before on an elephant?”
To which, the elephant replied,” I suspect you have never heard this sound because you have not seen a domesticated elephant in your life. I stay with a Circus, and prefer the company of humans now to wild animals, as my human master takes good care of me. He has tied this bell, whose noise you find so appealing, around my neck, to warm wild animals such as you of the repurcussions of tangling with me”.
Surprised at this rather aggressive response, the tiger replied, “ But I have no plans to attack you, dear elephant. I am tired of the wild life myself, and almost wish I could have a life such as yours”..
At which, the elephant replied, “ Well, tiger, your wish could be more easily fulfilled than you imagine. My master is looking for a good tiger to add to his troupe, and your colour will certainly make you more attractive to him. Alas, you are too old perhaps to be domesticated, as we usually get our tigers as cubs”.
At which, the tiger replied, “ Now you have me interested. Just what does one have to do to be domesticated”.
The elephant replied” Not much. You just need to ensure that you never, ever attack anyone, humans or animals. Even if they tease you, touch you, or make noises around you”.
The tiger said, “ That sounds easy enough. I am willing to control myself thus. Tell me, can we go to your master right now?”
To which, the elephant said” Yes we can. But having never seen you, my master will assume you are wild and might even kill you before you have a chance to show your new manners. But I have an idea. Climb on my back, and behave yourself. When I carry you back to the circus on my back, and everyone can see you are not hurting me, they will not kill you. “
To this suggestion, the tiger agreed immediately, and soon, off he went with the elephant to the circus, riding gingerly on his back. The tiger had reached near the edge of the jungle in any case, and as he soon realized, the circus was not too far away at all. Soon, people spotted him on the elephant’s back, and ran in terror away from them. The news soon reached the Circus owner, who fearing for his elephant’s life quickly grabbed a big gun and rushed out. But before he could raise it and shoot, the sight of the white tiger and the elephant convinced him that the elephant was in no danger from the tiger. In fact, the elephant, on spotting him, came near him, and the white tiger jumped down and sat down at his legs, with no malice whatsoever. Shocked at his good luck and the miracle in front of him, the owner quickly called his men back, and bade them make a very nice and big cage for the tiger. While the cage was being made, his men also fed the tiger the choicest meat and water, which the tiger gratefully ate and purred in pleasure at the end of it all. Once the cage was ready, he dutifully went in too! The men were spellbound, and quickly realized that this must indeed be a lucky day for them and their owner.
And surely, news of the amazing white tiger spread far and wide, who had come riding on an elephant’s back, and behaved tamely with all. Soon, the circus also had an act for the tiger, where he would ride in precisely as he had done when they first saw him, on the back of his friend the elephant and proceed to sit in the middle of a group of dogs and sheep who would perform around him. As the crowd applauded, the tiger loved it.
Soon, the Circus moved to a new town and area, with the same results. The tiger was truly popular and couldn’t believe his luck at having met the elephant. So much so, that he forgot everything the elephant told him about being domesticated. Then one day it happened.
The tiger was sitting in his cage, eating a lovely piece of goat leg, when suddenly something hit his ear. Now, no tiger, white or yellow, small or large, likes being hit in the ear. So when the tiger looked around to see a young kid throwing stones, he growled, to warn him . The kid refused to budge. In fact, the tigers docile behaviour earlier had emboldened the kid so much that opened the cage and went inside. Soon he was standing near the tiger and touching him with a small stick, something the tiger bore quietly, even as he continued to eat his food. Finding the tiger unresponsive, the kid tried to go around the tiger and in doing so, stepped on his tail. Now this was an indignity no animal, much less, a tiger will suffer. In a trice, his wild instincts returned, and the tiger pounced on the kid and broke his neck. This obviously killed the kid. And with that realization dawned on the poor tiger. With no other option available to his mind, the tiger decided he would simply eat up the kid, to hide any proof of his mistake. But before he could finish, his minder suddenly dropped in to clean his cage, and was horrified with what he saw. Namely, the remains of the kid which had still to be eaten by the tiger. He rushed back, raising a commotion. The tiger quickly got out of the cage, and realized that he would have to run for his life now, as he had no doubt that he would be shot now. For he had seen how the ‘master’ had shot a wolf, who had bitten two visitors earlier.
Thus, the tiger ran again, not for the first time in his life, but this time to save his life. He ran and ran and ran, along the way, being sighted by the odd villager who quickly rushed out of his way. Soon, he came to a narrow river, and thanks to his mother’s earlier attempts to teach him to try and hunt from the water, managed to cross it with some difficulty. Once on the other side, he ran deep into a jungle, the likes of which he had never seen before in his life. For this was a jungle with not many really tall trees, where the ground seemed to be wet everywhere, and it was criss crossed with streams with slow moving water. The biggest surprise was that the water was salty, and not the sweet water of his childhood streams. For now, thought the tiger grimly, this would have to do. Our tiger didnot know it at the time, but he had reached the Sunderbans.
The Sunderbans, for those of you who don't know, are forests comprising one of the the world's largest delta/riverine systems, with a mesh of naturally occuring canals spread through out a vast area festooned with countless 'islands'... The water levels move up and down with the sea tide, frequently submerging some of the islands, while depositing soil on others.
And this is where our tiger found himself after all his travails. After resting a while, he naturally felt hungry. His heart sank as he looked around at the wetness around him, with nary an animal worth catching. Tired and dejected, he decided to look for some water to drink at least. As he moved from stream to stream, the tiger was surprised to see that some of the streams were rich with aquatic life, including some really big, and interestingly, slow moving fish. Having rarely tried fish before, the tiger decided to try his luck in the water. Call it beginners luck or whatever, soon, he had caught himself three big, fat fishes to eat. As he dug in, he realised that the fish didn't taste bad at all, and in fact, better than some of the animals he had eaten in his time. As luck would have it, the tiger soon learnt to identify sweet water sources by the trees that grew around them. He wasted no time in marking those as 'his' territory. Not being used to the wild anymore, he decided to do it by making paw marks on the bark of these trees.
Water problem solved, the tiger set to work, to improve his skills at catching fish. Maybe it was knowing that this was his best chance of survival, or maybe it was simply easier in the Sunderbans, but the tiger learnt fast, and soon acquired quite a proficiency in catching fish. While doing so, he naturally became a good swimmer too, in the process mastering another art skill that tigers normally donot take to. Thus, the white tiger had become truly different now, and not just in colour.
The only time the tiger really had a tough time was when the tides would rise high, with storms to go with it. At these times, even the tiger didnot dare swim too far off from the coast from fear of drowning, and then, he had seen some large crocodiles in the water sometimes. It was on one such stormy night that he made his most joyous discovery in the jungle. The jungle had deer!
Indeed, the deer had always existed in the Sunderbans, but they were just quiter, and smaller groups than the typical deer hers in drier areas. By a stroke of luck for them, they had not really been seen by the new predator in their midst. Thus, on a stormy night, the tiger literally stumbled on a group of 5 deer, resting in the shade of a few straggly trees. Both the deer and the tiger were surprised, but the tiger, by now well used to his new found strength and abilities, recovered faster, and pounced on one of the deers.
A hearty meal of deer later, the tiger realised that he had been truly blessed. Not only was he the biggest predator in the Sunderbans, but he also had plentiful supply of food and water. And so began his reign in the jungle. But the tiger's tale is not over yet. As time went by, more and more people started living near the Sunderbans, and eventually, some of them spotted the tiger too. The tiger too, didnot miss the new visitors in his territory. For now, he was truly wild, and unlike most wild tigers had already tasted humans as food. Thus it was, that one day, on a whim or a warning to humans, depending on the point of view you take, the tiger decided to treat himself to a human again.
In the end, its wasn't so difficult for him. Humans had been getting incresingly desperate to catch thr big fish inside the sunderbans, and one day, the tiger spotted a man and his net, gradually moving in a stream. In no time, the tiger was stalking him, as he remembered his mother doing. The man, perhaps not used to being stalked, didnot realise the tiger was on him until he was virtually on top of him. It was a quick meal for the tiger, one that was going to make his reputation in the Sunderbans. Soon, the hamlets around the jungle were rife with stories of the giant white tiger who could swim, catch fish, as well as hunt down humans for food.
As the news spread, it reached the original circus too, where the tiger had begun his journey with humans. Of course, the circus owner guessed, that this was indeed the tiger he had kept. But he kept quite, for he was fearful that he would be punished for the new terror in the Sunderbans. Plus, he was not really unhappy about the tiger's crime, as, he justified, any child who refuses to listen to his parents and enter a tiger cage AND disturb the tiger was asking for trouble. But his experience told him that the male tiger, much like the human male, might become a little better if only it had female company. But like I said, he kept his thoughts to himself.
But his animals certainly heard, and wished the tiger the best of luck from their hearts. Because all of them were fond of the tiger actually, especially as he had been so nice to all of them, and told them such amazing stories of his own childhood, when he was wild, something none of them had ever been. Among these was a new tigress, with stripes like a normal tiger, who really began to wonder what life would be with the Sunderbans white tiger. She had been separated from her parents when she was just a cub, and she really felt that the Sunderbans life would be the right place for her to set up a family. After all, not only were the other tigers in the circus too old for her, most of them also had very bad breath and worse, some of them even liked cooked food! Cooked food! Our tigress may have been domesticated, but she had enough sense to realise that cooked food was not meant for tigers!
So she lived, ever watchful of amy news of the exploits of the Sunderbans tiger. And then one day, her wildest dream came true. The circus owner announced to his team that they would be performing in a town, very close to the Sunderbans. The tigress decided she would not miss this opportunity to escape, and join the white tiger in the Sunderbans. To do this, she decided to enlist the help of the elephant, who had originally brought the white tiger to the circus. The elephant readily agreed, because he had not been treated well by the owner after the 'accident' of the white tiger, and felt he was unfairly blamed for it. IN fact, he decided, if possible, even he would escape to the jungle, as he was sure that the white tiger would not hurt him if they met.
So it was, on a day when it was raining lightly, the elephant went across to the tigress's cage, and opened the latch from outside with his long trunk. And together in the dead of night, they set off towards the distant jungles. However, despite the darkness and the rain, the owner's son, who was searching for grass snakes outside, did see them. He ran to tell his father about what he had seen. Luckily for the animals, the oener's son was a big liar, and because of that, his father would not believe him initially, wsting precious minutes. Finally, the son had to threaten to rush into the tigress's cage to convince him that he was telling the truth. Shocked, the owner quickly grabbed a gun, and they ran off into the night, following the big footmarks of the elephant. Meanwhile the elephant and the tigress had reached the edge of the Sunderbans, and were confronted with a fast flowing stream, to enter the jungle proper. The elephant of course could handle it, but the tigress couldn't. And then, in the distance, they saw the owner and his son, coming at them with a gun. The tigress howled in despair and frustration, roaring loudly in the process. The elephant, being a quite animal and unable to bear the noise, decided to do the obvious thing for the tigress. He asked her to hop on to his back, and he wuld carry them both across the river. The tigress didn't think twice, and just jumped on his back. The elephant waded into the water, and started swimming slowly to the other side. Halfway in, three things happened. The owner and his son, reached the water's edge, and he started to take aim at the elephant, deparate to stop them from crossing. The white tiger, who had somehow heard the tigress's roars, appeared out of the jungle. And horrors, a crocodile in the river grabbed the elephants foot, to try and drown him, so he would have food to last him for a month.
As he bit into the foot, the elephant howled in pain, making the owner stop from pulling the trigger of his gun. The white tiger also roared in frustration, for he dared not enter the water with the crocodile in it. The owner guessed the situation very quickly, and then, he did something remarkable. He changed his aim, and fired instead at the crocodile. The bullet hit the crocodile, but didnot pierce his thick hide, doing just enough to make him lose his grip momentarily on the elephant's foot, enabling the elephant to make an attempot to speed up. In fact, he got cloe enough to the shore to enable the tigress, who was by now thoroughly terrified for her life, to jump across to the shore and be with the white tiger. But the poor elephant, before he could make it himself, was bitten badly by the angry crocodile again. As he floundered in the water, the owner, who knew he could never recover from his wounds now, took one last look at the tigers together, and shot the elephant, hoping to cut short the pain for him. Thankfully, he hit him on the head, and soon, the elephant was dead, and ready to make the crocodile's family very happy, as they would not have to bother with looking for food for a whole month now...
The tiger and tigress looked at the circus owner one last time, and went into the deep jungle, where noone would dare follow them. The owner knew that now there was no way he could tell people about what had happened, as he would be blamed for the whole thing. He decided that he would get out of the circus business altogether, and sell security equipment instead, to protect people from wildlife. Because he knew, that in the Sunderbans, people were going to very worried about their security in times to come.
The tigers duly had cubs, two white and two yellow, and like their father and to a small extent, their mother now, these cubs also learnt to hunt by fishing etc...
Soon, the population grew further, and their territory further. Word of the Elephant's sacrifice also spread, and to this day, Elephant's never roam in the Sunderban's, with all elephant's hating the crocodiles with their heart too. And the crocodiles? They live on too, in the vain hope that someday one of them will also bring home an elephant to eat, like their ancestor, who became so famous for a deed which he truly didnot accomplish on his own. And the circus owner's son? He reformed after the whole experience, and now sells masks to the people in the Sunderbans, which they wear at the back of the heads, so a tiger will not attack them from behind....
Thursday, February 01, 2007
In which Shah Rukh stamps his class
Before I forget, I suppose I owe it to SRK to put this on record. The KBC episode today was truly fantastic, in the way he handled what must rank as one of the all time difficult contestants.
I mean, here you had a school marm from Jind, Haryana, who had come with her mum. The lady was a teacher, and 3 minutes into her presense, I was practically shuddering with horror at the thought of the poor sods in Jind who would miss doing HER homework.
A razor sharp tongue, hands that had corporal punishment written all over, and an attitude that wouldn't know pity if it came crawling on its knees.
SRK got into the job heroically, with each and every attempt at humour and freindliness being rebuffed with mind blowingly rude repartees from the lady, which on this occassion came across as simply funny as the audience went along. As the lady progressed, and eventually looked to be getting something wrong, she even went so far as to inform SRK that she had no intention to hug him while exiting as he likes his contestants to do. SRK took it in his stride, and got back eventually, handing over the cheque to her mum instead, who was more than happy to hug the guy. Even as her daughter looked on disapprovongly. Fantastic entertainment.
I suppose the lady had her reasons for being the way she was, and it WAs pretty clear that she is destined to be a spinster all her life, considering all the choices she gave when it came to spending her winnings. Ranging from keeping a pet tiger to taking care of the dogs in her neighbourhood.
Something tells me that the people of Jind need to be ashamed about it somewhere, as the woman clearly was extremely conscious of maintaining an image that was forbidding and touch me not, even if it meant rebuffing the man a majority of women wouldn't mind hugging anytime of the day!
I haven't been following KBC so far, but if today's performance is any indicator, then ratings or no ratings, SRK has truly made the big chair his own for now.
Before I forget, I suppose I owe it to SRK to put this on record. The KBC episode today was truly fantastic, in the way he handled what must rank as one of the all time difficult contestants.
I mean, here you had a school marm from Jind, Haryana, who had come with her mum. The lady was a teacher, and 3 minutes into her presense, I was practically shuddering with horror at the thought of the poor sods in Jind who would miss doing HER homework.
A razor sharp tongue, hands that had corporal punishment written all over, and an attitude that wouldn't know pity if it came crawling on its knees.
SRK got into the job heroically, with each and every attempt at humour and freindliness being rebuffed with mind blowingly rude repartees from the lady, which on this occassion came across as simply funny as the audience went along. As the lady progressed, and eventually looked to be getting something wrong, she even went so far as to inform SRK that she had no intention to hug him while exiting as he likes his contestants to do. SRK took it in his stride, and got back eventually, handing over the cheque to her mum instead, who was more than happy to hug the guy. Even as her daughter looked on disapprovongly. Fantastic entertainment.
I suppose the lady had her reasons for being the way she was, and it WAs pretty clear that she is destined to be a spinster all her life, considering all the choices she gave when it came to spending her winnings. Ranging from keeping a pet tiger to taking care of the dogs in her neighbourhood.
Something tells me that the people of Jind need to be ashamed about it somewhere, as the woman clearly was extremely conscious of maintaining an image that was forbidding and touch me not, even if it meant rebuffing the man a majority of women wouldn't mind hugging anytime of the day!
I haven't been following KBC so far, but if today's performance is any indicator, then ratings or no ratings, SRK has truly made the big chair his own for now.
Friday, January 19, 2007
ADEX Results: The Internet at 163 crores???
The TAM Adex ad survey for 2006 has just come out. And it seems to indicate the internet has a share of 1% at 163 crores. yes, you read it right, 163 crores.
Some quick thoughts on the number.
Rediff.com's India online advertising figures would seem to be 40% of total Indian advertising revenues.
The number clearly does not include income from google's ad sense programme which a lot of sites have taken a shine to. In fact, an estimate on the total money distributed by the adsense programme in 2006 puts a figure of around Rs28-32 crores. That is a really interesting number, as it means almost 20 percent of advertising extra for the publishers.
Perhaps most fascinatingly, it seems media owners do understand the relevance of online advertising more than we give them credit for. The three main industry sites, agencyfaqs.com, exchange4media.com and indiantelevision.com between them are estimatd to be garnering Rs 10 crores of advertising on the sites and their mailers. That is a not too inconsequential 6 plus percent, and added to other media advertising in the space, will probably add upto more than 15% of total money spent online. Very impressive numbers indeed.
Prediction for 2007: Internet at 260 crores.
The TAM Adex ad survey for 2006 has just come out. And it seems to indicate the internet has a share of 1% at 163 crores. yes, you read it right, 163 crores.
Some quick thoughts on the number.
Rediff.com's India online advertising figures would seem to be 40% of total Indian advertising revenues.
The number clearly does not include income from google's ad sense programme which a lot of sites have taken a shine to. In fact, an estimate on the total money distributed by the adsense programme in 2006 puts a figure of around Rs28-32 crores. That is a really interesting number, as it means almost 20 percent of advertising extra for the publishers.
Perhaps most fascinatingly, it seems media owners do understand the relevance of online advertising more than we give them credit for. The three main industry sites, agencyfaqs.com, exchange4media.com and indiantelevision.com between them are estimatd to be garnering Rs 10 crores of advertising on the sites and their mailers. That is a not too inconsequential 6 plus percent, and added to other media advertising in the space, will probably add upto more than 15% of total money spent online. Very impressive numbers indeed.
Prediction for 2007: Internet at 260 crores.
The Big B –Shah Rukh tussle: KBC has the answers
I am no fan of SRK, with hardly a good word to say for the roles he has enacted in various films, save the earliest, and some honest attempts in between to act ‘normal’. Otherwise, the guy is far too aware if his stardom when he acts, helped no doubt by the fact that recently, he has been directed by admirers and good friends too frequently.
But the media war that seems to pit SRK against the Big B, does seem a little unfair on him. Picture this:
You are 25, just at the beginning of your career, and a man twice your age is the ruling deity in your industry. Chances are, you would give the man credit for being what he is, and get on with making your own life. 15 years on, you have won virtually every possible award, broken most box office records, and among people from your generation, clearly done enough to ensure you are considered the biggest thing to have happened in 15 years in the industry. And what do you see? The twice your age star, who is now only 25 years older than you, is still doing his darndest to rule. Apart from a superb reinvention on the small screen, which has also acquired it’s own power in the intervening years, the old fogey has also done everything possible to outflank you, outsmart you and eventually, seemingly prepare the ground to continue the ‘ruling dynasty’ with son Abhishek finally coming good.
Shahrukh has good reasons to feel aggrieved at the Big B for taking the sheen away from what should have come naturally to him.
Which to me, explains his drive to better the Big B on not just his endorsements (ie, get the same endorsemens at a higher price), but even his most famous roles (Don) and finally, the TV show that gave the Big B the second lease of life, KBC. Here, we have had two guys going about surviving and protecting turf in the most interestingly different ways.
While SRK goes about chasing down every possible achievement the Big B had, and trying to better it in the simplest currency people understand, ie, more hard currency for the same thing, the Big B has made a virtue of the opposite and ‘convenient’ values of simplicity, humility and more recently, a show of being above it all. All the time, fighting hard to protect his turf. I mean, who would have thought a celebrity would get away with endorsing over 25 brands?
I feel KBC will finally have the answers. The amazingly popular programme was that, simply because it’s appeal cut across the spectrum, from the youth to their parents. The youth bedazzled by the money it offered, while the older lot liked the money as well as the Big B’s superb understatedness while dispensing it at most times. By quite simply, making the event bigger than the outcome for a majority of the participants. He could carry it off, thanks to his age, and the well cultivated image described above.
Shah Rukh will need to change the rules again. And this time, to by far the largest audience in his life. For one, he cannot quite downplay the financial size of the awards, thanks t his own reputation for valuing it mightily, with the many comments attributed to him justifying his dancing at parties, shows etc for the money. Secondly, the image of a man who has been there, done it all, and has no reason to need to talk about his achievements will not go with him. After all, Shah Rukh possibly has a serious reason to make sure he lasts for another 10 years or so at least, son Aryan’s future in the industry might be at stake.
So will the mighty SRK pull it off in KBC? If he does, it will be a true triumph of his magnetism and derring do, in the face of difficult odds. If he doesn’t, a lot of his supporters will have to live with the “I told you so’ of Big B fans for some time to come. And like a Tendulkar ‘ choke’, the stigma of the KBC misadventure will sully a carefully and well burnished career.
I am no fan of SRK, with hardly a good word to say for the roles he has enacted in various films, save the earliest, and some honest attempts in between to act ‘normal’. Otherwise, the guy is far too aware if his stardom when he acts, helped no doubt by the fact that recently, he has been directed by admirers and good friends too frequently.
But the media war that seems to pit SRK against the Big B, does seem a little unfair on him. Picture this:
You are 25, just at the beginning of your career, and a man twice your age is the ruling deity in your industry. Chances are, you would give the man credit for being what he is, and get on with making your own life. 15 years on, you have won virtually every possible award, broken most box office records, and among people from your generation, clearly done enough to ensure you are considered the biggest thing to have happened in 15 years in the industry. And what do you see? The twice your age star, who is now only 25 years older than you, is still doing his darndest to rule. Apart from a superb reinvention on the small screen, which has also acquired it’s own power in the intervening years, the old fogey has also done everything possible to outflank you, outsmart you and eventually, seemingly prepare the ground to continue the ‘ruling dynasty’ with son Abhishek finally coming good.
Shahrukh has good reasons to feel aggrieved at the Big B for taking the sheen away from what should have come naturally to him.
Which to me, explains his drive to better the Big B on not just his endorsements (ie, get the same endorsemens at a higher price), but even his most famous roles (Don) and finally, the TV show that gave the Big B the second lease of life, KBC. Here, we have had two guys going about surviving and protecting turf in the most interestingly different ways.
While SRK goes about chasing down every possible achievement the Big B had, and trying to better it in the simplest currency people understand, ie, more hard currency for the same thing, the Big B has made a virtue of the opposite and ‘convenient’ values of simplicity, humility and more recently, a show of being above it all. All the time, fighting hard to protect his turf. I mean, who would have thought a celebrity would get away with endorsing over 25 brands?
I feel KBC will finally have the answers. The amazingly popular programme was that, simply because it’s appeal cut across the spectrum, from the youth to their parents. The youth bedazzled by the money it offered, while the older lot liked the money as well as the Big B’s superb understatedness while dispensing it at most times. By quite simply, making the event bigger than the outcome for a majority of the participants. He could carry it off, thanks to his age, and the well cultivated image described above.
Shah Rukh will need to change the rules again. And this time, to by far the largest audience in his life. For one, he cannot quite downplay the financial size of the awards, thanks t his own reputation for valuing it mightily, with the many comments attributed to him justifying his dancing at parties, shows etc for the money. Secondly, the image of a man who has been there, done it all, and has no reason to need to talk about his achievements will not go with him. After all, Shah Rukh possibly has a serious reason to make sure he lasts for another 10 years or so at least, son Aryan’s future in the industry might be at stake.
So will the mighty SRK pull it off in KBC? If he does, it will be a true triumph of his magnetism and derring do, in the face of difficult odds. If he doesn’t, a lot of his supporters will have to live with the “I told you so’ of Big B fans for some time to come. And like a Tendulkar ‘ choke’, the stigma of the KBC misadventure will sully a carefully and well burnished career.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
The big conundrum of web 2.0- Financial domain
With the second wave of dotcoms, or more precisely, the first wave survivors and the second wave, already having 'arrived', there is one big hole in the Indian space. For a really good, content driven financial website. Sure, we have the pink papers and their websites, but those fall short, as do the websites of almost all print publishers in the country.
Sadly, it has allowed a website like moneycontrol.com from the TV 18 group to have a virtual monopoly, despite practices that would put off any serious surfer anywhere. Mind you, they have done quite a few things which clearly marks them out as formidable players, but the fact is, lack of worthwhile competition has also made them take users for granted, with pretty frustrating results lately.
Thus, if you want to see the latest results, those will be linked to indiaearnings.com, another group website, which in turn requires you to be registered at poweryourtrade.com, their tipping and trading website. The disease is spreading, as sites like ICICIdirect.com, which were never comprehensive in any case, have also put a brake on going beyond the headlines, unless you are a subscriber to their services.
Leaving the job of getting information really difficult for anyone interested in financial issues, who is not quite an active investor.
Pure play competitors like myiris.com seem to have given up some time back, though I feel they are just a single round of funding away from a smart turnaround, given the market dynamics right now. Myiris for instance, badly needs to add bandwidth and servers for their traffic, redesign a little to show some semblance of freshness, and they could be looking at serious monies in pretty good time. Which leaves me wondering, why haven't they moved yet?
And worse, leaves me wondering, how long before we have a serious, quality option to moneycontrol?
With the second wave of dotcoms, or more precisely, the first wave survivors and the second wave, already having 'arrived', there is one big hole in the Indian space. For a really good, content driven financial website. Sure, we have the pink papers and their websites, but those fall short, as do the websites of almost all print publishers in the country.
Sadly, it has allowed a website like moneycontrol.com from the TV 18 group to have a virtual monopoly, despite practices that would put off any serious surfer anywhere. Mind you, they have done quite a few things which clearly marks them out as formidable players, but the fact is, lack of worthwhile competition has also made them take users for granted, with pretty frustrating results lately.
Thus, if you want to see the latest results, those will be linked to indiaearnings.com, another group website, which in turn requires you to be registered at poweryourtrade.com, their tipping and trading website. The disease is spreading, as sites like ICICIdirect.com, which were never comprehensive in any case, have also put a brake on going beyond the headlines, unless you are a subscriber to their services.
Leaving the job of getting information really difficult for anyone interested in financial issues, who is not quite an active investor.
Pure play competitors like myiris.com seem to have given up some time back, though I feel they are just a single round of funding away from a smart turnaround, given the market dynamics right now. Myiris for instance, badly needs to add bandwidth and servers for their traffic, redesign a little to show some semblance of freshness, and they could be looking at serious monies in pretty good time. Which leaves me wondering, why haven't they moved yet?
And worse, leaves me wondering, how long before we have a serious, quality option to moneycontrol?
Friday, December 08, 2006
Times admits the basic truth of online: Their offline brand can be a liability online.
I don't know how many people noticed, but the matrimonial site of the Times Group, Timesmatri.com, just became simplymarry.com. For those of you who came in late, even old hands at Indiatimes.com, the flagship online property from the times group, had their misgivings about being 'stuck' with the Times name, and all the associations that go with it, good and bad.
The dropping of the decidedly strange sounding name is a confirmation of the feeling that offline media brands are not so easily transferable to the net, thanks to the major doffrence in demographics.
Another big media fairm that might surprise with the name of it's online avtar might be HT Media, which will soon launch it's widely anticipated business daily.
Also, the trend above seems to offer some really interesting opportuities to the no. 5, 6 and 7 players in key segments like matrimonials, jobs, property etc.
Some of the biggest, and cash rich media players have failed to create anything online as of now, notably Deccan Chronocle, HT Media, The Hindu group etc. They might find it worthwhile to tie-up /buy these relatively small but established online players, and merge their own online classified offerings with theirs.
I don't know how many people noticed, but the matrimonial site of the Times Group, Timesmatri.com, just became simplymarry.com. For those of you who came in late, even old hands at Indiatimes.com, the flagship online property from the times group, had their misgivings about being 'stuck' with the Times name, and all the associations that go with it, good and bad.
The dropping of the decidedly strange sounding name is a confirmation of the feeling that offline media brands are not so easily transferable to the net, thanks to the major doffrence in demographics.
Another big media fairm that might surprise with the name of it's online avtar might be HT Media, which will soon launch it's widely anticipated business daily.
Also, the trend above seems to offer some really interesting opportuities to the no. 5, 6 and 7 players in key segments like matrimonials, jobs, property etc.
Some of the biggest, and cash rich media players have failed to create anything online as of now, notably Deccan Chronocle, HT Media, The Hindu group etc. They might find it worthwhile to tie-up /buy these relatively small but established online players, and merge their own online classified offerings with theirs.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Breaking News, aka Broke for news. One case where the loser could be winning.
Ever wondered where the national media got the names that they have for breaking news? Some call it News flash, some call it Just in, and of course, some call it breaking news. I suspect he answer lies with two really interesting companies in the advertising space, agencyfaqs.com and exchange4media.com. (e4m)
These two sites have a lot of news on the Indian advertising and media industries, though agencyfaqs trumpets its marketing orientation too. As they competed increasingly for news, they were the earliest starters of the breaking news concept, where they would shoot an emailer to their subscribers with the 'breaking news'.
E4m has clearly decided to make the breaking news story its sole reason for existence. They even sent out a mailer recently with a screenshot of the site with SIX breaking news stories:) It's another story that all six were actually press releases, which only e4m had the gall to send out as breaking news. The much more conservative and clearly more 'edit' led agencyfaqs has opted to play a balancing game, posting these stories on the site only, instead of sending out mailers, under the moniker 'Latest' or something like that.
The point here is, do their subscribers actually like getting so many mailers, at a time when spam has virtually taken over the email systems? On a typical day, these sites, especially e4m, send almost 6-7 mails to their subscribers, including one daily news mail. I suspect, the only one people look forward to is the news mail, which is also the one they originally subscribed for.
A check at their registration pages confirms this. While the conservative agencyfaqs has a clear option for people to choose to select the extra mailers, e4m pretty much rolls you in.
So in my book, agencyfaqs does come off better, for its slightly more sophisticated approach. From what I can see, it hasn't hurt the advertising they get one bit too. E4m needs to decide whether they really want to be stuck with the news leader role, after a news is only one part of hat these professionals require for their work. I think agencyfaqs approach of a wider pffering will work better in the long term.
Why did I write the above post about these two?
because besides subscribing to their mailers (and a little tired of the crap, I must say), I have a feeling that both are going to be scouting for money soon, and potential investors , if they are sophisticated enough, might just plump for the faqs bandwagon, rather than e4m's shrill pitch.
Ever wondered where the national media got the names that they have for breaking news? Some call it News flash, some call it Just in, and of course, some call it breaking news. I suspect he answer lies with two really interesting companies in the advertising space, agencyfaqs.com and exchange4media.com. (e4m)
These two sites have a lot of news on the Indian advertising and media industries, though agencyfaqs trumpets its marketing orientation too. As they competed increasingly for news, they were the earliest starters of the breaking news concept, where they would shoot an emailer to their subscribers with the 'breaking news'.
E4m has clearly decided to make the breaking news story its sole reason for existence. They even sent out a mailer recently with a screenshot of the site with SIX breaking news stories:) It's another story that all six were actually press releases, which only e4m had the gall to send out as breaking news. The much more conservative and clearly more 'edit' led agencyfaqs has opted to play a balancing game, posting these stories on the site only, instead of sending out mailers, under the moniker 'Latest' or something like that.
The point here is, do their subscribers actually like getting so many mailers, at a time when spam has virtually taken over the email systems? On a typical day, these sites, especially e4m, send almost 6-7 mails to their subscribers, including one daily news mail. I suspect, the only one people look forward to is the news mail, which is also the one they originally subscribed for.
A check at their registration pages confirms this. While the conservative agencyfaqs has a clear option for people to choose to select the extra mailers, e4m pretty much rolls you in.
So in my book, agencyfaqs does come off better, for its slightly more sophisticated approach. From what I can see, it hasn't hurt the advertising they get one bit too. E4m needs to decide whether they really want to be stuck with the news leader role, after a news is only one part of hat these professionals require for their work. I think agencyfaqs approach of a wider pffering will work better in the long term.
Why did I write the above post about these two?
because besides subscribing to their mailers (and a little tired of the crap, I must say), I have a feeling that both are going to be scouting for money soon, and potential investors , if they are sophisticated enough, might just plump for the faqs bandwagon, rather than e4m's shrill pitch.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Flying on your advance, the low cost way
The low cost revolution might have made travelling much easier and cheaper, but it has not come without it's own pettiness. If the parsimony with ANY feature was not enough, most airlines seem to follow a strange practice when it comes to cancellations. While all of them charge a fee ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 650 for cancelling, most, it seems, donot want to return the money you have paid even after that. Go Air, Spice Jet, Kingfisher, they all give you a 'credit note' instead of a refund of the remaining amount. The idea being that you use the note the next time you travel.
My issue here is that most people who use these airlines seek the lowest fares, and chances are not great that the next time, they will find it with the same airline. On top of that, since these credit notes come with an expiry date of six months to a year, it is unfair to expect the person to use it well within that time. Especially since a lot of their travellers are not necessarily frequent travellers. In fact, going by the Air Deccan claim of 40% first timers on their planes, we would seem to have a serious issue with repeat usage in any case.
Most importantly, by sticking to your money despite charging a cancellation fee, I feel the airlines are simply doing something wrong, and need to be pulled up for it. A better option would be to give the person the option of zero/lower cancellation fees in case he opts for the credit note. One of the excuses I have been given is that the process of reversing credit card payments is too painful, or even that some banks charge a fee. I don't think any of these hold water.
Even a government company like the Indian railway cataring company (irctc.co.in) , which books railway tickets for the Indian railways, has a fantastic system where refunds come to you within a week, and in case of errors in booking the ticket, the same day even. Clearly, one case where the private players need to learn from a government monopoly on customer orientation.
The low cost revolution might have made travelling much easier and cheaper, but it has not come without it's own pettiness. If the parsimony with ANY feature was not enough, most airlines seem to follow a strange practice when it comes to cancellations. While all of them charge a fee ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 650 for cancelling, most, it seems, donot want to return the money you have paid even after that. Go Air, Spice Jet, Kingfisher, they all give you a 'credit note' instead of a refund of the remaining amount. The idea being that you use the note the next time you travel.
My issue here is that most people who use these airlines seek the lowest fares, and chances are not great that the next time, they will find it with the same airline. On top of that, since these credit notes come with an expiry date of six months to a year, it is unfair to expect the person to use it well within that time. Especially since a lot of their travellers are not necessarily frequent travellers. In fact, going by the Air Deccan claim of 40% first timers on their planes, we would seem to have a serious issue with repeat usage in any case.
Most importantly, by sticking to your money despite charging a cancellation fee, I feel the airlines are simply doing something wrong, and need to be pulled up for it. A better option would be to give the person the option of zero/lower cancellation fees in case he opts for the credit note. One of the excuses I have been given is that the process of reversing credit card payments is too painful, or even that some banks charge a fee. I don't think any of these hold water.
Even a government company like the Indian railway cataring company (irctc.co.in) , which books railway tickets for the Indian railways, has a fantastic system where refunds come to you within a week, and in case of errors in booking the ticket, the same day even. Clearly, one case where the private players need to learn from a government monopoly on customer orientation.
Mr. Leaders, pls spare us the cliches
When will the cliches end? After every atrocity in India, we get to hear the same old cliches. About a resilient citizenry (the media had really taken a shine to this one, this time), how we will not be cowed down, and some more garbage. What's more, in the interest of national security, criticism of the security network and political class is also muted down by the media. And these were the same guys who were pillorying the same people for not anticipating the most predictable event in our country's history yet again. The rains.
And then, on top of everything else, comes this headline about our PM. "India will not be cowed down". "We will not be afraid". Wonderful. I am so happy that at least our PM seems to have so much confidence in us. For the truth is, Mr Singh, I am very very afraid. Of a bunch of lunatics who seem to be able to do pretty much what they want, when they want, and wherever they want. I am afraid of them, and our security network, which will probably go ahead and in their usual ham handed way to show results, knock off a few innocent people, or small time goons, and claim that another 'nefarious plot' has been foiled.
Please give us a reason to feel a little secure. By simply making available information more transparently. By showing us where the money is being spent.
Having said that, I am a little tired by two comments in today's TOI.. From Mr Pritish Nandy, and Bachi Karkaria. Mr Nandy I respect tremendously for his views, but I think he let himself down by finishing off his lament with a demand for more money for Mumbai. Perhaps his tribute to the Sena, to whom he owes his Rajya Sabha seat? Ms Karkaria did likewise for entirely unfathomable reasons. Or perhaps she is simply trying to keep a bridge going with the state govt for her paper, which perforce has to indulge in some criticism. I am sick and tired of the argument that Mumbai delivers 30% of Income tax, 20% of excise and more, and gets peanuts in return. The fact is, most of that income tax is paid by earning and doing business with the rest of the country. It is paid by professionals in Mumbai who, every now and then are made to wonder whether the Mumbaikar really wants him/her, if the Shiv Sena is to be believed. Ditto for the excise duty. I mean, if Tata Sons happens to be headquartered in Mumbai, surely you wouldn't ascribe all of TCS's taxes paid to Mumbai? Or TiSCO's?
I think messrs Nandy and Karkaria wouild be better of starting off a move to use the RTI more effectively in the city, to see just how and where the money they get right now is spent.
When will the cliches end? After every atrocity in India, we get to hear the same old cliches. About a resilient citizenry (the media had really taken a shine to this one, this time), how we will not be cowed down, and some more garbage. What's more, in the interest of national security, criticism of the security network and political class is also muted down by the media. And these were the same guys who were pillorying the same people for not anticipating the most predictable event in our country's history yet again. The rains.
And then, on top of everything else, comes this headline about our PM. "India will not be cowed down". "We will not be afraid". Wonderful. I am so happy that at least our PM seems to have so much confidence in us. For the truth is, Mr Singh, I am very very afraid. Of a bunch of lunatics who seem to be able to do pretty much what they want, when they want, and wherever they want. I am afraid of them, and our security network, which will probably go ahead and in their usual ham handed way to show results, knock off a few innocent people, or small time goons, and claim that another 'nefarious plot' has been foiled.
Please give us a reason to feel a little secure. By simply making available information more transparently. By showing us where the money is being spent.
Having said that, I am a little tired by two comments in today's TOI.. From Mr Pritish Nandy, and Bachi Karkaria. Mr Nandy I respect tremendously for his views, but I think he let himself down by finishing off his lament with a demand for more money for Mumbai. Perhaps his tribute to the Sena, to whom he owes his Rajya Sabha seat? Ms Karkaria did likewise for entirely unfathomable reasons. Or perhaps she is simply trying to keep a bridge going with the state govt for her paper, which perforce has to indulge in some criticism. I am sick and tired of the argument that Mumbai delivers 30% of Income tax, 20% of excise and more, and gets peanuts in return. The fact is, most of that income tax is paid by earning and doing business with the rest of the country. It is paid by professionals in Mumbai who, every now and then are made to wonder whether the Mumbaikar really wants him/her, if the Shiv Sena is to be believed. Ditto for the excise duty. I mean, if Tata Sons happens to be headquartered in Mumbai, surely you wouldn't ascribe all of TCS's taxes paid to Mumbai? Or TiSCO's?
I think messrs Nandy and Karkaria wouild be better of starting off a move to use the RTI more effectively in the city, to see just how and where the money they get right now is spent.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Carnage at D-Dtreet
So the expected finally happened. And as usual, it looks like its the poor retail investor who will take the biggest hit, having come to the party last. However, that is not the purpose of this post.
My heart goes out to a most unexpected casualty, and that is Air Deccan. India's lowest cost, and the one with the biggest heart, has been dealt a body blow.
The poor guys must be wondering how much more off their timing for the IPO could have been. Not only has it been swept aside in the gale force of the market crash, it will also put at serious risk, their future plans. In a worst case scenario, it could also mean someone like Kingfisher Airlines buying in. And that my friends, would pretty much end all the fun we have been having with the air fares in the past two years. With that itching to be a monopoly Jet already pocketing Sahara, we will be back to a bunch of three players, with shares in the range of 25-30, who will happily fix the prices.
For those of you who have never actually travelled Air Deccan, or even travelled it, only to come cursing out of the experience, the inescapable fact is that no other factor is as responsible for the current low fares all round, than this Airline. In fact, ominously, the whole upturn in the economy and it's subsequent results on all other activities were practically signalled by the arrival of Air Deccan's Rs 1 for a ticket ads. People thought those were unbelievable, till you started meeting the first guys who actually travelled to share the tale, and before you knew it, a lot else was within reach.
And now, with an IPO dream in tatters, creditors barking at the door, and a promoter down to his last quarter share in the company, things couldn't get tougher fopr the airline. Of course, like all else they have done, Captain Gopinath didn't make life easier for himself by pushing his luck with the IPO valuation too, pricing it a clear 30-40% more than he shd have, I reckon. Anyway, that is the nature of the man, to push for things just a tad under impossible.
So there we are. I haven't applied for the IPO, for reasons mentioned above, but I do hope, sincerely, that this sirlibe sails through this storm safely.
So the expected finally happened. And as usual, it looks like its the poor retail investor who will take the biggest hit, having come to the party last. However, that is not the purpose of this post.
My heart goes out to a most unexpected casualty, and that is Air Deccan. India's lowest cost, and the one with the biggest heart, has been dealt a body blow.
The poor guys must be wondering how much more off their timing for the IPO could have been. Not only has it been swept aside in the gale force of the market crash, it will also put at serious risk, their future plans. In a worst case scenario, it could also mean someone like Kingfisher Airlines buying in. And that my friends, would pretty much end all the fun we have been having with the air fares in the past two years. With that itching to be a monopoly Jet already pocketing Sahara, we will be back to a bunch of three players, with shares in the range of 25-30, who will happily fix the prices.
For those of you who have never actually travelled Air Deccan, or even travelled it, only to come cursing out of the experience, the inescapable fact is that no other factor is as responsible for the current low fares all round, than this Airline. In fact, ominously, the whole upturn in the economy and it's subsequent results on all other activities were practically signalled by the arrival of Air Deccan's Rs 1 for a ticket ads. People thought those were unbelievable, till you started meeting the first guys who actually travelled to share the tale, and before you knew it, a lot else was within reach.
And now, with an IPO dream in tatters, creditors barking at the door, and a promoter down to his last quarter share in the company, things couldn't get tougher fopr the airline. Of course, like all else they have done, Captain Gopinath didn't make life easier for himself by pushing his luck with the IPO valuation too, pricing it a clear 30-40% more than he shd have, I reckon. Anyway, that is the nature of the man, to push for things just a tad under impossible.
So there we are. I haven't applied for the IPO, for reasons mentioned above, but I do hope, sincerely, that this sirlibe sails through this storm safely.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Not everyone gets his due
We've all been through it. The feeling that comeuppance will surely come to the person who seems to have jumped lines. The sleazeball who managed to get promoted faster by licking the boss, the dumb girl who rose because of her 'looks', or the regular cases of nepotism where the owner's son/nephew/whatever gets to to take charge without knowning zilch.
Well, I've got bad news for you guys. All these so called underserving people donot necessarily meet a messy end, trying to atone for their 'mistake'. Chances are, unless they are complete retards, they would survive, and in a lot of cases, even thrive. Why? Because, if you are in a seat of power, knowledge will also flow to you at a preferential rate. I've seen this work through out my life, including with myself too.
In my case, I had joined this financial firm which promptly put me in charge of managing theoir receivables in a region. I knew zilch about their famous processes, customers or even how to go about doing it. But luckily, we had vendors who used to actually do it for us. Seeing a new man in charge, the vendors took no time in doing everything they could to curry favour, including sharing pretty much every trade secret, if only to undercut the other guy.. Result was, after a difficult three months, I had learnt enough to actually pull off the best subsequent 9 month performance the region had ever seen, leading to all round praises and bonuses.
This was a phenomenon I was to repeat, with me on the other side. As I joined an online media company dependent on advertising, we quickly realised that our prospective clients knew zilch about online ads, how you could track them, etc. Thus, we began a programme of touching as many as we could, trying to give them as simple, and as comprehensive understanding of the net as possible, to obviate the need for them to believe our competitor, who preferred to take the easy way out and just sell at any cost with any claim it took. result is, three years after we started, some of my earliest clients , who used to call every week on one aspect or the other, are respected within their comoanies for their understanding of the net.
So the moral of the story is, donlt expect just hard work to take you places, as all the 100 most important guys of the century would have you believe.. Work hard, but make sure it gets noticed, even if you have to quit to make your point.
We've all been through it. The feeling that comeuppance will surely come to the person who seems to have jumped lines. The sleazeball who managed to get promoted faster by licking the boss, the dumb girl who rose because of her 'looks', or the regular cases of nepotism where the owner's son/nephew/whatever gets to to take charge without knowning zilch.
Well, I've got bad news for you guys. All these so called underserving people donot necessarily meet a messy end, trying to atone for their 'mistake'. Chances are, unless they are complete retards, they would survive, and in a lot of cases, even thrive. Why? Because, if you are in a seat of power, knowledge will also flow to you at a preferential rate. I've seen this work through out my life, including with myself too.
In my case, I had joined this financial firm which promptly put me in charge of managing theoir receivables in a region. I knew zilch about their famous processes, customers or even how to go about doing it. But luckily, we had vendors who used to actually do it for us. Seeing a new man in charge, the vendors took no time in doing everything they could to curry favour, including sharing pretty much every trade secret, if only to undercut the other guy.. Result was, after a difficult three months, I had learnt enough to actually pull off the best subsequent 9 month performance the region had ever seen, leading to all round praises and bonuses.
This was a phenomenon I was to repeat, with me on the other side. As I joined an online media company dependent on advertising, we quickly realised that our prospective clients knew zilch about online ads, how you could track them, etc. Thus, we began a programme of touching as many as we could, trying to give them as simple, and as comprehensive understanding of the net as possible, to obviate the need for them to believe our competitor, who preferred to take the easy way out and just sell at any cost with any claim it took. result is, three years after we started, some of my earliest clients , who used to call every week on one aspect or the other, are respected within their comoanies for their understanding of the net.
So the moral of the story is, donlt expect just hard work to take you places, as all the 100 most important guys of the century would have you believe.. Work hard, but make sure it gets noticed, even if you have to quit to make your point.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
So what's happening with Indian media?
First we had the rash of IPO's from Deccan Chronicle, HT Media, Jagran Prakashan, Cyber Media and even the reticent Sun TV. And now we have the stratospheric valuations for all of these... In between all this, the biggest media daddy of them all, the Bennett Coleman Group, has been busy DIVESTING, or hedging it's investment in Radio through an IPO, while busily investing like a portfolio investor in everything but media. The last one was Air Deccan, and before that, they have been in textile comoanies, IT companies, fashion, retail and god knows what else. While remaining privately held of course.
So do they know something that investors don't? I think investors shd note this at least.
A key factor, based on my own experience would be the ability of media companies to straddle, and manage well, the various delivery models. So to expect a good TV guy to do well in print, as well as Radio and internet, which investors seem to be betting on, is a bit dicey. So go ahead in invest in pure play guys like Radio Mirchi, Jagran Prakashan, but watch out when the excess valuation is built on 'natural' expansions into outdoor, TV, print or whatever they don't do right now.
First we had the rash of IPO's from Deccan Chronicle, HT Media, Jagran Prakashan, Cyber Media and even the reticent Sun TV. And now we have the stratospheric valuations for all of these... In between all this, the biggest media daddy of them all, the Bennett Coleman Group, has been busy DIVESTING, or hedging it's investment in Radio through an IPO, while busily investing like a portfolio investor in everything but media. The last one was Air Deccan, and before that, they have been in textile comoanies, IT companies, fashion, retail and god knows what else. While remaining privately held of course.
So do they know something that investors don't? I think investors shd note this at least.
A key factor, based on my own experience would be the ability of media companies to straddle, and manage well, the various delivery models. So to expect a good TV guy to do well in print, as well as Radio and internet, which investors seem to be betting on, is a bit dicey. So go ahead in invest in pure play guys like Radio Mirchi, Jagran Prakashan, but watch out when the excess valuation is built on 'natural' expansions into outdoor, TV, print or whatever they don't do right now.
Friday, March 24, 2006
WHY THIS BLOG?
Well, if you are going to be a regular here, I will do my best to make it rewarding, by sharing all I can on the areas that I think I have some knowledge of. Which would be Consumer Finance, Media and everything else I follow as a hobby.
The name denotes an ambition, to ensure customer service standards in India rise to a level where we can feel nice about being customers! As the rants, and hopefully some raves too, in the ensuing days will demonstrate, we still have some way to go there.
Well, if you are going to be a regular here, I will do my best to make it rewarding, by sharing all I can on the areas that I think I have some knowledge of. Which would be Consumer Finance, Media and everything else I follow as a hobby.
The name denotes an ambition, to ensure customer service standards in India rise to a level where we can feel nice about being customers! As the rants, and hopefully some raves too, in the ensuing days will demonstrate, we still have some way to go there.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
When Jet Airways missed it all
Jet's recent travails on its Air Sahara takeover only remind me of their earlier misses. Seems to be a classic case of being used to getting things done their own way, by ways that were certainly not transparent.
How they imagines the slots issue will not hold up things is umimaginable. Or even worse, they probably got into the deal precisely for those 'assets', hoping to milk the monopoly it would have given them at Delhi and Mumbai. But guess what, this might make them finally wake up and smell the coffee!
While you have to admit, once at the airport, they were better than everyone by a huge margin. But all that seems to be under strain now. Like the fact that their online ticketing, or booking process came in later than most, and sucked, when it came to the most important aspect. Value buying.
Similarly, woe betide you if you need to cancel a ticket booked online. besides the frightful charge, you also need to go to their office to do it. Even Indian Railways does better, making transfers back online now.
How they imagines the slots issue will not hold up things is umimaginable. Or even worse, they probably got into the deal precisely for those 'assets', hoping to milk the monopoly it would have given them at Delhi and Mumbai. But guess what, this might make them finally wake up and smell the coffee!
While you have to admit, once at the airport, they were better than everyone by a huge margin. But all that seems to be under strain now. Like the fact that their online ticketing, or booking process came in later than most, and sucked, when it came to the most important aspect. Value buying.
Similarly, woe betide you if you need to cancel a ticket booked online. besides the frightful charge, you also need to go to their office to do it. Even Indian Railways does better, making transfers back online now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
