Brand-Gandhi Erosion

I’ve always considered Gandhi as one of the biggest Indian brand. Nothing derogatory about it trust me; I’m myself an ardent admirer of him. But all that I’ve read of him (and I’ve read good), I’ve known him to be a cunning politician and a damn good strategist. And if I use the same shrewd analysis, he’s (also) an Indian brand.

It’s my love for Gandhi and for the field of Marketing that made me abhor the way ‘Gandhi Mela’ has been organized in Surat. The contrast is sharper when it’s sandwiched between the just concluded ‘Trade Fair’ and fast-approaching ‘Vyapaar’ exhibitions (and all three being put up at the same premises).

The organizers believe Gandhi is all about swadeshi, but they’ve put up completely vernacular and shabby exhibition. He preached autonomy but not low quality. Each of his political and national movements (even Upvaas) was well-thought of and well-timed. (Those who’ve read him would well recall that when he took it up the first time, it’s the mass effect of this tool that appealed him rather than Jesus Christ like I’ll-suffer-for-them philosophy.) Gandhi was (very) modern in his thought process and would have known that packaging and appearance will have to be smart enough to appeal the masses today.

The starkest thing that I noticed was the skew ness of the crowd there. almost the entire exhibition was made of students from government or trust-run schools, elderly and dilapidated people, social workers and government officers of the obscure departments like Khadi Board, Alternate Energy department, etc. where’s the college-going youth, the office-goer, the urban middle-class, the school kid (who has a brighter chance to represent the country and society in the international forum)?

They are missing the target by a long-shot.

Inside of a police station

Inside of a police station looks just like a clerical department of municipal corporation. The furniture, worn out and repainted several times, the indifferent and rouged staff dressed in checked shirts and metal rimmed glasses, calendars here and there, unwashed and discoloured window curta-

Oh well, sorry for the above, I’d wanted to write about something else.

The reason of my visit to the place which I described above. It’s that email I sent to the Surat Municipal Commissioner on 21st January about unorganized parking near the Kotak Bank building on the main road here; also narrating the actual difficulties faced in that narrow but important lane. And yes I had forgotten what else I wrote.

It’s Imran (that’s what he said – no salutation, no designation, no last name, no-thing) on the other end yesterday evening when he told me to please (yes he used that word) come over to the traffic division of the city police and give my ‘nivedan’ so that it can be taken ahead. I was in double mind till the time I got some casual encouragement last night.

But I did take the second step in my mission D O by going there today. They took the complaint, apologized it took long because the in-charge was on leave. They will now tow vehicles from there regularly and each time they do that, will call me. And thanked for getting it to their notice.

He didn’t show any sign of expecting that I’m done with it., and so I’m not. Next mails will go out tomorrow morning about excessive honking and zigzag driving.

If you survived the above paragraphs, please D O yourself. And you’ll be in for a lot of surprises and a little pride.

I’ve always hated soothsayers, of every form. But I’m going to make an attempt at it. As it’s the Chandrayaan team this year that bagged the CNN Indian of the Year award, next year it can very well be National Mission on Education (NMoE). Those who keep a tab of what’s going on in the rest of India would know that today NMoE is unveiling what is fondly termed the $ 10 laptop at Tirupati. The partners to this initiative are IIT and IISc. This will also provide some necessary breather to the critics of these high maintenance institutions.

It’s beyond imagination what such a gadget can do to the scientific, economic and social fabric of the country. Like the cellphone reaching the breast-pocket of every rikshaw-walla, pan-walla and kadiya-mistri; if all goes well, an i-enabled, printer connected laptop will be seen with subzi-walla, doodh-walla and the school-child in every Ramgadh of India. The cell-phones have done its part by providing connectivity and some other important gadgetry like GPS; it’s time to upgrade the tech-pocket of the 100 million Indians to the laptops.

If you’ve started to wonder I didn’t mention education, you sure will agree it requires more attention than the one-liners above. And if this dream comes true, it will get all it deserves in the next few years. The geniuses will come out of villages and hamlets; the lazy teacher will have to pull up his socks and the passionate one will be grinning all the way to school, respiration and condensation will be animated; the gadgets will bring glamour to school followed by students, coupled with mid-day meals (it) will increase school-goers, villages have software dukans and cyber-cafes – the list goes endless. As a ripple effect, some energy source will have to be made available, marketers will find a channel to reach the rural youngsters and upgrade their aspiration levels, who knows what will happen to number of hackers though! :)

This brings back to me what I heard from Dr C K Prahlad in year 2000 at IIM Ahmedabad. He had given a simple example of making ice-cream available to the marginalized and rural kids. No rocket science he said, just control the cost of refrigeration. No high-flying he said, use local burf instead of liquid carbon dioxide. I’m sure Dr Prahlad will also smile today.

I am D O –ing

The swarm of emails and join-this-forum requests that flooded my mail box after the recent Bombay attack was phenomenal. And I’m sure a lot of my friends can share the same story. All of them recommended joining such and such forum to be able to make a difference. So did the TV wallas, and wrapped them in pretty brand names. All throughout I was not able to ensure the end result of the actions of joining the forums and so on (though I did sign in for a few with compelling names)!

My dilemma was finally resolved when an old friend called saying he’s in the town. Since that call around a month back, I have met up with Anup thrice. And I’ve finally started to make the difference, albeit without joining any forum. He infected me with sort of a vulgar idea, naked of any analysis and support-seeking mechanism. If you see something going wrong around you, take note and write an email. THAT IS IT.

And within a month, it has started to show the signs of sure success.
1 The first set of emails went to Tata group and Neelkamal group because my car, which could have been laden with explosives, went unchecked and unnoticed in the basement parking of their Chroma and @ Home store building in Surat. Tatas haven’t replied yet, Neelkamal followed it up the same day and reverted.
2 Then mailed Pantaloon guys coz my wife (and I was) wasn’t checked with a metal detector at the entry gate of Big Bazaar Surat. Upon asking (by her) the whereabouts of the female guard, prompt came the reply that she was absent that day. the mail that was sent to their corporate email ID was responded to me in form of the phone call that the Surat store manager placed to me thanking me and assuring that the female guard will never by missing starting today.
3 The email sent to traffic department of Surat city reporting a particularly chaotic street hasn’t been responded or acted upon. The reminder will go out on Monday; and on every subsequent Monday till they do not act over it.
4 When I post this blog today, there’re 2 emails waiting in line to reach the mailboxes of 2 local schools whose buses didn’t show the brake lights working.

And now, like the friend of mine, I am also bent on spreading the virus. Whether or not you join any of the forums or do a silent march, whenever you see something going wrong around you, take note and reach out to the concerned authority. You will be amazed by the difference you can make by doing this.

Mother India

“India is truly a mother, a lady,” I heard someone telling, “and keeps on nursing the neighbours as one.” Mother (hood) India is not what I am concerned about, but it sure shows all the meekness of a fragile creature.

After the attack on Mumbai last month, she’s crying hoarse about Pakistan’s hand in the entire episode and claims having proof of the same. The trouble is, it is taking no concrete forward action accept for the usual rhetoric. I sure appreciate the political games being played out between our government, Pak and the USA. But it is not sufficient by any standard. Especially after there are supposed proofs that Pak is involved. I believe it’s missed out on taking the following assertive steps in the right direction –
Close the Paki foreign office and consulate in the country and make it a firm statement that a spade (read responsible-for-terror-state) is a spade;
Ask all the Pakistani citizens to leave the country;
Stop all the means of transportation between the 2 countries and bar the entry of any Pakistani national in the country;
If possible, bar all the direct routes of communication between the 2 states;
Withdraw the MFN (Most Favoured Nation) status of Pakistan under the UN umbrella; and
Clearly and precisely state that Pakistan is the enemy and that relationships have soured and will stay that way till the time it cleans up its act.

I am not against the inter-national cricket, or art, or commerce; till sometime back, I was a major proponent of it because I firmly believed it can make a difference. For the above understanding and frame of mind, I didn’t have any humanitarian or amorous thoughts; but I could clearly see its political and security fallouts. The more stakes you have in the other person; the more you’re concerned about her well-being.

But the time has gone when we could care about the relationships going sore; they already have.

Letter to Prime Minister

Dear Honorable Prime Minister

Like the other citizens of the country, I show my support in this mix of good and ugly natured attacks on Mumbai event and its resolution by our armed forces and security groups.

But Sir, the ugliness far outshines the feeling of relief now that the situation has almost been resolved. There’ve been people like me who feel angry that the terrorists and criminals can take the entire country hostage and do bomb blasts at their will whenever and wherever they please! We boast of the best of the armies and police forces in the world, a pile of nuclear weapons, intelligence and other strength showing signs but bow before such situations. We do a show of strength on our national holidays down the Rajpath but when the real need is felt, become helpless.

The resilience laden strength that we try to show features only in our words and fails to reflect in our actions. The political talks and analyses reach dead-ends and we continue to bleed in various parts of the country at different times. The empty talks and we-will-not-pardon statements that you give out through media to all of us have lost all meaning and are seen as a wrapping up exercise rather than a commitment, a promise of delivery. I am sure we are going to hear the same things this time as well; but for whoever’s sake, please, DO SOMETHING after talking it out and promising it to 120 crore of us.

Please
1. take responsibility of the mistakes that were made before and during the whole exercise (since that’s the only way they can be rectified);
2. investigate the current crime scenes and leads very keenly to book the culprits;
be affirmative and assertive in blaming whoever is responsible – from Pakistan to the likes of Sadhvi Pragya;
3. give very good compensation to the families of security personnel who lost their lives; and
4. put the defense, warning and reaction systems in place to tackle such situations in future.

Please do not take the mood of the country “restored” as it is far from it. If after this letter I do not write you any; or if every Mr Joshi goes to office tomorrow, it doesn’t mean everything is normal. I humbly remind you of the only two important words I have written above – DO SOMETHING.

Art wins

The end today, on 10th September 08 was a happy one. No not the end of the day, it has just begun. The end of the front page of the ToI.

It reports that the apex court has turned the tables on a case against M F Hussain. For years together (my memory goes back to 1999) the Hindu militant organizations and some extremists individuals have been pronouncing their own diktat on a lot of subjects and slamming (and stabbing) people left right and centre. They object to every third work of art saying it defames either the gods or the culture. This habit reflects in denouncing and threatening Hussain, attacking the nude painting at M S University (Baroda), etc.

It is heartening news that the Supreme Court has thrown away the case saying “It is an art like the sculptures.” The sculptures referring to – ofcourse – those of Khajuraho. “None gets scandalized looking at the sculptures.” It is shame, though, that we still have to hide behind those bare stone busts to justify a lot of sensible things.