tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46790666180996117152024-03-05T18:06:41.264+05:30Meandering MemorylanesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-23150485994987940102014-09-26T13:10:00.003+05:302014-09-26T13:10:59.245+05:30Men who Matter : Prateek N. Kumar, MD & CEO, NeoNiche Integrated Solutions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>Prateek N Kumar “THE MILESTONE MAN”, is the CEO & Managing Director of NeoNiche Integrated Solutions.</b><br />His first successful ‘campaign’ was back in the 7<span style="border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span> standard for the ‘client’, his friend running a fire-cracker stall during Diwali. Their full return on investment was a staggering 800%. It has been almost 25 years to the day. And the young boy’s enthusiasm, passion and entrepreneurial bugs have only been biting harder.</div>
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After starting his career in hospitality and hotel management, he shared in the growth stories with a number of startup event agencies. These gave him tremendous on-ground exposure and hands-on learning. With a dream of creating an agency that would be loved by every stakeholder- clients, vendor partners and employees alike – was NeoNiche born. Idea-driven, Innovation-focused and Insightful- these core qualities became the DNA and driving force of the organization.</div>
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Breaking the mold and challenging the status quo is a daily ritual. With his head in the skies and feet firmly on the ground, Prateek is as Prateek does. Driven by passion, his versatility and adaptability, people-skills and big-picture view-point make him the leader he is. His greatest strength is the ability to pick the right person for the right job, create self-sustaining and profitable ventures and then stepping aside to let the new leaders take the baton forward. Then, he sets his eyes on the next target and begins the march forward- perhaps that’s why they call him ‘The Milestone Man’.</div>
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An avid blogger and voracious reader, he is a passionate activist for animal rights and related social causes.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px;">Here he talks exclusively to <a href="http://www.corecommunique.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #1982d1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="http://www.corecommunique.com">www.corecommunique.com</a> about his vision, the emerging integrated experimental marketing space and NeoNiche. Excerpts:</strong></em></div>
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<em style="border: 0px;">Q1. What is “integrated experiential marketing” – the space where NeoNiche is placing itself?</em></div>
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Ans :- We understand that any marketing campaign or events cannot exist in silos .There are different audiences who have different receptiveness and each of these demographics of audience have different triggers that different brands are trying to connect with by creating experience across different mediums both online and on ground….Era of social media and smart devises have blurred the lines between traditional Ad agencies and Event agencies …these is where NeoNiche comes in.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px;">Q2. Who are your potential customers? What kind of numbers have you achieved so far?</em></div>
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Ans: Our clientele is spread across different Industry verticals right from IT, ITES, BFSI, Manufacturing, Media, Healthcare and lifestyle, many of these clients are spread across the globe. We have been able to keep the business profitable with a focus of bringing values to our stakeholders be it Clients, Partners, Employee or Society. From beginning our focus has been to create lasting relationship rather than always looking at the bottom-line.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px;">Q3. Going ahead, what are your immediate plans for the future? Where do you see yourself 5 years down the line?</em></div>
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Ans: Our immediate plan for the future is to create a value based solutions for Startups and SMB segment, who have either limited or non-existent marketing budget. A performance driven model with profit sharing as we think that lot of innovations can be created in this untapped segment. It’s difficult to outline the specifics 5 year down the line, what I can truly say is that in 5 years NeoNiche will be creating more values for its Stakeholders be it our Clients, our ecosystem partners, our employees and society in general.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px;">Q4. How did you move into the world of BTL? What promise does it hold for a market like India?</em></div>
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Ans: Honestly its providence, My parents wanted me to become a doctor I chose hotel management instead as my preferred career .However, I was more interested in abstract ideas and organizing Rose Days, Prom Nights and many of those events that you see in any campuses rather than making and serving delicacies. BTL was still largely unorganized space and I landed up here .On a lighter vain I always blame it on “Road Less travelled” by Robert Frost. I frankly believe that the line is blurring between traditional “Above The Line” (ATL) and “Below The Line” (BTL) agencies .Digital and social media advancement has given rise to another form “Beyond The Line” where it is all about experiences ….for a country like ours which has diaspora of culture ,demographics and geographies lot is yet to happen as we advance in places beyond Metros and Tier I cities and as more and more smaller cities and villages are connected by better roads and amenities ,electricity and internet connectivity creating level playing field a new and almost untapped set of target audiences will create opportunities’ for Brand and Marketers.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px;">Q5. What are the specific areas that you want to concentrate immediately? Which domains have warmed up to BTL already?</em></div>
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Ans: “Campaign in a Box” as a offering for SMB is our immediate focus .Almost all B2C brands and quite a few B2B brands have embraced a more robust Marketing Mix with ATL, BTL and Digital as part of their strategies.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px;">Q6. What is your advice to the fence sitters?</em></div>
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Ans: The moment you think you have got the answers someone comes along the way and changes the very question, Customer is truly a Queen / king with so many information and options ,to win the trust and to connect with her or him constantly in a very user driven non-intrusive way.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px;">Q7. As a self professed “Social Media Junkie” what are your views on social media integration so that your expertise can be made to go viral using the social media space?</em></div>
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Ans: Social media is still a very untapped domain where marketing a brand is concerned ,However, utilizing the right mix of Social handles starts from understanding your TG as it helps in establishing relevance, grab eyeballs, raise awareness, build relationships at a personal level, create memories, increase loyalty, encourage interactions and stimulate positive WOM.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px;">Q8. Anything that you would like to communicate to our readers. </em></div>
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Ans: We do live in exiting times where many of us have evolved from using Trunk Calls to STD Booths to Smart phones ,From Super Mario to Temple Run on our Smart Phones, from Pager to Smart Phones, From Camera to Smart Phones, From DVD to Smart Phones ,,From Remote to Smart phones From Branch banking to ATMs to Smart Phone Banking …….My wild guess is as good as yours after the invention of Wheel possibly we are standing at the cusp of another devise which is bound to change the human race.</div>
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<a href="http://corecommunique.com/18293/" target="_blank">Original Interview Link</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-58315354944035728972014-09-26T13:07:00.000+05:302014-09-26T13:07:18.039+05:30SME TIMES: Brand building key to small business growth, Prateek N Kumar <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: white; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Today's customer is more informed and advent of social media have changed them from user to influencers in true sense, today the success of a brand lies in creating emotional connect with their Target Group (TG), one which changes "brand promise" to "brand action", Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of NeoNiche Integrated Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Prateek N. Kumar told <em>SME Times</em> in an exclusive interview.<br /><br />He said that the era of "one size fits all" and "rack listed services" are over, Brands today does not talk about tangible products but intangible experience that they create. One way communication has changed to one to one and one to many, he added.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>Excerpts of the interview...</strong></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /><em><strong>Please tell our readers more about your group - NeoNiche.</strong></em><br /><strong>Prateek N Kumar: </strong>NeoNiche Integrated is an experiential marketing company which acts as an extended marketing team to the clients that we serve. We conceptualize multidisciplinary brand building strategies across different platforms be it online - digital and social, or on ground through customer contact programs, events and exhibitions. At the core of our offering lies our value proposition of Ideas, Innovation & Insight<br /><br /><em><strong>What other services you have? In what ways you can help Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)?</strong></em></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>Prateek N Kumar: </strong></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Our services helps our clients reach out to their Customers, Channels and Employees both offline and online to create positive connections .For SMEs we have a dedicated offering "SME Konnect" which works on basic cost of operation and profit sharing model. By doing this we take care that our SME clients are not burdened by huge budget constraints and every initiative pays for itself. Under this initiative, our SME clients get robust communication campaigns for their target audience across different geographies. It helps them reach out to a large audience and create focused loyalty programs for their existing client base. I also adds a professional approach to their sales pipeline creation.<br /><br /><em><strong>From Small and Medium Business (SMB) point of view...Brand or Product - which is more important?</strong></em></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>Prateek N Kumar: </strong></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Not only for SMEs but for any enterprise, while "Product" is important the identity or "Brand" is what creates the connection much beyond the realm of a single product or service. However important a product /service may be for a particular time with time they tend to become obsolete but eventually the "Brand" takes the other offerings of the Organization forward. <br /><br /><em><strong>Why brand is so important? Your views.</strong></em></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>Prateek N Kumar: </strong></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The moment you think you have got all the answers someone comes along the way and changes the very question, eventually new technologies, services and products are invented, upgraded and old ones are discarded ultimately it’s the brand which stands for the promise that we make to our Customers for current set of products and services as well as the new ones that will come in the future.<br /><br /><em><strong>What is Below the line (BTL) advertising? How important is BTL for promoting a brand?</strong></em></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>Prateek N Kumar: </strong></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We do live in exciting times, where things change with a blink of an eye. Today speed-to-market with the right message, at the right time, through the right channel while maintaining brand consistency, coordinating with multiple internal and external stake holders, developing actionable insights are clear challenges that a brand faces and the same is better addressed by BTL Campaigns because they stress targeted and customer-centric communications and create more effective results and ROI metrics.<br /><br /><em><strong>What kind of brands seek to benefit most from BTL?</strong></em></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>Prateek N Kumar: </strong></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Any kind of Brands from any industry as long as they carry relevant messaging and converts "Brand Promise" to "Brand Action" will benefit from BTL Campaigns .<br /><br /><em><strong>Why BTL is a better return on marketing investment?</strong></em></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>Prateek N Kumar: </strong></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Today branding is a function of media fragmentation. More channels and more newspaper reaching out to diverse customer base, makes it harder for marketers to reach a truly mass audience. Simply stated, above-the-line marketing that utilizes generic messages to build awareness is no longer the best way to influence customer behavior. Also The shift from ATL to BTL spending is in part the result of changing consumer attitudes; more sophisticated consumers demand relevant messaging that engages them in a dialogue and allows them to interact with the brand through their preferred communication channels.<br /><br /><em><strong>Capital in hand is a big issues for most of SMEs in India. In that case what kind of marketing strategy is the best for them?</strong></em></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>Prateek N Kumar: </strong></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Small businesses do suffer from lack of funds that a large enterprise enjoys; but that does not mean creating brand name is expensive. SMEs just need to find the most cost effective way to promote their brand. First do a little research and decide what will be the best medium to reach the target audience. Think of unique ways to communicate with their target audience. Apply innovative approach like Profit sharing rather than cost based model with "Agencies", or Utilize online tools. Etc.<br /><br /><em><strong>How you see the Social & Digital Marketing?</strong></em></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>Prateek N Kumar: </strong></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">While the current BTL trends are exciting lot is yet to happen when a marketer will face a new set of challenges with new and yet to be invented technology and devices …The biggest challenge will be to be less intrusive yet establish a more relevant one on one connection. I frankly believe that the line is blurring between traditional "Above The Line" (ATL) and "Below The Line" (BTL) marketing .Digital and social media advancement has given rise to another form "Through The Line" where it is all about experiences ….for a country like ours which has diaspora of culture ,demographics and geographies lot is yet to happen as we advance in places beyond Metros and Tier I cities and as more and more smaller cities and villages are connected by better roads and amenities ,electricity and internet connectivity creating level playing field a new and almost untapped set of target audiences will create opportunities’ for Brand and Marketers where marketing will be through smart devices and even more personalized….For brands life within the pixel will change<br /><em><strong><br />Your group - NeoNiche also helps in aligning employees and channel to deliver the brand promise to customers and help clients build strong footprints. Please tell something more on this. (How do you do this?)</strong></em></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>Prateek N Kumar: </strong></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As stated earlier we conceptualize multidisciplinary brand building strategies across different platforms be it online - digital and social, or on ground through customer contact programs, events and exhibitions through our value proposition of Ideas, Innovation & Insights.<br /><br /><em><strong>What do you have for start-up companies? Also suggest that what kind of advertising tool they must apply in their plan so they can generate more and more business?</strong></em></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>Prateek N Kumar: </strong></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We have offerings like "SME Konnect" based on Cost plus profit model where we partner startups in true sense there are other offerings like "Seminar in a Box" where we template the touch points between Startups and their TG.<br /><br /><em><strong>Tell something about the importance of establishing an emotional connect with customers today. Why and How?</strong></em></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>Prateek N Kumar: </strong></span><span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The era of "one size fits all" and "rack listed services" are over, Brands today does not talk about tangible products but intangible experience that they create, One way communication has changed to one to one and one to many. Today's customer is more informed and advent of social media have changed them from user to influencers in true sense, Today the success of a brand lies in creating emotional connect with their TG, One which changes "brand promise" to "brand action" .</span> </span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">See more at: http://www.smetimes.in/smetimes/face-to-face/2014/Jun/27/brand-building-key-to-small-business-growth-prateek-n-kumar.html#sthash.lgwUAMYe.dpuf</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-20923015884217749412014-09-26T13:05:00.000+05:302014-09-26T13:05:00.983+05:30Everything Experiential : Your Life Within The Pixel Will Change – Prateek N Kumar, MD & CEO, NeoNiche <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: white;">Prateek
started his career with Sercon India Pvt. Ltd (now a part of WPP group), a BTL
agency that brought the concept of database management, audience acquisition,
and lead generation seminars for B2B businesses. He then moved on to Shobiz
Experiential Communications Pvt Ltd, where he started the Integrated Event
Marketing Services Division and converted it into the largest profit centre
within the organization both in terms of head-count and revenues within 5
years. Now the CEO and Managing Director of NeoNiche Integrated Solutions Pvt
Ltd, EE got talking to the expert about the use of technology in Experiential
Marketing and his predictions of the future.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">A
couple of years ago there were ad agencies and event agencies. An ad was
perceived somewhere and executed by someone else, creating a disconnect. “We at
NeoNiche try to fill that gap and erase the disconnect. We act as a marketing
extension to the brand that we serve and then also carry out the execution of
the event.” says </span><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: inherit, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">Prateek N Kumar, Managing Director and CEO, NeoNiche Integrated
Solutions Pvt Ltd. </span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: white;">“The
era of one size fits all has gone. There is a difference in the way you would
approach a marketing situation in rural areas vs urban areas. The situation has
changed, dependency on technology has increased, people are more
technologically connected. Tech creates that synopsis and makes it easier to
reach out to them directly.” says Prateek, commenting on the current scenario.
“Newspaper ads die out, hoardings are mostly ignored by passersby and most of
them are not even visible at night, while technology has made it easier for
brands to reach out to their customers at a time they know they will get the
attention and have a bigger impact.” says Prateek.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: white;">Giving
examples of how NeoNiche used technology to execute events, Prateek said, “We
created an experiential marketing campaign for one of our clients –
Salesforce.com – called Hackathon. The target audience of this event was mainly
developers. Conferences were held in major cities, but there was a live
streaming which also enabled all the people not physically present at the
banquet to become a part of it. The event eventually reached out to pan India,
while actually being physically carried out in a few urban cities. Technology
enables you to do that. You could be at one place but you can reach out to
millions at the same time.” The sky is no longer the limit.Technology enables
the brand to reach out to its target audience in smaller, tier 3 cities. Such
cities don’t usually have the infrastructure for events and it is difficult to
convince brands to event in such cities. “There is a lot of expenditure
involved plus there are a lot of difficulties that you have to face when it
comes to conducting events in such cities. But that doesn’t mean you ignore that
consumer base. Technology enables you to reach out to pan India, thus reaching
those cities too which would otherwise have not experienced the campaign.” says
Prateek.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: white;">It’s no
news that execution of marketing events usually involves a lot of expenditure,
and its usually big brands that have that kind of capital that are able to
reach out to their consumer base easily. That’s where startups fall behind, but
technology comes to the rescue. “If you’re looking at start ups who don’t have
the bandwidth to spend millions, for them we have created an entire CRM system.
So basically we create a level playing field – you receive the same thing that
could be given to big enterprises.” says Prateek.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: white;">Predictions
in technology developments?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: white;">“10
years back was a generation of Internet 1.0 – where everyone was basically
talking about the internet, e-mails, etc. Then came Internet 2.0 where people
began talking about social media marketing which include Twitter, Facebook,
etc. We are now moving on to a digital era where we are using experiential
medium in a digital space. So in the future Google Glass, Google Earth, and
social handles will evolve more.” says Prateek. Evolution of social handles?
“Till date you have been utilising Facebook as to what Facebook offers you and
not really what you would want it to do. Soon it is going to be an era of users
in which customizing power will lie in your hands. Before Facebook came into
the picture there was Orkut and Hi5. Who even talks about those now? That’s
because consolidation happened with Facebook as Facebook gave you everything
that these sites combined did along with youtube and tagging access. For a
country like India that is still developing, as power and electricity reaches
out to more cities there will be an evolution of mobile devices. Your life
within the pixel will change.” says Prateek.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: white;">How
does experiential marketing help brands that are not tangible?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: white;"> “Everyone is talking about experiences. No
brand in today’s date is really talking about what they do. For eg Coke is a
means to happiness which is an experience. They are not talking about the taste
of coke but what it will make you feel like. Similarly mobile handsets are not
telling you that you will be able to make calls for them or send messages. They
tell you how using them you will stay connected with your near and dear ones
and ease your life. Anyone and everyone is talking about experiences, be it a
brand that has a tangible product or a brand that offers service.” says
Prateek. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: white;">At the
end of the day, it’s all about the experience.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: white;">See more at:
http://everythingexperiential.com/your-life-within-the-pixel-will-change-prateek-n-kumar-md-ceo-neoniche/#sthash.4NoNMV74.dpuf</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-31701837745399818852014-09-26T12:59:00.000+05:302014-09-26T12:59:52.902+05:30SOCIAL PROMA: Exclusive Interview:Prateek N. Kumar,MD & CEO -NeoNiche Integrated Solutions Pvt. Ltd. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">An Industry veteran Prateek was in the startup team of Sercon India Pvt. Ltd and was instrumental in setting up company’s branch offices in Mumbai, Bangalore & Chennai, This success led to him being invited to join the core group of Shobiz a Stage management company at that time where he started the Integrated Event Marketing Services Division and converted it into the largest profit centre within the organization both in terms of headcount and revenues within 5 years. With more than 13 Years of Industry expertise Prateek also features as Industry Faculty and have been invited for Guest Lectures in IHM Mumbai, Welingkars, EMDI and other notable Institutions. An avid Blogger, Reader and self-proclaimed Social Media junkie Prateek is very passionate about Animal Rights and welfare and devotes his free time for the betterment of Stray Animals…He lives in Mumbai with his wife 2 Furkids and Twin Sons ….His motto to live this world a bit better than when he arrived here.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> What motivated you to become an entrepreneur?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The desire to create something new which was grossly missing in my earlier job, the desire for autonomy, The desire to create an Agency which served all its stakeholders be it Employee, Vendor Partners, Clients and Society and lastly the potent need to leave a legacy in the form of a profitable long-lasting business.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Tell us about the whole team and how do you manage the venture?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Every member of NeoNiche Team lives by the tenets of “Ideas. Innovation. Insight”…..To create something of value you have to first break all set rules ….Out here there is a reverse appraisals, Where subordinates grill their bosses ,No family members of the Directors are allowed to join the Organization which helps us in being rational and transparent at all times……You can understand or culture by the fact that our Directors are known by nicknames like ,”Milestone Man”, “The Firefighter”, “The Go To Guy”, ”Jack of all trades” , “Last Man Standing” and “Mr. Jugaad”… these nicknames came into being because of personal characteristics….I was largely lucky because of the kind of team that is there with me …..In essence very complementary.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Tell us about your three major challenges and how did you overcome them?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Our only major challenge was Money or rather the lack of it, We did not had any money in the beginning and barely pooled in money to form the Company ,To make the company profitable and to break-even faster we decided not to take any salaries for first 6 months ,Brought our Laptops, printers etc. from home to save money .However, we never for a moment doubted that we would not succeed …In retrospect that passion or foolhardiness more than made up for any challenges that we may have faced.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">How do you see your business where you have so many big and small competitors in the market?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">I believe competition is always good for the Industry and customers that we serve…It keeps you hungry and does not allow you to become complacent ….Moreover, If organization has a value to add it succeeds in a long run.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">What is your differentiating factor?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">NeoNiche provides services across different spectrum of “Marketing Mix” ….what our clients get is a single window for all their marketing needs ,like On ground Events, Online Digital campaigns ,etc. We understand that the era of rack listed services are gone and you need to first understand the “Brand” and then customize the offering to better suit the people who matter most to them.be it Customer, Channels or the Employees.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">How has been response so far for the business?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">It is always difficult to score your first win be it hiring the first employee, closing the first Vendor Partner or getting the first project after that if you have delivered it’s just a matter of time before people start trusting you with their “Brand” …..We have been fortunate enough to get clients who trusted us and then spoke about us which helped us in getting more clients.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">What are your future plans?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">To create more value for the ecosystem that we exist in ,drive more Innovation in the way that we are currently doing business and add more value to the society that we live in.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><a href="http://www.socialproma.com/exclusive-interviewprateek-n-kumarmd-ceo-neoniche-integrated-solutions-pvt-ltd/" target="_blank">Original Interview Link</a> </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-22490940638600613702014-07-31T18:18:00.000+05:302014-07-31T18:19:17.574+05:30Digital & social media, an unconventional career<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I had written the following article for the readers of <a href="http://www.dailypioneer.com/avenues/digital-and-social-media-an-unconventional-career.html" target="_blank">Daily Pioneer Newspaper</a><br />
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<em>I shall be telling this with a sigh, somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.</em><br />
<strong><em>— Robert Frost (The Road Not Taken)</em></strong><br />
<strong><em><br /></em></strong><br />
If one is contemplating to take digital and social media as a career option, here is a word of caution. This option is unlike the traditional career path that your friends may want to pursue.<br />
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Unlike doctors, engineers, accountants and lawyers, the trajectory of digital and social media is very different — it is not clearly outlined in an employee manual. In fact, one will have to create ones own career roadmap. One will have to draw on all of the resources, learn to trust yourself and do it all while the people around you tell you to ‘get a real job’.<br />
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If you’re looking toward a career in social media management, it’s best to start building the roadmap as early as possible, since one won’t get any examples or past veterans to idolize an option available to more traditional media careers.<br />
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Here is what every aspiring digital and social media professional should know about this career.<br />
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<strong>It’s all about communication and creativity:</strong><br />
If you are good with words and images ,if you have the gift of the gab varying right from slapstick to intense ,there is a brand suitable to your characteristic. So hone the skills. As an official representative of a brand, a social media manager has to have clarity, accuracy and tact in communicating with customers, employees and the media.<br />
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<strong>Build personal social media handles:</strong><br />
This will help you to create strong connections by expressing a sincere, earnest attitude and you’ll have better chances of success.<br />
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<strong>Pursue an educational qualification in communications and creative:</strong>All digital and social media enthusiast need to have a skill such kind of courses will come in handy<br />
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<strong>Learn more about brands and marketing: </strong><br />
Read books, articles and talk to people remotely connected with this discipline. Even if social media roles aren’t immediately available in India and still growing this can potentially open the door to a full-time social media role when the company is ready to take their marketing strategy to the next level, which happens quite often.<br />
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<strong>Volunteer for an NGO:</strong>Try volunteering for an NGO and help them in building a robust social media. Apart from giving one a reason of being a part of a worthy cause this will help one in creating connections and gives one a feel of the job with much less pressure.<br />
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<strong>The good news: </strong><br />
Social media management is GenX’s playground so people in this field if they are good grow very fast with less cluttered hierarchy. So, what are the kind of designation that exist in this field today is something left to the imagination of individual organization and varies from; manager digital and social media, digital evangelist, Internet marketing manager, etc.<br />
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The road less travelled may not have the navigation compass or the map but the journey is worth it, we choose it because something within us tells us we must. So, keep climbing because the view from the summit is truly breath taking.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-2389584785044149432014-01-15T14:31:00.000+05:302014-01-15T14:31:00.670+05:30Creating meaningful experiences not campaigns :What does it take<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.allaboutoutdoor.com/feature.aspx?id=42" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">My article that got published in "All about Outdoors"</a><br />
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Lot has changed and lot will, not only for the Brands' but also for people and organizations working in the Experiential Marketing domain. Globalization and technology advancement is shaping the way we perceive and see things today like never before. Strategies, tactics, and operational processes that just a decade ago reigned supreme, now look a little out of sync, when viewed through today's brand perspective.</div>
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As the line between traditional ATL and BTL have started blurring, marketers have started looking for more robust Marketing mix, one which will interact with consumers in unbelievable ways at various touch points, allowing brands to come alive for the TG by creating connections between brand and consumer, in their personal world. These connections should be formed by experiences that are personally unique but relevant to the consumer, it should be memorable for them, it should be interactive, and it should invoke emotion and lead to sales and brand loyalty.</div>
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Unlike traditional marketing, experiential marketing tries to tap that special trigger within the consumers’ mind space, one which invokes thoughts about comfort and pleasure, as well as inspiring a sense of practicality. This implies that the marketer needs to have a firm grip on the mindset of the target audience he or she wishes to attract. By understanding what the consumer is likely to think and feel, it is possible to get an idea of how to steer the customer in a direction that will relate with the product,but to do that it is important to engage as many of the senses as possible. Striking displays with powerful visual elements, such as websites, and visual media such as Print Ads, Billboards and mailers should not only be visually appealing, but also conjure up imagination and sensations that are relevant to the individual. When a Marketer or an agency creates customer experiences of this nature, a sense of rapport between the Brand and its consumer is established that helps to make the offerings more desirable with each encounter.</div>
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Well guess what, that ads on the Internet, or in print media, and on modern billboards must immediately catch the attention of prospective clients and hold that attention long enough to make an impact. Success for brand lies in and making the connection quickly and seamlessly, Clients today are looking for agencies which can grow up the value chain from being a vendor to a true marketing partner, one who understands their brand essence and promise and provides ‘Value for money' solutions rather than rack-listed services, Agencies which are capable of rolling out that magic campaign which makes those connection with the prospect and retain that mindshare.</div>
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We as a Marketers or Agencies servicing these brands, can pat our back only if we are able to roll out integrated campaigns both online and offline across different mediums. The Campaigns which can establish relevance, grab eyeballs, raise awareness, build relationships at a personal level, create memories, increase loyalty, encourage interactions and stimulate positive WOM, and last but not the least however clichéd it may sound one which has a tangible return on marketing investment.</div>
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Living politics aside, the “AAP Phenomenon” will be one of the most discussed, debated, diagnosed and dissected case study at all social and corporate do’s of 2014.One which can highlight at great length how budget becomes secondary when you have an “Out of the Box” idea which makes connection with the TG and uses Guerilla Marketing, Door to door connection and Social Media canvassing ….One of the best ROI I must say…..</div>
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We do live in exciting times, where things change within a blink of an eye. What keeps all of us who are a part of this exciting discipline called marketing on the go, is our undying passion, that adventurous streak, our affinity for challenges and that gush of adrenalin when it all falls together...Those "moments of truth", knowledge of a work well done and we are ready for the next challenge....aren't we?</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-91286430062203586802013-12-05T17:39:00.000+05:302013-12-05T18:40:51.136+05:30Notes to my twin Sons<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: white;"><o:p><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: white;">
</span></span></o:p></span></span></span><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; mso-themecolor: text1;">My Sons, as I hold you in my arms there are
thoughts traversing through my heart, it has been 9 months of waiting from that
day at the Gynecologist….It took some time for the news to sink in then. and I
would be honest it is taking me time to come to terms with this reality of you
guys in my arms now…..No amount of preparation, Parenting Books and well-meaning
advise has prepared me to this one moment in time….sometime back the nurses
have placed you in my arms…..and least I can say is I am overwhelmed.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: text1;">As I stand staring in your twinkling eyes I
am also thinking about your doggy sisters our first kids from another species
who gave us our first lessons on parenting. You will meet them and will learn
to call them Angel & Mischief. As I hold you, I wonder what your grandparents
must have thought when they held me like this or their parents when they had
their moments of truth.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="color: white;">
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<span style="mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="mso-themecolor: text1;">By some stroke of fate “Sachin Tendulkar” has
retired yesterday from “Cricket” after 24 long years, in time you will come to
know about both…In fact its providence that his entire career encompassed the
journey of your parents from kids to Parenthood.<o:p></o:p></span>
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</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: white;">So here I am lost,
not knowing what to do or how to react and what to tell you guys….The gibberish
that I am puking out is non-comprehensible. hence, I am jotting down these notes
hoping that someday both of you will read it. Outside the Mother’s womb life is
different, it has its ups and downs, I and your Mamma had ours, as you will have
yours.<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Studies will be hard, Friends will come some will stay while
others will leave. Love will happen or it may lead to heartbreaks. You will dream, and while
some will be realized others may be shattered, you may love your job or it may
be an absolute bore. You will go through your own battles, while as parents we
would always be there for both of you; in time you will learn that you cannot
win all of them but once you accept this then you will relish the rest of it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
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</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: white;">Find what's in
your heart - the things you are most passionate about, never think you are not
good enough, not because you would be, but because nobody ever is. All
throughout your life, opportunities will come at you like everything's there,
waiting only for you to take them. Take them! If ever you fall down, pick
yourself up…..dust yourself off and look challenges in the eye and say “I am
ready for you.”<br />
<br />
We all start walking with our wobbly legs, blindly in the darkness, not knowing
what we will bump into, or what crossroads we will come to next. But that's the
beauty of life. You just never know. Life would be boring if we knew
everything. The little discoveries that we make along the way are too special
to overlook. So stop and smell the roses, no matter how cliché that sounds. You
will find out sometime that clichés are there for a reason: more often than
not, they are true.<br />
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When you're done smelling the flowers, go run and dance and scream your heart
out. Collect all the energy that life gives you and spend it. You will run out of
steam sometime, but soon you'll find out it's never enough anyway. And you will
find that it will keep coming back to drive you to do everything you can ever
imagine. Never let yourself believe that you can't. You can, and you will. We
will be there to keep telling you that, and we will keep making sure that you
believe that.<br />
<br />
I and your Mamma want you to see all the challenges that life has to offer, and
I want you to take it all in while it unfolds before you, and enable each of you
to do whatever you want with it. Remember, that it doesn’t matter whether you
win or you lose. When it’s all said and done make sure that you did your best
and are able to hold your head high. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
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</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: white;">While you
would be chasing your BIG dreams, fighting your BIG battles and making a heap
of your accomplishments remember that life is not about the big stuff only but
it is the smaller things in life which adds up to it. Ours has been the
generation that saw the “By-Scope”, Kite Flying and Sunday morning Doordarshan’s
Programmes (I wonder if you will ask me what is it)….and gradually grew to FBs,
YouTube and Smart devices as I am sure yours would be even more technologically
advanced…but remember as I say this ….Respect for elders, Love for all God’s
creation and compassion for less fortunate never goes out of fashion.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: white;">Be respectful
to ladies and open the Car door for them, Give your seat to that elderly
gentleman while travelling on local transport and stand up for what is right
than what is easy. I repeat what Rudyard Kipling said “<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with Kings—nor
lose the common touch,” both of you will make fine men.</span><span lang="EN"> </span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">You will be distinguished by your talent but remembered
for how you treated people.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
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</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: white;">Never forget
to tell your Mom that how much both of you love her remember you are still
attached to her by an invisible umbilical cord, and call her everyday once you
have grown and left her nest. Always pay your debts. While it’s great to avoid
debt altogether, if you do owe money – pay it. Never take what is not
rightfully yours. If the books in your shelf take up more space than your movie
collection or your games Blu Rays (Hope it is still Blu Ray) – I think you will
be doing just fine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: white;">It is all
right to be scared, what is important is to face your fears that’s when you
will conquer them, it’s ok to say “I am sorry” ,Do a good deed every day, Have
a firm grip when you shake hands and look the person in the eye when you talk
to someone. Say your prayers and ask for forgiveness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: white;">Follow the law
of the land and give generously. But as I dispense my advice, I want both of
you to know that we want you to live your life like it's yours to live. Really
live. And when you do, we will be the happiest person in the world. God bless
you…They have wheeled your Mamma out of the OT, let’s go... and say “Hi” to her…<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-43291663496877451712013-04-25T18:04:00.002+05:302013-12-09T17:27:07.168+05:30Stakeholders’ Equilibrium - People that matter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<strong>This post was earlier published as my article in "Experiential Marketing" Magazine<a href="http://eventfaqs.com/eventfaqs/wcms/en/home/news/-Stakeholders-Equilibrium-by-1361213919842.html">Online Version of the article</a></strong><br />
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Lot has changed and lot will, not only for the Clients' but also for people and organizations working in the Experiential Marketing Industry. Globalization and technology advancement is shaping the way we perceive and see things today like never before. Strategies, tactics, and operational processes that just a decade ago reigned supreme, now look a little out of sync, when viewed through today's brand perspective. <br />
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As the line between traditional ATL and BTL agencies have started blurring, marketers have started looking for more robust agencies that could rise up the ‘value chain' and be more integrated in its approach. Also, what has changed over time is Stakeholders' Equilibrium -People that matter, their approach, thoughts and adaptability.... be it a client, their agencies or the people who work in these agencies. </div>
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Clients today are looking for agencies which can grow up the value chain from being a vendor to a marketing partner, who understands their brand and provides ‘Value for money' solutions rather than rack-listed services. And though this is easier said than done, what is required by the agencies is consciousness of the fact, that at the heart of stakeholders' equilibrium lie the most important stakeholders - vendors, partners and people who work in these agencies. </div>
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<br />
When Suppliers are paid on time and are treated as an integral part of the agency, they replicate the same passion in delivering the brand promise and gothat extra mile, much beyond their "call of duty". The same benchmark can be used on the internal team who churn out innovative ideas, create concepts, creatives and execute them on ground for the clients. </div>
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For doing this we do not have to look far. Our clients have set the best benchmark possible. </div>
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The need of the hour is to customize the better practices to serve the purpose of an experiential marketing agency.Making the employee a true stakeholder by on time payment of salaries, ESIC, provident funds, organizational transparency ensuring that the agency performance and employee performance is aligned is the first step. Also, long serving employees could be rewarded through additional perks, bonuses, or something like ESOP making them a partner in the true sense. </div>
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NeoNiche lives by the DNA of "Ideas, Innovation and Insight". Any campaign that we work on, we try to bring our ideas to the table coupled with an out of the box thinking mind-set. This has helped us in proposing and executing innovative solutions, be it a ‘Silent Theatre Conference' or a ‘blue casted experience zone' in an event. For all our clients we try to act as a trusted adviser, building our insights into any campaign in MIS recommendations. </div>
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When one enters the NeoNiche Office, the first thing to be seen is a board with our ‘Mission Statement'. When each day ‘NeoKnights' walk into the office our mission board is what greets them:- </div>
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"We aspire to be the most ‘Respected', 'Caring' and 'Innovative' Experiential Marketing Company in the world. It is our firm belief, that if we pursue respect, care and innovation, then we will not short-change our Clients, we will care for our colleagues, their families and the society in general, treat our partners with respect and understanding and will never violate the law of the land in whichever Country we operate in. It is our conviction that such pursuit towards growth will create an environment of trust, harmony and excellence - the pillars which will lead to constant Innovations for our Clients." </div>
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This statement is not just a mere coinage of words but a constant reminder of who we are and what we aspire to be. </div>
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We do live in exciting times, where things change within a blink of an eye.What keeps all of us who are a part of an exciting discipline called marketing on the go, is our undying passion, that adventurous streak, our affinity for challenges and that gush of adrenalin when it all falls together...Those "moments of truth", knowledge of a work well done and we all are ready for the next challenge....aren't we? </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-55826971861526978842013-01-07T14:33:00.002+05:302013-01-07T14:33:20.849+05:30NeoNiche - A Startup Story<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/6N06b1Bj8IE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="font-size-3">I am a first generation entrepreneur ,and my
company is called “NeoNiche Integrated Solutions Pvt. Ltd”, I have been a
regular reader to therodinhoods.com posts and would say that the blogs
has been a source of inspiration to me as to numerous others.</span></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="font-size-3"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="font-size-3">NeoNiche was started with the single dream
of bridging the gap between the marketers and the understanding of
his/her hired agency ...more specific the Event Agency ....We started
with the single aim to reinforce relationship between company &
customers, brand & buyers, product & prospects, by creating
experiences, delivered real time across multiple platforms of Social,
Digital and on-ground Event experiences. While I embarked on this
journey with my team we realized this was only possible if we truly
cared about people who mattered to us ,Our team, Their families, our
customers, society that we live in and the law of the land. That’s how
we formed our mission statement where we said-</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="font-size-3">"We aspire to be the most 'Respected' ,
'Caring' and 'Innovative' Experiential Marketing Company in the world,
because it is our firm belief that if we pursue respect, care &
innovation we will not short-change our Clients, care for our
Colleagues, their families and society in general, treat our partners
with respect and understanding, will never violate the law of the land
in whichever Country we operate. It is our conviction that such pursuit
will create an environment of trust ,harmony and excellence, pillars
which will lead to constant Innovations for our Clients ."</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="font-size-3">NeoNiche journey started with a dream ,we
had no money, no backing coming from middle class family in Ranchi with
only salaried personnel and certainly no major contacts</span> .</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="font-size-3">However, the journey of past year taught me
few things as entrepreneur which I want to share with my fellow
entrepreneurs and anyone thinking of bootstrapping.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="font-size-3">It’s not WHO you know but WHAT you know
and WHERE and HOW you can make a difference – The first Client who
empaneled us as vendor are yet to do business with us while there are
few Angel Clients who trusted us and brought us more clients by WOM.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="font-size-3">Think BIG, Set hairy, audacious, BIG goals but be humble</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="font-size-3">A motivated team is better than 10 so
called experienced experts – Motivate your team to go beyond what they
are capable of. and give them the credit when they deliver</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="font-size-3">Be visible and be different –A paradox but
both are also true vice versa …..our recognition at CMO Asia Awards and
free media coverage helped us</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="font-size-3">Follow the law of the land and pay your taxes on time – Helps to maintain the transparency </span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="font-size-3">Do not hire a family member at least not when you are starting off</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="font-size-3">Give Value for Money service and be shameful in asking Clients for referrals</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="font-size-3">Believe in yourself its only then that the world will start believing you</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="font-size-3">Be Frugal- Its not about the flashy car but about that extra penny saved to get more resources</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="font-size-3">Follow the rules that exist for everyone in the team and enjoy your free time.</span></span></span></li>
</ol>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-3923637050122799462012-09-03T14:31:00.000+05:302013-12-09T17:31:27.796+05:30Our Angel & Mischief<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwB8HURPoMafjseCcVwvR1uJShdm6VACkSR9pXtlMStqMsSTWleeiRRJ-Y5iBzG_qit1u-J_MD25Dc7LvY9E_PQGZvkS3uIgo7SggBHWeLcb-_2-pet_HOgl4pLuVXOuw0hmZvWfZKUjp5/s1600/IMG_1074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwB8HURPoMafjseCcVwvR1uJShdm6VACkSR9pXtlMStqMsSTWleeiRRJ-Y5iBzG_qit1u-J_MD25Dc7LvY9E_PQGZvkS3uIgo7SggBHWeLcb-_2-pet_HOgl4pLuVXOuw0hmZvWfZKUjp5/s320/IMG_1074.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="userContent">They are just our dogs or are they our babies. <br /> Our other eyes that can see above the clouds; <br /> Our reasons that see above the doubts.<br /> Our other ears that hear above the noise;<br /> Our “Bundles of Joy” who leave us no choice.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="userContent"><br /> When we are wrong, they are delighted to forgive;<br /> They are sad, when every morning I leave.<br /> When we fight, they clowns to make us smile;</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> They come back to check, even when they walk a mile.<br /> When we are happy, there is joy unbounded;<br /> Unexpected “treats” are greeted dumbfounded.<br /> <br /> They have told us more than a thousand times , </span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_show">
<span style="font-size: small;">that we are their reason for being <br /> By the way they rests against our laps, <br /> sometime barking against the leaking taps<br /> By the way they thumps their tails at our smallest smile, <br /> ever ready again to run a mile.<br /> Are they our dogs, just ready to greet.<br /> No! they are our babies , two heartbeats near our feet.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-46006623656852361422011-11-19T16:49:00.000+05:302011-11-19T16:50:56.657+05:30Maverick: The success Story of the Most Unusual Workplace.<br /><br />The book first published in 1988 is Brazil most successful non fiction work. Semler, the 34-year-old CEO, or “counselor,” of Semco, a Brazilian manufacturing firm, describes how he turned his successful company into a “natural business” in which employees hire and evaluate their bosses, dress however they want, participate in major decisions, and share in 22 percent of the profits. Semler believes that Semco is different from most companies that have participatory management because employees are given the power to make decisions–even ones, with which the CEO wouldn’t normally agree. Best for the non-delegating leader in you.<br /><br /><br />The Art of Start<br /><br />Guy Kawasaki’s 4 year old best seller is one of the most talked and blogged about books for entrepreneurs. The book deals with some of the most prominent questions startups face. What does it take to turn ideas into action? What are the elements of a perfect pitch? How do you win the war for talent? How do you establish a brand without bucks? The former Apple evanglist and venture capitalist answers it all.<br /><br /><br />The High Performance Entrepreneur<br /><br />This is my personal favorite by Mindtree Co-Founder Subroto Bagchi. The book includes how to decide when one is ready to launch an enterprise, selecting a team, defining the values and objectives of the company and writing the business plan to choosing the right investors, managing adversity and building the brand. This is specially recommended for high achievers who want to build high potential organizations.. you know the next Google kind of thing.<br /><br /><br />The Long Tail<br /><br />The Long Tail by Chris Anderson speaks about how the future of business is in selling less of more. The book’s title quickly went on become the catchphrase among Internet marketers and enjoys an iconic status among new age entrepreneurs. Anderson uses its examples from Google, Rhapsody, iTunes, Amazon, Netflix and eBay to show how the growth in a world without inventory is beyond the idea of selling more of less going towards selling to individual demands and small deep niches.<br /><br /><br />IACOCCA<br /><br />The autobiography of Lee Iacocca. The inspirational manager talks the story of his life that went saw the highs and lows as prominent player in the American automobile industry. The book primarily recounts the birth of the American classic Mustang and how it changed the face the industry while Lee got even with Ford. Lee Iacocca is an inspirational figure among many top managers of the world for his tenacity and skill and the grit he displayed to bring Chrysler back from the brink of bankruptcy. Must Read.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-74173372424871634952011-08-19T16:43:00.002+05:302011-08-19T16:50:29.209+05:30Making of an World class Organization:Narayana Murthy ,Infosys Co-Founder.<div align="right"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><em>Here’s the farewell letter written by N.R. Narayana Murthy, Founder of Infosys to all the shareholders of the company. Here he says about Infy’s journey. It’s a must read for all followers of engineering & entrepreneurship: (Letter Credit – Infosys Annual Report 2010-2011)</em></span></span></div><div align="justify"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><em>
<br /></em></span></span></strong></div><div align="justify"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Family or Company – How Tough Really It Is?</span></span></strong></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It was on one of those rare nights at home during the late eighties. I was huddling with my young children, Rohan and Akshata, when Rohan, the most mischievous child I have ever come across, asked innocently whether I loved Infosys more than him and his sister. I got away from that embarrassing situation by saying that I loved my children much more than anything else. However, even today when we reminisce about the incident my children are not fully convinced that I was telling them the truth. When I was busy overseeing every detail of the strategy and the operations of the company from designing the company logo the company song and the presentation materials signing off on every drawing and material used in every building on our campuses around the world and coming home late at night, it was difficult to argue with the innocent but correct logic of my children. When I was spending l6 hour days in the office and was away from home for as many as 330 days in a year it was hard for my children to believe in my commitment to the family.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">There is no doubt that the Infosys journey has been an integral part of my life. Most of my colleagues say that Infosys is an inseparable part of me and I am an inseparable part of Infosys I have been the Number One actor in every major decision taken in the company. I have rejoiced in every significant milestone of the company I have commiserated in every false step that this company has taken. The best analogy that I can think of for this separation between Infosys and me is that of ones daughter getting married and leaving her parents’ home. Yes, the parents will be there when she needs them and they will be happy that she is starting a new life in an exciting new environment.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Key Achievements – As Noted by Him :</span></span></strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It is not easy for me to write my last article in the Annual Report of the company. As I write this a mosaic of images from the past whizzes through my mind. The list seems endless and it would be difficult to narrate them all in this article. So let me highlight a few of them. The day we assembled in my tiny apartment in Mumbai to decide that respect from every stakeholder was the most valuable thing for us. The day we convinced our first US customer to close his own operations at SEEPZ and hitch his future with ours was a significant milestone for us. The day we won the MICO data center contract, starting as an underdog and going on to differentiate ourselves based on our advanced mathematical modeling competence, was a day that boosted our confidence as engineers. The day we inaugurated India’s first software campus is still vivid in my memory. Distributing 27 per cent of the company’s equity among our employees was a proud moment for those of us who have always considered the idea of sharing wealth to be an important pan of our social responsibility.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Listing in India in 1993 pushed us to become leaders in corporate governance. The joy of being India’s first software company to be certified at Level 4 of the Capability Maturity Model of the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon was clearly what enhanced our own belief in quality. Sitting on a high stool at the NASDAQ headquarters in New York in front of the scorching lights of TV cameras, I borrowed the words of Neil Armstrong to tell the world how important it was for an Indian company to be listed on the NASDAQ. Opening our ultra modern offices in London, Paris, New York, Melbourne, Shanghai and Tokyo heralded our aspirations to be a global company.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The inauguration of the first education centre at Mysore by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the second one by Mrs Sonia Gandhi the President of the Indian National Congress were both sound reaffirmations of our long-held belief in the importance of education and research. Participating in the Billion Dollar Day function declaring several special dividends and bonus shares, becoming part of NASDAQ-100, starting our banking group, creating Infosys Consulting and Infosys BPO, building more than 28 million sq. ft. of world-class development centers, winning several prestigious global awards and establishing the Infosys Foundation are milestones that brought us great pride.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Sphere of Life – As It Is and It is in fact a Roller-Coaster Ride :</span></span></strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">There have been some moments of great dilemmas and sadness too. Bidding goodbye to perhaps the brightest of my co-founder colleagues early in the journey was disheartening. Refusing to accept unreasonable terms and walking away from business with a Fortune 10 company was a test of our resolve. Accepting the resignation of a senior colleague and dealing with the instance where our code of ethics was jeopardized were tests of adherence to our values. Deliberating all alone on the resignation offer of a co-founder is not something I would wish even upon my enemy. Being accused of violating our own high standard of business ethics recently made me lose several nights of sleep.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Occasional incidents of the organization turning bureaucratic the inability of some of our leaders to take quick and firm decisions and the movement company interface becoming less business-friendly from time to time are things that make me sad. But then this tapestry of happy and not so happy incidents is normal and keeps life exciting.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">What have been the lessons from this extraordinary marathon? Assembling a team of extraordinary people who have displayed outstanding capabilities through their value system competence, low ego and high energy is crucial to the progress of any institution. The differentiation comes from ideas and ideas come from bright minds. Therefore, good people are the primary assets of a great organization. It is essential to realize that even the best people may not be able to run the entire marathon.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Different people run out of endurance and intellectual horsepower at different points of time. Some people drop out of the marathon since they do not see any value in an organization when their own time under the arc light is over. A leader’s responsibility is to recognize this, provide them opportunities outside the organization, and usher in suitable replacements. Infosys’ journey is replete with many such examples.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong>The Essence of Leadership :</strong></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Many intelligent people possess a high ego and low patience to deal with people less capable than themselves. Leaders have to manage this anomaly very carefully; counsel these errant people from time to time, and allow them to operate as long as they do not become dysfunctional and start harming the organization. If they do cross the threshold it takes courage to inform the individuals that their time in the organization is over and that they have to leave. However, one aspect that marks out a truly superior organization is the ability of its employees at all levels to be driven by values and to ensure adherence and compliance under any circumstance. No individual is high or important enough for an organization to put up with non compliance.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> Leadership by example is what creates trust in people to follow a leader. As long as a leader is able to show his or her sacrifice and commitment to a cause others will follow him or her I am glad we decided on respect from our stakeholders (customers, employees, investors, vendor, partners, government of the land and the society) as the primary objective of the company. I have seen hundreds of instances of such leadership-by-example at Infosys.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A sense of ownership among employees is extremely important to build a long term future for a corporation. Such ownership comes from fair merit based and generous sharing of wealth and perquisites among each member of the company. This is my answer to many of my friends who wonder why when Infosys was founded I took a small percentage of my earlier salary while every other cofounder’s salary was increased by at least 10 per cent. The same friends tell me that they do not know of any other instance where as much as 10 to 15 per cent of the company equity was given to co-founders who had just 12 to 18 months of work experience.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I do not know of any Indian company that has given away as much as Rs 50,000 crore (at current stock prices) of stock options to employees. Today; every Indian employee at every level who joined us on or before March 2010 is a stockholder of Infosys. The point I would like to make is that such acts demonstrate that our leaders walked the talk in sacrifice and commitment. Strategy is about ensuring sustained differentiation m a changing environment for better net income margins Differentiation without better net income margins is meaningless. In my opinion operating margins and earnings before taxes depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) are not appropriate measures. In fact the best measure of differentiation is the per capita free cash flow generated. Such cash flows bring cash to invest in better people research and development infrastructure training and better customer and employee confidence The famous Harvard historian Niall Ferguson says in his book Civilization: The West and the Rest that the six attributes that have made Western civilization dominant during the last five hundred years are competition, science, property rights, medicine, consumption and a good work ethic. I have been saying for many years now that the factors that differentiate a corporation from its competitors are an enduring value system open mindedness, pluralistic and meritocratic approach and practicing speed, imagination and excellence in execution. Leaders have to focus on creating such an environment.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Leadership is about taking bold and firm decisions with incomplete information in an environment of uncertainty: Leaders who waffle do not inspire confidence in their people. It is important to use as much data and modeling as possible to eliminate clearly bad decisions. My decision to walk away from a Fortune 10 company when they contributed 25 % of our revenue was one such example of decision making under uncertainty. It was a tough decision that was taken so firmly and calmly that the head of sales at Infosys at that time thought I was not bothered about the future of the company! I had to explain to him that I did indeed agonize over it but that as a leader I could not be driven by panic since such an important decision required a calm and composed mind.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Every leader must have a mental model of his or her business with at best five to seven parameters that determine sensitivity to revenue and net income. It is important to update that model suitably as the business landscape changes. Any leader who cannot quickly do such sensitivity calculation would not be able to take quick and bold decisions. Even today I carry and update the mental model of our business in my mind.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Generosity is an essential part of a leader. It is the foundation on which teamwork is built. The ability to share the limelight with ones colleagues, the ability to step aside and give opportunity to younger people when they want that fame, power and glory: and the ability to provide a safety net of advice for them is an important aspect of strengthening the future of an organization. It is not easy to give up power, particularly when you have been the object of so much adulation. I must say that Infosys has done a good job in bringing two such transitions before I leave the portals of this company.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong>What Makes an Organization Worldclass :</strong></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Scalability is the true test of the endurance of an organization. The ability to grow successfully without losing quality productivity employee investor and customer satisfaction and the spirit of a small company is what makes Infosys a great company. We have grown from 50 customers to 620 customers from 10 projects to 6,500 projects from 100 employees to 130,820 employees from 100 sq ft to 28 million sq ft of built up space and from 100 investors to over 450,000 investors. Such a scalability exercise has been successful thanks to our PSPD model of operation. PSPD stands for Predictability of revenues, Sustainability of such predictability, Profitability of such realized revenues and Derisking. Predictability happens because of a good forecasting system that derives realistic data from the trenches and tempers it with the wisdom of senior business leaders. Sustainability refers to the systems that help the efforts of sales people beating the pavement and meeting customers to make the prediction true, the efforts of our delivery people to deliver quality products on time within budgets, and to the efforts of our finance people raising the invoice on time and collecting money on time. Profitability refers to the systems that help our people make value-based sales, follow rigorous budgeting exercises, control costs, get best value for money and ensure the agreed-upon profitability. Derisking refers to systems that identify risks in various dimensions of our operations – people, geographies, technologies, application areas and services – collect periodic data, review the risk levels and mitigate them.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Innovation is the best instrument for creating sustained differentiation. However it must be accepted that revenues for a corporation come from well understood ideas and business models. For example, most of a bank’s revenues will come from borrowing money at a certain rate and lending it at a higher rate. Part of the profits from such models will be used for research and development to generate new ideas. A few of these ideas will be seeded and some of them will become mainstream revenue earners. Therefore, it is very important for a leader to focus on innovation particularly when the times are good.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Customers put food on our table. Therefore, we have to have a laser focus on exceeding their expectations, being open and honest with them, and ensuring that they look good in front of their customers. Employees are the only instruments we have to make our customers and investors succeed. Therefore, we have to create an environment of openness, meritocracy; fairness, transparency, honesty and accountability amongst our employees.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Our investors understand that businesses will have their share of up and downs. They want us, the management, to level with them at all times. Therefore, “when in doubt, please disclose” is a good policy for a corporation. Society provides customers, employees, investors, bureaucrats and politicians. Therefore, earning the goodwill of every society that we operate in is extremely important for us. Global benchmarking is a powerful instrument that helps us to improve our self-confidence, compete with the best global competitors and serve our customers better.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong>Success and Failure – We are our best friend and We are our Worst Enemies :</strong></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">We Indians must recognize as we have done at Infosys that we are our main enemies. There is no external enemy. Our failures are because of our lack of commitment to our cause, our inability to accept meritocracy and our indifference to honesty and want of a good work ethic amongst our leaders. Performance alone is the key differentiator. This stems from my belief that performance leads to recognition brings respect and respect brings power. Therefore if India wants to be a superpower as we keep hoping the only instrument we have is performance.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> We have demonstrated that businesses can be run legally and ethically that it is possible for an Indian company to benchmark with the global best and that any set of youngsters with values hard work team work and a little bit of smartness can indeed be successful entrepreneurs. This way we have enthused millions of young men and women in India. This in my opinion is Infosys’ greatest contribution.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I have realized that humility grace and courtesy are genuine only when you have power and glory. That is why the leaders at Infosys have practiced this time and again. Humility provides us the strength of mind to learn from people better than us. Grace and courtesy make us worthy competitors. They also remind us that such glory and power are ephemeral and give us the strength to handle the days when we too could lose our shine.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The crucial things we have to do in the future are to recognize our weaknesses; be open-minded about learning from people better than us; learn from our mistakes and not repeat them; be humble, honest and courteous; benchmark with the best in every dimension; use innovation to perform at global levels; and create a worthwhile vision and improve every day. This is how our mantra of focusing on speed imagination and excellence in execution will take this company very far. </span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I have absolutely no doubt about it. I wish Kris and my fellow Infoscions the best in their journey forward. The board has been kind enough to name me the Chairman Emeritus. Therefore, I will always be there to add value if asked.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Thanks,</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> Narayana Murthy</span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">
<br /></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-22258967796386565902011-05-27T14:45:00.000+05:302011-05-27T14:46:23.071+05:30Dont let them say you can't do itOfficials rejected a candidate for a news broadcasters post since his voice was not fit for a news broadcaster.<br />He was also told that with his obnoxiously long name, he would never be famous.<br />He is Amitabh Bachchan.<br /><br />-------------------------------------------<br />A small boy--the fifth amongst seven siblings of a poor father,<br />was selling newspapers in a small village to earn his living.<br />He was not exceptionally smart at school but was fascinated by religion and rockets.<br />The first rocket he built crashed.<br />A missile that he built crashed multiple times and he was made a butt of ridicule.<br />He is the person to have scripted the Space Odyssey of India single-handedly.<br />He is Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.<br /><br />-- - --------------------------------------------<br /><br />In 1962, four nervous young musicians played their first record audition for the executives of the Decca Recording Company.<br />The executives were not impressed.<br />While turning down this group of musicians, one executive said,<br />"We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out."<br />The group was called The Beatles.<br /><br />--------------------------------------------<br /><br />In 1944, Emmeline Snively, director of the Blue Book Modeling Agency told modeling hopeful<br />Norma Jean Baker, "You'd better learn secretarial work or else get married".<br />She went on and became Marilyn Monroe.<br /><br />----------------------------------------------<br /><br />In 1954, Jimmy Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry, fired a singer after one performance.<br />He told him, "You ain't goin' nowhere son. You ought to go back to drivin' a truck".<br />He went on to become Elvis Presley.<br /><br />-------------------------------------------<br /><br />When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876,<br />it did not ring off the hook with calls from potential backers.<br />After making a demonstration call, President Rutherford Hayes said, "That's an amazing invention, but who would ever want to see one of them?"<br /><br />-------------------------------------------<br /><br />When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, he tried over 2000 experiments before he got it to work.<br />A young reporter asked him how it felt to fail so many times.<br />He said, "I never failed once. I invented the light bulb.<br />It just happened to be a 2000-step process".<br /><br />-------------------------------------------<br /><br />In the 1940s, another young inventor named Chester Carlson took his idea to 20 corporations, including some of the biggest in the country.<br />They all turned him down. In 1947, after 7 long years of rejections, he finally got a tiny company in Rochester, NY, the Haloid Company, to purchase the rights to his invention--an electrostatic paper-copying process.<br />Haloid became Xerox Corporation.<br /><br />------------------------------------------<br /><br />A little girl--the 20th of 22 children, was born prematurely and her survival was doubtful.<br />When she was 4 years old, she contracted double pneumonia and scarlet fever, which left her with aparalyzed left leg.<br />At age 9, she removed the metal leg brace she had been dependent on and began to walk without it.<br />By 13 she had developed a rhythmic walk, which doctors said was a miracle.<br />That same year she decided to become a runner.<br />She entered a race and came in last.<br />For the next few years every race she entered, she came in last. Everyone told her to quit, but she kept on running.<br />One day she actually won a race.<br />And then another.<br />From then on she won every race she entered.<br />Eventually this little girl--Wilma Rudolph, went on to win three Olympic gold medals.<br /><br />----------------------------------------<br /><br />A schoolteacher scolded a boy for not paying attention to his mathematics and for not being able to solve simple problems.<br />She told him that you would not become anybody in life.<br />The boy was Albert Einstein.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-43783897109564355872011-05-27T14:41:00.001+05:302011-05-27T14:44:40.124+05:30Love Story of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy…….from Sudha Murthy's Autobiography!!!It was in Pune that I met Narayan Murty through my friend Prasanna who is now the Wipro chief, who was also training in Telco (TataMotors). Most of the books that Prasanna lent me had Murty's name on them which meant that I had a preconceived image of the man. Contrary to expectation, Murty was shy, bespectacled and an introvert. When he invited us for dinner, I was a bit taken aback as I thought the young man was making a very fast move.I refused since I was the only girl in the group. But Murty was relentless and we all decided to meet for dinner the next day at 7.30 p.m at Green Fields Hotel on the Main Road, Pune.<br />The next day I went there at 7o'clock since I had to go to the tailor near the hotel. And what do I see? Mr. Murty waiting in front of the hotel and it was only seven. Till today, Murty maintains that I had mentioned (consciously!) that I would be going to the tailor at 7 so that I could meet him…And I maintain that I did not say any such thing consciously or unconsciously because I did not think of Murty as anything other than a friend at that stage. We have agreed to disagree on this matter.<br /><br />Soon, we became friends. Our conversations were filled with Murty's experiences abroad and the books that he has read. My friends insisted that Murty was trying to impress me because he was interested in me. I kept denying it till one fine day, after dinner Murty said, I want to tell you something. I knew this as it. It was coming.He said, I am 5′4″ tall.I come from a lower middle class family. I can never become rich in my life and I can never give you any riches. You are beautiful, bright, and intelligent and you can get anyone you want.But will you marry me?<br />I asked Murty to give me some time for an answer. My father didn't want me to marry a wannabe politician (a communist at that) who didn't have a steady job and wanted to build an orphanage…<br /><br />When I went to Hubli I told my parents about Murty and his proposal. My mother was positive since Murty was also from Karnataka, seemed intelligent and comes from a good family. But my father asked: What's his job, his salary, his qualifications etc? Murty was working as a research assistant and was earning less than me. He was willing to go dutch with me on our outings. My parents agreed to meet Murty in Pune on a particular day at 10 a.m sharp. Murty did not turn up. How can I trust a man to take care of my daughter if he cannot keep an appointment? asked my father.At 12 noon Murty turned up in a bright red shirt! He had gone on work to Bombay, was stuck in a traffic jam on the ghats, so he hired a taxi (though it was very expensive for him) to meet his would-be father-in-law.Father was unimpressed. My father asked him what he wanted to become in life. Murty said he wanted to become a politician in the communist party and wanted to open an orphanage. My father gave his verdict. NO. I don't want my daughter to marry somebody who wants to become a communist and then open an orphanage when he himself didn't have money to support his family.<br /><br />Ironically, today, I have opened many orphanages something, which Murty wanted to do 25 years ago. By this time I realized I had developed a liking towards Murty which could only be termed as love. I wanted to marry Murty because he is an honest man. He proposed to me highlighting the negatives in his life. I promised my father that I will not marry Murty without his blessings though at the same time, I cannot marry anybody else. My father said he would agree if Murty promised to take up a steady job. But Murty refused saying he will not do things in life because somebody wanted him to. So, I was caught between the two most important persons in my life.<br /><br />The stalemate continued for three years during which our courtship took us to every restaurant and cinema hall in Pune. In those days, Murty was always broke. Moreover, he didn't earn much to manage. Ironically today, he manages Infosys Technologies Ltd., one of the world's most reputed companies. He always owed me money. We used to go for dinner and he would say, I don't have money with me, you pay my share, I will return it to you later. For three years I maintained a book on Murty's debt to me.. No, he never returned the money and I finally tore it up after my wedding. The amount was a little over Rs 4000. During this interim period Murty quit his job as research assistant and started his own software business. Now, I had to pay his salary too! Towards the late 70s computers were entering India in a big way.<br />During the fag end of 1977 Murty decided to take up a job as General Manager at Patni Computers in Bombay .. But before he joined the company he wanted to marry me since he was to go on training to the US after joining. My father gave in as he was happy Murty had a decent job, now.<br />WE WERE MARRIED IN MURTY'S HOUSE IN BANGALORE ON FEBRUARY 10, 1978 WITH ONLY OUR TWO FAMILIES PRESENT. I GOT MY FIRST SILK SARI. THE WEDDING EXPENSES CAME TO ONLY RS 800 (US $17) WITH MURTY AND I PULLING IN RS. 400 EACH.<br />I went to the US with Murty after marriage. Murty encouraged me to see America on my own because I loved travelling. I toured America for three months on backpack and had interesting experiences which will remain fresh in my mind forever. Like the time when the New York police took me into custody because they thought I was an Italian trafficking drugs in Harlem. Or the time when I spent the night at the bottom of the Grand Canyon with an old couple. Murty panicked because he couldn't get a response from my hotel room even at midnight. He thought I was either killed or kidnapped.<br />IN 1981 MURTY WANTED TO START INFOSYS. HE HAD A VISION AND ZERO CAPITAL…initially I was very apprehensive about Murty getting into business. We did not have any business background .. Moreover we were living a comfortable life in Bombay with a regular pay check and I didn't want to rock the boat. But Murty was passionate about creating good quality software. I decided to support him. Typical of Murty, he just had a dream and no money. So I gave him Rs 10,000 which I had saved for a rainy day, without his knowledge and told him, this is all I have. Take it. I give you three years sabbatical leave. I will take care of the financial needs of our house. You go and chase your dreams without any worry. But you have only three years!<br />Murty and his six colleagues started Infosys in 1981,with enormous interest and hard work. In 1982 I left Telco and moved to Pune with Murty. We bought a small house on loan which also became the Infosys office. I was a clerk-cum-cook-cum-programmer. I also took up a job as Senior Systems Analyst with Walchand group of Industries to support the house. In 1983, Infosys got their first client, MICO, in Bangalore .. Murty moved to Bangalore and stayed with his mother while I went to Hubli to deliver my second child, Rohan. Ten days after my son was born, Murty left for the US on project work. I saw him only after a year, as I was unable to join Murty in the US because my son had infantile eczema, an allergy to vaccinations. So for more than a year I did not step outside our home for fear of my son contracting an infection. It was only after Rohan got all his<br />vaccinations that I came to Bangalore where we rented a small house in Jayanagar and rented another house as Infosys headquarters. My father presented Murty a scooter to commute. I once again became a cook, programmer, clerk, secretary, office assistant et al. Nandan Nilekani (MD of Infosys) and his wife Rohini stayed with us. While Rohini babysat my son, I wrote programs for Infosys. There was no car, no phone, and just two kids and a bunch of us working hard, juggling our lives and having fun while Infosys was taking shape. It was not only me but also the wives of other partners too who gave their unstinted support. We all knew that our men were trying to build something good. It was like a big joint family,taking care and looking out for one another. I still remember Sudha Gopalakrishna looking after my daughter Akshata with all care and love while Kumari Shibulal cooked for all of us. Murty made it very clear that it would either be me or him working at Infosys. Never the two of us together… I was involved with Infosys initially.<br />Nandan Nilekani suggested I should be on the Board but Murty said he did not want a husband and wife team at Infosys. I was shocked since I had the relevant experience and technical qualifications. He said, Sudha if you want to work with Infosys, I will withdraw, happily. I was pained to know that I will not be involved in the company my husband was building and that I would have to give up a job that I am qualified to do and love doing.<br />It took me a couple of days to grasp the reason behind Murty's request.. I realized that to make Infosys a success one had to give one's 100 percent. One had to be focussed on it alone with no other distractions. If the two of us had to give 100 percent to Infosys then what would happen to our home and our children? One of us had to take care of our home while the other took care of Infosys.I opted to be a homemaker, after all Infosys was Murty's dream. It was a big sacrifice but it was one that had to be made. Even today, Murty says, Sudha, I stepped on your career to make mine.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-44725155656519260962011-05-27T14:35:00.002+05:302011-05-27T14:40:44.346+05:30Lost in transitLot has happened since I last dropped here,got married,adopted 2 canine kids,saw my life turn topsy turvy and my house a wreak as they were teething, resigned from my Job to start a new dream......But I aam back again......a new resolve , with a spring on my fingertips with old memories and new.........hoping someone will drop in .......stop for few seconds and carry on ........I am just hoping .......new dreams and old......Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-39189296577537288462009-02-13T15:38:00.008+05:302009-02-13T16:27:33.922+05:30Just another Traffic Signal<div align="justify"><em>The January chill was stinging me, biting and clawing through my cloths but I was oblivious to it… as I was of the endless irritating cavalcade of Cars, Bus, Autos, and 2 Wheelers running outside on the ever congested Bangalore road.<br /></em><em></em><br /><em>I was numb … I was in pain I did not knew existed for a long time, living alone for years and being the eldest of 3 siblings I had learned early in life to deal with the feeling of home sickness drowning it in the objectivity of real world where emotions are nothing but hurdles to our ever growing <strong>“middle class”</strong> ambitions….My heart was still there back at my Brother’s residence…..Which I had left around 40 minutes back and with it I had left behind my <strong>“Bundle of Joy”</strong> my niece of 2 years …..I wanted to go back …..I wanted to be with her ,play with her and wanted to hear her speak in that childish demeanor , …..But I had to go back….back to Mumbai…back to endless client meetings, those numerous presentations and back to chasing my <strong>“middle class”</strong> dreams.<br /><br />Suddenly the endless honking of traffic brought me back from my thought….I woke up at the signal. We had reached Richmond Circle. The traffic usually stops there for a few minutes. It is the longest signal during the journey back from City to New Bangalore Airport.<br /><br />The Cab Driver stopped the engine and started having his tobacco . I was watching him in fascination with nothing else to do, he meticulously arranged that small portion in the palm of his hand rubbed it with his index finger and with precise perfection it vanished in his mouth. He nodded with satisfaction and increased the volume of the music<br /><br />With droopy eyes I looked through the window to the mêlée outside ,The view was like a clone of numerous traffic signals scattered across metros….. Looking around for something to catch my fancy I saw a little boy, a ragamuffin with his sister. The elder one was standing near the huge heap of rubbish and taking out plastic bottles from the rubbish heap.<br />A Pan Shop nearby had numerous posters of Film stars mostly females displayed across the façade……I lit up my own Cigarette and as if on cue my eyes wandered to the<strong> “statutory warning”</strong> sign displayed on one of the billboard on the shop. The sign was too much of a screamer ….Puff…Puff….finally with expert precision I stubbed the cigarette on the sole of my shoe and with an equally expert precision it flew out of my window on the rubbish bin whille I was thinking it was time to give up my vice.<br /><br />A fruit vendor was busy selling freshly cut fruit, dicing pineapples and placing it on top of Water Melon chunks, Nearby urchins were busy begging alms from the cars around the signal……..A young couple riding a scooter with a kid in front made me remember traveling with my family in our second hand “Bajaj Super” …….<br /><br />Knock….Knock….someone knocked on my Cab’s door …It was one of those urchins….I fished out a ten rupee note and gave it to him feeling a wee bit more philanthropic than normal.<br /><br />I saw world in a microcosm. A world which was not in search of anything, happy in whatever was coming their way. Those urchins were not cribbing, complaining about the pollution, the noise, or anything because they were busy in hard realities of life. Tired, tattered and sun toned but happier because they found reasons to be, unlike the more affluent <strong>“middle class”</strong> who find reasons and logics for happiness. It was a state for them but for us it is a thing to decipher.<br /><br />The Signal turned to green too soon and my Cab left picking up speed with each changing gear …Leaving behind the City and the mêlée outside a speck itched in the backyards of memory………to Mumbai…to endless client meetings, to chasing those <strong>“middle class”</strong> dreams…..till I could find another place another time and another <strong>“Traffic Signal”</strong><br /><br /><strong>“Happy Journey”</strong></em></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-8846679866440063012009-01-28T16:02:00.007+05:302009-02-12T11:08:57.964+05:30From the Railway Carriage<div align="justify"><i>I got up with a jerk and looked out of the window of my three tier compartment and was greeted by that all too familiar cacophony of <strong>“Chai, garam chai’, ‘taaza kela’, ‘fresh bread-omlette’, ‘paper, le lo paper’, …….‘T.T. Saab just one berth, I’ll give you extra’, ‘coolie, coolie, come this way quick....” </strong>The sights, sounds and smells were all so familiar.<br /><br />Peering out I asked a hawker selling peanuts,<strong> “Which station is this?”“Rourkela,”</strong> the boy answered. I had got my favorite seat - a side lower berth. I had started exactly twenty four hours ago from Mumbai. It would take me another 2 hours to reach my destination - Tatanagar. I had a good night’s sleep inspite of travelling Sleeper Class after a gap of 9 Years, to think of it after 6 years on any class in a Train.<br /><br />They say, If you haven’t traveled in Indian Railways, you haven’t seen India! Yes, the Incredible India is not complete without it’s fascinating bit of the great Railways. The British built narrow guage lines to beat the heat in the plains and traveled to the cool hill stations during the British rule in India. but, my train trip was more to relieve my memories than any new experience hence I chose Train over Flight yearning for the good old days, when trains with evocative names like 'Frontier Mail', 'Flying Ranee', 'Gomoh Express', thundered through the nights trailing a mixture of steam and smoke. Trains with romantic, magical names are still there. But those steaming, thundering nights are just a speck in my memory and it was time to go back in flash back and bring back those moments.<br /><br />I got up to brush my teeth and get ready for some hot tea and newspaper……. The Shouts of Chaiwallah got me into reverie 9 years back……………….When for about 5 years I was a regular traveler of Gitanjali Express between Tatanagar and Mumbai. The wonderful journeys that I undertook by this train during my college days are amongst my best journeys on board the Indian Railway, Generally a big group of friends would be there and we would begin the journey at around 6:15 AM from Dadar and reach the next morning at around 9:30 am.<br /><br />I remembered my first trip from Mumbai to Jamshedpur in 1998 ,We were a group of 20 people traveling from Dadar and it was our first journey back home from Hotel Management Institute …I had a ticket in another coach away from the others and I believe I was initiated into entrepreneur spirit during that journey as I sold my ticket for an exchange of Waiting Ticket of another passenger all for Rs.400/- Making a straight profit of Rs.200/- on my concessional ticket half that price. fully aware that there were 19 other births to plonk in during the night…..To think of it a profit of 100% was not bad…….These group journeys would have college Romeo-Juliet’s, Booze party, dancing and antakshari.<br /><br />Dadar station looked like a “casbah” in the Middle East. prior to the departure of Geetanjali Express, 20 times more crowded and just as chaotic. Passengers running after coolies, who would be trying to locate particular carriages; vendors trotting up and down the platform trying to sell their wares, mineral water, fruits, newspapers and periodicals. Adding to this melee were the inevitable bhajiawallas .<br /><br />The real fun of travelling use to begin as soon as we would board. Our role changed from that of a spectator to a participant. Indian middle class are not content to mutter a comment about the lateness of the train and then immerse themselves in the crossword. They are far too social for that. As the train gathers speed, so does the banter. It was difficult to believe that your fellow passengers are meeting each other for the first time. Not only is gossip exchanged, but also food and life stories. As everyone is expected to join in, you might as well do the same. Your fellow travelers are not averse to asking you direct and leading questions even if you put on the reserve. This is not nosiness but friendliness. However, I can visualize a few raised eyebrows, when somebody you have only just met, asks you what your take-home pay is!<br />You should be prepared to field questions about cricket. If you have no knowledge of cricket, the easiest way to get out of this predicament is to start talking about Indian politics. Start the ball rolling and then sit back. Indian politics is so complex a subject that it is easier to understand Einstein's Theory of Relativity.<br /><br />..... Having chai was an experience not to be missed. The Chaiwallah were an institution in themselves, unlikely to be seen anywhere. Their strident cries of <strong>"Chai, garam chai"</strong> (tea, hot tea), would penetrate even well insulated air-conditioned carriages. Even at 2 o'clock in the morning, they would parade up and down with undiminished spirit. Passengers themselves didn’t think anything of getting up from deep slumber to partake of this nectar. The typical way of making it was to boil the living daylights out of a mixture of water, milk, sugar and tea leaves, and when no more tannin can possibly be extracted, strain it off into small cups or glasses. On smaller stations, they used small disposable earthenware pots or <strong>“Kullhars”. </strong>After you finish, you throw the pot, usually between the platform and the train, where it disintegrates into smithereens. Dust to dust Ashes to ashes. I remembered The old <strong>“chaiwallah’’</strong> with his famous negative marketing pitch <strong>“kharab se kharab chai pijiye’’</strong> who was a regular between Tatanagar & Rourkela stations and gave the passengers the best Tea that was possible, However, the days of this most Indian of drinks may be numbered. On this trip, I was served a lukewarm mixture of considerably watered down milk with a miserable looking tea bag floating in it in a plastic cup. I suppose that is progress!<br /><br />Another feature of this journey use to be the undulating tunnels & rivers in the same leg of the journey...a must watch for the nature lovers...and we used to sit at the door for the best views……..Little children in the train, defying parental commands to go to sleep, would peer out of the windows at the engine at some bend……. The Train window use to be like a celluloid Screen where you could see glimpses of real village life, Farmers on their way to rice fields, Goatherds on their way to grazing oasis, rice farming on narrow paddy fields and all these while the Train would chug along faster and faster over Bridges, crossing Villages, Rivers, Forests charging along like an army through the meadows and sights of the hill and the plains, The painted stations would disappear in the wink of an eye, Each a glimpse gone forever or at most itched in memories ,Time would fly and before long we would be at Jamshedpur clamoring down to go home for vacation before it was time to return and take the journey the other way.....homesick.<br /><br />A sudden jolt woke me up from my reverie ,I could see the horizon loomed large on the other side of the window ,Chakradharpur had come It was time to collect my luggage and my memories scattered across iron tracks spread over these 1000 KM……I started to get ready before I got lost once again to the sound of </i><strong><i>“Chai Garam Chai”……</i></strong></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-35004343669847300602008-10-25T13:47:00.003+05:302008-10-25T14:18:52.102+05:30A Pendrive full of Memories<div align="justify"><i>I look through my Flight’s Window to the panorama below restless as I have nothing better to do, a rarity nowadays, before I land in Bangalore and resume my life as I am use to and prepare for my meeting .The Sky is clear from the top and I can see clouds which are not visible from Mumbai Skyline due to ever clinging Smog…….I get this feeling of Déjà vu and go back in time, I begin to count the number of times that I've sat back like this and reflected upon my childhood a childhood fastooned with memories of my formative years and the beginning of day while preparing for exams. The day use to start with early dawn rendition of <strong>“Hey Bajrangbali Hanuman, Hey Mahavir karo kalyan”</strong> in deep baritone of Shree Hariom Saran piercing the morning air from a Temple near our house and then the day had a flurry of songs being played repeatedly by a next door neighbour right from<strong> “Yehi kahin jiyara hamar aye gori gum ho gawa re”</strong> to<strong> “Tamma Tamma”</strong> at that time me and my Brothers use to curse it and use to be terribly irritated of the same but the same songs bring back nostalgic feelings whenever I hear it now<br /><br />Our childhood belonged to the Prereform years of India, It was a time when great changes were about to take place and consumption and instant gratification were not yet the way of life for Indian middle class.<br /><br />It was a time where vacations would mean time to have pure and simple fun and not a time to enhance your skills by joining all possible vacation courses ,Where Doordarshan's Sunday morning Cartoons and evening Movies used to be a special event and the entire week we use to look forward to the Sundays to watch our favourite serials on Black & White TV.<br /><br />It was a time where birthday's would mean friends & family get together at your place with homemade food and not just a birthday treat in a flashy Restaurant or Bar. Cold drinks were once in a while thing and drinking it used to be an event. Something to be enjoyed and to feel good about and not just a mean to quench your thirst.<br /><br />We were used to playing Hide n Seek, Flying Kites, Plucking Guavas , Cycle Race and Cricket matches and were not hooked to any Mobile Phones, Play Stations or X-Boxes .It was a time of Blackboards and not white boards, fans and not A/Cs, Inter school Sports meet, Annual Functions, Rainy day off, group photographs, selling “Helpage India” tickets for school. SUPW (Art & Craft) class, School Orchestra, Bunking Library class<br /><br />Our childhood was about picking up pups from the street, making a shelter for them out of bricks and requesting our parents to let them stay,<br />It was a time when we use to get Videos on rent and watched movies entire night on VCR. It was a time on innocence where we use to have friends and not girlfriends<br /><br />It was a time when traveling by “Sleeper Cass” on train was of great joy and Aeroplane was something that we only saw flying across the clear sky, There was no internet and Personal Computers had Boot Floppy Discs, no home loans, no EMIs ,No Telemarketers, I remember Bajaj & LML Vespa Scooters that we had in an era where less was more and new cloths were a by-annual affair bought during Holi & Durga Puja ,during one of these festivals invariably one occasion purchase use to be our School Uniform.<br /><br />We now live in time of rampant commercialization ,things are changing every second, We don’t write letters anymore but SMS our friends and family, Harry Porter has occupied the place once enjoyed by Enid Blyton’s. Truly lot has changed, lot will change for better and for worse but memories remains and come flashing back in time like these when we bring it out from the labyrinth of past for spring cleaning and safekeeping for another time, another day, another flight like this one.<br /><br />Happy Landing!</i><i><br /><br /><br /></i><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-89383925319524319192008-09-22T13:21:00.003+05:302008-09-22T13:30:17.959+05:30Nicknames<div align="justify">William Shakespeare quoted "What is there in the Name" , I say a great deal here is a piece dedicated............ <br /><br />To Choton, Bulbul, Khoka, laltu, gogol, babai, buro, tutu, bubu, ghoton,bhutan, chotka, shanto, bubai, tubul .... et al. being half bengali myself and being called “Lintu” by most of my relatives I make here an attempt to alert people to a great injustice that is being perpetrated upon the sons of Bengal.So you thought they were wimpy to begin with. Far from it, my friend. Their current state is a result of years of conditioning by the oppressors - namely the women. By using a variety of psychological weapons, they have reduced these fine men to what you see today.<br /><br />Today we focus on the first weapon in their hands - the nickname.<br /><br />When a son is born into a Bengali household, he is gifted with a resonant, sonorous name. Bengali names are wonderful things. They convey majesty and power. A man with a name like Prasenjit, Arunabha or Sukanta is a man who will walk with his head held high, knowing that the world expects great deeds from him, which was why they bestowed the title that is his name upon him.<br /><br />But it simply will not do for these men to get ahead of themselves. Their swelling confidence needs to be shattered. How can one go about it? This task is left to the mothers of these lads and is accomplished by the simple act of referring to the boy, not by his fine-sounding real name, but by a nickname which Shakti Kapoor would be ashamed to answer to. Their are some rules for creating nicknames, which need to be followed. They are -<br /><br />1) Nicknames must have no connection to the real name. Arunabha cannot be called Arun. No, for that would be logical, and such things are anathema in the world of women. Instead he shall be called Bhombol. If possible, the nickname and real name must have no letters in common, but an ancient alphabet proves to be the constraining factor there.<br /><br />2) Nicknames must be humiliating. If you are a tall strapping boy, with a flair for soccer, an easy charm and an endearing personality, then you shall be nicknamed - Bhondu. And every time, you have set your sights on a girl, and are on the verge of having the aforementioned lass eat out of your hand - your mother will arrive and pronounce loudly - "Bhondu, chalo". The ensuing sea of giggles will drown out whatever confidence you had earned from that last winning free-kick.<br /><br />3) A nickname must refer in some way to a suitably embaressing incident in your childhood that you would give your arm and leg to forget. If it took you a little too long to shed your baby fat, then years of gymming will not rid you of the nomenclature - Motka. If your face turned crimson when you cried as a toddler, you will be called Laltu. When you turn 40, your friends' children will call you Laltu Uncle. Even age will not earn you the right to be taken seriously thereafter.<br /><br />4) Different members of the family will make up different nicknames - each more embaressing than the preceding one. If one member of the family calls you Piklu, then another will call you Gonsa, and another will call you Jumbo. The humiliation multiplies.<br /><br />5) You will always be introduced by your nickname until people forget you had a real name. Inspector Ranajoy might have taken on a gang of armed men single-handedly, but Toton really didn't have a chance. After a point Toton will completely take over the beaten body of Ranajoy,<br />weighed down by the pressure of a thousand taunts.<br /><br />This strategy is surprisingly effective. Ask yourself - would you take Professor Lintu seriously? Or put much weight by the opinion of Dr. Babai? Or march into battle under the command of General Tubla?<br /><br />The power of the nickname has scarred the psyche of Bengali men everywhere. It follows them like a monkey on their backs. That too, a monkey with a flair for slapstick, that was gifted to them by their own mothers.<br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-7466160096795251002008-09-15T02:20:00.003+05:302008-09-15T02:47:26.294+05:30Return of the RAJ<div align="justify">Earlier we were a slave nation ,now we are citizens of an independent nation ,or are we? Independence which gives us fundamental rights to live and earn our living anywhere within the boundary of this nation. I saw a report in newspaper that one person of Bachhan family was lamented of proclaiming that she should speak in “Hindi” as she is from UP ,First let me clarify, I don’t think that was in good taste either but just a publicity gimmick as I have seen the person speaking in honey coated English in a session drinking coffee with “KJ” but this is not about her, This is about a politician who sends his son to an “English Medium” School and forces or rather threatens first Schools and then Shopkeepers to write their shop names in Marathi. I would still respect this person If I got to see his “Sound Bites” lamenting horrendous terrorist attack in Delhi, but no there was no such feeling ,no such emotions for him who believes the terrorist are less condemnable than people who are very much a citizen of this Country but are not from Maharashtra…<br /><br />Another publicity gimmick from a power hungry man who thinks Politics is a business and not duty, fuelled by media which is ready to sell an alcoholic monkey as a “Breaking news”, Is it not time to stand up for the unification of country? ,Is it not time to stand up and take note of dying farmers of Vidharba? .We have politicians who are busy using politics for their personal gain. Somewhere a Car factory is being targeted whose owner has a conscience to incur loss for safeguard of his employees.<br /><br />Have you met Rajendra Pandey? Rajendra Pandey arrived in Mumbai ten years ago seeking job as a security guard in one of the many housing societies that dots south mumbai & suburbs, violence was something he was willing to live with.Mumbai is far more peaceful. Okay, you get harassed by cops occasionally or roughed up by local toughs, but life was far worse back home for Pandey and for many like him who came to this wonderful city before him.Home for them are places like Bhopal,Jaunpur,Patna,Darbhanga,Ranchi,etc.Brahmin by caste reservation in government jobs for the backward castes (Another gimmik of our power hungry politicians) have ensured that men like Rajendra don’t stand a chance despite being a graduate,Poor knowledge of spoken English has ensured that pleple like him work every month for his 12-hour shift, seven days a week.<br /><br />Pandey and people like him share sleeping space with scores of kinsmen all brought to Mumbai by someone from their village who had come earlier. Extra income comes from washing cars,submitting electricity bills and doing ather such odd jobs for flats in the society that employs them. Men like Pandey form the backbone of Mumbai’s support services driving Taxi,Auto,Selling Vegitables,etc. Mumbai has something for everyone. A city of gold for migrants down the ages who flocked here to earn a living. The success stories of the ones who came before and sheer desperation back home continue to draw newer migrants.<br /><br />Today was Ganpati Visarjan in Mumbai …..I saw a sea of people moving in processions, dancing ,frolicking. I saw people distributing water and sweets to strangers…They did not bother to ask if the other person was born in Mumbai (Mumbaikar)or had shifted to Mumbai (Parparantia).<br /><br />I hate terrorists who have destroyed the peace of our Country ,who indiscriminately kill men,women and children and I hate the politicians who discriminate between the people of this nation.<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-20134939328536968042008-09-01T18:39:00.004+05:302008-09-15T02:27:57.863+05:30The Westcottians<div align="justify">This story began in a time of innocence, dreams and nothingness and span over sometime calm and sometime turbulent quarter century, culminating in me jotting down these lines in multitude of alphabets similarly scattered over the cyberspace.<br /><br />It was the fall of 1984-85 when I first entered the precinct of Bishop Westcott Boys School, one of the oldest schools in the eastern region of India founded in the year 1927 by Rev. Foss Westcott. Located on the bank of River Subarnarekha, situated in a picturesque green environs the school had the distinction of serving as a make shift hospital during the World War II and a movie based on it called "Hip Hip Hurray"<br /><br />So here I was….The first day was very hectic where all new boys were assembled in the prayer room after the morning prayers to be sorted in four respective houses which were to be their family or identity of sorts throughout their years at Westcott Boys’ ,New students were hurdled in the centre of the room where they were to pull a chit from a fishbowl ……It took me sometime to understand what was happening…..<br />By then it was my turn…….. one of the teacher called out “Nelson House” and here I was marked for life…It was only latter in the day that I realized each house was represented by colours . Nelson- Blue ,Hastings-Red, Wellington-Green & Allenby- Yellow next we queued up in book depot and got our new books and notebooks. Rest of the day passed and we settled in our new desks and benches in our respective classes.<br /><br />It was a time we wanted two Sundays and no Mondays and yet managed to line up daily for the morning prayers at Assembly hall. When we use to chase one another in the corridors in breaks and returned to the classrooms drenched in sweat. Those were the days when we had lunch in Classrooms, Corridors, Playgrounds, under the Trees and even in Cycle Sheds.<br /><br />We use to have two “Roll calls” –one early morning after the prayers and one in the Afternoon…..I remember we use to check our nails and try to chew it off at the seams, If shoes were not polished it was wiped behind the trouser legs or socks as “Juniors” were not allowed to wear Trousers.<br /><br />Westcott was highly competitive where students never use to forget their individual ambitions. Students at Westcott wanted to be the best. It was hard to shine at a place where there are so many stars. Often, even if you were a stellar student in many areas, there was probably going to be someone better than you at something else. This competitive spirit pushed people to do better and achieve an even higher level of excellence. Many times, this academic environment involves a great amount of stress and Westcott was not for the faint hearted. The workload was rigorous right from learning mathematics with its calculations, physics with its proportions and chemistry with its equations, life was filled with hopes, dreams, confusions, tensions, happiness and sadness, a beautiful world of success and failure. Altogether it was an eventful one. The loving and caring words of our teachers, their claps at our victory, smiles at my achievements, those special moments set aside to talk and listen, their encouragement till the end<br /><br />It was a time when a single P.T. period in the week's time table was awaited more eagerly than the annual appraisals of any large corporate house .It was a time of fights but no conspiracies, of competitions but seldom jealousy, When we used to watch live cricket telecast in one of our teachers’ bungalow in Intervals and Lunch breaks.<br /><br />It was a time when “Days Scholars” rushed at 2:30 to "Conquer" window seats in our School buses and hostelites or “Boarders” use to make same rush during meal times with all boys hung on to the fragile rear door of their respective dining hall (We had two of them Juniors & Siniors)<br />when the kaka (the helpers were fondly called that) opened the door, 800 plus starving students rushed in for breakfast, tea, lunch or dinner. Each meal started and ended with a grace. Food was quite restricted in those days and every opportunity of grabbing extras from the “Dekchis” or you neighbour’s plate was made use of. We often bartered food items. Boys who brought eatables from home (called TUCK) guarded them like gold. One of my classmates brought some milk sweets from home and kept them away from us. One day he surprisingly became generous and starting distributing them to all, only to find no one eating them because they had picked up fungus. We also had one Sushil Maheskar who was once hunting for some money to go for a movie. He entered our room and asked us for some which we naturally refused. He then sighted some loose coins lying in front of the god’s Portrait. He picked out a few toffees from his pocket, dropped them in front of the god’s photo and picked up all the coins and left stating that his requirement was more than that of God.<br /><br />During those days the “boys” and “teachers” were given nicknames and were called by those nicknames (Boys openly referred each others by nicknames but we were more discrete where it concerned our teachers and use to refer them by their nicknames only behind their back) , some of my friends were Michel Daru (his name was Mukul Kumar),Dibba ( He kept all his Boxes intact and use to take it back home at the end of each term) ,Nepali ( due to his anatomical resemblance),Foggy(Vikas fogla),Lambu(Rahul Shahdeo due to his height),Teachers’ nickname were traditionally passed on from one generation to another and were equally colourful ;Viz, Chakra (Mr.Chakraborthy),Bando (Mr. Bandopadya), Daku(or dacoit due to his aggressive and abusive dialect), We had Dingu or Mr.Dinger use to make comidies out of Shakeshpere tragedies.<br /><br />There was a big craze for collecting “Big Fun” stickers and flag stickers. Most of our canteen money was spent on them. Boarders used to get twenty rupees on Sundays to go on out pass and during these time of City visit “Siniors” were to accompany the “Juniors”. Part of the money was also used in going to a “bakery” as our Canteen was called and eating some snacks. We often stole snacks and hide them in one pocket to eat later. The remaining amount was used to bribe the gatekeepers of the Sujata and Mini-Sujata theatres to check ou on Adult Movies.<br /><br />The competitions for the inter house championship were taken very seriously and I had got into the habit of noting down points. As per official records our house was coming second but my records showed we were first. The anomaly was corrected and we walked away with the championship trophy. My house captain gave me a day’s leave for my effort. Another high point of my School days was Sports Day, and the annual School Day and month long preparations for them. Though my dream of seeing “Nelson” house at the top was never fulfilled ,the best we did was reaching the 2nd position .but I still cherish the adulation and admiration I use to get every year for one whole month for being one of “Champions”.<br /><br />Imprinted in the memory lanes are the stressful quarterly, half yearly and annual exams and the most enjoyed holidays after them. We learnt, we enjoyed, we played, we won, we lost, we laughed, we cried, we fought, we thought. With so much fun in them, so many friends,<br />so much experience, all this and more.<br /><br />Days passed, years flew at Westcott after a tumultuous, fun-filled journey and finally we were at the end of our school career. By then the miscreants were reformed, misdemeanors were punished and misunderstandings are cleared up and here we were transformed from boys into young men ready to take on the world with our aspirations and dreams<br /><br />The last day is still very vivid when all of us were busy filling our scrap books and meeting teachers after our emotional and teary farewell , it was time to remember our days and years in Bishop Westcott Boys’ School ,It was time to remember our own stories and snippets through the years inside those four walls and relieve saga of members of the class of 1995 and teachers with whom their lives were intertwined. With the dusk setting in we left bidding one last farewell, this time for the good with our School motto “Non Nascor Mihi Solum” (Live not for self alone) printed in our heart.<br /><br />Our lives took its own course and we all parted ways to meet again but not in such large numbers and whenever we met it was time to compare the balance sheet of our lives and always at the center amid the passion, laughter, and glory, stood Westcott the symbol of who we are and what we will be. We were a generation who made the rules and then broke them…We were <strong>“THE CLASS OF 95.”</strong></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-36712271062491661522008-08-13T16:01:00.005+05:302008-09-15T02:29:09.470+05:30Meandering Memorylanes<div align="justify">Then I was a <strong>“Bihari”</strong> now I am a <strong>“Jharkhandi”</strong> . Even though I left it for better future in 1998, my heart is still there.<br /><br />I miss those long bicycle rides….those very competitive cricket matches…….time spent doing nothing with friends…… moments of idealistic boyish dream about the future……but most of all those memories of my home town……Mumbai has given me everything that I wanted, but the heart still lingers and misses Ranchi .<br /><br />Mother nature had blessed Chotanagpur with a wide array of natural beauty. Rugged and richly wooded mountains, serene and secluded valleys, serpentine rivers and gorgeous waterfalls providing ideal habitat for people with thirst for beauty of nature, peace and tranquility. Chotanagpur is also blessed with the munificence of verdant forest wealth as well as sumptuous mineral reserves like coal, mica, bauxite, Iron Ore etc. It is also home for numerous ethnic tribes like Santhals, Mundas, Oraons, Cols, etc. who have their own rich tradition of art, craft and culture.<br /><br />At the heart of this region, amidst sylvan surroundings nestles Ranchi the queen of Chotanagpur, which was once the summer capital of Bihar and was in the forefront of several movements of far-reaching significance both before and after the independence.<br /><br />It is one of those places that might not find itself on your 52 weekend gateways’ must-see places. It's a<strong> "hmm, intresting very cute"</strong> kind of place which you would leave while you are planning a vacation,but even though it may not get a mention in tourist “hot spots” it is very much a Christmas Card town that you can imagine, picturesquely situated in the Plateau of Chotanagpur consisting of relatively flat terrain filled with green covers .<br /><br />The name Ranchi comes from <strong>"Archi"</strong> a village/villager of the time in the area I am not sure. An important administrative and military base of the eastern India during the Raj, Ranchi developed as an important centre of trade and commerce, including a traditional base for sericulture and manufacture of shellac. After India gained independence, Ranchi continued to grow and a number of industrial facilities were located in and around the city, and it emerged as an important industrial centre. Along with other two industrial townships of Jamshedpur and Bokaro, Ranchi completes the industrial structure of Jharkhand.<br /><br />Ranchi has changed……since that last fateful day of 1998 and I realized it when I was there last year in April ,I remembered the tribal festivals of Jatras, Janni Sikar which added to uniqueness of the place. There are mini Connaught Places and Nariman Points here now,To think of it they always have been there only the flashiness has increased.<br /><br />I saw <strong>“Café Coffee Day”</strong> here, in our time we only had <strong>Uday Mistan Bhandar,Punjab Sweet House and Madras Coffee</strong> <strong>House</strong> to go to, I use to simply drool over softy ice creams that were sold at Firayalal’s a landmark in itself .<br /><br />The uptown Church Complex impressed me. It had outlets of all the leading fashion brands. There were youngsters withdrawing money from the ATM. The imposing Capitol Hill Hotel nearby has come up in a place that was, until a few years ago, barren and nonexistent. last time I remember I use to hang out in this place was with my friends to ogle at girls who use to shy away……This time, the flashy stores and confident-looking jeans-clad young women revealing their navel baffled me.<br /><br />Bylanes are still the same, well almost! but small cottages and bungalows have started giving way to vertical malls and residential towers…..cars have increased on the roads…….roads that are still the same except wider. A lot has changed.<br /><br />I met this guy Rajendra (Rajender as we pronounce)…….Rajendra was happy because he has got everything settled in life. His eldest son Ravi is studying MBA in one of those private institutes here. But Ravi was unhappy with the education system in Jharkhand. He said "The session in the Ranchi University is very late. It took me four years to get my bachelor's degree. I could not get admission in Delhi because of that.”He was left with no choice but to take admission in a private institute here.<br /><br />Like most of his batch mates, he wants to go to Delhi or Bangalore for a job. He said there are very few job opportunities in Jharkhand…..There were few in our time too pushing us out of the meandering experiences of our childhood to find a foothold in large metros…<strong>So somethings in life never change.</strong></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-39113893167363301472008-08-12T18:23:00.004+05:302008-09-15T02:31:15.611+05:30Why blog?<div align="justify">Quite a few of my friends pointed out the mistakes on my blog and I agree to most ..........,Lot of you pointed that the grammer,the punctuation and the spellings were not right......I humbly agree to these and request you all to keep giving feedbacks as I am a little rusted .....To think of it the only writings I have done in last few years are my emails with same mistakes.....the marketing presentations and signing on official documents.......to think of it....not a volume of work that I can boast about........One friend of mine asked why blog??? and to top it all why call it "experiential marketing"?<br /><br />To answer the first one I dont know, or maybe to say something about things otherwise unsaid...<br />Why "Experiential Marketing" -----maybe I may add something worthwhile on this some day.... can I effectively blog only time will tell....but I want to blog because<br /><br />1.I want to Blog<br />2.I want to read other blogs and comment<br />3.I want to admit mistkes which otherwise I dont<br />4.Have a voice<br />5. but most importantly to make a choice</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-75545712438802668752008-08-07T15:46:00.006+05:302008-09-15T02:32:41.727+05:30Spirit of Mumbai<div align="justify">City of dream never stops amaizing me,The only city where you do not know your neighbour of 10 years living in the same locality but yet you have "Train Friends" a concept which exist only in Mumbai ,Where you do not have time to stop by the roadside and chat with your close friend because both of you are busy...... but paradoxically you will stop to give directions to a complete stranger........<br /><br />I remember the rains of 26th July 2005 which put a brake to the city which is alien to the meaning of "Stop" at all.....That Day the road outside my rented flat in Mahim was flooded. It was flowing like a river. I waded through, then dragged my feet lest I stumble into a gutter.<br /><br />I reached the main road leading to Mahim after walking for 2 hours from my Office in South Mumbai... where I saw the spirit of Mumbai and once again I was proud of being a part of this city. The traffic was at a standstill. There was complete chaos but the Mumbai cops were not giving up. They still continued to direct traffic.<br /><br />There were more people walking on the road than inside cars or buses. Mahim Causeway was flooded. The water level was so high that we could reach out and touch it. But the flood of people walking eclipsed the floods. They were laughing, singing, dancing and no one was complaining.<br /><br />Strangers on the road helping each other.......Shopkeepers serving buiskits and tea,I saw young men on the streets keeping people away from potholes and gutters. They were dripping wet but looking after strangers.<br /><br />The rains may have paralysed the city of Mumbai. It had failed to paralyse the spirit of the people. I saw a wine shop crowded.....after all a large "Patiala" does wonders on a rainy day.<br /><br />Latter, I head that few people in my Office were stranded in a cab overnight....One of my colleague was saved from being washed away at Andheri Subway....... even today every one in Mumbai has a story to share....stories of their horrific experiences,stories of grif,stories of hardship but most of all stories of grit,determination and compassion.<br /><br />Another time when the same spirit came to the fore was the horrific day when 11 blasts ripped through our local trains,I was in my conference room at office in a management meeting where the TV is perrinneally in mute ......and I remember one of my VP who was facing the TV loudly exclaiming that there is a blast on the news....In a jiffy each one of us started checking on our colleagues who were out for meetings and our family members, I too took time first to locate my Brother and check his safety and than to call my parents back home to inform them about our safety before the phonelines get jammed with innumurus calls......<br /><br />While getting back home on a cab .....I saw a family serching for their Son ,apperently the mother was in shock and decided to accompany them to "Sion Hospital"...The family was lucky that their Son was "Hurt" but still alive when we finally located him in Raheja Hospital unlike so many who lost someone in the family.<br /><br />That day I saw people helping each other.....assisting each other,consoling strangers.<br /><br />Next day most of us were back at our stations to get a train back to our "Work", many cynic proclaimed that this was not the "spirit" but sheer helplessness on the part of the people to board train next day to work......would those cynic help explain why did people choose to go to work at all the next day ?........<br /><br />This is what makes Mumbai the commercial capital of the country. Not the money, but the spirit of its people.........We may not have the best of infrastructure,we may not have the best of wether but we know how to make the "best use" of whatever we have .....We know how to spend the morning rush hour reading "Newspaper",playing cards and listning to iPods........We know rains will continue and authorities that might be can keep giving reasons for flooding .......Low Lying Areas ,High Tide...etc...etc...we will still wade through knee deep water singing,laughing or just munching on our "Bhuttas"......<br /><br />Three cheers to the spirit of the city that I love</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679066618099611715.post-65248053007261109552008-08-06T17:10:00.003+05:302008-09-15T02:30:32.096+05:30Nostalgia of my hometown<div align="justify">It has been almost 10 long years since I cought that fateful train on 11th Aug 1998 from my hometown Ranchi . Then I had a dream in my eyes of making it big in Mumbai,one more to add up to those 1000s,I must say the city of dream was not so kind in the bigining as I had to spend the first night here at the platform....sounds romantic straight out of bollywood script, one more of many thing for which Mumbai is famous for ......<br /><br />Time changed, I changed and so did the dreams...Mumbai became a karmabhoomi........<br /><br />On a busy day ,I still try to stop and gaze the skyscrapers and become nostalgic about that naive boy who came here with a dream in his eyes,I become nostalgic of times in 2001 when I started working and was trying to sell Stall space for an Exhibition and in the bargain was insulted by numerous Jwellers and their Watchmen..........I still think of the guy who had to walk the streach from Andheri to Mahim because he did not had a penny in his pocket to eat or pay the bus fare -8 years back Event Management was not such a lucrative carrier that it is today. The I think of those resolve of not returning home a "looser" with shattered dream......each day a fighting chance to get a knuckle hold in the event management industry and trying to be successful.......time passed.....years flew and Mumbai bekoned my dreams.....gave me a home when I was searching for one....gave me hurdles to strengthen my resolve......and gave me hope, when I thought there was none.....Mumbai......My Home & My City.....<br /><br />The eyes become dreamy once again.....din of the city that I love so much and identify myself with diminishes....and I go back to that naive boy sleeping on the platform,scared of the crowd and lonelyness but dreams in his eyes and resolve in his spirits.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094206914951358379noreply@blogger.com3