Book Review - Pathway to my Being

 This book is written in a memoir format, and is indeed a collection of snippets from the life of my friend and classmate Sankaran. It touches on his early life in school, REC Trichy, then his years in industry before he got into IIM Bangalore (where we met), and beyond. Also about his marriage and the life after.

Many interesting tidbits are strewn across chapters, and make for interesting reading. For example, Victoria's Secret had a plant near Chennai and Sankaran was working for them. It's not a secret anymore, though..

His experience in sales and advice on how to sell using different techniques may be useful to those starting out in this line.

His Golfing days and Carrom days are well captured, and inspiring. Most inspiring is the part about his encounter with Parkinson's disease a few years ago, and how he has battled it with help from his wife and daughter. 

Very readable.

Book Review- Tamarind City

 

It's a nice title, and a good book. About the city of Madras aka Chennai. Lots of detailing, particularly about some parts of it- Mylapore and Triplicane, for example.

The meeting with Saroja Devi and her singing Teri pyaari pyaari surat ko kisi ki nazar na lage spontaneously, was a highlight for me. Another interesting chapter describes his meeting with the Chandamama illustrator, Sankar, who drew many of their story illustrations, including the famous one of Vikram carrying Vetaal on his shoulders, walking through a cremation ground. 

I have visited Chennai several times, and could understand most of the nuances that he has brought out.

It's a good cultural chronicle of a traditional yet modern city, quite different from the other metros. 

What I Got From My Employers- 5

 Ok, Getting down to IIM Indore and the 7 years spent there. A beautiful campus, with a hill-top academic block inspired by Hindola Mahal at Mandu. And a nice Cricket ground that I used for Golf training and practice.

Did a few unique training programs, including some for the Tata Retail group, Whirlpool, and Hindustan Petroleum- both onsite and offsite.

Taught Digital Marketing for the first time, learning things as I went along. Wrote a couple of cases and co-edited a book on Digital Marketing cases.

Had a lot of good students- too many to remember- in my Marketing Research courses and Seminar on Tourism Marketing too, plus Digital Marketing. A group of students I mentored got the Asia Pacific title in GOMC, an online international marketing challenge that Google runs, in 2017. A group of six students worked for a client called Bhalaje Photographers.

Made many friends, across teaching areas. Attended conferences in Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and went to learn things in FDPs in NUS' summer school in Singapore-twice! I was the oldest participant by miles!

And met a lot of doctoral students who became good friends- from different academic areas too! Used the cricket ground to play and teach Golf to a few students, faculty and MDP participants.

Book Review- Police In Blunderland

 This is a brand new book from a retired cop. And he spins quite a tale- actually, there's a sting in every tale. The book comes from his varied experiences of policing, and a few home truths about life in the bylanes of India. Literally, because that's where cops spend much of their life, unless they are in an A.C. office - that's usually a luxury, at least in the first few years of service. This cop is also an MBA from IIMB, and is doing a Ph.D. in Management from IIT Delhi. So, unusual credentials and perspectives in many ways.

Obviously, I can't disclose the plots, since there is intrigue, drama, suspense, reality and lots more. You would have to devour it yourself to be able to enjoy the multidimensional look at the life of a policeman, warts, blunders and all, from the inside! Suffice it to say that it covers a wide range of subjects, from Durga Puja crowd-management in Kolkata to the Purulia Arms drop case, and lots more!

Definitely readable, even if you have read a few of the chapters in the form of blogs. It's rare that you get glimpses up and close into how tough being a tough policeman is! 

Project Anopheles

 I am not sure this will take off, but if I do write something, I would like to do a complete series with Anopheles. She is a character I created (my claim to fame?) and was liked by many readers too, besides me. She is a female mosquito with a bite (a sting, actually), and has views about everything that she is not afraid to express. Almost like the females of our species, if you know what I mean. 

So, as a friend and former student told me, I may find my calling in writing another book after my retirement. So I am just putting my intent on record here, that if I do write a longish book again (my autobiography was the last one, many years ago), this is going to be it. There are a few existing episodes of my conversations with her, and I can always add Putin, Biden, the Gun lobby and create many more interesting episodes out of everyday happenings that we mostly fail to understand. 

Maybe I can write about nepotism, road-digging, and Metaverse too, not in any particular order. Covid too, maybe in passing. 

Before The Coffee Gets Cold- Book Review

 A very interesting book of four short stories involving time travel. The author is Japanese. There are some tough rules that the time travellers must know and follow, while travelling back or forward. Does it still make sense to go for it, is the central theme.

Very emotional, it covers a wide range, from a Mother who is likely to lose her life while giving birth and wants to know what happened, to a story of two lovers, who may or may not re-unite after a break of three years away from one another.

Two other stories are equally interesting, about relationships-a husnabd who's getting Alzheimer's, and a girl who is estranged from her sister. Touching, and handled in a very empathetic manner towards all the characters. It's a surprising mix of high technology and basic humanity. A good blend.

Reminded me of a Marathi play about time travel- Amar Photo Studio- that I saw a couple of years ago at Pune. That was good too.

How to Write a Book

 If you want to write a book, learn from David Ogilvy, I would like to say, in one line. He is forthright, entertaining, and speaks straight from the gut. A joy to read!

I read Ogilvy on Advertising during my MBA in 1982 or so, and was impressed. Then, I read the older Confessions last week, and am even more impressed. He inspired me to take up a job in advertising after MBA. So I can claim to have done so. Even when I teach advertising, I use examples that he quotes. His one-liners (he's originally Scottish, I learnt) are a class apart- "The Consumer is not a moron. She's your wife" being my favourite.

If you have to read just one book on marketing, this would be my recommendation. Pick up Ogilvy's book, any of these two. You won't be disappointed. I also like his emphasis on research. That it came from working with and observing Dr. Gallup himself I did not know till last week.

From The Udder Side

 Some good definitions from the book- 

Judge- A chap who gets his sentences right by trial and error.

Mall- female Utopia.

Nepotism- the theory of relativity employed in an organisation.

Taxidermy- The art of stuffing humans into a cab.

Dart- A pointed missile usually directed at one's boss' photograph.

Faculty- what you lose control over when you agree to be a Dean.

Gastronomy- the study of flatulence in outer space.

Genie- a spirit coming alive when you hit the bottle.

Policy- when you are dying to make some money from insurance.

Tomb- a monument to die for.

My Autobiography

 The autobiography has had its origin in the urge to tell the world about yourself. Mine has had a few more readers than my estimate of four (the size of my family)- I distributed it to some too :)

It has had two editions so far, and it stops at IMT Nagpur, which is to say, around 2013. Here are the covers of the two editions, published by pothi.com, an online self-publishing and POD (print -on-demand) company. The first came out in 2009-10.

Ambition and Round Up of 2019

I don’t remember what my ambition was earlier.

Now, my ambition is scaled down, to meeting nice people, looking at Nice DPs (and awarding the good ones), and some good food and drink (like Vietnamese coffee and Irani tea), books, blogging, occasional travel, films, singing and listening to music (retro, Hindi), watching my students do well in life..

Slightly off-track - I was trying to recollect what happened in the last 12 months. 

A wedding in Hyderabad, one in Mumbai, and another in Bangalore, and yet another in Delhi recently- made me a preferred wedding guest (!) of friends and family-one who can’t balle balle though 😊- just a friendly warning! Can be a wedding photographer, though..try me out!

A visit to the Kishore Kumar memorial and house in Khandwa. A conference trip to Bali, and another to Chennai, from where we visited Kancheepuram and its magnificient temples. In July, we hosted an international conference for the second time, and were overwhelmed by the number of attendees.

I also re-visited Calicut, and IIMK where I had worked from 2003 to 2005. And of course, met numerous students- in Ahmedabad (Manjari, Punyashlok, Ankita and Ishan, Keyur,..), Mumbai (Tosha Dubey, Urvashi, Abha Kulkarni, Siri Adi, Khyati, Anuj, Shraddha, Nishka and Vikram Rathi, Garima and Dwipa Shah, Akshat Surana, Sampark.. ), Delhi (Padmapriya, Shweta Agarwal, Shruti Sharma, Aditya Naag, Nikita Kumar, Sharmistha Singh, Sunil Kataria, and my new personal photographer Kanika Mhendiratta), Pune (Neha Adiga, Divya Singh), Bangalore (Shatakshi and Varun, Anushka Mishra, Savitha, Bharath Shenoy, Anshita (with hubby and their twins), Anusha and Aashish, Sreeram), some for the first time, some for the second or third. This part- meeting students and colleagues, I would like to repeat next year, and the year after...have a few more pending invites.

IMTians, above and below. In Mumbai

IMTian Anshita above, organiser of a party at Bangalore, and below, Gurugrammies and Pranksters.

Anam, IIMI alum, above, and Kanika, IMTian below. Indore and Delhi.

Friends and colleagues- in Bangalore, above, and Tollygunge, Kolkata below.

KIAMS alum Shweta above in Delhi, and Divya Singh (ex-IMT, author of a case in the book) in Pune.

Below, KIAMS alums Sharmistha and Sunil, Delhi.

Met a few of my old colleagues from IIM Lucknow at Ranchi where I had gone on invitation. Trips to Belgaum (near where my Dad grew up) through the monsoon rain and one to Kolkata to meet a friend (Dash) were also highlights. So was one to IIT Guwahati, a lovely campus. Also went to BITS Goa, and stayed at a small beach, Bogmalo. 

Of course, I gave away a lot of DP and Photography Awards-this gets more difficult, but motivating. To close the year, I got a new car after exactly 14 and a half years- replacing my loyal warhorse (Esteem) with the new Wagon R-getting a loyalty bonus too. My book, Marketing Research -4^th edition- got published this year, and contains a lot of cases from my Indore students. Met a few of our alums in Indore too, like Harshad (and his wife), Tamros (his wife too), Ruminder Kaur, Ritu, Pratima and Arshia Mulla. Of course, I connected or chatted with many more online.

Book Review- Wise Guy

Guy Kawasaki has a new book mainly about his own life and career. He is the son of Japanese immigrants to the U.S. and grew up in a modest Hawaii neighbourhood. His life changed when a school teacher spotted his potential and talked his dad into sending him to a better school.

It was not all smooth, there were a few wrong steps along the way, but then he took the chances life offered him, and went on to become an Apple employee (he had two innings there), an evangelist for their products, and then a consultant, author and so on.

I already use his other book (co-authored), The Art of Social Media, and consider him one of the original thinkers (Thought leader?) of today. Immensely talented and articulate, he shows you, among other things, why the U.S. has evolved to be the Mecca for talent from anywhere in the world. More than Europe in recent times.

He also has a chapter or two on his family and raising kids (he has adopted two), and why it is the most important thing in life. Worth a read! There are boxed "wisdom" items (life lessons) in each chapter too, if you like that kind of thing.

Asha Bhosle by Raju Bharatan- Book Review

A must read for fans of a great singer. I am happy that the musical journey of a country has been captured by a serious writer like Raju Bharatan. Being interested in Hindi films and music, I have read several biographies/autobiographies such as those of Dev Anand, but the singers' and music Directors' biographies are special. Having read RD Burman's life story earlier, it is interesting to read about the role played by them in each other's lives.

It was actually OP Nayyar who brought her individuality to the fore, though other music composers played their roles (SD Burman among them). After a split with him, she teamed up with RD Burman and created many songs that shattered records and won them lifelong fans. Some also had RD Burman singing with her (Piya tu ab to aaja, in which he mostly said, Monica, O my darling), and the picturisation of some of the others (the Teesri Manzil songs like Aaja aaja main hoon pyar tera, and O Haseena zulfonwali are good examples) brought her a lot of attention. She was actually good at all types of songs and sang some ghazals for Umrao Jaan impeccably. Her duets with Kishore Kumar and Rafi are among my favourites.

Though she played second fiddle to Lata Mangeshkar, who was the first choice of most music directors, the number of songs Asha sang are a few thousand, and she left an impact in many of them.

A lovely read, if Hindi music interests you.

Small is the New Big by Seth Godin

He is a well-known author with many business books to his credit. Purple Cow is one of them, and this one (Small is the New Big) is another.

He talks about various things in this book, including why people go to business schools. According to him, it is for the branding that makes you attractive to corporate recruiters, and for networking possibilities, and not for the learning. I don't agree entirely, but that's not the point. He writes engagingly, and I think is one of the best writers of business books.

Of particular interest to me are his takes on social media, and digitally marketing yourself, your firm or your book. A must-read for many people, including students of marketing.

My Avatars on Earth- 5

More avatars. An Irani chai lover, starting from the Hilton at Hyderabad's Osmania University campus (below).

 Author/editor of books- this one's edited, with Romy Saini.

 and the party-goer. Above, at a niece's wedding in Sri Lanka, and below, Bhangda with an international crowd at a conference dinner in Sri Lanka.

Marketing Research

This is a subject/course I have been teaching for around 27 years, starting in 1991. I got interested in it because of my stint in a company called MBA founded by 3 MBAs from IIM Ahmedabad. Later, after a Ph.D. I returned to India and started teaching M.R., and soon after, wrote a book. Its 4th edition is on its way. A lot of students have contributed to the chapter-end cases in the book, starting with Kirloskar Institute and ending with IIM Indore for the latest edition.

A pic from a recent M.R. class where an interesting in-class exercise is on. I rely on a lot of these to enhance learning about the subject.

There are a lot of hands-on exercises as well as a course project that trains students in doing different things- from formulating research problems, designing a study and executing one. Analysis is just one part of this process.

Oktoberfest

If there is an Oktoberfest, why not a Novemberfest? Decemberfest? You get the idea.

Every day is a celebration-or ought to be. Why celebrate only a birthday? Aren't we growing everyday? (I did not say growing up, please note).

A year is too long to wait. Find something that you can celebrate today. A good conversation (for those who like them), a nice book (for those who..), a nice look, a set of smileys on your post (everybody likes them), a walk in the rain...
you get the idea.

If you are short on entertainment, turn on your TV, ..not to the entertainment channels, but to the news debates. You will either die laughing (they are juvenile), or smash the TV..and have something to cry about, instead of crying out for entertainment.

My new mantra in life is to just do it-celebrate it, I mean. Hope you will too. All the best!

Book Lauch- Digital Marketing Cases From India

We launched our new edited book- Digital Marketing Cases from India- at IIM Indore on Sept 10, 2018. This is a collaborative project between us and Jaipuria Institute of Management Indore, and many alumni from different institutions-- IIM Indore, IMT Nagpur, IIMK, and Jaipuria Institute and PESIT among them-who have authored the cases. The book is published by Notion Press, and is available through Amazon and Flipkart in India.

Some pics with Prof. Subin Sudhir, Prof. Romi Sainy (my co-editor) and Prof. Rishikesha Krishnan, Director IIM Indore, who released the book.

The book is ideal for use along with any text on Digital Marketing for courses in Schools of Business.

The Gene- Book Review

Fascinating book. It proved a few points to me-

1. We have done almost nothing in molecular or drug or genetic research compared to some countries in the world. Genentech was making drug therapy based on genes roughly from the seventies/eighties. Research on these was happening at a furious pace even before, for decades.

2. Leaks are important-uncited work also is in the same category, more or less. Scientists don't always want to co-operate for a cause, like any other human beings.

3. Some people work for decades to solve a small problem, thanklessly at times.

4. Unless you can put two and two together, you are not going to be a discoverer/inventor. The twos can come from different people's work.

5. It's fascinating when a knowledgeable person explains the story of an invention, or discovery, just like the author here explaining how the structure of the DNA was discovered, among other things.

6. Eugenics was a stated ambition of many people in the U.S. though Hitler took it to undreamt-of evil extremes.

7. We (all humans) are all likely descended from one woman in Africa, because only women can pass on mitochondrial cells to their children.

8. Good books are rare. About science, even rarer.

Chup- Book Review

This is one of the best books about Indian society and the values it propagates, that I have read. It lays bare our attitudes towards women in the starkest possible words. I think it is a must-read for women and men both, because we may just realise what we are doing to our women.

Conditioning has little to do with being urban or rural, poor or rich, educated or otherwise. Treating women badly or as a lesser human is all-pervasive, if this author's research is any indication. And her research is disturbing, to say the least. The very high percentage of women who are molested in their homes or outside it (the commute on public transport being one regular place for it) is shameful. And we are not even talking of the godman-rapist here.

But even worse is their being asked to shut up and not speak up (the title of the book, in Hindi). Not existing (virtually), not recognising their bodies, being ashamed of their opinions/desires, are some things women are trained for, apart from always pleasing others-men included, but ma-in-laws and others too. Of course, there would be exceptions, but these are a small percentage.

Devastating stuff that forces you to think, about where we are headed as a society. Ancient India with its Khajuraho and Kamasutra is a far cry from the mentality that we have now grown into, where even basic education about bodily functions and drives is not discussed. Women feel like unwanted beings (from the foetal stage onwards) or insignificant and unacknowledged workers in many homes, and carry that inferiority complex throughout their lives in many cases. Including the workplace, where they are often not asked for an opinion, or taken seriously when they express one.

Hopefully, we will change one day. An important book, I would say.

IMT Nagpur- Tangy Oranges and More

 Launching my autobiography at Crossword, Nagpur. Editor, Hitavada, and Smita Dabholkar, my colleague, are in the pic. Below, my favourite road trip-to Lonar crater lake, formed by a meteorite.

Nagpur oranges are my favourite since childhood. I landed in IMT Nagpur as the director in 2009 and barring brief interludes at Ghaziabad, stayed till 2013. These years were wonderful, both in terms of bonding with students, and with faculty. As an example, we had karaoke parties with faculty colleagues-an innovation that has caught on. We also had retreats at Pench, Bhedaghat etc. for our annual planning meetings. Alumni meets were also regularly held across India..pics from two of them below-

 Bangalore (above) and Hyderabad (below).

 We (Prof Gadgil and I) also created a golf green, which you can see behind the cricketer here (above).

Visitors-Convocation chief guest Mukesh Ambani being shown around. Mr. Kamal Nath is also in the pic.

 My mom and daughter at the campus. (below)