Summer Begins in Kolkata

 I had my first beer of this summer yesterday- signifying that Summer is here. Normally, I don't drink beer, but it was hot, so I gave in. For some reason, Kingfisher Premium is not easy to find, so I tried Carlsberg light instead. It was Ok, though not as good as the KF.

Officially, it's my last summer here, as I will move back to Pune soon. Nevertheless, almost every city in India gets hot, maybe not so early as Kolkata does. Delhi, Pune, even Bangalore are hot in April. The coastal cities are hot throughout, so a bit hooter in April-June until rains begin and bring relief.

I am still planning on stuff to do post my move, and ideas are welcome. Will not work full time-that's the only decision I have made so far. 

If fate tempts me, I may teach here and there, part time, or not, if it doesn't. Golf and meeting friends will continue..

Personal Branding and Digital Marketing

Two hot topics, and that is a good reason to research them.

I am involved in doing just that, with a journal paper on Personal Branding with my co-author Bhagylakshmi, due soon, and a case on which I am working as a precursor to offering a course on Digital Marketing in the next academic year.

Personal branding is about how you as a person can become a brand that is polished and well-known, in a systematic manner- using all available media, including word-of-mouth, social media and any other mainstream media (of course, the last may be too expensive for most). Other avenues to build a brand could be to write books (assuming people will read these!), and becoming known as an expert in a given field. Red Adair was a guy known for his expertise in capping oil-well fires, for instance. So find out what you are good at, become an expert through honing your skills, and brand yourself accordingly.

Digital marketing is about using any digital media to advertise, promote or market your brand (personal or corporate). It may include organic and inorganic methods, including creating a buzz without paying for it, and paid advertising and marketing where you need a budget. In either case,  the likelihood of measuring the response is higher than for traditional media. Of course there is much more, but this is the gist of it. As preparation for teaching the course in the near future, I am on the lookout for stories about successes and failures in Digital Marketing. If you have some, email them to me at rnargundkar@gmail.com.You can disguise the names if you wish to protect identities.

The Helmetian Dilemma

Hamlet was not the only guy with a dilemma. The helmet is also in a similar crisis of identity- the question in this case being, "Am I a legally required accoutrement (hope the word is right) or not?"

Man has debated several philosophical problems in his lifetime of a billion years, give or take a few, but he is yet to find the solution to the problem of whether a helmet is required to be worn by law in his neighbourhood/city/country.

This dilemma is sometimes comic and sometimes tragic. For every case of a two-wheeler rider perishing due to the lack of one, you hear of another where the person perished in spite of wearing one.

Many a time, it is tough to make out what a helmet is made of, and one wishes it was 'sterner stuff'. Like the joke about the airlines. A wise guy said, "If the black box is indestructible, why don't they build the whole airplane with that stuff?"

The weather in our country (India) being tropical has its own contribution to make. In summers, it is suffocatingly hot, making it dangerous to wear some of the badly designed helmets. In the rains, it actually is nice to have the head protected. So should it be seasonal, then?

Using the Freeze

Apparently we in Delhi and around it are experiencing the deep arctic freeze, the likes of which happen only once or twice in our limited lifetimes. While pondering over the positives of this phenomenon, I imagined the following -

1. The gaalis freezing on the giver's face even before he gets to the colourful part.

2. Conservation of water as the urge and the necessity of bathing diminish.

3. Sales of many products rarely used increase- such as thermal underwear, room heaters, gloves, scarves, mufflers, shawls and so on..

4. Sales of some frequently used products like rum, brandy etc. may shoot through the roof, along with tea, coffee and other hot stuff including parathas.

5. People may discover the joys of staying indoors, and visit corners of their houses thus far unvisited.

6. Rediscovering of the simple joys of a bonfire- as long as it does not convert to a wildfire.

7. Writing more blogs, as there is nothing much to do outside. Don't know if it's a positive for the reader, though...