Friday 20 June 2014

Rang Mahal restaurant: Ucchi dukaan, feeke pakwan!


Amazing ambience. (This pic is taken from restaurant website)
My brother-in-law, being foodie, always has some foodie plans ready whenever we meet up. Yesterday, we decided to go to Rang Mahal. Located at a posh and swanky Pan Pacific Hotel in Singapore, the expectations were high. Pan Pacific has seating pods over a pool in lobby and the concept is a delight to eyes.

Rang Mahal has a unique style of ambience with dim lights, high ceiling and traditional-contemporary interiors. It is welcoming for a great dining experience. Great care has been taken in making ambience perfect, working on each minute detail.

Dhoklas served with a stick.

Papad and Khakharas.
The Menu Card boasts of several awards and recognition and it was flattering but not so true about the menu itself. Since I am vegetarian, I keep my comments on Non-Vegetarian food reserved. After lot of flipping and flapping pages, we settled down with Veg Sampler – a bouquet of three veg starters. We were presented with Dhokla in a stick with some Papad and Khakhras as complimentary starters. “Dhoklas and Khakhras...Is that a Narendra Modi effect? I refrained from connecting such an extended dots.

Options for Vegetables in Main course is very limited. It was as if forcing to order out of some regular choices. We did a “majority wins” and ordered one experimental and one safe veggie.

Presentation: With TV shows like ‘MasterChef’, our understanding about food presentation and platting has gone up significantly, not that it is new to us. I remember my mom garnishing Chhole and Dal with fine-chopped Coriander leaves and making a design out-of  cream on veggies like Panner Butter Masala or a Kofta Curry. That was Indian home-maker's definition of food platting and presentation! Sorry to say, the Jodhpuri Panner Makhani had no presentation of any kind. Starters were dressed with some vegetable leaves, unimpressively. Two expert ladies with us were of the same views.

Taste: Lets ignore the presentation part. What about the taste? I guess all of us were refraining from saying negative about food and giving enough time and chances to our taste buds. Not everything could go wrong. But once we started discussing, we realised that none of us liked any of the dish that we ordered. We were trying to be appreciative and wanted to like something, but we ended eating plain breads and leaving almost half of the portions of vegetables as it is. Issue was not with limited variety in Menu, issue was with taste.

Taste-bud neutraliser served between starter and Main course was the only saving grace.

Customer service: I don’t think the staff was anywhere close to comforting or welcoming. They were eager to take order with approaching us in every 5 minutes. We had three little kids with us who were not attended or asked even once if we needed anything for them. I don’t think it costs much to smile unless they are told not to do so.

Overall, I would still say we had good outing because of the people we met and the way we enjoyed. No marks for the food, we all left the place full of disappointment. My brother-in-law came up with a phrase in Hindi – Ucchi dukaan, feeke pakwan (rich shop with little to offer), which sums up the dining experience well.

Ambience: Excellent.
Price: Expensive but acceptable only if food is good.
Quality: Average.
Quantity: Average.
Taste: Lot of scope for improvement.
Service: Could be more attentive, appreciative and involved.
Rating: 4.5 out of 10, just because I don’t want to sound harsher.

fOoD fOr ThOuGhT: I am fully aware that hospitality industry is among the most difficult industries to work in. The customers are ever demanding and it is difficult to please everyone with same amount of satisfaction. Factors like our mood, our choice of dish, time we have in hand to spend, all plays a role in overall experience. I want to sound milder and don’t want to be discouraging. Above is my (and our) personal experience and can just act as an added information for the diners.

Saturday 14 June 2014

Our HRD minister Mrs. Smriti Irani is not a gradulate. So what?

A couple of weeks back Mr. Ajay Maken, Congress leader, twitted about HRD minister not being graduate and raised concern if she is fit to deliver. Going by that logic, Ajay Maken should have represented India in some sports before becoming sports minister in UPA 2.  And the media has created a hype as if an undergraduate is picked straight from college and made a minister. Half of the people raising their voice opposing Mrs. Irani might not even know what an HRD minister is expected or empowered to do.


“I guess HRD minister has something to do with universities, UGCs, …oh ya IIMs come under him, remember Arjun Singh increased quota in IIMs…”, That’s what a friend told me when I asked what do you expect from HRD minister.
  
The Ministry is responsible for the development of human resources. The ministry is divided into two departments: the Department of School Education and Literacy, which deals with primary and secondary education, adult education and literacy, and the Department of Higher Education, which deals with university education, technical education, scholarship etc.  More on HRD department can be explored here


Now that we know what the ministry is reponsible for, lets look at how logical the criticism is. Some more by Madhu Kishwar, academician and writer:


First of all, As per Indian constitution, there is no minimum education qualification required to contest elections. If that is the case, anybody can stand and represent section of people from a region. If he gets sufficient acceptance (votes), he has all the rights to sit in Parliament and represent those people. If candidate’s Party decides, he can become PM of the nation also without being elected by people in Lok Sabha (has to become member of Rajya Sabha in such case). So you see, even a 4th grader can be a PM if he is capable enough.

Secondly, the point raised here is on formal education. We need to understand that there is a difference between having a qualification, having knowledge and being literate. Smriti Irani, as per her affaidavit, is not a graduate. So she may not be having enough qualification on papers. Does that mean she does not have knowledge? Or can we say that she is illiterate?

Knowledge can be acquired by self-learning and need not be restricted to four-walls of school or college for learning. It is more important to be literate and possess knowledge rather than gather a qualification. At a minister’s level, what is required is an understanding of ground reality. A direction for progress, a plan to achieve it and a will to execute that plan in timely manner. Clearly it doesn’t require an MBA or an Engineer or a Phd holder to be an HRD minister.

Third, if we look at her political career she climbed the ladder by working hard, starting at grass root level. In 2004 she was VP of Maharashtra Youth Wing. In 2010 she became National Secretary of BJP and then All India President for BJP Women’s wing. In 2011, she was sworn in as Member of Parliament from Gujarat to the Rajya Sabha. One cannot say that she has been favored by the appointment. She has experience in administration and command over her thoughts. If formal education was everything then why Constitution doesn’t prescribe that Only Phd or Professors can head HRD or only an ex-Amry man can head Defense or only an Investment Banker can lead Finance Ministry. That is not the criteria.

Forth, the criteria is Management skills. Are you capable of doing analysis, putting logical blocks? Can you understand a problem? Can you take tough but correct decisions? Can you evaluate solutions suggested by bureaucrats under you? Can you comprehend, articulate and communicate? Can you get the job done? Can you connect and create an impact? Are you visionary? Can you inspire? If answer is: Yes; then you have the required skill sets for the job.

Fifth, I want to refrain from naming any politician unnecessarily to further substantiate my point. But if you look at the Indian political scenario, few of the state heads, present or past, are not even 10th Pass. Then how did they manage to work? How could they understand the Economics part of the Politics?

Sixth, as long as minister has an outlook, innovative ideas to lead, qualification doesn’t matter. In a way it is good because such individuals do not come with pre-conceived notions. They cannot complain that the task is too difficult. They are only energetic to deliver.

Seventh and importantly, she is not working alone. There is a team of people who would be guiding her. She herself would have access to information and can consult to experts before taking decisions. And when Prime Minister Mr. Modi says that he will submit a report card of his government in 2019, he must be clear about what he is doing. An able captain knows whom to field where and how to achieve targets. Let the captain take the calls and may not be necessary for him to justify everything as he does it.

Eighth and my favorite, look at the disruptive thought it gives. You don't need to be even a graduate to lead the nation with important portfolio. As we progress, it is important for us to acquire right skill sets, something my mentor and ex-boss always told me. Skills and smartness can take you places. I am not undermining the importance of formal education, it provides good start in career, but that should not be considered as a road-block for achieving your goals.

I think media and opposition are in hurry to see results. We have given votes and trusted them, now let us give them fair time to perform and showcase. It is not even a month yet. Criticisms are good and help in making democracy stronger but only healthy criticism helps in diverting energy in positive channel.

fOoD fOr ThOuGhT: Looking at the quality of criticism and debates on television show, I do believe we are in urgent need of human resource development. Do watch this thoughtful video – views expressed by Mrs. Irani at International Women’s Conference held in Feb 2014. It will give you lot of hopes!


PS: I do not have any political affiliation or interest. Views are my own based on logical points that I can see.

Saturday 7 June 2014

Murugan - The 'Authentic' Idli shop!


Fresh Banana leaf on plate with four amazing Chutneys!
 Murugan Idli Shop is home for us when we want a break from routine North Indian food of Tandoori Roti, Sabji, Dal, etc. It is located on the busy street of Syed Alwi Road close to Mustafa.

The restaurant is small, simple with basic seating arrangements. It is often crowded especially on weekends when people shop at Mustafa and stop at Murugan for lunch or Dinner.

As you occupy seat, you are presented with a piece of paper and pencil. That paper is Menu card cum Order note. All the dishes are listed along with prices and you are suppose to select what you want to eat and indicate number of quantities. Unique way of taking order and I quite like it.
Menu Card cum Order Note.
By the time you make up your mind and complete the order, you are presented plate with large fresh Green Banana leaf covering the plate and 4 different chutneys on it. This is standard serving irrespective of what you order. In Southern parts of India, serving and eating food on Banana leaf is a tradition. It is believed that top of the leaf is naturally coated with some chemical. When these are consumed along with food, it makes food tasty and makes digestion process better. Other advantage of using Banana leaf for the restaurant is that the turn-around time is quick as they don’t have to wait for cutlery to get washed, cleaned, dried and ready for next serving. Though it adds to the operating cost, I deeply appreciate the restaurant for keeping the traditions alive in foreign country where managing cost is critical.

Since the name itself has Idli, it is but natural to try atleast one Idli, you can call it a starter. The Idlis are soft, big, generally hot and fresh. It is a must everytime you go there. I like Vada and they serve it really crispy. Onion Uttappam, Masala Dosa or Butter Masala Dosa, all are good with authentic South Indian taste. A special mention about Sambar – it is really tasty and you can ask for more servings without any additional cost for it.

They also serve variety of rice (Lemon, Tamarind, Tomato, Curd, Sambar) though I haven’t tried them yet so I will reserve my comments on them. But going by my experience on other dishes, it should be good.

The way Idli is must have, coffee is also a must have at the end of food, irrespective of you want to have it or not. It is served in traditional half-cut steel glass, coffee filled till its brim accompanied with a small bowl. The aroma and taste of that filter coffee will definitely revive your energy and mood.

I always enjoy food here though it is somewhat congested place with limited open space from baby-pram or shopping bags. You may have to struggle for seat sometimes but when you get it, the food is always served by heart. Options on Menu card are limited saving lot of order time and helping restaurant in keeping low items of inventory.

Murugan is part of Indian food chain and has been able to keep its long established tradition of quality and taste.

Ambience: Simple, small layout, basic seating arrangement
Price: Reasonable
Quality: Good.
Quantity: Average
Taste: Authentic
Service: Fast
Rating: 7 +1 for the Chutneys and Sambar

fOoD fOr ThOuGhT: It is a place for perfect brunching, snacking when you want to eat light still be tight!

Saturday 31 May 2014

Tulip-mania in Singapore!


Beautiful Tulips.
The beauty of Singapore is that though it is a small place with limited resources but it has unlimited planning and execution will. It is called a Tiny Red dot on the World map but if you happen to visit the place there are plenty of ‘must-see’ locations here. One of them is the Garden’s By The Bay.

It is built on a 100 hectare of reclaimed land to transform Singapore from ‘Garden City’ to ‘City in a Garden’. International competition was held back in 2006 to design the master plan. Today it boasts beautiful themed Horticulture, two conservatories - Flower Dome and Cloud Forest and Supertrees Groves. The place is considered as an outing place for urban social class. Various initiatives are taken round the year to keep the entertainment and fun quotient high for the local people. One such even is the Tulipmania started in the year 2013.

We happen to visit it this year and it was a delight to see so many Tulips of different colours and species under one roof flown directly from Netherlands. Miniatures of Netherland, Tulips gardens, Windmills, houses in Netherlands where for show and was quite a refreshing one.

It was certainly a delight for photographers for exploring different camera modes and lenses and projections. To our surprise, there was queue of roughly 20 minutes inside the dome to view the tulip arrangements but it was worth the wait. If you are planning to go there next, try a weekday!

Here are some of the pics that I took during our visit:

Windmill with Yellow Tulips.

Miniature of Neatherland house with Tulips.

Breath-taking view!

Monday 26 May 2014

Bikanerwala - Tasty & Value for Money!


Mouth-watering Deluxe thali served with Sewai Kheer.
If somebody visits same restaurant 5 times in 10 days, either it is too cheap, situated in close proximity or too good. For Bikanerwala, it is the last case.

Located in Little India, in a narrow lane, this place has never disappointed me. I have been here with my family (twice), with friends (thrice) and enjoyed my own company a couple of times, till now. And I am not done with it. It is always on my cards when I am hungry and want to eat good, variety and a lot!

You get what you see on the images. Food quality is high and have been improving ever since I came first time here. Taste is awesome if you are a North-Indian food lover. They offer wide range of cuisine from Chinese, Quick bites, Indian Continental, etc. Various combos are also available which is value for money. Range of sweet is wide and you would feel as if you are standing in a sweet shop in India, though I found the sweets priced at a higher side.

What to try: Veg Burger is good. Raj Kachori, Samosa, Dhokla, all good. Various Chat options are there which are worth a try atleast once.

But the best part here, for me, is the North Indian thali that is worth the money. For SGD 10, you get a wholesome delicious meal. I get craving to get back here and have the platter again and again. Authentic whole wheat (aata) Tandoori roti and Dal Makhani are worth mentioning along with other food items.

Some of pics of food I tried here:

Executive thali with amazing hot and fresh Roti, Pakoda Kadhi and other stuff.

One of the Snacks display counter. It is full of variety of Dhoklas, Samosas, Kachoris, Pani Puri, etc.
Fresh and irrestible!

Special Sweet from Executive thali.

Location: 1 Dalhousie Lane, Little India, Singapore 209664

Ambience: Normal, nothing heavy or extra ordinary.
Price: Reasonable considering quality and quantity.
Quality: Good.
Quantity: Sufficient.
Taste: You will love it.
Service: Responsive to customers.
Rating: 7.5 - Good place for casual lunch/ dinner and Snacking.

fOoD fOr ThOuGhT: Sometimes I feel, we Indians are too much fussy about having 5 different types of breads (rotis), 4 different types of vegetables (Sabjis), rice, dal to complete a meal! And then I feel, what is life for? To have good, delicious, variety of dishes, each time to eat!

Thursday 15 May 2014

…ting ting ting and my Nokia battery dried up!



…ting ting ting and my Nokia battery dried up. I forgot to charge my cellphone the other day and did not carry charger with me.

The moment I heard the dying sound of my cell, I knew I was in trouble. I was hesitant to ask for a charger since I already knew the responses I would get. If you don’t have an iPhone or a Samsung high-end phone, you are considered as outdated. Reluctantly, I did ask office colleagues only to confirm that my thoughts were correct.

“Buddy we belong to Apple family now!” with some chuckle came most of the replies.

That took me back to those days, not too long ago, may be a 4 years back when you never had to worry about carrying a charger if you had Nokia phones. It was a universal handset for communicating with people around the world. The acceptance and usage was so much so that you would find a Nokia charger hanging perpetually in every room of a house belonging to each member of that house. Even while traveling on train, only first person had to put a charger in plug and then only the handsets use to get changed turn by turn.

Nokia truly connected people. Especially in India, it has taught people how to communicate on mobile phones. It came with a standard Menu Options and varieties of phones at different price points. It was a common saying that if you bought a Nokia phone, you never had to buy another one. Throw it from table, give it to kids to play, nothing would happen. That was the kind of sturdy display and durable handset Nokia use to offer. It worked in its favor and people opted for Nokia for its simple to use and longitivity it offered. Back then mobile phone was primarily used for talking, sending sms messages, listening Radio and finding Cricket scores from the service providers. Few high ends had radio, 2-3 Megapixel camera and limited music space.


Samsung was one of the key competitors in Indian markets but was always second to Nokia in all respect. It came with a black coloured rectangular box kind of bulky handset. LG, Sony Ericson and other did exist but were not among the preferred ones. Apple iPhone was perceived as a ‘very costly’ phone and meant only for the so called rich class.

In 2007, Steve Jobs showed the world what a cell phone could do beyond talking. And the world never remained the same.  Samsung was quick enough to realize the market trend and re-aligned its portfolio. Samsung created handsets with iPhone-like features and flooded market with variety of them at every price point. Google introduced Android, sophisticated, Open source mobile operating system. USP for mobile phones was shifting from hardware to software. It mattered more as to what the phone was carrying inside the small rectangular box.


Social behavior was responsive creating a new trend. The world no longer looked for longitivity or durability in a handset. Consumers wanted to swipe on the screen with their fingers and unlock phones instead of pressing ‘Unlock + *’. ‘Touch screen’, ‘High resolution camera’, sharing and connecting with ‘Facebook’, easy access to Twitter, GPS became new minimal to-have features for a phone. ‘App’ (Applications) became new buzz word. It simplified life of people drastically. From being a personal device, mobile phones became a medium for social connect.

The world of technology changes so rapidly that between the time I thought writing this post to the time actually putting it on paper, Nokia as a handset company seizes to exist. It will henceforth be recognized as Microsoft Mobiles.
Companies need to be more innovative and cannot depend on its existing products forever. Innovation is at the heart of technology, rewriting the history each day.  If companies cannot innovate from scratch, it should at least try for what we call in marketing parlance – ‘a second movers advantage’.

Blame Steve Jobs for changing the rules of the game or Nokia’s inability to embrace the new trend of App world, the company which dominated the handset market with a very high brand recall, no longer exist and all this in a matter of 4-5 years.

The once abundantly found Nokia chargers no more hang in drawing rooms of house. I must admit that I take out my handset from pocket only when it rings, when in public. 9.5 people out of 10 are found with an Apple or a Samsung product including school going kids. Despite this fact, I am happy with my phone because I don’t spend much time using it, only as required. It offers camera, wassup, sms and I can make and receive calls. O yes, it is a touch screen phone with a QWERTY keypad. This helps me spending more time with my kid and family rather than hooked to phone with virtual people.

fOoD fOr ThOuGhT: Use product and love people and not vice-versa. I know few of my colleagues who don’t use mobile phones at all, I would say that is the best way to live!

Saturday 19 April 2014

2 States Movie - A Good watch - My experience!

I liked 2 States novel and I finished reading it in one sitting back then in 2009. Neither verbose, nor very high on literary. Yet it is easy to connect. It is about people, their relations and how they deal with situations in their otherwise normal usual life. You can easily relate to the characters and the setup. Since I did my B-School graduation, I could relate to a lot of events as they unfold in the book.

It would not be correct to say if the book is better or the movie. When you read a book, your imaginations paint the canvass. Director Abhishek Varman has done a fantastic job in bringing life to each character from the book. His visualization of story and presentation as an overall package is commendable. It is different from the novel in a way that novel doesn’t portray so much of romance as the movie does. I wonder what Chetan Bhagat's kids must be thinking about what their parents did in the college! Book has more drama, the Shaadi sequence is described at length, the Mickey Mouse moment, which I was expecting, and the ritual of running away of bride and the groom is suppose to brings back, didn’t happen. It was Directors take on the book.

The movie is about a Punjabi boy and a South Indian Tamilian girl who fall in love and decide to marry with each other. And their realization that love is not the only thing that takes to get happily married with parent’s blessings. The movie brings out cultural shocks and diversity in India, which is a reality. What I liked about the movie is it is fast paced. Every song and every frame takes the movie forward. Editing is good. Example, when Vikram Malhotra (Ronit Roy) Krish’s (Arjun Kapoor) dad, writes a letter to him, that letter appears as a voice over between a song and Krish is shown struggling to win his to-be in-laws hearts in Chennai. Story is built and moved in parallel. At various places you are glued to the screen and I did not find any moment where my mind went elsewhere.

Talking about songs and music, very catchy and peppy. There is even a Tamil-Hindi fusion song that you could enjoy.

Arjun Kapoor as Krish and Alia Bhatt as Ananya have done full justice to the respective roles. It never appears that they were acting. They embraced the characters and presented well. Between the two, I would give one extra mark to Ananya for her expressions. Rohit Roy is as usual good in his acting and reminds of a role he played in the movie Udaan that of a difficult dad. Amrita Singh as a Punjabi mom of Krish fitted in the role naturally and makes a mark. Overall the casting worked for the movie.

Few small things that I liked were display of ‘Samsung’ brands (laptops and phones) instead of Apple because Applisation is yet to happen in India. Just to portray protagonists up-class, if a MacBook is shown with them, it appears fake. Krish is shown working in Yes Bank; thank god it wasn’t another ICICI Bank or a HDFC Bank sponsorship. Amrita Singh plays Punjabi mom giving Kiron Kher a break. All this brought freshness in the movie. The only disturbing scene, for me, was when Krish slaps his dad in rage, due to everyday atrocities his dad did with Krish's mother. It was demand of the situation but it was a bit too much for me.

The movie will always remain special for me because this was the first one for my 5 months old son and he did allow us to watch complete movie, he himself was enjoying.

fOoD fOr ThOuGhT: Enjoyable, fast paced and fun film. Good to watch.

Tuesday 8 April 2014

Indian politics : As I saw, growing all these years...


Photo credit: BBC.com
I remember as a kid, some politicians visiting our home at the time of local elections. 4-5 politicians visited us in 10 days time, to check our well being, requesting to caste vote on D-day and circulated pamphlets with their party symbol and slogan on it. We use to play with Party Symbol cutouts and try to collect as many as we could. At times there use to be party workers blabbering on a loud speaker mounted on an auto, roaming around carelessly in the colony.

“Mom, why are these politicians coming to our place?” I asked my mom wondering might be we were big shots and they came to take our blessings.

“This is election time, politicians will come; they will make false promises and hide after elections. This is the only time when they run after people and post elections, make people run after them for every trivial thing!”

I don’t remember if I understood what my mom told me then but now I clearly know where it came from. Traditionally, the elected candidates did not take the job of politics seriously. Once elected, politicians are on cloud nine and they forget the common man. A lot of times voters know that the candidate is not good but due to lack of choice, they are forced to vote same candidate every time. This makes politicians more arrogant. There are good people also in the world of politics but it is as hard to point them out as finding a bucket of fresh water from salted seawater.

In my early days, whenever I thought of politics, the only association I could make of it was with words like: Congress, BJP, Jayalalitha, Left, Mayawati, Bofors, Narsimha Rao, Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Nehru and few others. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was PM when I was in my college days. That was the phase were I use to discuss and debate about politics and policies with friends. And I remember I use to say that Atal Bihari was my favorite politician! Indeed he was, not only my favorite, even the opposition parties never denied of his aura and Charisma. My fondness was more to do with his personality rather than political views. He truly represented India as a country at the Global platform.

 
It was 2004 and Congress/ UPA came to power post elections. Mr. Manmohan Singh became PM and being one the finest economist and key architect of 1991 liberalization, hopes were high. At the same time there was pessimism because probably the country has already seen enough of Congress. And I distinctly remember people saying, “Now things will become costly…” “…Now country will take 10 steps back…” and I use to wonder why did people vote for congress in the first place then? To which I never got an answer.

History repeated itself in 2009 with UPA coming to power again. Once again Manmohan Singh was the face of the nation, to the world. This time scams and corruption became more evident and there seriousness multiplied. Out of hopelessness, I wrote a ‘Letter to Prime Minister’ to which he never replied. Though I am happy I expressed my wish and was not mute like him. Miss-governance can be attributed to weak opposition also who was not aggressive enough to keep the ruling party in check. Even the international press criticized Indian PM by putting him on Time magazine cover page with an ‘Under Achiever?’ headline. It surely raised lot of brows but then everything was forgotten with the passage of time.

And then suddenly, out of nowhere, there came Anna Hazare and the anti-corruption movement. The demand was to pass Jan Lokpal Bill in parliament as a mechanism to tackle corruption. After initial denials and ignorance government was forced to listen to Anna’s demands. It was a storm that shook the government. People saw an avenue to make India of their dreams, into reality. Indians were on the streets around the country supporting the cause and it was considered a big victory. News channels telecasted minute-by-minute proceedings of what was happening at Jantar Mantar. It was a massive movement and I never felt so strongly or so passionately about any movement ever before. Candle lit marches to slogans to dharnas, all peacefully.

Since it was matter of power, stake and survival some anti-social elements were planted among the working committee of the movement. What happened next was a series of opportunists, frauds, hope, exposes and dismay. Aam Aadmi Party was born with Arvind Kejriwal became crusader and projected as the representative of common man. Delhi elections were fought and in the history of Indian democracy, first time a new party got such a huge number of votes by country men. It was not a clear mandate but it became a coalition government with local people’s choice.

For the first time it looked like the country has taken many giant steps forward on the path of progress. The canvass looked perfect and beautiful. It was time for an agitator to become an administrator. It was time for the crusader to fulfill his promises. Though promises were short term like free to heavy subsidy on water and electricity yet people were swayed by the miracle of having an alternate in the politics.

Arvind Kejriwal promised to clean the system. He seemed to be Anil Kapoor from the famous Bollywood movie Nayak. But when it came to execution, the dreams seemed to be faltering away. Day by day, the way Delhi was miss-governed, looked dubious. The man who stood against corruption and exposed from CM to Industrialist became soft on a section of political society. The dharna politics became way of life. But Indians are always hopeful. In the game of Cricket, even if we would need 8 runs to win on a last ball, we would hope for opposition to bowl a No-Ball, our batsmen to hit a four on it and then hit another four on the last ball. We are a land of hopefuls, forgivers, 'Chalta Hai' attitude endorsers, Cricket lovers, God-fearers and not so politically inclined people.

Supporters of AAP ignored and discounted all the miss-doings of AAP under the name of inexperience party. But it became evident that AAP had soft corner for Congress with the passage of time. It was called a Team B of Congress and a well-planned movement to gain anti-congress votes in Delhi elections. In hast, Arvind Kejriwal quit CM ship and dissolved his government. The man who appeared as crusader, a common man driving blue Wagon-R, who gave hopes to clean the society, change the way politicians work, broke millions of dreams and hearts. How can you leave Delhi and Delhiets in a state of political limbo? Anarchy? Double standards? There are many questions that Kejriwal needs to answer not to us, but to the people who believed in him and who voted for his party. The alternate government, the very option seizes to exist now. There seems to be no difference between AAP and any other political party.

Ideally, Kejriwal should have stayed as Delhi CM and strengthen AAP as a national party over a period of time by good governance. The country capital faces so many issues, biggest being women security. He could have picked 2-3 major issues and resolved them permanently. This would have given him some political experience and chance to prove his administration capabilities. Changing the system is not easy but he had biggest strength with him – The Common Man. With passage of time it became more evident than AAP is against Modi and BJP. It never gave importance to people who actually gave birth to the party. Jumping for Lok Sabha elections shows that Congress wants to get anti-congress votes through AAP and keep BJP away from power. And this is the reason why my mom was so correct back then, when I was a kid, about the politicians.

Arvind Kejriwal who is projected as an alternate PM candidate for Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi, have shared very shocking thoughts. His priority is to defeat Narendra Modi. He is of the view that there would be another elections in a year or so and then India will get new stable government. More can be read here. Any sane person would not subscribe to his views. When the country is in such a fragile state, economy is crippling, constant threats to internal and external security, corruption is spoiling the image of India at International level, this guy seems to play a trial-match this time to get some practice and then play real match again next year! In all this humdrum the only thing that is being ignored is – The Country. We still have time and resources to put country back on the growth track. If not this time, we may get deviated so much that the road to growth might look impossible.

To me, it is always nation first. Whatever takes the nation and its people forward should be done. The world is progressing and we have to lead the way of development. We are self sufficient, self-sustaining and a vibrant force of energy. All we need is good leader and decisive policies, which are executed for the benefit of society as a whole and not just a particular section. It is time we shun the ‘Chalta hai’ attitude and vote for a change. After looking at the manifestos of BJP, Congress and AAP, I would opt for the one giving hope of development and willingness to execute and take some difficult but corrective actions. Enough of communal card has been played and this time we should vote for development. We should not forget that we ourselves would progress if the country moves in proper direction, we the people would be the most benefited.

fOoD fOr ThOugHt: For the country and for the dream of development to fulfill the unfulfilled, please go out and vote for an able leader. Let not your heart rule over your head!

Saturday 5 April 2014

Jet Airways : On Time, Efficient : Customer delight!

Not the first time I travelled with Jet Airways but after this time’s experience I thought of putting it in an article as a positive feedback for the company.

The first and the most important factor when it comes to flight especially when your itenarry is relatively tight and you do not have buffer for any delays is TIME – On Time Arrival/ On Time Departure. I am convinced and trust Jet Airways for On Time arrival. This helps is planning your trip properly and do not put you in an unforeseen circumstance at a remote location. The scheduled flight 9W21 from Singapore to Chennai took off little late due to delay in clearance from local control room. Public Announcements were made in flight to communicate about the delay. Since I was to reach Chennai at around 10:15 PM IST nighttime, I thought I will have a delayed landing but we arrived On Time. Full marks.

Check in and boarding was effortless. 30Kg+30Kg+7Kg+7Kg luggage allowance was enough to make us happy while returning back from Chennai to Singapore.

Stewards and Airhostess were presentable and professional enough to take care of us. Airhostess looked at ease, as they did not have to bother about if they were looking young or old or fat or slim! We were travelling back with infant and the in-house flight service was on its toe when it came to our needs.

Food – We Indians are always on a munching spree whenever we are travelling. Be it with Indian Railways, Buses or flights. We were welcomed with a ‘Chatpata’ munching followed by liquor.  Food was good, served hot, fresh and sufficient. For me the highlight was steel-ware cutlery unlike plastic made. Though it doesn’t make a difference but the former enhances your eating experience when you are travelling. Please continue doing so.
Good food with steel-ware spoon, knife and fork!

Touch screen entertainment – It was loaded with latest Songs, Videos, Movies both Hollywood and Bollywood. Business section of entertainment had videos from CNBC Young Turks. It also stored my favorite comedy entertainment – ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’ episode. Overall total enjoyment.
Security announcement via an animated video instead of Air hostess doing the drill.

Security announcement via an animated video instead of Air hostess doing the drill.

Entertainment Juke box was fully loaded with latest songs and movies.

Passenger load – I was really surprised to look at the full house in economy class. I have observed that normally flights fly with a 70%-80% capacity load. Though it was Chennai bound flight and I am told the capacity load is always at a higher end but this was my first experience with almost full load flight.

Improvements - Since there is always a room for improvement, two of the points that I want to highlight which management can take up are: Please add Coca Cola in your offerings of non-alcoholic drinks unless you have a tie-up with Pepsi and forced not to add Coke. Secondly, taste of food was far far better in Chennai-Singapore flight as compared to Singapore-Chennai flight. I know there might be supplier constraints and also you cannot satisfy each and every customer but these are things that I thought would have increased my experience. You can try to match taste of food with what is served on Chennai-Singapore flight.

After this experience I checked Jet Airways stock listed on NSE. Though the aviation industry is in trouble for several years now, still the industry is not closing. Talking about India, I find Jet Airways evenly poised providing full service and connected to international destinations. Company has posted losses last year though it was lesser than the then previous year. With stake sale to Ethiad Airways and leveraging on potential synergies from the combined resources and expertise, I would say a ‘Buy’ considering the fact that it is near its 52-week low.

PS: These are my personal and independent views based on past few experiences with Indian carriers like Jet Airways, Air India, IndiGo, Go Air and Spice Jet travels. It easily matches with the standards of non-Indian International carriers. No offences meant, if any.

Wednesday 19 March 2014

When I bought my first iPhone…


 
Phone is single biggest medium to get connected and communicate with anyone across the world. Mobile has made life even simpler with calling/ receiving message on the go. Motorola was the first company to demonstrate handheld device called mobile phone. The device evolved over a period of time and newer and fascinating features got added. Yet, primarily mobile phones remained dorky and were used strictly for communication – voice or text.

In 2007, history-defining event happened and the industry never remained the same. Steve Jobs introduced the first ever iPhone to the world. Having played the launch video over and over again on YouTube, I can tell you the crowd and the world were amazed to see what Steve was presenting on large screen. The immediate question that most of them had, “is that for real? Is this a concept or a reality!” The reasons were obvious because nobody ever thought what a multi touch screen phone without a keypad would look like. No company ever before gave so much importance to the design and customer experience. The streets were cautious over the success and competitors had written off the device at the launch itself.

When Steve Ballmer then CEO of Microsoft, considered as biggest competitor, was asked to give his first reaction on the iPhone after its launch he said:
 "Five hundred dollars fully subsidized with a plan! I said that is the most expensive phone in the world and it doesn't appeal to business customers because it doesn't have a keyboard, which makes it not a very good email machine…”

Clearly companies were not looking at innovation. Most of the companies were in disbelief of the features that iPhone was to offer. They thought it would be very high on battery and may not last long in market.

Over the years, the device has become a style statement. It is a lifestyle product now with owners oozing an edge over others when in public. It has redefined the way people use phones. Be it Apps or messaging, communication has taken a giant leap forward.

Today, at every launch, millions of people wait outside Apple Stores to grab the latest offerings. The device comes for a price (read heavy price) but then you cant put a price on the experience you derive from such high end products.

Even I waited for six years to buy first ever iPhone. The feeling was euphoric. I was on cloud nine and I praised Steve Jobs for conceiving such a brilliant idea. Even he would have become happy up there, looking at me since his long term admirer was finally buying his product, two, and not just one. The company stock prices closed up 3% that day on the NASDAQ.
 
I carefully opened the box as if I was handling a newborn baby. Delicate and beautiful with ‘Designed in California’ all over it. I saw it over and over again. I started remembering notes from Steve Jobs’ Biography, book I read in its first week of launch. How much effort and deliberations were done to bring this masterpiece out to the World. Every body part is skillfully crafted giving highest pleasure to the user.

For iPhone and for the innovation, take a bow, Sir, Steve Jobs.

PS: I bought two iPhones for my relatives as I was visiting my native place on vacation. The wait to own one still continues with my wife promising to gift it on my next Birthday!

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