On The Move

All in a Day's Life

2013-03-09T06:47:00.002-08:00

He was leaving for office. Mumbai AC buses are really comfortable and he commutes by it often these days. He was little late today and therefore walked briskly towards the bus stop. And as soon as he reached there, the bus arrived. He boarded in hurry - unaware of the fact that he was getting up in a wrong bus today.

He got inside, automated doors closed and bus left off. He saw a Lady posing with the conductor. It looked like they wanted a pic together. He stopped at conductor for ticket. But gentleman who seemed to be capturing it told him to pass by saying shooting is in progress. "Ahh...some shoot for Movie or TV going on", he thought, "Keeps happening in Mumbai".

He took a seat in the half empty bus and observed all of it keenly. It then did not appear to him as a professional shoot as the gentleman was capturing it with a mobile camera. It was fun mood, He even saw passengers participating in the proceedings.

"Are they part of the crew." he mulled over.

Person sitting beside him did not seem to be one of them. So he asked, "You have any idea what's going on here.”

"Conductor is retiring. Today is old man's last working day" - was the reply.

He got even keener. He now noticed a packet of sweet, few flowers (say it bouquet) in conductor's hand. Conductor also shook hand with other passengers. Looked like they were daily commuters of this bus. One passenger gifted conductor a mobile handset. Conductor was now blushing.

It was conductor's facilitation going on...can you imagine!

He was pleasantly surprised to be witnessing it - A celebration of life in a running public transport bus. Touching!

The conductor returned to normal duty of ticketing as good numbers of passengers were boarded by then. Conductor approached him; he respectfully asked for Airoli ticket. He was told to catch the alternate bus with options provided. Only then did he realize that he had boarded the wrong bus.

“But it was worth it.” - He mumbled to himself as he got down.

Career Connection

2012-05-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

This April was overwhelming. I got a chance to be part of MDI interview panel. The Occasion was GDPI assessment for MBA aspirants. It was one of those nice little moments in life, when you take a pause to let the pleasurable feeling sink in. Reasons were multifold – I was matching up professors to whom I had been student so far. Then, I was judging people who were apparently my alter ego in retrospect. And, I was playing a different role that day.

MDI has been my life’s that milestone which I’ve kept on touching time and again. I was introduced to this institute when desire to do MBA struck me. I came very close to fulfilling this desire with this B-school when I began my professional carrier and landed up in MDI as part of new joiner’s MDP program. It was an instant link up and it became part of my B-school wish list. And no wonders I ended up doing my MBA from here few years later.

During Convocation, when we were clicking pictures around this thirty seven acre green Campus, we believed those to be the concluding moments with MDI. It’s a cycle where graduating batch clears the way for the incoming one. I, however, was finding it hard to bid adieu because of my long association with this place. And Last month, when I got the call to represent the panel, I knew that MDI connection is there to stay and it’s only going to evolve with time.

Hi Herbert, Is Adidas my Brand?

2011-08-27T02:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Herbert,

Congratulations & Praises on robust quarterly result!

It pleases me as much as it does you as CEO. For some reasons, I always feel Adidas as my brand. I bought a pair of training shoes recently and no surprises that it was from the house of Adidas. Even rationally, it offered me better value proposition than other competing brands. Your apparels, shoes & accessories connect to me in a way that it becomes difficult to answer the dichotomy - Whether I fit into its style or it fits into mine?

Let me tell you that you have done a notable job since you assumed this position in 2001.

And when such association sustains for a decade, something becomes special about it. We get into selective attention tendency and look for the reason that makes us feel good about the brand to buttress the association. I had been in similar mode until yesterday. This is what I’ve transpired:

The chemicals used in your apparels are causing water toxication by nonylphenol (NP) -- a hormone-disrupting chemical.

I’d have snubbed it considering all-pervasive problem in the textile industry. But as I dig further, I find more reasons for not doing so. Your company ranks 2 in sportswear brand, leading in innovation and supply chain. You even boasted it in your Q2 announcement earlier this month. I’m afraid that the toxic cycle is inbuilt in the very supply chain excellence that you talk about. Worse, you run far behind in responding to the detox campaign by Greenpiece International. It has already inspired Nike and Puma to eliminate all toxic chemicals from supply chain by 2020.

I know that among these top 3 sportswear brands, you run little behind in profits, and only just from Puma – another German brand like yours. Does it compensate for your dilatoriness, so much so that you have not even disclosed the hazardous chemicals used in your supply chain.

Even with all my prejudices towards your company, now I think – Is Adidas my brand?

The Land Of Thunder Dragon in My Eyes

2010-02-20T19:10:00.000-08:00

Traveling to Bhutan is a unique experience in many ways and the adventure starts even before you touch the land. While traveling to Paro by Druk Air, you get to see breathtaking view of Himalyan Ranges - kanchanjunga muntains & Mount Everest. Left window seat is what you should opt for if you want to have the privilleged view. I grabbed the left one and this is what I captured:

Another shoot till the time plane lands is here:

Paro, apart from scenic beauties of Mountains & Gorges, has other places of interest such as world famous Taksang Temple & National Museum of Bhutan. Although I did not have time to travel to these places, One should never miss out. Preferably, the base city for travel purpose should be the Capital - Thimphu, which is an hour drive from Paro. During the drive, you will have a exotic feeling of traveling into mountains. Here is one such feeling:

Panoramic view of Thimphu city is unrivaled. Here is one glimpse of the city:

At Thimphu, and all the other places in Bhutan, the unique style of architectural design is the mark of its cultural heritage. The mandatory architectural design is among the various enforcements put in place by Bhutan Government in order to preserve their cultural heritage. They fear that excessive globalization would lead to anarchy & corruption as happened in Nepal. This country measures its output in terms of GNH (Gross National Happiness) unlike other countries who measure it in terms of GDP. This is why, Bhutan is the Happiest country in Asia & Eight Globally.

There are various mountain peaks in Bhutan which are treat to the Eyes. One among these is Dochula, where you get to see wide mountain landscape. One other such place is Bumthang which is close to China. During winters, snow can be seen all over the place. Yaks also appear during these times. Although my timing was not right for perfect snowy experience, I could capture a bit of it. I shot it while passing Dochula.

I can't resist myself from sharing another shoot of drive into the moutains

There are many other locations in Bhutan such as Kingdom Palaces & Monasteries that are worth watching and you should use travel guide based on the time that you may want to spend. For Tourists, one major concern out here could be non-acceptance of plastic money. This country still primarily runs on Physical Money and cashless transactions are rare. Also, apart from obtaining visa, you also need to get various permits to travel places other than Paro & Thimphu as those places come under special zones.

Honesty, Humility & Innocence is the mark of Bhutanese People. With about 3M sq km of hilly terrain, 64% of the country under forest cover and Just about 6.5L Population, the tranquility can never get more Pristine.

Enjoy the Slide Show of my Picasa Album
(For enlarged pictures, simply click on the running slide show and get redirected to my original album)