Sutanu Guru: UNDERESTIMATING THE INDIAN VOTER AGAIN AND AGAIN A...

Sutanu Guru: UNDERESTIMATING THE INDIAN VOTER AGAIN AND AGAIN A...: I can only marvel and laugh at such malarkey and nonsense. For ages, the New Delhi-based mainstream media has utterly failed to read the intentions of the Indian voter. It has a habit of getting it wrong almost every time. And yet, it persists in such hogwash. Allow me to quote columnist Tavleen Singh who was a young reporter in 1977 when Indira Gandhi lifted the Emergency and called for elections. She writes:

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COMMON SENSE SIMPLIFIED: ATM PIN GOES PUBLIC

COMMON SENSE SIMPLIFIED: ATM PIN GOES PUBLIC:  It is often said that frauds with financial and personal details of customers in banking operations take higher dimensions when the service is outsourced to a third party. This new consumer hazard is becoming a way of fast money for call centre executives! It is especially gaining ground after the Standard Chartered and Citibank fraud revelations. Standard Chartered outsourced money laundering violations to third parties in US resulting in massive embarrassment for the company of having to deal with huge flow of cash entering Iran in violation of US laws. Although, it didn’t involve loss of personal funds of the consumers through their stolen information, but it did vindicate the vulnerability of the banking system and its pressing problem of outsourcing data. The disappointment was more direct to consumers in the Citibank case, which involved specifically to security issues. It was a classic case of credit card cloning that took place in April 2005 involving a sum of $350,000.

Read More: http://prasoonsmajumdar.blogspot.in/2012/12/atm-pin-goes-public.html

Typos: THE SWINGER'S CLUB

Typos: THE SWINGER'S CLUB :  My father grew up by the Ganges, in the streets of Varanasi. Summer dawns were spent in the lap of the river, diving off rooft ops, crossing the currents and racing with friends between the banks. The days and years rolled by and fate and fortune brought him to Delhi where my mother, a career and I happened to him.

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Typos: BEAR WITH US, PLEASE…

Typos: BEAR WITH US, PLEASE…: I have seen a few specimens of the brown bear in a zoo in Kufri… The concrete floor and the confined space did little justice to the magnificence of the bear, and yet the intelligent eyes, the hulking form and that stoic faraway expression spoke of a dignity that only the mountains can bestow on those that have learnt to live in its shadow. Little is known about this mysterious animal for few have seen it in the wild and fewer still have had the courage and the commitment to follow the animal’s trail over the rugged landscape that is its home.

Read More :http://prashantobanerji.blogspot.in/2012/11/bear-with-us-please.html

COMMON SENSE SIMPLIFIED: GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK!

COMMON SENSE SIMPLIFIED: GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK!:

The debate on subsidy on diesel price never seems to reach a consensus. On one hand, diesel subsidies are important to keep food prices and transport prices under check, while on the other hand, this subsidy is being exploited by luxury car owners and owners of commercial hubs. In simple words, tax paid by the aam adami which is meant for societal development is latently being directed as subsidies to industrialists and rich business houses! Thus it becomes far more important for the government to either come up with a differential pricing system or some other model which categorises these two different set of users under two different price bands. 

 

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Passionate About India: Will the Supreme Court please clearly define the t...

Passionate About India: Will the Supreme Court please clearly define the t...: Having said that, it is shocking how a professor can be arrested in Bengal for forwarding a cartoon on Facebook; how a cartoonist can be arrested for making a cartoon on the government; and unbelievably, how a young girl – Shaheen Dhadha – can be arrested for posting something as basic as: “With all respect, every day, thousands of people die, but still the world moves on. Just due to one politician died a natural death, everyone just goes bonkers. They should know, we are resilient by force, not by choice. When was the last time, did anyone showed some respect or even a two-minute silence for Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Azad, Sukhdev or any of the people because of whom we are free-living Indians? Respect is earned, given, and definitely not forced. Today, Mumbai shuts down due to fear, not due to respect.[sic]” – while another girl can be arrested for liking the post! Shameful! Disgusting! Dictatorial!

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COMMON SENSE SIMPLIFIED: IITF IS STILL AN INFANT

COMMON SENSE SIMPLIFIED: IITF IS STILL AN INFANT:\ The importance of trade fairs has never been so profound. The recent IITF 2012 opened the gates for budding as well as established enterprises to showcase their products and services that eventually allows them to display and project their services not only to their potential customers but to the entire region at large. The power of trade fairs notwithstanding, it is fascinating to delve into its genesis that dates back to the medieval era in Europe. Since then, its impact has grown from strength to strength through the industrial revolution in Britain and Europe and later in North America. The trade fairs, in fact, became the face of industrial revolution that reflected its vitality and showcased the same to the world.

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Typos: BRAVEHEARTS AGAINST THE APOCALYPSE

Typos: BRAVEHEARTS AGAINST THE APOCALYPSE: While the country celebrated the hanging of a villain who murdered innocents, I had mixed feelings about the news of Kasab’s execution. It seemed like it was the right path, the only path in fact, and yet one wondered if there could have been a path more right than this. I don’t have the answer yet and so I leave you with my thoughts from the day when Ajmal Amir Kasab was still a gun-toting specter haunting the streets of Mumbai... a story from four years ago that celebrates and remembers those who stared down death so that many could hang on to life through those four fateful days... Until i find my feelings and the answers

Read More :http://prashantobanerji.blogspot.in/2012/11/bravehearts-against-apocalypse.html

Passionate About India: Lessons on inner-party democracy from the American...

Passionate About India: Lessons on inner-party democracy from the American...:Today, India is at a critical juncture with all socio-economic as well as political ills engulfing the nation from almost all possible directions. Starting from a series of bribery scams that are being exposed, to our plummeting ranks in almost all economic indicators – everything corroborates the hope for the rise of a fourth front (considering the third front still exists and is potent) in the form of Arvind Kejriwal’s political debut with India Against Corruption, along with an emerging coterie of social activists, who are gradually morphing the political landscape and are all collectively reshaping the political couture of the nation.

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The Fascinating World of Marketing: DO YOU HAVE MUSCLES FOR MICROMARKETING?

The Fascinating World of Marketing: DO YOU HAVE MUSCLES FOR MICROMARKETING?:

Bharti Airtel handles around 8 billion calls daily generating humongous amount of data. Based on this it has divided its customers into nearly 100,000 segments to whom it offers customised products based on their usage pattern. Right now it is working to provide at least three services to each customer, to improve stickiness, working on the insight that customers for multiple services tend to stay on longer than single service users. Further, due to call drops it was facing the problem of churn. At nearly 40% it was a huge number. When it analysed the data it found that a customer was most likely to switch to another service provider if six or more calls dropped in a day. So a software was developed that offers customers free SMSes after the sixth call drop. 

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Business is Marketing: BOOTSTRAP YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS!

Business is Marketing: BOOTSTRAP YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS!  The term is attributed to a story written by Rudolf Erich. The story titled The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen is based on a series of tales narrated by the Baron about his travels, with some impossible feats and daring escapes. One such tale is about him pulling himself out of a swamp with the help of his bootstraps as there was no one to help him and there was no other way he could have survived. Today, this 18th century tale has acquired a new meaning; especially for entrepreneurs. The idiom “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” is the secret behind the success of many people today. When all else failed, they looked at the end of their own arm and found a helping hand! Just the way when the Baron fell in the swamp and nothing seemed to work and it looked like all was lost, he thought of picking himself up by his own bootstraps. 

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Typos: AND BUDDHA CRIED

Typos: AND BUDDHA CRIED:Sometimes we need a jolt to wake up, to stay good and to be strong. And then we need people to hold us tight through these tests, to remind us of our goodness when the mirror fails to point out any... Here’s a jolt from the vault that helped one find one’s inherent goodness. May both the lessons and the people who hold us tight through these jolts live long and live strong... 

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COMMON SENSE SIMPLIFIED: GRAFT THE DRAFT MANIFESTO

COMMON SENSE SIMPLIFIED: GRAFT THE DRAFT MANIFESTO:

Unlike many post-colonial nations, which have descended to dictatorships or sham democracies, India has sustained to a reasonably stable democracy unhindered since independence. However, the success of the very same democracy in India would raise numerous eye brows if benchmarked against the best examples of it. Certain basic deficiencies in the country’s social and political dynamics have never allowed the nation to maintain a free and fair democratic setup. 

 

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Passionate About India: Why BJP can't afford to lose Gadkari!

Passionate About India: Why BJP can't afford to lose Gadkari!:  That Congress is digging its own grave is too apparent. That it is a party full of unbelievably corrupt is also something that is established in public perception. And that win-or-lose, Arvind Kejriwal has been the man responsible for giving the maximum dent to Congress’ image in its entire history is also established! However, what is most amusing is how, during this entire fall and fall of Congress in public perception, BJP has remained a mute spectator, gaining nothing out of the whole issue.

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Typos: AN EDEN IN MY BACKYARD

Typos: AN EDEN IN MY BACKYARD: The dragonfly flapped its transparent iridescent wings with a slow deliberate jerk, like the early swivel of a chopper’s rotator blades before taking off while I zoomed in carefully. Its dark head and bulbous eyes grew bigger and closer in the view finder. As the focus rim turned, the image grew clearer… There she was, holding onto a tall stalk by the bank, basking in the soft warm light of a November morn and then I clicked, and she was gone, buzzing her way along the bank in search of a corner where a man with a camera would not pry into her morning duties.

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COMMON SENSE SIMPLIFIED: JOBS APART

COMMON SENSE SIMPLIFIED: JOBS APART:  As against the conventional wisdom of building a service career as a permanent employee, corporates are increasingly rolling out part time jobs and the employees are only too happy to lap it up. It’s developing into a trend that is evolving at the speed of light speed which is benefitting both employers and employees. The informal workers in the organised companies have risen from a moderate 32 per cent in 2000 to a most expansive 68 per cent in 2010. The figure of part-time workers’ growth in 2009 was over 10 per cent and in 2010 the figure settled at 18 per cent! It shows the lucre that goes with the proposition of temporary jobs, a trend that is ever rising in most of the developing countries, according to the World Development Report, a publication wing of World Bank.

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COMMON SENSE SIMPLIFIED: JOBS APART

COMMON SENSE SIMPLIFIED: JOBS APART:  As against the conventional wisdom of building a service career as a permanent employee, corporates are increasingly rolling out part time jobs and the employees are only too happy to lap it up. It’s developing into a trend that is evolving at the speed of light speed which is benefitting both employers and employees. The informal workers in the organised companies have risen from a moderate 32 per cent in 2000 to a most expansive 68 per cent in 2010. The figure of part-time workers’ growth in 2009 was over 10 per cent and in 2010 the figure settled at 18 per cent! It shows the lucre that goes with the proposition of temporary jobs, a trend that is ever rising in most of the developing countries, according to the World Development Report, a publication wing of World Bank.

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Passionate About India: It just takes one Arvind Kejriwal! Sadly, there is...

Passionate About India: It just takes one Arvind Kejriwal! Sadly, there is...:  Arvind Kejriwal’s series of attacks reminds me of a tale by Hans Christian Andersen, ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’, where two weavers design a new attire for the emperor that, they tell the emperor, will be only visible to those who are honest and loyal. The emperor subsequently dons the ‘attire’ to test his subjects’ loyalty, much to the amusement of his citizenry. Arvind Kejriwal, like the child who laughed at the emperor and dared to shout that the emperor is actually parading naked, is ripping out the false masks from the faces of many such self-proclaimed political and corporate emperors and has dared to show their real faces to the world.

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Passionate About India: Is even Aroon Purie not worth defending?

Passionate About India: Is even Aroon Purie not worth defending?: India’s scams and corruption are perennially ubiquitous – they keep recurring time and again. There is hardly a month that goes unnoticed without any major scam breaking out. It is not that there isn’t any scam elsewhere, but barring some sub-Saharan and Asian rogue states ruled by the junta, the scale and magnitude of Indian scams have outperformed every other nation by an unprecedented margin of frequency and scale. Typically, a scam exposé starts off with media frenzy and then gets lost into thin air! The typical Indian middle class’ short memories, inevitably brushes the scam off, and then the judiciary typically bails out the accused, and everything is business as usual. Even though media spotlight continues on the case for a while, the same mostly focuses on the economic aspect of it, largely ignoring the enormous social impact. Mostly, the multi-million dollar scams that prop up every now and then have huge negative externalities both at the regional and national level.


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Typos: THE PRICE OF FAITH

Typos: THE PRICE OF FAITH: 

And while we are at it, maybe we should also insist and ensure that the dhakis, traditional professional drummers who play at Durga Puja pandals, only decorate their drums with artificial feathers. Until I read an article in the Hindustan Times, I had always assumed that these tall and beautiful plumes gracing the drums were artificial. But the article revealed that thousands of egrets and storks are trapped and killed to provide plumes for the drums (about four birds are killed for each drum). Such brutality for the sake of vanity will surely not find divine sanction and if our celebrations cause such misery and pain, surely such joys would be short-lived. And if some of you are wondering, then what of animal sacrifices at festivals, I would only repeat that if there is a God, then our act of destroying what He created can cause Him no joy. But that is a debate for another occasion… for now, let us just ensure that our celebrations remain events that spread happiness and good cheer and not pollutants and fear…

 

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COMMON SENSE SIMPLIFIED: THE DIRTY BUSINESS

COMMON SENSE SIMPLIFIED: THE DIRTY BUSINESS:  The government must come forward and at least release this business out of their fist and allow corporate with high level of expertise and professionalism to handle the same. Th is will also work as incentives for motivating environment-friendly corporations and will reduce loss of reusable waste. Above all, it will keep the roads clean and finally will free rag-pickers from the clutches of these mafia’s who after all lead an unhygienic life and later on carry multiple diseases with them.

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Passionate About India: Is even Aroon Purie not worth defending?

Passionate About India: Is even Aroon Purie not worth defending?:    I rarely watch TV as I don’t have one on my floor of our house! However, when there is some breaking news, my father calls me down to the ground floor (where he stays) to watch the same with him. So I really had no idea about the Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid, a man I like, holding a press conference last Sunday where he lost his temper at some journalists. Of course, I was aware of the allegations made against the Zakir Hussain Trust about some hanky panky with government funds meant for physically challenged people. I also knew there was something about forged signatures of top officials of the Uttar Pradesh government. My first reaction was: this must be mere politics. But I was forced to take notice when dad told me that Arvind Kejriwal, the activist turned politician, is taking this issue seriously and raising serious questions about the integrity of the Union Law Minister on TV. If nothing else, the activist turned politician at least deserves our respect for his amazing display of guts and gumption.]

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Passionate About India: Is even Aroon Purie not worth defending?

Passionate About India: Is even Aroon Purie not worth defending?:


 I rarely watch TV as I don’t have one on my floor of our house! However, when there is some breaking news, my father calls me down to the ground floor (where he stays) to watch the same with him. So I really had no idea about the Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid, a man I like, holding a press conference last Sunday where he lost his temper at some journalists. Of course, I was aware of the allegations made against the Zakir Hussain Trust about some hanky panky with government funds meant for physically challenged people. I also knew there was something about forged signatures of top officials of the Uttar Pradesh government. My first reaction was: this must be mere politics. But I was forced to take notice when dad told me that Arvind Kejriwal, the activist turned politician, is taking this issue seriously and raising serious questions about the integrity of the Union Law Minister on TV. If nothing else, the activist turned politician at least deserves our respect for his amazing display of guts and gumption.


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“Cricket needs the West Indies to do well!”, screamed the papers at the start of the 2012 T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka. It was as if the fortunes of the game were tied to the success of the cricketers from the Caribbean. And toddlers and teen agers playing cricket in the maidans of the sub-continent would wonder why those men in maroon might matter any more than cricketers from New Zealand, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe or any of these other often honest but hardly ever spectacular cricketing teams. Yes, the West indies have Chris Gayle, but take away the last two IPLs and what exactly do you remember of his greatness? Typos: THE COLOUR OF PASSION

“Cricket needs the West Indies to do well!”, screamed the papers at the start of the 2012 T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka. It was as if the fortunes of the game were tied to the success of the cricketers from the Caribbean. And toddlers and teen agers playing cricket in the maidans of the sub-continent would wonder why those men in maroon might matter any more than cricketers from New Zealand, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe or any of these other often honest but hardly ever spectacular cricketing teams. Yes, the West indies have Chris Gayle, but take away the last two IPLs and what exactly do you remember of his greatness?

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Passionate About India: Six years of The Sunday Indian and six defining ch...

Passionate About India: Six years of The Sunday Indian and six defining ch...: These have been truly turbulent years. Between then and now, we have seen Mayawati sweep Uttar Pradesh and then lose it badly. Between then and now, India has miserably lost the Cricket World Cup and then won it handsomely. Between then and now, the Indian economy has changed from being a rampaging elephant to a caged tiger once again. Between then and now, the three Khans of Bollywood have further cemented their supremacy over the box office. Between then and now, Rahul Gandhi has been transformed from being the latest Great White Hope to a question mark and an enigma. Between then and now, the loot and plunder of natural resources through crony capitalism have gathered momentum. Between then and now, Ratan Tata has endured the disgrace of Singur to fade triumphantly into retirement. Between then and now, Mamata Didi has remained Mamata Didi... So much has happened over the last six years that it would require many multiple books to chronicle contemporary history. And my readers know I do not write history books :-)

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Passionate About India: Six years of The Sunday Indian and six defining ch...

Passionate About India: Six years of The Sunday Indian and six defining ch...: These have been truly turbulent years. Between then and now, we have seen Mayawati sweep Uttar Pradesh and then lose it badly. Between then and now, India has miserably lost the Cricket World Cup and then won it handsomely. Between then and now, the Indian economy has changed from being a rampaging elephant to a caged tiger once again. Between then and now, the three Khans of Bollywood have further cemented their supremacy over the box office. Between then and now, Rahul Gandhi has been transformed from being the latest Great White Hope to a question mark and an enigma. Between then and now, the loot and plunder of natural resources through crony capitalism have gathered momentum. Between then and now, Ratan Tata has endured the disgrace of Singur to fade triumphantly into retirement. Between then and now, Mamata Didi has remained Mamata Didi... So much has happened over the last six years that it would require many multiple books to chronicle contemporary history. And my readers know I do not write history books :-)

Read maore ......

Passionate About India: Six years of The Sunday Indian and six defining ch...

Passionate About India: Six years of The Sunday Indian and six defining ch...: 

These have been truly turbulent years. Between then and now, we have seen Mayawati sweep Uttar Pradesh and then lose it badly. Between then and now, India has miserably lost the Cricket World Cup and then won it handsomely. Between then and now, the Indian economy has changed from being a rampaging elephant to a caged tiger once again. Between then and now, the three Khans of Bollywood have further cemented their supremacy over the box office. Between then and now, Rahul Gandhi has been transformed from being the latest Great White Hope to a question mark and an enigma. Between then and now, the loot and plunder of natural resources through crony capitalism have gathered momentum. Between then and now, Ratan Tata has endured the disgrace of Singur to fade triumphantly into retirement. Between then and now, Mamata Didi has remained Mamata Didi... So much has happened over the last six years that it would require many multiple books to chronicle contemporary history.

Read More: http://arindamchaudhuri.blogspot.in/2012/10/six-years-of-sunday-indian-and-six.html

Typos: ON A WING AND A PRAYER

Typos: ON A WING AND A PRAYER:
 My friend, the struggling illusionist, has this story he bandies around to impress the ladies, and as a prelude to his tricks – magic tricks, as he likes to call them. The story is about Khoko, or some such gent, from the land and days of the pharaohs. Bored with climbing pyramids and swimming the crocodile infested waters of the Nile, Khoko came up with an idea to entertain his fellow villagers. So, on a pleasant winter noon, Khokho trudged up to the village square with a chicken trussed under his arm. The square was bustling with activity… hawkers selling their wares, the elders trading smokes and tales and children playing

Read more:  http://prashantobanerji.blogspot.in/2012/10/on-wing-and-prayer.html

COMMON SENSE SIMPLIFIED: DEMOCRATISE RADIO

COMMON SENSE SIMPLIFIED: DEMOCRATISE RADIO:

Rivers have always been an agenda that has seen itself on the top of the list of political propagandas since time immemorial. The utilization of water and the economics associated with it makes it a potential ground for dispute between various stake holders. Be it disputes and conflicts between two local tribes or between two different states or may be between two different nations – rivers and water bodies have always been among the frontrunner when it comes to popular conflicts and populist agendas. 

 

Read more:  http://prasoonsmajumdar.blogspot.in/2012/10/let-water-flow.htmlhttp://prasoonsmajumdar.blogspot.in/2012/10/let-water-flow.html

Sutanu Guru: WHY THE NUMBERS ARE STACKED AGAINST THE CONGRESS I...

Sutanu Guru: WHY THE NUMBERS ARE STACKED AGAINST THE CONGRESS I...:

It’s an old cliché no doubt, but elections often are about numbers, mathematics and cold calculations. Yes, charisma, ideology, policies and campaigning strategy do matter. But at the end of the day, it really boils down to numbers. That is the reason why the Republican challenger Mitt Romney looks all set to lose badly to Barack Obama on November 6 when Americans vote for a new President. He is losing despite the terrible economic situation in the United States since Obama took over in January 2009. Obama should have lost, but it is numbers that are working for him. Republican ideology, particularly the hard line attitude of the faithful, has alienated huge chunks of voters. Women, students, blacks and Hispanics are overwhelmingly against Republicans and will vote for Obama. The number of these groups of voters will surely outnumber the angry white voters who will vote for Romney. 

 

Read more:  http://www.sutanuguru.com/2012/10/why-numbers-are-stacked-against.html

The Fascinating World of Marketing: POWER PLAY

The Fascinating World of Marketing: POWER PLAY:

“Hello, is that Mr. Srivastava?” asked the lady’s voice on the other end of the telephone. “Mr. Chopra will speak to you.” A pause and an interminable hold for 2 full minutes before Mr. Chopra decided to address me. This tiresome telephonic power play is common enough. Important people don’t dial numbers (or press the keys on the mobile, for that matter), and the lesser mortals are required to wait to be spoken to.:

 

Read more:http://kk-srivastava.blogspot.in/2012/10/power-play.html

The Fascinating World of Marketing: POWER PLAY

The Fascinating World of Marketing: POWER PLAY: ““Hello, is that Mr. Srivastava?” asked the lady’s voice on the other end of the telephone. “Mr. Chopra will speak to you.” A pause and an interminable hold for 2 full minutes before Mr. Chopra decided to address me. This tiresome telephonic power play is common enough. Important people don’t dial numbers (or press the keys on the mobile, for that matter), and the lesser mortals are required to wait to be spoken to.

Business is Marketing: CHAINED TO SUCCEED!

Business is Marketing: CHAINED TO SUCCEED!:

 She was a young girl when she first came to Mumbai from a small village. She was born into a dalit family and had faced discrimination all her life. After marriage at a tender age of 12, it got even worse as she was beaten up by her husband's family and tortured daily. She could not take it and ran away to her father's house. But the Indian society always looks down at a woman who leaves her husband. The pressure was too much for her to take and she tried to commit suicide at the age of 16. Her aunt saved her and inspired her to live her life on her own terms. That day, this 16 year old Kalpana made a promise to herself to live her way. She went back to Mumbai and started working at Rs.2 per day. She worked 16 hours a day. Soon, she started her own business. Subsequently, as luck would have it, she got a chance to run a metal engineering company - Kamani Tubes - which was in massive debt. She could understand the plight of the people best as she had already been in that situation once. She soon turned the company around and is today the CEO of this multi-million dollar company. Her commitment to herself, to never give up, finally paid off.

read more:http://rajitachaudhuri.blogspot.in/2012/10/chained-to-succeed.html

Passionate About India: The latest Sunday Indian Cover Story!!! Who holds ...

Passionate About India: The latest Sunday Indian Cover Story!!! Who holds ...:



 It is the race of a lifetime. Who is most likely to be the Prime Minister of India in 2014? That is the billion rupee question that this issue of TSI seeks to answer. In an exclusive survey, Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi emerge as the two frontrunners. But by all accounts, it is going to be a close fight.




Read more :   http://arindamchaudhuri.blogspot.in/2012/09/the-latest-sunday-indian-cover-story.html