The Bags of Life

 The Green Teal Bag

The bag you carry, the shoes you wear, the car you drive, the cigarettes you smoke, the scotch you drink and ofcourse the clothes you wear. 

Even the food and drinks you order, say a lot about about you as a person.

It’s often said clothes maketh a man of course amongst many other things…

However, in recent times Gautam Singhania the fraudulent owner of the famous Raymond’s brand has let down the company logo and tag line - the complete man. Who is a complete man is a discussion and debate we will leave for another time or take up in another post.

Accoutrements and Accessories say a lot about the person you are.. like hats … that even defined the person you are and perhaps the profession and ofcourse the story of the seven hats…wearing different hats is also a proverb.

But why are we meandering, let’s talk about bags… waiting at the Berlin airport… my friend Kamal Lamba remarked… 

yaar ye gorey koi bhi bag le len to acche lagte hain

Aur hum Hindustani mahenga se mahenga bag le kar bhi evaiyen dikhte hain ( the best impact is in chaste punjabi)…

Also Indians dress for comfort rather than style at the airport… which makes them look like the ugliest race at the airport… old parents travelling to baby sit their grandchildren in USA and Canada often carry… plastic shopping bags… the dark fat guy in a round neck tshirt and Capris should be summarily shot on sight…

Yes, the Indians do not dress up for travel and definitely do not consider their body type and sometimes get carried away… like wearing sleeve less T-shirts while traveling to Goa or Thailand..

My God the flights to Goa have such specimens… aunties and young behnjis in saare bandhan tod do in  exhibiting tons of  jelly like cellulite…dressing for travel is another post.

I have always believed that the immigration of a country treats you the way you are dressed… hence I always throw a smart dark  jacket or light linen one… the job is done..

Talking of bags I have had interesting bags like my growing up and professions I have had.

The very small aluminum briefcase in early school

A green backpack also called basta while my brother Sanjiv had a khaki one albeit more robust.. in later school

In college doing History ( Hons) I was a true blooded Marxist smoking non filter cigarettes a jhola for a bag jeans and khaki kurtas with Quo Vadis sandals

That gave way to a small pack 08 and FSM0 big pack in training for the Indian Army training for combat with the full kit weighing 21 kgs and 5.5 kg rifle… those were some days

Back to business school I for some reason carried a briefcase with black leather trimmings and black and white silk ikkat print..I slowly converted to a more conventional sling bag seeing my contemporaries who were much younger to mix in the melee..

A smart ad sales executive days got me back into a smart leather satchels (the wife had something to with the theme) paired with Oscar dela renta hand my down suits from my dear brother..Sanjiv

Cut to TV Days .. Discovery Channel we became the bag experts of the TV industry we made 5000 gym bags three times over for cable networks… everyone wanted one.. they were great useful for daily use , gym and urgent travel..

The Story going around was I was always packed and could get onto an airplane any time…which wasn’t far from the truth. Similar style days at StarTv

There was an era of an unsettled life … between Bombay Delhi Chandigarh…I succumbed to a back pack or a small shoulder bag from Kumho tires or Glenlivet or any promotion at the duty free..shops.

Then I got into an era of hands free a small folder wallet had everything I needed.. cards, cash, toothpick, urgent medicine pill, prayer mantras and condoms ( okay okay an exaggeration). late tv days..

Hotel… Senior Executive saw me only in suits and jackets… my suit jacket or sports jacket became by bag … worked very well with  wallet charger, blackberry, a book and a lot more…sometimes a bar of chocolate too. I did buy bags too in this era… for family and self… learnt about Hermes, Feragamo etc … bought but used the humble Kipling.

With Askme.com  I was back with a small over shoulder bag and sometimes hands free with the hold everything wallet often persuaded by my dear friend to carry a satchel .. I succumbed to one.. which was gifted by the friend…

A lot of the crinkly tan soft leather bag and a matching gym bag my Mom Got me and stood me well when I carried a lunch and was scurrying and meeting the mass affluent in the Luxury Liner Cruise Business… Celebrity Cruises in India..

Now for nearly five years I was work from home consultant at large was totally hands free combined with a sports jacket became if travelled and went for meetings… which I did quite a lot especially the year consulting for Hinduja’s…

Finally, the penny dropped when I took a professorial role and had to carry lunch among other things… the same crinkle leather shoulder bag and sometimes my friend’s satchel got me through  a  year or two…

Now my Mom insisted she’d like to replace the Dulichand&sons bag by yet another… I was reticent, not more of the same she went hobbling thrice once with me .. I was reluctant to… finally today eyed this green- teal leather bag and  I wanted .. here I am gathering a rush of memories of bags of life and my life both virtually and metaphorically…

My Tribute and Accolades,

My Friend Moncho’s NGO  RDT

Which is such a small word for a gentle people’s organisation that has uplifted the lives of 4 million people or more and making it the second largest district that produces ground nut which competes with a District in Gujarat..

Sunk over 500 wells, educated and equipped for sport and provided health care and also nutrition to a few millions.

Every IAS , every Banker , Policeman, Teacher, Cab driver and Business owner has been nurtured by RDT

As a cab driver told be once in Bangalore once

When I said Mein Moncho ka Dost Hoon…

Saab hum RDT ka naam leke sotey hain aur RDT ka  naam lekar jagte hain… that says it all..

Congratulations Visha and Moncho and the team of RDT for bringing us Utopia and equanimity in this unequal world.

Dolma - Dr Dolkar’s- Bonding in the clinic-

Bonding in Adversity 

The Divided over years for the lack of communication and several situations and with a bubble of a decade of quiet and solitude… how a Tibetan Doctor and her clinic was instrumental in binding us in adversity.

She, the younger one was just  back from America…the older one distant for years was diagnosed by Barrett’s we were worried…though we were in the hands of a very senior and sensitive gastroenterologist by far, after the initial help with allopathy the situation wasn’t getting better. 

Then like divine providence I heard the words …Dolma … by Priyam Ghosh a colleague in the College Staff Room as I talked of my woes…of illness in the fam..I said that’s very far perhaps Dharamshala… no in your neighborhood in Kalkaji…..she said.I was superbly delighted..

On a Sunday on a July Morning at the crack of dawn I got the token number one… and there we were at 8.30 am again talking to the Doctor… then medicine… followed by a essentially South Indian breakfast… we did Dosa & Coffee ( name of a restaurant), Yamuna Canteen, Chidambaram, Naivedhyam with an occasional A2B or so thrown in. Or even a The Paris Coffee House or Pour Over..It became a jovial family gathering the Sunday morning ritual…

More importantly it was Dr Dolkar who developed a relationship with each one of us ..her jovial disposition brought back sanity, good cheer and a semblance of a family. So much so we would look forward to the weekly visits to the Doctor’s Clinic….

We had a choice of meeting her once a month but we chose once week, It helped with better monitoring, more importantly it was bonding time.

It was for the bubble of a decade and a half the daughter had missed.. it was for the complete family the Dad craved for at airports, when he saw families take vacations… mom was happy for the little one and support mechanism of love and care and more importantly a feeling of being wanted…which in return helped us all.

After three holidays and 50 outings… the dark clouds began to appear, the self doubts of the efficacy of the  Tibetan medicine… the travels of the Doctor to Bombay and Bangalore.. the travels of the mother patient.. to several places, brought back the clouds of distress disbelief and dismay…again.

Bad health bad tempers and bad outcomes..

With the the Ides of March came strangely better fortunes.., better health better elevation of moods and spirits..Medicine was working.. and so was the festooned jovial succour of Dr Dolkar … for better communication her drawing room .., okay waiting room became our planning board for vacations, purchases and outings… 

We were back amidst and despite all the back stories and odds to meet and bond Dr Dolkar respectfully called Dolma’s Clinic.

We have had more than seven months of Tibet in our lives…,bodies, minds and souls… the kindred spirit of Tibet.

Siri Fort Smiles Back

 Siri Fort Smiles Back

Every one in this life needs an Aqualung in the city that feels like an escape, a carvanserai, a shangrila of your dreams.

I found mine nearly two decades ago at Siri Fort Sports Complex aka Asiad Village…

There I feel alive, the air, the speed , the motion, the velocity… the kinetic energy enhances your mood or gives a lift to drooping shoulders and morale…

One can find many corners of their happiness which elevate the Chemical in one’s body, the good ones but more about Chemicals in another post…,

On a day it’s very hot it turns into an oasis of coolness on a very cold day the sun always creeps out to warm my bones… it’s almost like a friend and well wisher that controls the place for me.

There are hundreds of sports from shooting to fencing to swimming and golf . Really walking, yoga and strolling bare feet, sometimes, interests me the most..

A ritual coffee or juice at the cafe..adds to the joy of the place. I have many friends at that place who are just friends no names and numbers… just lets call these anonymous friends as Siri Fort friends.

I walk with immense regularity with my friend Ajit and most times with dearest daughter Ananya… its lovely and almost therapeutic discussing our woes and joys…

For all the the people I care for and love there isn’t a single one that I haven’t taken  or invited to Siri Fort. If you haven’t been invited to on your visits here you are not yet in the evoked set or haven’t made it to that list thus.

Which means I still think of you and will soon invite you to my Mecca, Jerusalem, Gaya, Varanasi and so on.

There isn’t a trouble that doesn’t melt there, there isn’t a joy that’s not celebrated there..

In times of trouble, mother Mary walks with me…

Speaking words of wisdom let it be ….

Boss In Sartorial Sense At-least….

 Boss In Sartorial  Sense At-least….

Hugo Boss … his suits had a smart cut almost like a uniform.

The 4.3 € Billion company from Germany has two brands… Boss and Hugo…

They have done it all made uniforms for the Nazi party, the German Army and then the SS - Schutzstaffel too. 

After the second world war they made uniforms for the French Army, Red- Cross, Railroads, Post- Offices and the Police.

No wonder the lines were so well defined, a suit that had genetics deep into uniforms…

My association with brand started with gazing at the suits apparel and accessories at Airports… one of my bosses (Sanjay Khanna) had a Hugo Boss suit… again it was sharp..and ofcourse he is too.

My perceptive daughter may have seen me gazing at the show windows at the airports as child a few times, … When she came of age and went to Cambridge one Summer… what do you think she got me.. A Boss Sweater Jacket and the again with her Masters at America University…at Washington DC another exquisite Polo T-shirt as gifts.

By now I was hooked and Dabbled with the brand myself…yes brands are friends, brands with a strong story and brands with a legacy, good or bad make these brands intriguing and interesting…

I may not be a Boss in real life all the time…. but Sartorially yes I can be the Boss all the time and forever.

Soft Serves - Hard Battles

 Soft Serve- Loss Leader 

Mc Donald’s Soft Serve Cone which old timers call Softy… began the surge of the loss leader strategy… 

A soft serve vanilla cone at ₹ 14 and dipped in chocolate at ₹ 21 or so then, which is now ₹ 28 and ₹41 respectively .

The objective was to clearly increase footfalls and then enhance and gradually extend the spend and then finally expect a loyal Customer.

Let’s take a lower middle class or middle class family of four goes today and orders 4 vanilla soft serve cones at ₹112 nearly the price of one decent branded ice cream on a cart. Here the family gets, air conditioning, a table to sit and enjoy the ice cream, clean toilets, pleasant staff and perhaps a photo opportunity with good old Ronald. All for ₹ 112… a premium or even a luxury experience for some…

The story progresses, Junior now eyes the Happy Meal and Sister would want a aloo tikki burger, tired Mom wants a wrap and the hard working Dad would like a Chicken Mc Grill. They postpone it for a  later trip.

However, the seed is planted… when they have the next celebratory surprise surplus they will be back . Each demanding their identified targets. So that’s how it works. We all know that and knew that.

So what’s new…

There is a twist in the tale there is sampling to the loss leader, at ₹10 the small guy you see in the picture… that’s him at ten bucks in a waffle cone yes waffle cone and in three flavors… vanilla chocolate and mango… brilliant… this to induce trial to a trial …

I have always felt and believed in a pricing strategy based on a experience  and slowly inviting engaging and enticing the customers… some examples from my Corporate Life

Invitation Pricing in newspapers as in cover price and Ad rates… Times of India Group

Discovery Channel…, and Star TV free…priced low and the popular pricing for Cable Subscription… and then a tsunami of viewership.

A low hurdle and barrier to Hotels and their Room Tariffs and then extending the experience for the leisure travelers and superlative service for the Corporate travellers and building the brand … I am Lalit (I am the Brand)

Askme.com the 4 th largest e commerce provider exceedingly successful subsequently lost the race as the ecommerce world is “Surviival of the richest and not the fittest”  I could wite another book on that.

With Celebrity Cruises a luxury brand of Royal Caribbean cruises we made it and positioned it as an affordable luxury … experience targeted the mass affluent in India…

So the lesson from a humble Soft Serve triggered and re triggered this post and  a walk down my Corporate Strategy Journey..

Meanwhile both the Soft Serves were extremely enjoyable… Enjoy the Post and the Ice Cream..

Benne - Busted Today

 Benne - The Dosa Story 

I grew up in South India, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and then Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. Although a Punjabi born and bred, I grew up with Telugu and Tamil sensibility. So I called myself a Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing (pun intended).

I visited Karnataka as a Child, was acquainted with Udupi style food but missed the Benne bus…

Launching the Mint newspaper … I was stationed at Church Street… Life there is another story for another time , and another post…lets stick to Dosas..and the Dosa story 

I was exposed more to Bangalore cuisine by Rajesh Kannan and gang…among a million places we visited MTR was bowled over till I went with the family to Vidhyarthi a legend and sorcery of dosa making.

Slowly my Dosa footprint got bigger and stronger.

All over India, on my travels with a companion and partner in crime or without I seeked the thick Bangalore Dosa and the Workshop Idly ..

With a million misses I would find one hit. Later in my hometown Delhi before the surge of South Indian restaurants I somehow found solace at Udupi at ITO, at the Karnataka Bhawan at Motibagh and then ofcourse Many times at Carnatic Cafe.. often called Benne Dosa, Davangere Dosa, Bombat , Malleshwaram again some hits and misses…

Then came the third Wave.. Amudam, Sangeetha, A 2 B, Gokulam, Rediscovered Chidambram so the Sunday morning for 30 odd weeks was at South Indian Tiffin…place

Then about 8 weeks ago Benne opened in my neighborhood.. lines as long as 100-200 people.. on a Sunday, every Sunday… we laughed at the waiting patrons we we drove past , sometimes taking a picture and saying Bhandara or Langar.. but deep down I wanted a piece of the pie.. sorry dosa..

So there was breakfast life which was BB and AB  (Before Benne and After Benne at the Delhi South Indian breakfast scene) quite similar to BC and AD in History Chronology 

Sagar, Naivedhyam, Dosa & Coffee albeit strong Chains were losing their prominence and mindspace with me slowly 

And then the night will fall bringing peace to all … I called Benne and figured there low turnout periods… I somehow extracted it from them by charming them and disarming them..( you can do the same to know the secret from me).

Finally, this morning after the prayers at the  Gurudwara..we landed up there .. walked in like a breeze ordered on the video wall quite like Costco food wall , well mannered staff, unassuming, polite and almost charming, despite their huge success and recent crowds and incessant performance…

The food very nice, crisp benne dosa, Podi workshop idli and Bunz.. from Mangalore and Konkani breakfast ( which I was inspired to have at Cafe Bhosle- Porvorim Goa - our second home..though the original recommendation of  Sachin Tendulkar was Cafe Tato also in Goa)

The Bunz was good …here too..

Would we again absolutely.. not only for the experience the food and the staff but also need to experience more of their repertoire…

Cheers to Benne Bunz and Bullets..