Aamir Khan, Mr. perfectionist does it again as 60 year old Sardar Ji !!

Aamir Khan is roped in as ambassador by Tata Sky and he has given remarkable mileage to Tata Sky. I hope all of us would unanimously agree to the fact that Ads of Tata Sky are outstanding. This time Aamir has don the attire of 60 year old Sardar ji in a new ad of Tata Sky which is yet to release.

Take a look and decide!!

Be an Informed Voter !!

Today was a high action packed drama day in politics. By now, half the nation is aware of Jarnail Singh who threw shoe at home minister P Chidambaram. I do not want to comment on his personal views and reason for throwing shoe at home minister but it is quite embarrassing for the entire country. My personal views are that the means of expressing the anger was wrong but the time has come when we need to come ahead and vote corrupted politicians out of the system be it Jagdish Tytler or any XYZ. This event had pretty good impact on congress and they have decided to reconsider their decision to issue ticket to Jagdish Tytler who is in controversy for the 1984 riots.

I feel ashamed in writing that we vote people like Dharmendra, Govinda and many more who are politicians just for the sake of it. Attendance of both these candidates is 22% and 12% respectively in parliament. On what basis are we voting these candidates and many more whose names could not be produced as the list is endless. I would love to restrain from voting than to vote for candidate who is my representative and is not interested in the affairs of parliament. The irony is that most of the voters in India are not aware of the credentials of the candidate for whom they are voting. Google has done a wonderful job by creating a tool which gives minute detail about each and every consistency along with comparison between 2004 and 2008 on various parameters like - Literacy Ratio, Poverty Ratio, Crime, Sex Ratio, and Household Ratio. To top it all, it also gives the name of last MP along with his education Qualification, Asset, liability and criminal record. The website is a must visit for every voter. I urge every voter to do pay visit to this website and do vote only after knowing the candidate and status of his/ her consistency in 2008 vis a vis year 2004.

Let me tell you that Varun Gandhi, Mamta Banerjee and Rahul Gandhi (posed as future PM of India) have all faked their qualification while filing for elections. It is really shameful act for India that young politicians who should be example for generations to come are indulging in such cheap activities. Making fake promises, distributing currency notes for votes, buying MPs and now faking degrees - there is no end to it.

I reiterate that there is no end to cheap politics and the only way to end this is vote the least corrupted among all and in order to make it happen we can not afford to be an uninformed voter. Some of the websites which may be helpful in educating voters are listed below. I urge each one of us to spare few minutes to know the person and his / her efforts before voting for him.

Civil Society: Voter Registration

Jaago Re (Marketing Campaign by Tata Tea)
Bangalore Voter ID
Vote India

Civil Society: Transparency

Public Interest Foundation
Smart Vote (Bangalore)
Mumbai Votes
Future CM (AP)

Civil Society: Ideation/ Collective Action

Change India
India Banao
Praja

Happy informed Voting!!

Obama takes a U turn and praises India at G 20 Summit !!

Thomas Freidman, author of the famous book, 'The world is flat', once said -

"When we were young kids growing up in America, we were told to eat our vegetables at dinner and not leave them. Mothers said, 'think of the starving children in India and finish the dinner.' And now I tell my children: 'Finish your maths homework. Think of the children in India who would make you starve, if you don't.'"

Now it was turn of most powerful man in the world who finally acknowledged the potential of India and soon after meeting Mr. Singh at G 20 Summit issued a surprising statement. The statement reminded me of Mr. Bush who had very friendly relationship with Mr. Singh.

"First of all I should say that your Prime Minister is a wonderful man. He is wise and decent man. He (Singh) has been doing a wonderful job in guiding India even prior to being the Prime Minister along the path of extraordinary economic growth. That is a marvel, I think, for all of the world,"

All through his campaign before being elected as president, Obama had been against the outsourcing industry which meant loss of Job for his own men and more jobs for Indians. He is a smart man and also knows the fact that India is quite competitive when it comes to cost and has publicly warned American people to cut cost and expenditure to compete with India and China. When statements like this come from the most powerful economy in the world, there is no question as to why we should have doubt in our potential. We are a billion people nation and have all the potential to keep growing even in hardest of times which living generation has seen so far. The above remarks made by President Obama shows that he is also keen on a fruitful relationship with India be it for cheaper outsourcing Industry which is the backbone of US or to combat terrorism in Pakistan which is a major threat to US economy.

Proud to be an Indian !!

I just could not resist myself from sharing this video with all of you. For those who are looking for product knowledge in the Ad, this is not the right one. Just an attempt towards brand building. Three cheers to India and Airtel for making such Ad.

Disclaimer:Please don't look for business dynamics in this Ad.

Youngest nation ruled by oldest parliamentarians

How many politicians can call a spade as spade in public? Pretty few and Omar Abdullah is one. His famous nuclear deal speech where he supported UPA for the nuclear deal also making it clear that he is not aspiring to be part of UPA in future speaks it all. I know it is very difficult to make every one happy and when the issue is Kashmir and mixed population of Hindu and Kashmiri in J & K, it is all the more difficult from being called as ' Biased Politician'. But I personally feel that Omar Abdullah, the recent CM of J & K who also happens to be the youngest CM of Kashmir has the vigor and fire in him to bring back Kashmir on track.

I feel very ashamed to write that the quality and integrity of politicians is degrading day by day. We have resorted to the best possible form of murkier politics from brining crores of currency notes in the parliament to distributing currency notes to the voters.(Yes, I am referring to Jaswant Singh, former Finance Minister of India). I do not understand the reason as to - why there is no retirement age for politicians? Why a young nation like India is having parliamentarians who are in the age of 50-60? Why there is no entrance test like IIT, IIM, IAS to enter into politics? Is it so bad that none of the youngsters aspire to be politicians and hold the nerves of our nation in their hand with vision of making it one of the most powerful nation in the world ? Recently, the trend has taken a U turn and many new, young faces have joined politics like Sachin Pilot, Rahul Gandhi, Varun Gandhi, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Naveen Jindal but surprisingly their attendance in the affairs of the Parliament is poorest among all.

While these questions keep coming to my mind again and again, the future of India is left in the lurch so far we continue to be ruled by politicians like - Mayawati, Mulayam Singh,Lalu Yadav,Amar Singh,Arjun Singh, Sharad Pawar, Jaswant Singh (The latest one to join the list) and the list is endless.

It would be unfair to rate any politician as the most honest one in the gang without actually following him/her closely but at least Omar had the courage to speak his heart in the parliament and also apologize for supporting BJP after Gujarat riots. I personally feel that this (see the video below) is one of the best speeches in the recent past in Indian Parliament which is also made mockery ground by politicians like Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Slumdog Millionaire - Poverty Porn !!

Slumdog Millionaire may have won Oscars for India but the image of India which this movie has projected is not the image of real India. Is India all about slums, beggars and poverty? I am not denying that India is home to biggest slum in Asia but projecting one side of the coin and getting award for the same is not praise worthy. There are people around the world who had never heard about India and now they know India as – ‘home to slum dwellers’, ‘poor and corrupt nation’ only because the movie has won Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire. We have produced movies like Lagaan which spoke about the evils of British Raj but since it spoke about deeds of ‘Gora log’, we missed our chance at Oscars and when one of the ‘Gora’ produced ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ , a biased movie which spoke only about poverty, child molestation and beggary in India, they went all ga ga at Oscars.

Every Tom, Dick and Harry in India is praising this movie as it has won Oscars. Let us sincerely ask our conscience, is the movie worth it? Is this movie depicting true picture of India? How many of us would have bothered to watch the movie and praise it had it not won Oscars? I guess there is hardly anyone or else movies like ‘Wednesday’ and ‘Mumbai meri Jaan’ which is based on Mumbai bomb blast would have been at the top of chart in rating.

Well! My personal opinion is that the movie is an exaggeration and I would rate it as porn – ‘POVERTY PORN’.

I am switching off lights to support Earth Hour !! what about you ??

Who's who of corporate world from Infosys, Google, ITC to Stan C is supporting this event.

I urge each one of you to support this cause to save earth from global warming.

The world has done it and know it is turn of India. SO, let's join hands to support the event.

Earth Hour 2009, Saturday 28 March, 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM. For more information, please log on to www.earthhour.in

Have a look at the video which says all about the contribution of World.

When I look back at my hostel life !!

Life then !!

There is so much to say about the best days of life that it is difficult to put it on a piece of paper.There is hell and heaven difference between life 5 years ago and life now. Life was then so carefree with no responsibility at all and so full of fun that I go on record to say that those were and will always be the best days of my life. But this is how life is meant to be...

College is replaced by Office and tuitions by training

Jeans and Tee by Cufflinks, neck tie and formal shirts

Tiny pocket money changed to huge monthly paychecks

Few local denim jeans changed to new branded wardrobe

Single plate of samosa changed to a full Pizza or burger

Small tea shop changed to cafe coffee day

Limited prepaid card changed to postpaid package

Mobile handset to blackberry

College note book changed to Laptop

and Report Card to Appraisal and PMS .

Life now and Life then!!

Life meant: one home, one road, for all friends, 150 C R Avenue(my hostel)
Life meant: CA, St. Xaviers College and article ship
Life meant: Roaming in corridor till 3 in the morning & struggling to attend college at 6
Life meant: Bunking college, Saturday test and to office at 10 AM
Life meant: Tuitions, CA Sunday test, and 3 months serious study for CA Exams
Life meant: One day leave for Bcom Exams, 1 night, 1 book and 18 duffers to read
Life meant: Late night parties @ Ajad Hind Dhaba,B’day parties @ Jakaria Street,hostel mess,

India hobby center late night party one night before Bcom Exams.
Life meant: Diwali in hostel (all thanks to CA Exams), New Year in hostel (CS exams)
Life meant: Countless parties at best restaurant in town, CA final Champagne party,
Life meant: Saraswati Puja, Freshers’ Welcome Day ,Annual Social Function & Ragging days
Life meant: 1St Floor Vs. Second floor cricket match / volley ball match and hungama
Life meant: Endless fight between 1st floor & Second Floor on trivial issues…

And now life means only one thing:
Old friends, separate cities, separate lives and endless effort to earn money.

- Amit Khandelia.

McDonald's don't sell hamburgers, they deal in real estate !!

Last time when I went to McDonald’s outlet in Delhi with my nephew (my sis’ elder son), I decided to irritate him a bit. I just love it when he is frustrated with my questions. He is all of 8, but just like any other kid, outspoken and naughty.

I wanted to give him a tough time and as we entered McDonald’s outlet, I told him that I am not going to buy him a cold drink if he is not able to answer my answer which obviously was to irritate him and he was definitely going to have the cold drinks irrespective of his answer. “So, Chummu (his nickname) tell me what do McDonald’s sell?”, the moment I asked this question, he frowned at me as if I am a fool or trying to make fun of him by asking this stupid question. He didn’t uttered anything for next two minutes and was double checking at the back of his mind whether the answer he is going to say is correct or not. I reiterated, “Chummu tell me what is the business of McDonald, what do they deal in?” The purpose of irritating him was seeing some accomplishment as I started smiling and he finally opened his mouth – “mamu don’t make fun of me! They sell burgers aur kya.” I knew this was coming and then started tweaking the question which was not his cup of tea.” Hey dude! I agree with you that they sell burgers but selling burgers is not their core business. I mean they don’t make enough money from selling burgers. So, what is it which fetches money to them?” The mercury was rising as he could not counter me and made a second guess that McDonald’s then must be making enough money from cold drinks.

On the face of it, Chummu is absolutely right that McDonald’s sell burgers and cold drinks and it is a common perception too. McDonald’s do sell burger but they don’t make enough money from selling burgers as they do from real estate business. Yes, this is what they do in most of the countries abroad. Close to 15% outlets are owned by McDonald and as per their business model which is completely different from other food chain models, they charge rent on the basis of sales. Apart from this, as in case of normal franchise business they also charge franchise fees and marketing fees.

The former CFO of McDonald's CFO, Harry J. Sonneborn is often quoted as having said -

"We are not basically in the food business. We are in the real estate business."

"We are in the real estate business. The only reason we sell hamburgers is because they are the greatest producer of revenue from which our tenants can pay us rent."

It is a common belief among masses that McDonald’s, the largest chain of fast food restaurants is a market leader in hamburgers which is true but actually it is a real estate power house. It is the largest commercial real estate landowner in the United States. McDonald's property portfolio was estimated to be valued around eight billion dollars, as of 2001. To explain it further, McDonald's makes money on real estate by buying and selling properties which are generally restaurant lots. On the one hand, it invests in hot locations while under performing locations are also sold out to balance the portfolio.

Well !! Chummu is too young to understand the business model of McDonald’s and he finally had his share of cold drinks but next time you don’t lose on yours if someone asks you – What is the business of McDonald’s ?

India TV - Laughter @ its best !!

First of all, wishing all of you a very happy and colourful Holi !!

I make it a point to watch India TV everyday for about fifteen minutes to half an hour. Like the usual viewers of India TV, I am not looking for current news on this so called news channel but the main idea is to relax a bit after hectic travelling and work throughout the day. Trust me, if you watch it with your friends, the daily prime time dose of India TV is good enough to ease the tension. Ayush (my room mate) and myself try so hard to avoid the crap of this news channel but to be very honest, somehow both of us are looking forward to our daily dose of 15 minutes. So far as India TV is concerned, it plays its role to the best by making a great story everyday which has nothing to do with the current events.

On a serious note, India TV is a shame on all the news Channel and Indian media. They have to talk about all the crap in the world and every week they decide on the date when the entire world will perish (Sarvanaash and Parlay) but unfortunately, they day never comes and they keep on revising the date. Lately, Pakistan is their prime time topic and they way they make the headlines is really funny - 'Pakistan jhoota hai...Jardari miya kaha jaoge bach je ab...'. Some of the best one which I remeber are - 'Paijama 2 inch neech aur jaan gayi' - This is with respect to some fatwa in Taliban. 'Truck dhabe mein ghusa, billi (Cat) ki poonch baddi ho gayi, nag aur naagin ki prem kahani, Swarg jaane ka raashta (This is another favorite of India TV), Pataal ka raashta and the list is endless.

Everything which they show on their channel is undoubtedbly the BREAKING NEWS irrespective of the fact that whatever they show has no co-relation with other sensible news channel and current event of the country. Earlier I used to be very worried at the irresponsibility of media in our country but since news channel like India TV does not deserve to be in media league there is no point being worried and after all who cares about the image of country, it is TRP that matters for this absolutely irresponsible news channel with Zero news.

Check out some of the news of India TV and decide :

Airtel's new Ad - A boy and toy Phone !!

First of all, sorry for completely perishing from the world of blog for a good long time. All thanks to Ekta, (I hope she is reading this) whose blogs made me realise that there is something called as 'blogging' which used to be my favorite time pass.

Have you seen the new ad of Adirtel. Don't tell me you haven't seen it yet. If you watch cricket or any other sports, you will definitely get to see Airtel ads in break. If you don't see sports then you must definitely be watching reality shows..nah..not seen it yet...cos there are so many of them that you are confused which one I am talking about. Let me give a clue, "Papa aap dilli gaye mummy ne mujhe daanta..aap bhi mummy ko daantna"..."papa ka phone aaya tha na "...Now am sure all the housewives and 'moms to be' have by hearted this advetisement..Ya that is how it is..



Last week I happened to be at my mamu's place in surat when I was watching idiot box and suddenly this ad flashed..Guess what !! My maami ji came running from the kitchen with a big smile on her face. I could not stop myself from saying - "Mr. Sunil Mittal (Chariman & MD, Bharti Airtel) hats off to you! Every penny you spend on Ads is worth it." After the Ad, She went on praising it endlessly...'Bhaiya !! Jab bhi ye ad aata hai, mein kitchen se daud kar aati hun isse dekhne ke liye..mast ad banaya hai.' What more can an Ad agency expect from its commercials. This is a live experience of consumer's response to Airtel's new Ad. Full marks to the Ad agency and also to Airtel marketing team!!

What is so unique that Airtel's Ad reaches to the masses so easily? They never talk about the product and tariffs in their commercials but still it connects so well with the viewers. Even in this Ad, they have not talked about their product or brand. They are able to connect so well because they know the psyche and pulse of Indian consumers. It blends so well with the emotions of the customer that they don't need any big bang celebrity or grappling tariff to reach to the masses.

Taking a break as Sachin is playing at 150 not out and he is hitting boundaries ball after ball !!