The Enigma called Vijay Mallya

Vijay Mallya. Playboy. Owner of a struggling airline. Reckless spender on women, IPL teams and F1 teams. King of Good Times. So many epithets we hear about him. The latest one doing the rounds is how he is a failure as a businessman. Well I am not here to praise him. I am myself puzzled by some of his actions. But I have a theory-which tells me Vijay Mallya isnt as nuts as people think him to be.

First we need to understand what his core competency is. He was, and is, a liquour baron. Selling alcohol is his business. But Indian alcohol market is severely villified. Liquour companies cannot run advertisements. They cannot do marketing. So what does Mallya do in such circumstances? He turns to innovative ways. Creates Brand Mallya- The king of good times. Creates kingfisher calender. Creates an airline and names it after his bestselling beer brand. Even the logo of Kingfisher beer and the airline are the same. Creates buzz that he has personally selected the airhostesses. Gives the passengers the best amenities he could. Gives the passengers a very good time( incidentally, everyone unanimously agrees that kingfisher airlines gives the best facilities). All this is to build the kingfisher brand. Kingfisher airlines is not an airline only,it is the face of the Kingfisher brand, the mascot. And as such we cannot look at Kingfisher in isolation from the spirits division. So what kingfisher is undergoing losses? This loss is nothing but advertising/marketing expense. The money he saves in UB group coz of advertising, he is spending on kingfisher airlines.

Is it really a very costly way of advertising? I did a comparision of marketing/advertising spend of top 4 liquour companies of the world-Anheur Busch, Diageo, Heineken and UB. Anheur Busch spends around 850 m annually on marketing alone. Diageo spends 310 m. Heineken spends between 300-350 m. Now if we translate the losses of kingfisher, 1750 crores annual loss(approx) is 350 m dollars. Pretty decent advertising expense for a no 2 company in the world,isnt it?

Of course he isnt tht smart either. As I said, he is an enigma. There are some things I still cant understand. Why did he buy Air Deccan when kingfisher would have been sufficient for marketing? Why did he run after market share? Did his ego get the better of him and he thought of becoming an airline baron too? I dont know, it doesnt make sense, but I cant believe he can be so smart and yet so stupid.

But at least I understand now why he is so desperate to save the airline, forgetting the 'sunk cost' principle. Coz Kingfisher Airlines is essential to the existense of Brand Mallya and his beer. So dont blame Mallya. If u want to blame, blame the government which doesnt allow the liquour companies a level playing field.Blame it on the government which doesnt allow the airline industry to be competitive. Blame it on the tax policies. Vijay Mallya just exposed how much the airline sector is suffering from the govt missteps; he should have highlighted the plight of the liquour industry as well

Corruption and Anna Hazare Phenomenon

Two of Aamir Khan's biggest movies are Rang de Basanti and Ghajini. In one movie, DJ has epiphany, shoots the defence minister and stirs the country. In the other movie, he has a short term memory loss every 15 minutes or so, and after that he has to start all over again. Imagine what would happen if a movie was made that was the almagamation of both these movies. Such a movie would have Aamir having epithany due to a crisis, the epiphany will last 15 minutes, and then he will have amnesia and he will have to start the process all over again. Sounds funny? Well, thats what the Indian society of 21st century is.

What I am referring to is the latest issue of Ana Hazare undergoing a fast unto death over the issue of Lokpal bill. While I have no doubt whatsoever over his credibility, and while I can understand his anguish over the blight of corruption thats making headlines, to the growing coterie around him, I would say "Whoa! Hold on, dudes and dudettes!! All the status messages you post on facebook regarding being with Hazare, all the pics you post on fb showing you holding candles, look great..but tell me honestly, what do u precisely hope to achieve by burning precious petrochemical candles and polluting the atmosphere? Do you really know what you are doing? Or are you doing this coz its cool to do so, coz u get cool catchy lines to put on facebook, cool pics to share and cool groups to join?

Am I ranting? Have gone mad, you might think. Then answer a few questions. What is the history of the Lokpal bill? How many clauses are there in the lokpal bill?What are the contentious clauses of the Lokpal bill and why is Anna Hazare fighting? Have you heard the Nira Radia tapes?If no, then why are you fighting a battle that you dont have even done any homework on? I would say you are like the girl on Roadies who wanted to join NASA but didnt even know the full form of NASA!(P.S. I dont know properly all these either, but since I am not holding candles I guess I can safely ask the candle holders :P)

You are fighting for corruption, you would say. U are showing your anger at the 2G scam, the CWG scam, the nira radia scam, and what not. But tell me friends, who elected the government? Who voted the current government to power? All these leaders-Sharad Pawar, A raja, Suresh Kalmadi-they are not first time MPs. They are sitting MPs-who have been reelected again and again. Karunanidhi has been CM for so many times. In 1996, there were a string of scandals. Hawala scam, Urea scam, Jayalalitha colour Tv scam and what not. Yet how many people have been punished? We still reelect Jayalalitha and will probably make her CM this time again,people still root for the free colour TVs, sarees and free rice that DMK and AIADMK are doling out. In 2008, Kasab and co attacked India. It jolted the public morale. Candles were lit, people agitated. Vilasrao Deshmukh was removed from power. The govt was castigated for the poor national security. Yet what happened in 2009? We elected the same Congress govt at the centre, the same congress govt at Maharashtra and we have all but forgotten about the Kasab tragedy. Pakistani terrorists still roam scot free, we invite pakistan for peace talks during the world cup and establish a new series of bonhomie, Kasab is still alive, we still havent got David coleman Headley and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus of Mumbai( or for that matter any important building of India) is still under threat. Our lives are as insecure as it was 3 years ago. Did your candles then have any effect? If not, why are you lighting candles now? One of the fundamental rules of MBA is that the company is accountable to the stakeholders. 2G scam has come and gone, Nira Radia tapes have surfaced, yet how much have the stock prices of ADAG group or Tata fallen? If our own shareholders dont want to hold the business leaders accountable, then why are we engaging in the sham of lighting candles?

Who is to blame for all these? Nobody in fact;its our attitude, our lack of identity, purpose and our lack of vision that is to blame.If India is under such a condition it is because you are myopic. What is India's identity? And by identity I dont mean cultural identity. I mean professtional identity. British are stoic. Americans are hardworking and innovative, yet individualistic and greedy. Italians are passionate and creative. What are we? In fact we cant find an epithet that describes us other than we are a nation of english speaking multicultural people. Thats not an epithet. We dont have an epithet because we never had time to have one. Remember one thing: The catharsis of a society is a slow process that takes its own sweet time, and it is absolutely imperative that we try to give it that sweet time that it demands. You damage the society if you try to slow it; or worse still, when you try to speed it up. Thats why the great revolutions of the past failed-whether it be french revolution or the Russian revolution, because they tried to bring too much change in too little time, leaving the people disoriented, confused, without any guidance, without any direction where to go, and most importantly, without an identity. That chaos became the breeding ground for corrupt, despotic rulers who decayed the society further. On the other hand, if countries like England and USA survived this chaos and have stable society and stable identity today that is because they took their own sweet time to come of age; they had to struggle, suffer from civil wars and all that moulded the society further. I am giving this example because we in India are slowly falling into the same trap of revolution; we are being consumed by out impatience instead of bringing the required catharsis. We arent giving ourselves time to think about who we are, what we want, what is our identity and most importantly how confused we are. We want to be prosperous like americans or Japanese; yet americans and Japanese are loyal to their jobs,want to earn their own money, frown upon freebies and behave as responsible shareholders. Thats in tune with their identity that has got ingrained in their DNA, an identity that gradually set in, and they try to behave according to their identity.They have a purpose that conforms their identity.We on the other hand, switch jobs every year or two, gladly accept freebies when DMK or AIADMK dole them out, are only interested in the dividends that companies dole out rather than asking our business leaders blunt questions about the 2G scam, and when it pinches us when these scams occur, we come out holding candles, yet forgetting everything 2 months later, going back to earning our money mindlessly, without caring about this country's future or the political system,only busy with trying to be like America or japan as soon as possible by hook or by crook. Face it; we are a nation of selfish individuals, only interested in our own self gratification, with no sense of responsibility for our society. In other words-"the chalta hai attitude".

Is this bad? After all we have always been poor;whats wrong if we try to be prosperous as fast as possible? No issue at all; but remember the dialogue of Rang De Basanti" ye neta log maa k pet se corruption seekh k nahi aaye hain. Hum hi ne inhe chuna hai. Agar badalna hai khud ko badalna hoga". We have to remember that having our own national identity and all round development, both of our own personality and our society, is as important as our endeavours to grow rich. If you want to root out the problems that the country is facing today-be it corruption or terrorism, you will embark on the first very important step of catharsis if you as yourself"what is your role in this?" and try to weed it out. Remember, charity begins at home. And secondly, evolution takes time, dont try to speed it up by embarking on revolutions. At least learn from history's mistakes regarding revolutions. More than money, identity, vision and purpose are important; its high time we spared the atmosphere of candlesmoke and gave some thought on how to build them.

The Bucket List

May 2009. The month my CAT journey came to an end. With all the elation, the exhilharation and the feeling of being over the moon, came the trepidation too: will I get a finance job?Will I get an I-bank job? So out of anxiety I shot off a scrap to a schoolday friend of mine. He was working at ATKearney after passing out of IIM Calcutta; Needless to say, he is one of the most brilliant people I have ever seen. I asked him if I would be able to get a finance job of my liking. He asked me a very simple question: Is finance what I really want to do?

Today, after three terms @ IIM, I realise the importance of his words: Is this what I really want to do? Forget marketing, finance, strategy, operations, what exactly do I want to achieve? Or for that matter, what exactly does anyone want to achieve?I will get a good job. Then what? I will rise in the ranks. Then what? I will become a CEO or open my own firm and have my own merc, condo in Dubai and farmhouse at Lonavala. But then what? Is this really an end? Is this what will give worth to life? To have millions in my bank account yet have a life full of tension and stress, to have a condo but away from the love of my wife and children, to have a indoor heated swimming pool yet not able to swim in it as your life has been ravaged by hypertension?

Trust me, I am not saying that being a manager is not worth it.A manager, an entrepreneur has got a very important role to play in the society. But how many graduates from B-school actually follow their heart? How many MBA graduates(including IIM graduates) actually know what they want to do in life? Ask them and you would see that 90% of them want to join I-bank, diligently give CFA yet enrol for Marketing research workshops all the same. People here run after brands, after packages, after gilded names like investment banker or consultant, but for the same people I would ask one question: Would they have joined airtel in 2000? Or Reliance in the 70s? Today these are big names, but no one would have thought of joining them when they were not so big, when they were struggling. So the truth is, we run after names. We cant see beyond the gilded names because we are too busy fulfilling someone else's dream. Not ours.Ask any guy what field he is interested in and he will reply-lets see. Lets see at the age of 28??I mean, at what age then will your goals should become clear? When you have crossed 35 and look back with regret at the opportunities that you have missed?

Well, I am not saying that people are to blame. After all, they were stuck in jobs that they hated, they wanted to break the glass ceiling, they wanted to add extra dimension to their careers, they wanted higher money, more power-the reasons for doing MBA are endless. But to achieve these aims they compromise with so many things that they forget that what they are compromising are the very things that hold the key to their goals.They compromise with their freedom, with their free thinking, and they compromise to such an extent that they forget that they are mature adults who had been working as senior engineers, scientists and project managers even before they came here. They not only leave their identity behind but also forget that they ever had an identity. Amidst all this confusion they become scared, insecure about their future, start to behave as puppets of the system and they forget that more than the MBA system its their past, its what they are, its their abilities, their potential, their interests, hopes, aspirations, dreams, ideals, principles, their independence that determines their future.

We all have role models.We idolise Bill gates, Steve Jobs, Dhirubhai Ambani and the like. They had many great qualities: they were visionaries, immensely talented, but more than that they were free, independent minds: No system shackled them, they knew what they wanted from life, and they were never afraid to go for what they wanted in life. When we were kids we all had wishes.Some dreamy, some highly kiddish. I call that wish list " the bucket list". As we grew up we started modifying our wish lists for various reasons, appending them, deleting them, but how many of the wishes have we actually fulfilled in our lives?How many of such wishes do we ever hope to fulfill in our life? Should we go on editing the list as we go on compromising that we forget that list if the true mirror of what we actually are, what we can, and should be and try to live a life of mediocrity? And we call a life where we cannot fulfill the wishes dear to our heart, that we so badly wanted to do, a happy life?

Compromising ensures mediocrity:in the least case it makes you realise u r not what you are. Steve jobs once said: At the end of the day, when I look in the mirror i reflect on my day:Was it spent the way I wanted it to be? If the answer is no, then I realise that something must be done to change it. We need to see ourselves in such mirror also; coz all this forgetting and compromising is going to lead us to such a stage in our life where we look back and realise that we have not even been able to achieve what we wanted to do, what our passions were, our true interests were: The regret that accompanies it, trust me, is unbearable.Being yourself, following your dreams is the surefire way to success. Working to fulfil someone else's dream whether in an I-bank or Mckinsey isnt success; coz its not your dream.

So its high time we retrieved our bucket list and went through it; coz it will awaken our true self, and give us our self belief back.More importantly, the bucket list will help us live the life we always wanted to have, and do the things that we really want to do. Thats the main course of life; MBA, degrees, jobs, mercedes, condos are mere salad dressings.

I was living in bliss
Sans any care;
Enjoying my time in peace
Being unaware
That a different stage,a different act
Was I being cast;
A stage that brimmed,in fact
with ironical contrast.
For as I passed by 'the forbidden zone'
I let out a startled gasp;
And stood there,frozen to stone
At the sight of an asp.
Sleek and black with a malicious glint
He looked at me with a deadly stare;
With eyes that shone like flint
Ready,at a strike,to spit fire.
"Son of Adam"said the snake
Pointing with his head at the golden apple
"Why dont you heed me,and partake
This fat,ripe,juicy apple?"
I followed his stare and looked at the fruit
Radiant and golden in the morning sun;
Little aware that this was to be the root
Of all my troubles in the long run.
I told the asp"Sir,I am sorry
But God has warned me not to do so,
I cannot invite a life of suffering and misery
By partaking the fruit,and breaking God's law"
"Oh son"said the asp"Looking at thee
My heart gets filled with shame
For,like a fool,you are spurning the key
To the hall of power and fame.
This will transfer you to a new paradise
Where your path will be paved with gold.
So fear not,and take my advice
And your freedom will increase manifold.
God's advice is like useless sermon
Easy to hear,but hard to bear
The wise know this,so they worship mammon*
Grabbing every opportunity as it comes near.
This apple will show you a vision-
Show your goal,show your essence
Instill in your soul the light of reason
And give your life a newfound credence."
Moved by the force of snake's logic
Under the influence of his spell
I ate the fruit;the effect was tragic
For I found myself writhing in hell.
There are no castles of gold,no rivers of wine
No fame or power or freedom in sight
Now I am in chains,only free to whine
and suffer in this long dark night.
I committed the sin of Adam,
Sold my soul consumed by greed,
Thrust my life into suffering and bedlam
With no hope visible in my hour of need.


*Mammon-God of money in European mythology

RANG DE BASANTI

I saw Rang De Basanti for the third time today.Words fail me to describe this movie.For the first time in so many years I saw such a sensible,soul-stirring Bollywood film.I am not here to give a review of the movie:the magic can only be experienced if seen by yourself.Rather,I would like to describe a particular scene:

At a scene where everybody is blaming India's ills one of the actors(who plays an air force pilot)gives a statement:If you are so fed-up with the ills that India is facing why not take steps yourself for change?"Ghar ki safai mein haath gande kaun kare?"which means"who wants to dirty his hand cleaning his own home?"The actor exhorts to clanse the maledictions by taking that extra step forward.He asks us to join politics,police and civil services instead of giving commentary standing at a distance.

Here I would like to raise a few questions:

1.How many people in India know about its own glorious history?How many people(before seeing Rang-De-Basanti and Bhagat Singh)actually knew about Kakori conspiracy?How many people know the details of the Indian national movement?

2.A few days back,a friend of mine asked me who my role model was.I said Mahatma Gandhi.He asked me why?I said he was the first person who actually mobilised the 30 crore population of India to fight against the British rule.Then he started critisizing Gandhi.He said-Gandhi was a man whom power had corrupted at the end.He was the one who created the partition,because he didnt want Jinnah ruling over India.
I didnt argue with him,for I knew he wouldnt understand.how was I to make him understand that he was the only man who opposed the partition of India tooth and nail?How was I to make them understand that he actually wanted Jinnah to rule over India as a Solomonic judgement.But it is the irony of the youth.We would rather believe the bigoted views from somebody else than take the pain of verifying.We would rather remember what Harry Potter did than the very simple ideologies of those freedom fighters so that we could see this free India.In 2002 Outlook did a survey across Indian colleges.The results were shocking.There are people studying in colleges who dont know who Mahatma Gandhi is!!!

3.A few years back a teacher of mine was telling us how western culture has infiltrated our culture and what we should do to prevent it.At that point I asked him-Indian culture has always been one of unity in diversity.It has always imbibed ideologies from cultures all over the world over centuries.So if India is embracing and imbibing western culture now what is the harm?
He gave a wonderful answer.He said-yes,you are right that India should imbibe western culture.But that doesnt mean that we should forget our own culture,the very foundation stoneson which our lives are built!But sadly thats what is happening in India.patriotism is dying because it is being considered uncool.We think twice before standing up to attention when national anthem is being played.We dont forget to wish our friends on valentine's day,but we definitely think twice before wishing our friends happy independence day.While we are having discussions with our friends,if the discussion tends to the problems facing our country,people roll their eyes and either ask us to shut up directly or politely say "can we discuss something else?"But when it comes to discuss love or marriage,people are more than happy to discuss this issue as long as they can.NATIONALISM HAS BECOME BORING-and we actually fear it coz we value our self respect so much that we fear it getting eroded by worrying about the problems of India.

"I have always believed that there are two types of people in this world-
Men who go to their deaths screaming
Men who go to their deaths in silence

And then I met a third kind."

This opening dialogue of Rang-de-basanti explains the types of life we lead in this world:

The first kind are those who are a bane to the society-a scourge-representative of satan.their end is also terrible and they go to their deaths screaming.

The second kind are the common people-who just live their lives like every other day.They like lamenting about country and humanity's ills rather than taking steps to eradicate them.They worry abt the other aspects of life-they worry abt love,they worry abt who they are in love with they worry about marriage,they worry about earning a living rather than the facts that there is more to the essence of life than love or romance or career itself.

The third kind is the one who really are concerned about the humanity and are always striving to make the world a better place.They dont believe in rhetoric.They dont believe in lamenting:they rise to the occasion;they fight;they realise that they are meant for the other finer aspects of life;and they dis fighting,with their heads held high.

How long are we going to remain in the secondary category?
How long are we going to lead a life where at the end we realise that we have been nothing more than an animal??

"Ab bhi jiska khoon na khala khoon nahi vo paani hai
Jo desh ke kaam ne aaye vo bekar jawani hai"

So before lecturing on the fact the we should start cleansing our homes first,shouldnt we make it a point to cleanse ourselves first?We can never contribute to purging the evils facing our society and country unless we understand the very foundations that support the indian way of life.Therefore,before contemplating picking up arms and rushing off to kill the nearest minister available,start understanding the soul of India.

The lost key

My friend Pankaj and me were returning from class in the morning.I had borrowed a bicycle from my neighbour and he didnt have his,so naturally we were walking(the road towards our hostel is uphill and I dont have the strength to carry 2 persons on a bicycle-moreover I hate the exercise when a better option is available).I asked him why he didnt bring his bicycle.He replied that he had no idea where his bicycle was and worse,he had no idea who he had given the bicycle key to.When he reached the stand his frustration doubled;for though his bicycle was right in front of his eyes,he couldnt remember who he had given his keys to!!!

I felt sorry for him.I have known him for 3 years.He has come across to me as a very good and sweet guy.But he was in trouble many a times because of things like these.My develish mind told me that it was a perfect time to pull off a gag upon him.I told him that day that he ought to be more organised.I told him that it was ridiculous on his part to be sooo careless to even forget whom he gave his bicycle to.I told him,in no uncertain terms,that he had everything perfect,if he could be more careful and not so careless,then he will do excellent.In other words,I admonished him gently,while trying to be a goody-goody father figure.Who cares?

Guess where the keys were????

In my own trousers' pockets!!!

That day I learnt a vital lesson:Never ever try to gauge even the slightest weakness of a person,because you dont have the slightest idea how imperfect you are!!

Suppose you were a rat given the kamikaze task of belling a cat.How would you feel?I feel the same way coz I have got to bell a CAT too.No not a cat but CAT-common admission test for MBA programme-supposedly the toughest entrance test in the world.200,000 students give this test every year out of which only 1500 are selected-so it can be imagined how arduous a task is before me.So it will be quite some time before I resume blogging again.I will miss all of you here and hope you dont forget me either:D

Now before I log out,lemme give you something to think.Ever imagined a child of only 3 years running marathon?Well here he is,Buddhia-touted as the youngest marathon runner of India.Newspapers of my state are running front cover pictures of this child wonder.CHILD WONDER?Or blatant torture?What does this child know about marathon,or running?Is he really a child prodigy,or an innocent child being sent to his death?Can a child survive being made to run 60 kms continuously?What wud you write for him?Accolades at being a child prodigy,or epitaph of innocence?

I feel sorry for you,Budhia.:((