Vishy Anand, one of the best

# Vishy Anand is one of our greatest sportspersnos, ever... Not only for his achievements in the game, but for the person he is and the chess revolution he has brought about in India. Proud of Bharat's anmol Ratna

BMW X6 Gets cosmetic changes!

This is for my friends in Middle East ( originally, my blog was M E Car Blog !)

X5 is one of the most popular models in ME. Very aspirational too.

SO, when X6 was launched, it was received with a lot of reservation. The main barrier was the size & shape. We were too used to the compact & smaller X5. I always knew it was matter of time before it would gain acceptance in a market where 'big' vehicles are very popular in SUV category. To top it from BMW! ( I was not off the mark - it is selling well in ME)

The changes are more of cosmetic as per the report :

'The facelifted X6 gets a new kidney grille with a wider chrome frame and revised bars, repositioned fog lights, new Adaptive LED headlights and revised tail lamps. The bonnet and the rear has also been reworked for a more aggressive look.'

Courtesy: http://automiddleeast.com/2012/05/23/headline/facelifted-bmw-x6-arrives-in-the-middle-east/

GO Green in GCC

Came across this simple study of why we are not really 'GOing GREEN' !

http://www.kippreport.com/2012/05/unimpressed-exclusive-research-shows-why-residents-uae-and-saudi-arabia-dont-give-a-leafy-cabbage-about-going-green/comment-page-1/#comment-89637



It is all due to the low level of awareness.
Everyone cares...surely
Incentive helps, but that alone is not the reason.
While educational institutions, government agencies and other related agencies can play a big role, ultimately all those who believe in it should proactively practise it.

PS : I feel across G20 countries, some of the basic initiatives should be mandatory - for example, segregation of garbage & re-cycling.

For all the hue & cry on the rising petro prices in India, no one talks about improving public transport !!

A year to LIve - Book review

........'Each day, we hurry through our lunch breaks, skipping breakfast many times, sit through late evening overseas conference calls and yet rarely we seem to catch up.' Does this strike a chord ??


Is there a solution ? Do we have a choice ??!!


Stephen Levine, poet and teacher, posed a simple question: “If you had only a year to live what would you do differently?”


Here is what a reade has to say on the book:


"A Year to Live is the book to read if you don’t want to reach the end of your life with feelings of regret, failure, shame, or loneliness.”


This is a book about living, not dying.


http://www.livemint.com/2012/05/24213833/Opening-ourselves-to-our-fulle.html
All these blue lines are excerpts from the article - thought provoking, right ? Just go ahead & read the book... 

Ideally, I would have preferred to read the book, which I am anyway going to do immediately, and then share the book review. But, the topic is too compelling.. hence, this post.


I am in no way justifying the 'choice' I have made.... I don't need to :)
Though I have got an overwhelming 'endorsement' of my "brave decision" !( unsolicited!)


Happy Reading!!

Kolkotta

Yesterday, the news channels were prominently reporting CM Mamta Banerjee walking on Kolkotta roads to protest against the fuel price hike!


But late in the night, the cricket fans were on roads, celebrating KKR's win  !!


Which is real Kolkotta ?


'City of Joys' !

Dream Job

Reached Bangalore airport on time. It was not lunch-time yet. No books interested me. I wandered around.

South Indian coffee at Taste of India was not very 'south indian' ! A bottle of water, before coffee was more refreshing :)

Newspaper stand B-A-U ( business as usual !!)
Checked the week-end supplements. Times carried a feature on IPL-story (but on everything other than cricket !), Mint Lounge was routine, had seen DNA at hotel.

Picked up wellness section of  Deccan Herald, LIVING :
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/252164/youre-doing-what.html

For all, who are 'suffering' at work, this may be interesting read.
(And there are so many in that category!)

Check out & ensure action !

Ertiga

I had complained about the absence of Ertiga at DNA's Wheelocity
( http://mecarblog.blogspot.in/2012/05/dna-auto-expo-at-mumbai-wheelocity.html)

This afternoon, as I went past the venue at Goregaon, a white Ertiga, fresh from showroom, appeared !!

Looks good - first impression !!

Would love to take a test drive & get a feel of it, myself.

Shall update.... !

Trucking industry has a brand ambassador

Ashok Leyland has signed up MSD as their brand ambassador. Saw the first ad this evening. 

Nothing great about the ad. But nice to see someone like MSD for a truck brand.

Transport sector is almost at the bottom of the social pyramid. Hence, someone like MSD endorsing, is a welcome change.

But the World Cup winning moment captured for a liquor brand was in a bad taste :((

MSD is now totally a Tamil guy. After the brilliant Rajni ad for Pepsi, apart from winning two IPL's, he is out & out a Tamilian. Cricket crazy Chennaites will love him, even if their team gets knocked out this time :)

MSD can pick up a bit of Tamil too. 

PS : Talking of ads, can someone pls advise Havel to withdraw Rajesh Khanna ad ?? It is in totally bad taste & it undoes all previous good work for the brand. 

What ails our airlines ?

Got this communication from Jet Airways :Jet to charge Rs 50 for duplicate ticket


This is to bring to your notice that effective immediately, requests received for duplicate e-ticket printouts at Airline Ticketing Offices and City Ticketing Offices in India across Jet Airways and JetKonnect will attract a fee of 50 per e-ticket (revenue / award ticket) reprint.

Please note that this fee is applicable only to requests for a reprint / duplicate copy of the existing booking.

JetPrivilege Platinum members are exempted from the e-ticket reprint charge.


I was not upset . . . 

1. Not because Jet was a preferred brand
2. it was additional charge for additional (duplicate) service. Why not ?? 
3. they were cost conscious - fee income was always a good idea
4. may be it will save paper - people may be more conscious about this & thus, less 'duplicate print outs' ! 

Wish Air India were more cost conscious too. But can not blame the airlines only. 

Kingfisher is on crutches too

Ndtv carried a brilliant Q & A with Sahara's Subroto Roy. He mentioned too there are policy issues. 

While we conveniently blame the airlines, perhaps the buck stops at the Government ?

Something is fundamentally wrong with our aviation industry ? ? ?

DNA Auto Expo at Mumbai - WHEELOCITY !

Ever since I arrived in India, I have been looking at various car models

From Prado to any comfortable/safe/affordable car here, would be a big dip in the driving experience.
On top of it, quality of roads, traffic discipline (lack of it, I mean!), cost of fuel (part of experience!)...

Some of the models look very promising - Mahindra's XUV500, Maruti Ertiga, etc. I was very keen to visit Wheelocity to check some of the models, under one roof.

Hyundai, Nissan, Honda, VW, Range Rover, etc were well represented.
Though Mahindra & Maruti were present through their dealers, neither XUV 500 nor Ertiga were displayed.
Thanks to the recent promos on newspapers, I was keen to check out Harley Davidson. They were not present either.
I thought I would get to see couple of experts, Ndtv's SVP or Hormazd Sorabjee
But bollywood actress was the celebrity to visit the venue !!

Like China, we should have auto expos at two of our major cities - Delhi & Mumbai. DNA's initiative may be a good beginning... but miles to go....!

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_dna-wheelocity-a-huge-hit_1688048


PS : Late night I watched the review of Mini Cooper on Auto Car program (on CNBC ?). Small car, great brand, super driving, good material inside & son loves it !! That seem to be an abrupt end to my car-shopping, thankfully... !!! Shall keep you posted :)

Golden Age in India

http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_us-india-are-now-on-the-verge-of-a-social-revolution_1685349

Came across this interesting interview in DNA - 'US, India are on the verge of a social revolution'

Ravi Batra is an Indian Amerian economist & professor in US.

He is also famous for some big predictions, such as fall of Communism ( in 1978!!), etc.

Of course, the forecasts are based on THE LAW OF SOCIAL CYCLE, pioneered by his guru, Late Sri Sarkar.

'It works on the human mind !! 
He divides society in to four categories - warriors, intellecuals, acquisitors & labourers'. I felt this is similar to the four strata of our society, kshatriyas, brahmins, vaishyas & sudras, respectively.
As per the theory, each of the groups take turns to dominate/rule the society.

As such, US & India are on the verge of a social revolution.... His latest book is titled, The New Golden Age!

A quick check of Amazon reviews - 14/15 have rated 5/5 !!

My fervent hope is the Golden Age will be based on a strong foundation of spirituality, as the world collecively seem to slip to a new low in its materialistic pursuits !

Front End Sales Commitment

While in Gulf, I avoided the European brands in favour of Japanese car brands - going by the local sentiment, service back up, A/c quality (real/perceived? ) and better re-sale value ( a definte clincher!)

Now back in India, I have been looking at VW models in India. My family had rejected Polo outright, being 'too small' ( I find even Alto & all other small cars very cute. Also, easy to manouvre around)!
So, Vento was an option.

I was pleasantly surprised to find both Polo & Vento parked in our residential complex! A nice counter, three young & smart sales-agents. I approached them, with a lot of expectation. I was worried if I would be 'pushed' to book one immediately, being a fence-sitter !

"Fortunately", nothing happened. Two sales agents pretended to be busy with an elderly prospect 'window-shopping', the third agent just ignored me. I was amused... They came all the way "to the customer", and then "stay away" from customer !!! I went around, looked at it closely, gave them an opportunity to get a prospective cusotmer.... and returned home!

I was wondering how would VW or the dealer ensure these event-initiatives are genuinely an effort to tap cusotmer at his residence ( office) !!! What would it take to get the front-end staff genuinely interested, apart from target & incentive ?!

PS : VW would have spend big bucks to associate their name with #IPL.
http://www.zigwheels.com/news-features/recent-launches/ipl-edition-of-the-vw-vento-to-coincide-with-season-4/7760/1

Kent Purification by RO+UF+UV+TDS Control

As part of my settling down process, I decided to fix my drinking water problem.

Afterall, it is a 'problem' across the country, right ? We can not drink water from the tap (or a good, old  well/borewell). There was a time, when we pulled water out of the well in our ancestral home at kerala village & drank. Now, even there, I think people prefer 'jeera-water'!

Having depended on bottled water in Gulf, I was looking for a 'more' environment-friendly option.

Few years ago, before moving abroad, when a friend told me Chennaites are opting for bottled-water, I was flabberghasted! The shock was partly due to the cost factor, and also impact on environment. ( For every 20 L bottle that reaches our homes, do we pause to think the impact it has on environement ?!!  Do we care ??!!)

When I checked around, got to know the world has evolved from Acqua guard to a "safer" RO-technology ! ( Tech for water ?!) I played safe, got the 'safest' - got Hema Malini's Kent home.

The proof of the pudding is in eating !! My dog, born & brought up in Gulf, had rejected all our earlier attempts to give her boiled/cooled water to bottled mineral water. But, she liked Kent's purified water !! She has gone back to her earlier habit of frequent sips from her bowl ( That was indeed a big relief!)

We liked the taste too. Now we enjoy the purest form of water available around, Kent's Purification by RO+UF+UV+TDS Control !!! I thought pure H2O was less complicated :( 
If you want to know what all those stand for, check out http://www.kent.co.in/


If I have solved a critical part of my To-Do List-to Settle-back, I am shocked to see a new problem ! Lot of water goes waste, as part of purification. The Kent-technician, after fitting the machine, told us 'matter-of-factly'! Was not sure if he was mocking my awareness level or enquiring 'what is big deal?' !!

Now, we are trying to collected the water from the blue pipe in small vessels and use it - quite an effort that is !!

An advise to all Kent users is do not waste even a drop of water, plz !!
Request Kent to incroporate this in to their delivery & installation, with a specific check

Let us Save Water!

Amir Khan's Satyamev Jayate

There are very few perfectionists, in their respective fields, around us... Amir Khan is surely one of them.

There has been so much expectation around his debut to the small screen. 

He has opted for prime lost, Sunday morning. He has chosen DD, yes good old Door Darshan also .  (Tell me frankly, when was the last time, you watched anything on DD?!)

He has opted for a very relevant issue, for the first episode. FEMALE INFANTICIDE

Sad to see what we are doing to our girl children & daughter-in-laws... !

Request all to watch it. Indeed, these are serious issues. We can not take an ostritch-type stand. It will engulf us like a forest fire. 

I am sure, the average middle class household may skip this and it will start reflecting on the TRP :(

But go on, Amir... Yet a master piece from you!

PS : We have a choice - to ignore the these issues, at our own peril ! Let us make the right choice 

Vishy Anand

Thanks to the newspaper, DNA, an exhaustive feature on Vishy Anand's forthcoming battle at Moscow.

http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_viswanathan-anand-s-mission-moscow_1684993

He is one of the greatest ever, in India & abroad. A beautiful example of 'Being Indian' & sport's brand ambassador, across all sports.

Have we forgotten him, thanks to #IPL, etc ?

Let us spare a thought for him... Let us wish him the best