How 11 Indians Pulled off The Impossible !! A Book Review:

Haven't written any review on books so far, this book has been too compelling and the need to write one is very much evident. Some basic Details:

Book: Making Breakthrough Innovations Happen

Author: Porus Munshi

Genre: Business/Innovation/Entrepreneurship

Having read some reviews about the book in some of the regular business magazines, i was too anxious to get the copy. I can give you a brief idea about the content, its about 11 Indians who did the impossible with the same existing resources that we crib about, with the same people whom we call unchangeable etc.

Few of the Case studies which really caught my fancy are

1) Transformation of Surat from the filthiest city into the second cleanest town within two years, reducing the number of malaria deaths from 20,000 t0 0 in just twenty months, a case of miracle urban transformation.

2) Trichy Police implementing Indianised community policing and reducing crime rates by an astounding 60 % and managing a city of 3 million people with 260 constables, a case study on how the police can manage community with friendliness rather than force.

3) How titan beat the Swiss in their on Field of expertise by developing the thinnest watch Titan Edge.

The rest are about ITC, CavinKare Su-kam etc. The book has good flow to it bringing out interesting details and how the same can be used by us in ordinary situation. This is a must read for The few us who still believe we can change, we can make things happen and that nothing is impossible as such.

Do read it, its a must read for anyone who believes in the Indian Superpower of the future.

You are a Mallu If ?

Putting together some of the common traits bringing together the mallu brotherhood. We might ignore, deny and even get furious about some of these, but forgive me guys truth can be really painful at times. So lets get the list started, if i offend anyone it was truly intentional hehehe, if you got to add more to it please feel free,

Your favorite film star is above 50 and his BMI will be mostly above 25 (over weighed)

Your idea about haute courte could be a glowing white lungi with an eye tingling red shirt.

You are unemployed but lives happily on the stipend send by your uncle who is either in Dubai or Saudi Arabia

Or you are running a home stay on your cousins property who is settled in USA.

You are ready to work 20 hours without a break yet raise the flags if you are asked to work 8 proper hours at home.

You cook all your food with coconut oil and use some of it as a gel supplement on your hair.

You are working in Bangalore, Hyderabad or Chennai and crib about the layman's inefficiency when at home .

If your off road is better than on road even if it is supposed to be tarred pakka roads.

You have just returned from your Diploma course in UK and unwilling to remove the white shoes, shirt inside the t-shirt and above all the fake accent.

Your idea of erotica is on the plumbier side and size zero is an abomination of humanity.

You have a relative or friend in some god forgotten place which people even find it difficult to place on a map.

At your wedding the bride is wearing a ton of gold (or imitation) and the food served is enough to feed an entire town

People laugh at you for your pronunciation yet find your lexicon and vocabulary unmatchable.

You are highly opinionated and find it easy to quote statements and statistics in a flash. (even if they are wrong)

Your mom doesn't know what is vegetarian, she thinks its a variety of fish she can deep fry in coconut oil. (mostly)

You don't mind voting and bringing to power either of the two non performing parties every five years.

The land at the centre of your town is worth more than its weight in gold ( he hehehe)

You are ready to raise the flag in no time if you think the injustice is on you.

Iam running short of ideas, i know iam not even half there and we can be really complicated if you look at it this way. This a post meant to be purely on the lighter side. Like they write before a movie " all characters and situations are fictional, if it resembles reality its truly coincidental ". Please comment and add to this, looking forward to your ideas.

tc

Endless Dreams, Countless Aspirations !!

I guess i have to start with the statutory explanation on why i have been off from the already rare blogging scene. This time i have no explanations no theories and even short of new excuses, i have been lazy, constantly procrastinating and lack the initiative to post the countless drafts online. If i had been a writer i would call this phase a writers block (stop grinning).

I have been traveling on and off for the last few weeks some on pretext of job, some looking for peace and redemption. What have i attained, nothing in particular but a sense of serene existence. At least in some front things are looking good, i have been able to complete some really compelling non fiction writings. Off late have been developing an affinity towards travelogues detailing adventurous journeys and eye opening conversations. Off the very few people who are compelled by nagging facebook and orkut alerts don't visit these pages for weekly escapades of a wannabee blogger. So whats disturbing me off late, whats the hypocrite in me concerned about.

62 years of independence and where do we stand, what is our testimony to time bygone. I know iam 2 weeks late to make the post look relevant and appropriate, why shout louder and be absorbed in the crowd when you have a chance to howl alone ( i was trying to convince you on my late post). Where have we reached, is the title of being the largest democracy self serving. Can we still call it democracy when the ruling party has just polled 10% of the total votes in the mangled system called coalition governments. Can we still be called democratic when family politics and sycophantic hero worship rule the national front and to a larger extend in some state fronts. Are we secure and safe when we have Maoist uprising in considerable parts of the country.

Its true that the leadership at the helm are experienced with admirable credentials and considerable track records. But don't you think we have reached no where in our path to being a self sustaining developed economy. ( not getting into macro economics) Look at our infrastructure, does it really take so much to have good roads and clean drinking water.
Cant we get it right at least once, remove the gluttonous middle men and do a quality work something which will stand the test of time. Some of our best bridges and remote roads date from the imperial era, even if their intentions were to plunder their means to it were uncorrupted.
We champion NREGA when it should have been implemented 50 years ago in a socialistic ideology dominant government(better late than never)

If you have been noticing how we have been dealing with a terrorist caught on tape brandishing automatic weapons and killing some of our most respected officers, we will understand the need to have a social awakening. No iam not criticizing our last beacon of hope the Judiciary, but isnt it too much to take a year to declare justice for a crime so disturbing questioning our pride. I cant come to terms with people who profess this as an act of civilized justice, it is already so evident about the crime and its perpetrators lets not delay justice anymore. Our press branded it as our 9/11 and yet is this how we deal with something that shook our nations integrity.

I know we have a robustly growing economy in the midst of global meltdown, that our scientists are scheduling a moon trip and the west look at as the elephant rising from a slumber ready to take on the Chinese dragon. We have to do more act faster and implement quicker to win this race, lets not be daunted by the distance and enjoy every moment of this journey.

Jai Hind