Don't Quit!!

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won, had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

Author Unknown

 
P.S. Thanks to my dear darling sister for this wonderful contribution.

Who is tomorrow's competitor?

I received a mail today. Although it was long enough to justify the need to put it away for reading later when free, when I did read it, it made sense. So I decided to post it here for others to read.

Who sells the largest number of cameras in India?

Your guess is likely to be Sony, Canon or Nikon. Answer is none of the above. The winner is Nokia whose main line of business in India is not cameras but cell phones.

Reason being cameras bundled with cellphones are outselling stand alone cameras. Now, what prevents the cellphone from replacing the camera outright? Nothing at all. One can only hope the Sonys and Canons are taking note.

Try this. Who is the biggest in music business in India? You think it is HMV Sa-Re-Ga-Ma? Sorry. The answer is Airtel. By selling caller tunes (that play for 30 seconds) Airtel makes more than what music companies make by selling music albums (that run for hours).

Incidentally Airtel is not in music business. It is the mobile service provider with the largest subscriber base in India. That sort of competitor is difficult to detect, even more difficult to beat (by the time you have identified him he has already gone past you). But if you imagine that Nokia and Bharti (Airtel's parent) are breathing easy you can't be farther from truth.

Nokia confessed that they all but missed the smartphone bus. They admit that Apple's Iphone and Google's Android can make life difficult in future. But you never thought Google was a mobile company, did you? If these illustrations mean anything, there is a bigger game unfolding. It is not so much about mobile or music or camera or emails?

The "Mahabharat" (the great Indian epic battle) is about "what is tomorrow's personal digital device"? Will it be a souped up mobile or a palmtop with a telephone? All these are little wars that add up to that big battle. Hiding behind all these wars is a gem of a question - "who is my competitor?"

Once in a while, to intrigue my students I toss a question at them. It says "What Apple did to Sony, Sony did to Kodak, explain?" The smart ones get the answer almost immediately. Sony defined its market as audio (music from the walkman). They never expected an IT company like Apple to encroach into their audio domain. Come to think of it, is it really surprising? Apple as a computer maker has both audio and video capabilities. So what made Sony think he won't compete on pure audio? "Elementary Watson". So also Kodak defined its business as film cameras, Sony defines its businesses as "digital."

In digital camera the two markets perfectly meshed. Kodak was torn between going digital and sacrificing money on camera film or staying with films and getting left behind in digital technology. Left undecided it lost in both.

It had to. It did not ask the question "who is my competitor for tomorrow?" The same was true for IBM whose mainframe revenue prevented it from seeing the PC. The same was true of Bill Gates who declared "internet is a fad!" and then turned around to bundle the browser with windows to bury Netscape. The point is not who is today's competitor. Today's competitor is obvious. Tomorrow's is not.

In 2008, who was the toughest competitor to British Airways in India? Singapore airlines? Better still, Indian airlines? Maybe, but there are better answers. There are competitors that can hurt all these airlines and others not mentioned. The answer is videoconferencing and telepresence services of HP and Cisco. Travel dropped due to recession. Senior IT executives in India and abroad were compelled by their head quarters to use videoconferencing to shrink travel budget. So much so, that the mad scramble for American visas from Indian techies was nowhere in sight in 2008. (India has a quota of something like 65,000 visas to the U.S. They were going a-begging. Blame it on recession!). So far so good. But to think that the airlines will be back in business post recession is something I would not bet on. In short term yes. In long term a resounding no. Remember, if there is one place where Newton's law of gravity is applicable besides physics it is in electronic hardware. Between 1977 and 1991 the prices of the now dead VCR (parent of Blue-Ray disc player) crashed to one-third of its original level in India. PC's price dropped from hundreds of thousands of rupees to tens of thousands. If this trend repeats then telepresence prices will also crash. Imagine the fate of airlines then. As it is not many are making money. Then it will surely be RIP!

India has two passions. Films and cricket. The two markets were distinctly different. So were the icons. The cricket gods were Sachin and Sehwag. The filmi gods were the Khans (Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and the other Khans who followed suit). That was, when cricket was fundamentally test cricket or at best 50 over cricket. Then came IPL and the two markets collapsed into one. IPL brought cricket down to 20 overs. Suddenly an IPL match was reduced to the length of a 3 hour movie. Cricket became film's competitor. On the eve of IPL matches movie halls ran empty. Desperate multiplex owners requisitioned the rights for screening IPL matches at movie halls to hang on to the audience. If IPL were to become the mainstay of cricket, as it is likely to be, films have to sequence their releases so as not clash with IPL matches. As far as the audience is concerned both are what in India are called 3 hour "tamasha" (entertainment). Cricket season might push films out of the market.

Look at the products that vanished from India in the last 20 years. When did you last see a black and white movie? When did you last use a fountain pen? When did you last type on a typewriter? The answer for all the above is "I don't remember!" For some time there was a mild substitute for the typewriter called electronic typewriter that had limited memory. Then came the computer and mowed them all. Today most technologically challenged guys like me use the computer as an upgraded typewriter. Typewriters per se are nowhere to be seen.

One last illustration. 20 years back what were Indians using to wake them up in the morning? The answer is "alarm clock." The alarm clock was a monster made of mechanical springs. It had to be physically keyed every day to keep it running. It made so much noise by way of alarm, that it woke you up and the rest of the colony. Then came quartz clocks which were sleeker. They were much more gentle though still quaintly called "alarms." What do we use today for waking up in the morning? Cellphone! An entire industry of clocks disappeared without warning thanks to cell phones. Big watch companies like Titan were the losers. You never know in which bush your competitor is hiding!

On a lighter vein, who are the competitors for authors? Joke spewing machines? (Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, himself a Pole, tagged a Polish joke telling machine to a telephone much to the mirth of Silicon Valley). Or will the competition be story telling robots? Future is scary! The boss of an IT company once said something interesting about the animal called competition. He said "Have breakfast .or.. be breakfast"! That sums it up rather neatly.

For all you guys in love...

The Love in your heart,
wasn't put there to stay.
Love isn't love,
till you give it away.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

I’d rather be...

I’d rather be a could-be if I cannot be an are;
because a could-be is a maybe who is reaching for a star.
I’d rather be a has-been than a might-have-been, by far;
for a might-have-been has never been, but a has-been was once an are.

Courtesy: facebook status messages service

Did you know: Pigs on Wall Street

I found some interesting trivia about (guess what?) PIGS. Hope you enjoy this one.

In the old days, sea captains kept pigs on board because they believed, should they be shipwrecked, pigs always swam toward the nearest shore.

The pig is rated the fourth most intelligent animal. Pigs are part of the order 'artidactyla' (even toed, hoofed animals). There are more than 180 species of pigs, found on every continent except Antarctica. They come in just about any size and color, have an average lifespan of 20 years and litters from 2 to 12 piglets.

Pigs are often thought to be dirty, but actually keep themselves cleaner than most pets. They are seen laying in mud because they do not have sweat glands and constantly need water or mud to cool off.

Uncle Sam

“During the War of 1812, a New York pork packer named Uncle Sam Wilson shipped a boatload of several hundred barrels of pork to U.S. troops. Each barrel was stamped ‘U.S.‘ On the docks, it quickly became bantered about that the ‘U.S.’ stood for ‘Uncle Sam,’ whose large pork shipment looked to be enough to feed the entire army. Thus did ‘Uncle Sam’ come to represent the US Government itself.” Thus according to the US National Pork Producers Council.

Big Business

Pork is big business: it is the world’s most widely-eaten meat. It therefore is rather apt that pigs are responsible for the naming of one of the world’s leading financial centres. To stop free-roaming pigs rampaging through their grain fields, Manhattan Island residents built a long wall on the northern edge of what is now Lower Manhattan. The street that came to board the wall was named… Wall Street.

Some other Trivia

Domestication of pigs took place in China around 7500 BC. China still is the largest producer of pigs.

In Denmark, there are twice as many pigs as people.

Pigs are mentioned twice in the Bible. Sheep are mentioned 45 times, and goats 88 times.

In support of SRK but not Pak

There is chaos in the newspapers. Actually, there always was, but the fresh crisis has everyone wondering the fate of an upcoming movie. Now, no prizes for guessing that I am referring to My Name is Khan (MNIK – this abbreviation, unlike HAHK, DDLJ, and K3G is difficult to say but much easier to write).

Shah Rukh Khan (SRK – this abbreviation though is easier both on the lips as well as the fingertips) commented on something not at all related to the movie (for the uninformed, SRK questioned the sense of including Pakistani players in IPL auction recently when no one was inclined on bidding for them); and the useless, non-sensical and opportunistic Shiv Sena grabbed the opportunity to draw an excuse to vandalize public property and cinema halls. How fair is this? If this is called Democracy, I am sorry to say but we could do with some discipline instead of free-for-all in our system of Democracy.

Then again, media ignited the fire by giving it much more footage than it deserved. But, this was nothing new either, was it?

One more debate that was going on was why SRK is alone in this fight and why no one from Bollywood or any other field comes out in support for him? After all, he did nothing wrong by voicing his opinion on an issue. If Shiv Sena can vandalize property, traumatize people and act as violently as possible, all in the name of “Freedom of expression”, any normal person can and shall be able to speak his/her mind out per his/her fundamental right of “Freedom of expression”. I feel that one need not confirm to SRK’s views in order to support him in his stand not to apologize for what he said. This act of disrupting the screening of MNIK by a bunch of hooligans should be condemned and stopped.

I have not yet mentioned that MNIK should be saved from the hands of these mindless vandalists because it caters to a social issue, or because it seems to be an intelligent film etc. etc. Yes, it does seem to be an intelligent, well-meaning film and whether it actually is so or not, we will soon see (the non-Mumbaiites, at least). But, for me, that also seems irrelevant. Even if it was some pathetic C-grade film, money has gone into making it and it deserves a fair chance to recover it. More importantly, all films too are an expression of a person’s sensibilities, thoughts and viewpoints and deserve a freedom like all other expressions. The constitution did not restrict this right to a set list of mediums, did it? The answer is a clear NO.

As for my view on what SRK actually commented on, I feel it’s hard for me to come out in support of Pak whatsoever. Although, I must mention that coming out in support of Pakistani players does not make SRK any bit less patriotic than me, but I simply cannot bring myself up to it. My mind does reason that the players should not have been insulted like this, but my heart says that the players should not have been invited in the first place and that they shouldn’t even have been included in the IPL at all or in any matter whatsoever. Our sports teams and industry are embracing Pakistani players with open arms. Is there a dearth of talent in India? Or are we Indians trying to prove a point by favouring Pakistani’s over Indians? Are we trying to prove that we are moving towards peace with Pakistan? What with campaigns like “Aman ki Asha” and all?

No, I do not support them. The day “Aman ki Asha” was announced, there were huge bombardments on the LoC and our soldiers died. Then, how can someone expect us to support this cause, when they cannot induce that kind of a trust in us? Last time when we were focusing on introducing a “Samjhauta Express”, their men were busy climbing on Kargil peaks loaded with ammunition behind our backs. Kargil war had the largest no. of casualties India has ever seen in any war. How can we support it? Would that not insult the martyrdom of our soldiers who are fighting for our blissful night’s sleep and security? I feel, instead of trying to prove that we are moving towards peace with Pakistan, we should rather focus on maintaining as much distance and indifference as possible – no war, no friendship; just status quo. That should be the best approach for the good and individual peace in both the countries.

Happy Birthday, Papa!

It’s that day of the year, when we used to bring gifts to you; unconcerned that you will scold us for buying anything remotely useable by you. And, you did scold us, but loved whatever we bought – treasured it and kept it carefully; more often than not used it only on special occasions. But, Papa, I want to tell you today that whatever gifts we have given you, hold no value, no worth, in comparison of the most wonderful gifts you have given us. You after all have given us the gift of education, of knowledge that will always act as a reserve to fall back on during any difficult time we may encounter in life. You have given us the gift of ability to make decisions and choose right over wrong. You have given us the gift of independence – of thought, of expression and of decision-making. You have given us the gift of exceptional upbringing and precious teachings which will carry us through our lives. You always told us, “Zindagi mein kabhi ghabrana nahin.” And, I promise you, Papa, that I will never give up and fight whatever may be.


Happy Birthday, Papa! And thanks for the wonderful gift called LIFE!!

Boys vs. Men and Girls vs. Women

I read this somewhere on the internet. This makes a fun read. Hope you enjoy this:



Boys vs. Men



1. Boys will drop a pick up line on you and grin at their own cleverness. A man can flirt without showing off.

2. Boys like fart jokes and everything about them. Men like the jokes too, but they don't feel the need to act them out for you.

3. Boys hold onto fantasy women ideas and hold torches without ever being able to ask the person out. A man knows that everyone is flawed and will ask her out anyway.

4. Boys take rejection as a personal attack. A man realizes that he isn't going to be attractive to everyone and that she may just not be in a place to be dating.

5. Boys try to take what isn't theirs to have. A man works to have what he values.

6. Boys yell, argue, and fight. A man is calm and walks away from trouble when he can.

7. Boys hit. Men hold.

8. Boys say hurtful things to denigrate and diminish others. A man builds others up and is quick to compliment.

9. Boys bitch and moan about problems. A man prays and asks for help when he needs it.

10. Boys hold their pride or rep in the highest regard. A man knows that having a good name is worth more than gold.

11. Boys take the easy road out of any trouble. A man faces the consequences of his actions and does the right thing.

12. Boys cheat. A man knows that a good woman is the greatest of blessings from God in this life and puts her before him.

13. Boys run from trouble. A man handles his responsibilities.

14. Boys look for you to take care of them. A man looks for you to take care of each other.

15. Boys can't maintain eye contact. A man can look into your eyes and let you know how attractive you are without a word.

16. Boys look for hot chicks. A man knows that every woman is beautiful in her own way.

17. Boys have to top your story with a better one of their own. A man asks you questions and lets you be the center of attention.

18. Boys are all about “me”. Men are all about “you”.

19. Boys go to the game, or play X-Box when their kids come over for the weekend. A man helps with homework and plays Candyland.

20. Boys boast. Men deliver.



Girls vs. Women



1. Girls ask how they look every five minutes. Women are confident enough to know they look good and smart enough to know if it truly matters.

2. Girls are needy and clingy. Women are independent and have interests outside of you.

3. Girls freak out if you don’t return a phone call. Women are rational and realize that things happen and life is unpredictable. And if you’re truly just not returning her calls, she knows you’re not worth her time.

4. Girls dress provocatively to gain attention. Women can be sexy no matter what they’re wearing.

5. Girls need to have every guy like them, even if they don’t like him. Women know that they aren’t everyone’s type.

6. Girls get their friends to find out if you like them. Women just ask.

7. If you piss them off, girls blog about it and tell all their friends. Women decide whether it’s really worth being pissed over and if it is, they talk to you about it.

8. Girls look to blame everyone but themselves for their shortcomings. Women own up to their mistakes and work to fix them.

9. Girls gossip and speak badly of other girls behind their backs in order to make themselves look good. Women don’t feel threatened by other women and can even sincerely agree when you compliment another woman.

10. Girls are catty and throw each other under a bus to get a guy. Women stand back a minute and know that if you choose the dumb bimbo over her, you aren’t as smart as you look.

11. Girls expect you to read their minds. Women are upfront and honest.

12. Girls take rejection as an insult and plot to make you jealous. Again, women realize that they aren’t everyone’s type and that it’s not a personal attack.

13. Girls bring up your past mistakes in arguments, even the ones you’ve apologized for. Women deal with the problem at hand and know to let things go.

14. Girls create drama and demand that they are the center of attention. Women realize that life has enough drama of its own and they cherish the "boring" moments.

15. Girls are in constant need of rescuing. Women can discern when it's time for them to be the hero.

16. Girls get drunk and use it as an excuse to act like a ho. Women know that a true man will love her for herself, not because she's easy.

17. Girls avoid confrontation and have no backbone or opinions of their own. Women have their own views and convictions and hold strongly to them, even in the midst of adversity.

18. Girls justify it when a boy treats them like sh*t. Women let them know exactly what "no" means.

19. Girls won't accept help from others, refuse to listen to their friends and family, and stubbornly take the path they know is doomed. A woman surrounds herself with wise people whom she can trust and she heeds their advice.

20. Girls compare you to other men. A woman appreciates each man for his unique qualities and characteristics.